Farm Life

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Spring Is Definitely In The Air! – Baby Chick Time!!

 

I love all things spring!  Yes, I know it’s allergy season with all the high pollen counts, but it’s still spring and the weather is warming up nicely.  I love being able to open up my windows and doors and enjoy the nice spring breezes that blow through.  An added bonus is the lower electric bills that brings.  That’s always nice. 

Another thing I love about spring is all the baby animals being born.  Everywhere I look, I’ve seen baby calves.  They are so cute running around , kicking up their heels without a care in the world! 

It also means baby chick time at our house!  And this year,I actually have a broody hen that decided to set for me! 

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(Look how mean she looks!  LOL – She really does mean business and does not like me messing with her or her eggs AT ALL!)

She started out with 12 eggs but is now down to 9.  After candling them on day 10, 3 eggs had gone absolutely nowhere, so I pulled them out so that she could concentrate on the ones that were growing and thriving.  By next weekend, April 24th, we should start seeing some babies hatching!  I can’t wait!

I’ve got another hen that’s thinking about it.  If she does, I’ll give her some eggs of her own. I’d love to be able to add some fresh layers to my flock this year. 

Katie is going to raise chicks again this year for 4-H and we’ve already gotten them. If we do as well this year and we did last year, we’ll probably sell them to recoup some of the expense of raising them. 

Hopefully, this next week, we’ll finally get the garden in the ground.  It’s been such a crazy couple of weeks that we’ve not been able to, but I’m making it a priority next week because I want lots of fresh garden veggies this year!  I’ll keep you posted on how that goes! 

Hope you all are having a great spring!  I know I am!

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And the winners of the 4-h poultry show are………

 

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my girls!!  They won Grand Champion AND Champion AND they both received blue ribbons!  

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All of their hard work and dedication (and some fussing from mom & dad) really paid off!

This took place back on August 19th during our county fair.    I was so proud of my girls!  In fact, they’re chickens were by far the favorite of all the spectators and we had sold the rest of them before the show even began.  We had several come up to us right before and during the show wanting to buy them but we had to turn them away.  Too bad I didn’t any more to sale! 

Here  are the judges looking over the girls’ chickens. 

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They did a thorough job and came back to the girls’ cages several times comparing them to the others.  The girls’ chickens were at least double the size of the others.  You could tell theirs were very well fed and loved!  

Will we do this again next year?  We’ll just have to wait and see.  I don’t mind but I don’t know if the girls will want to or not.    Michael is still too young, but we got to put a few of his over in the barnyard nursery which he was happy with. 

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~~Crock Pot Chicken & Noodles~~

CPW

I found the original recipe on Frugal Families, but I adapted it to our tastes and to feed my family. It’s super simple and quick to throw together.

Crock Pot Chicken & Noodles

  • 6 frozen leg quarters (can use 3-4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts)
  • 1 package egg noodles
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 2 cans cream of chicken soup
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 Tbs pre-minced garlic
  • 2 tsp Thyme
  • 1 Tbs Rosemary
  • 4 cups chicken broth or 4 cups boiling water + 4 chicken bullion cubes, dissolved

Place chicken in Crock Pot. Mix together soups & milk. Add sour cream and mix well.

Add rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt & pepper, mixing well.

Add chicken broth & butter, mixing well again.

Pour mixture over chicken and cook on low 6 to 8 hours.

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Remove chicken and shred. Add noodles to sauce while shredding chicken. Add shredded chicken back to the Crock Pot and cook an additional 30 minutes or until noodles reach desired tenderness.

This goes really well with mashed potatoes & hot rolls/biscuits.

I’ll come back and add pics of the finished product. In the mean time, check out Dining With Debbie for more great Crock Pot recipes this week!