Swinging Chickens! DIY Chicken Toy.

July 19, 2014August 3, 2014 / Rusticity Goods / Leave a comment

Believe it or not, there is a chicken swing on the market. Once the chickens get used to the swing, they seem to really enjoy it. But I was not willing to pay for something I could make myself!

What you need:
3″+/- diameter, straight(ish) Branch
Outdoor rope
Drill
Drill bit large enough to accommodate the rope

Here’s how to do it:
Drill a hole, about an inch from the end of each end of the branch. Try to keep them linear so the branch will hang straight.

Insert rope through drilled hole. Tie a tight knot on bottom side of branch.

I like to melt the fibers of the rope just a bit so be sure the knot doesn’t slip.

Leave the rope long enough to hang your swing about 6″ from the ground PLUS at least 3 feet for tying the swing to the desired branch.

Repeat this process on the other side of the branch. You may need to melt the threads at the end of the rope to help it get through the drilled holes easily.

Tie the swing to the branch. Here’s how I did it, but with 3 loops rather than 4.

Trim the rope with about 2″ of excess. Melt the end of the rope threads to give it a nice finish.

I bribed my girls to try out the swing by tying a bunch of lemon balm to the ropes of the swing. They weren’t buying it.

Update:
Today was day 2 of the swing introduction. I didn’t see the girls on the swing but I did see them scratching the ground around it. Later in the day I noticed the lemon balm missing. Someone had to climb up there to get it!

Update:
Today is day 4. They are finally giving it a try!

Easy Blueberry Jam – Pectin Free

July 18, 2014July 18, 2014 / Rusticity Goods / Leave a comment

Delicious and easy.
4 cups blueberries
4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Once the berries soften, crush them with a potato masher (or whatever works for you).
Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.
While simmering continuously stir for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your desired consistency.
Test the set by dipping a metal spoon in the jam. Set the spoon in the freezer for 5 minutes. If you are happy with the consistency, ladle into sterilized jars. Water bath for 10 minutes.

Easy Wild Blackberry Jam – Pectin Free

July 18, 2014July 18, 2014 / Rusticity Goods / 9 Comments

Delicious and easy.
4 cups blackberries
4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Once the berries soften, crush them with a potato masher (or whatever works for you).
Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.
While simmering continuously stir for 10 minutes.
Test the set by dipping a metal spoon in the jam. Set the spoon in the freezer for 5 minutes. If you are happy with the consistency, ladle into sterilized jars. Water bath for 10 minutes.

DIY Hose Reel

July 14, 2014July 14, 2014 / Rusticity Goods / 15 Comments

With summer in full swing here in Georgia, we’ve been utilizing the hose a lot around our homestead. I got tired of seeing my hose piled in a big knotted mess, so with help from the hubby, I put together this unique hose reel. The only thing we had to purchase to make this fantastic piece of yard art is the spray paint! Woot Woot!

Here’s how to do it:

Remove the tread and tube from the rim of an old tire.There are multiple ways to do this, we cut ours off with a saws all.

Weld the rim to a metal T post. Don’t have a welder? You can JB weld it (you can buy it here , or at walmart). As long as you follow JB weld’s directions it should last a long time. Weld the rim, top and bottom, to the T post. Sand the rim and remove any dust. Clean it well so you will have a good bond with the spray paint. Paint that bad boy. Re-coat if needed. Allow the paint to dry. Stick that puppy in the ground where you want it. TA-DA! Instant improvement!

$25 a month cell phone service and $20 rebate code! Review: Republic Wireless.

July 8, 2014October 15, 2014 / Rusticity Goods / Leave a comment

The number one reason I homestead is to save money. I may have to invest a bit of money and a lot of energy now, but it will pay off down the road when we are living self sufficiently.

I am not new to finding ways to save money. I am admittedly cheap. I hate paying more for something than I have to.

Let me start by saying that I have had Verizon Wireless for my cell service provider for 10 years. I got tired of paying almost $200 a month. So we switched to Straight Talk. That saved us about $100 a month but the service sucked. Bad.

We had Straight Talk for about a year. We hated it, and the phones, the entire time we had them. Then we moved to our new home. We had Zero service inside the house. Unless, of course, you were leaning against a window, then you could get like 1 bar. Most of my phone calls were made on the front porch or the car pool line. This had to change.

I did some research on wifi phones because we have Comcast and a great internet connection. Thats where I found Republic Wireless. It runs off of wifi when there is a good open signal around . If you don’t have a good wifi signal, it runs off of the sprint towers like a regular ol’ cell phone. This phone is set up to automatically detect open wifi signals. So, say your in a grocery store with no cell phone service. If the store is offering free wifi, your phone calls will be crystal clear and you’ll have streaming data.

I love this set up. Its perfect for me and our home, where I spend most of my time. I could see this being perfect for someone who spends a lot of time indoors as well. If your in the office all the time, this is just what you need. And if you live in the city, where there is an unlimited amount of open wifi signals around you, this is a no brainer.

As far as cell phone service (without a wifi connection) through sprint, well, when I’m in my home I get about the same amount of service as I did when we were with Straight Talk. I think our home is in a dead zone. But in a way, I’m ok with that! When I’m away from the house I get great service through Sprint! I can download things, and write posts to the blog with with no problems. Thats a massive improvement over Straight Talk. I couldn’t even get Google Maps to find my location on my Straight Talk phone.

The best part about it is that unlimited 3g service is $25 a month! Thats even cheaper than Straight Talk!

You can actually get a $5 a month plan that runs on wifi only.That would be perfect if I never left our property, which I would be fine with honestly, but unfortunately I do have to leave occasionally. I am considering purchasing a second phone to leave at the house as strictly a home phone. Think about it, home phone lines are at least $25 a month (for the first 12 months). Save yourself $20 a month.

Republic Wireless also offers a $10 a month plan that has unlimited wifi, calls and texts and cell service through sprint. But no data when your off of wifi. I tried that the first month and discovered how much I need data. I like to write posts to my blog and Facebook when I am waiting. Apparently I always have to be doing something.

I can switch my plan up to twice a month if I want to. So, I COULD get the $5 a month plan if I know that I will be spending most of my time at home that month. Then I could switch to the $25 a month data plan and they would prorate the difference. I have actually done this and it was extremely easy. I did it right off my phone. But honestly, I am saving so much being on the $25 a month plan, that I may as well just stick with it. And that is a big deal for me. Cos I’m cheap.

Over all, I love this service. It is genius! And the service will only get better as technology catches up to Replublic Wireless. Free wifi is being offered at more and more places and before you know it it will be everywhere. Then I will switch to the $5 a month plan. 🙂

If you are interested in signing up with Republic Wireless, follow THIS LINK and both you, and I, will get a $20 discount on our bill. Hey, I’m cool with that. Discount shows at check out.

What is a Homesteader?

June 30, 2014 / Rusticity Goods / Leave a comment

The first post I wrote for this blog was “Do what you can with what you have (where you are)“. That is my favorite quote and I live by it on a daily basis. The post also brought me my first comment “What is a homesteader?”.

I have seen many discussions on what the difference is between a farmer, a gardener, and a homesteader. But it really comes down to this, What are your goals for your property, home and life?

I believe that a farmer produces quantities of fruits and vegetables for the purpose of selling. A gardener produces fruits and vegetables to eat and give to friends and family (I love gardeners!). A homesteader does everything possible to live a more self-sufficient life. That includes gardening, caring for livestock, making their own medicines, baking their own bread, spinning yarn from the wool they sheared from their own sheep, building it, cooking it, canning it, growing it, culling it, processing it, fermenting it …………….I think you get the picture.

Most people aren’t lucky enough to be born into a completely self-sufficient homestead. It takes time to build it up. It is a never-ending process. There is always something else that can be done. There is always room for improvement. Whats important is that every day, you make the most of what you have.

This is our first summer on our homestead. I had so many plans that I wanted to accomplish (summers not over yet!). But things happen. Life happens. Priorities shift. I wanted a huge fantastic garden this summer. Oh, I was gonna can all those beautiful tomatoes and peppers. My pantry would be filled with rows of beautiful glass jars, filled with delicious food. Oh, and I would have to build that pantry to keep it all in too. Well, the garden has been a failure so far. Improper placement of the beds meant not enough sun for the plants. The soil isn’t supporting their growth. Over all just a big FAIL!

But I’m ok with it! The plan changed. Next year will be the big harvest. This year I will focus on our actual home. There is still a lot to do. Lord knows we all have those projects sitting on the back burner. I want to get as much done as possible this year. Because next year I will be too busy gardening and canning. Do not interrupt me!

The point of my mini-rant is this; you always have to make the most of your situation when you are a homesteader. The goal is to be as self-sufficient as possible. A living factory of necessities and natural bounty. You don’t have to have it all at once because the most important aspect of being a homesteader is your DESIRE to do better.

Chigger Relief

June 26, 2014July 6, 2014 / Rusticity Goods / 25 Comments

My girls and I were devoured by chiggers recently. If you have ever been eaten alive by chiggers than you understand how irritating a chigger bite can be. If you haven’t been bitten by a chigger than let me put it this way; imagine a mosquito bite, now enhance that itchy feeling by 1000 and add molten lava oozing from the bite when you scratch it.

I think the worst part about chigger bites is how long they last. They stay with me for weeks. But not this time! I couldn’t stand to see my babies in discomfort so I came up with a healing recipe.

Let me clear a few things up first. Chiggers are tiny mites. They usually enter by the sock line. They love warm, moist, soft skin (imagine sock and panty lines). They do not bury themselves in your skin. Their saliva is the irritant that causes the terrible, welts and molten lava feeling. Nail polish will not smother them (as lots of people assume) because they are not buried in your skin. In fact, I believe that the nail polish will cause the irritant to stay in the skin longer.

My thought process was this “Oh my God! My skin is on fire! How can I suck out the toxic acid saliva from this blood thirsty spawn of satin?” . I tried it all. I slathered it all on me. I even bought ChiggerRid, which did relieve the itch for the longest but I later found the barrier it leaves on your skin to be irritating and cause me to scratch, which in turn made the volcano erupt.

Then it hit me. The clouds parted. Angels sang. And a vision of Calcium Bentonite Clay almost brought me to tears of joy.

I whipped up a batch with Apple Cider Vinegar and added tea tree oil. I covered the bites. Waited 20 minutes then removed the clay. The itch was gone for hours at a time and I also saw the bites shrinking. I am on day 4 now and the bites I treated and almost gone and the itch is only that of a boring ol’ mosquito bite. The bites I haven’t treated (some places you just don’t want to slather with clay) are still the size of a quarter and burn like crazy when I scratch them.

I’m assuming that you are reading this because you are trying to find a cure for your lava skin. Here it is.

Chigger Relief:

Ingredients:

2 tblspns Calcium Bentonite Clay (buy it here or at the vitamin shoppe)

1/4 teaspoon tea tree oil (buy it here, or Any pharmacy)

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) to desired consistency (I like about 1.5 tblspns)

In a glass jar add clay and slowly add ACV to desired consistency is achieved. Mix well with a plastic utensil. Add Tea Tree Oil. Mix well.

Apply concoction to bites just thick enough of a layer that you can’t see the bites any longer. Sit back and enjoy the relief for 20-30 minutes. When time is up remove the clay with a with a wet wash rag. Or you can go hose off outside. DO NOT WASH CLAY DOWN YOUR HOMES DRAINS IT WILL CLOG YOUR PIPES.

Do this a minimum of twice a day. Keep remaining clay mixture in the fridge (ITS EVEN BETTER WHEN ITS COLD!!!!!).

I like to apply plantain salve to the bites after the clay is removed. If you don’t have plantain salve Aloe is a great alternative. It relieves itch and helps the skin heal.

The clay mixture has cut my healing time by more than half. How has it worked for you?

Get Drunk on Flowers.

June 17, 2014June 17, 2014 / Rusticity Goods / 3 Comments

Ok, you need more than flowers but hey, the title got you here.

We recently made a batch of Elderberry Flower Cordial. I found the recipe at Food.com.

Well, since I’m new to fermenting, I didn’t have the cordial in a warm enough place to ferment. We ended up with a fizz-less, over sweet alcoholic syrup. Basically useless to me because I don’t like terribly sweet things, and I’m not going to give my kids alcohol syrup on their pancakes.

So, I added an additional 1/2 liter of water (a bottle of purified water that was room temperature). And found a proper place to ferment it. Left it there for a week and I opened the most wonderful bottle of champagne I have EVER made. 😉

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

15 large Elderberry Flower Heads, Shaken to remove bugs

4.5 Cups of Sugar (I prefer Morena Pure Cane Sugar. It has an amazing flavor all its own and it is much better for you.)

1 Lemon thinly sliced

5 cups boiling water

1 clean, plastic soda bottle with lid

Place flower heads in the bottom of a large bowl.

Lay lemon sliced on top of flowers.

Dump sugar evenly over lemons.

Pour boiling water over lemons.

Mix until sugar is dissolved.

Place lid on bowl or cover with plastic wrap.

Leave the container on your counter for 4 days.

Every day for the next 4 days, remove cover, mix and squish the lemons.

By day 4 you should have a little fizzy action going on.

Filter the liquid from the flower mix into your soda bottle.

Place cap on tightly.

Leave the soda bottle to ferment in a warm/dark place for the next week. My fermentation spot ended up being the upstairs linen closet. Try to find a place that has a fairly consistent temperature.

Check occasionally for fizziness. The bottle will expand as the gas builds. You may need to release the gasses to prevent the bottle from making a huge mess in your linen closet………. *cough* (joking, that didn’t happen to me but it could).

By the end of the week you should have a lovely, floral champagne.

I think next time I will try reducing the sugar. I feel it lacks that crispness of champagne because of the sugar. But as I said, I don’t like overly sweet things. You could try reducing the sugar. Remember that the amount of sugar used has a direct effect on the fermentation. This was my first time making this, and I really have very limited experience with fermentation so please don’t expect more than this from me… hahaha.

Do you have any fermentation tips to share? How did your elderflower champagne turn out? Please comment and let me know!

Design Your Own Rain Boots

June 11, 2014June 30, 2014 / Rusticity Goods / Leave a comment

We love rain boots. They are our choice of foot wear on this homestead.

My youngest daughter wanted a pair of Boston Terrier rain boots but I wasn’t willing to pay the prices some companies were charging. We decided to make our own.

First I found a pair of cheap, plain black, rubber rain boots. The boots have to have a mat finish. No glossy surfaces.

Then I did some research. I read a few blogs that gave directions on how to do it but all the reviews said that the paint peels off or cracks very easy. It became obvious that acrylic paint won’t work. I needed rubber paint.

I researched rubber paint. Which lead me to LIQUID ELECTRIC TAPE!

I made a trip to Home Depot and found a small selection of 3 colors of liquid electrical tape. White, green and red. I was a little disappointed because I really wanted black (how can you have a Boston Terrier without black?) but they were sold out. I grabbed a bottle of white.

Next I drew my design on a piece of card stock. I carefully cut the design out with an exacto-knife. I now had a template.

I positioned the template where I wanted them on the boot, and traced it with a pencil.

Since I didn’t have black, I filled the entire tracing in with the white liquid electrical tape and added black details with a Sharpie. I used a paint brush to apply the liquid electrical tape. It worked just like acrylic paint, but a little thicker and I had to work quickly because it dried fairly quick.

We have had these boots now for 6 months and the liquid electrical tape is still right where I put it. No cracking or peeling. They’ve waded through puddles and ran through grass. They’ve had chickens pecking at them and dogs scratching them. Still attached perfectly The Sharpie has faded a bit. I would definitely use the black liquid electrical tape if I weren’t too cheap and lazy to go buy a bottle.

You can make any design you choose! Have fun! Please share a picture with me when your done!

Easy Herb Gelatin Treats for Chickens (or humans, I guess!)

June 9, 2014 / Rusticity Goods / Leave a comment

With the heat on the rise I have been looking for ways to help keep my small flock cool.

Fresh Eggs Daily had a great post on Beating the Heat. This is my favorite chicken site. Tons of information. The post gave me an idea. I could make Homemade Healthy Gummie Snacks for my chickens! They were such a hit with the kids, the chickens were bound to love them!

I found out that not only could chickens eat gelatin, but gelatin is actually good for them. Just like in humans, gelatin helps support health hair, skin and nails. It is also aids digestion and soothes the digestive tract. Sounds like a winning combo for chickens. And to clarify, gelatin is made form the bones and hooves of bovine. It is not made from chicken products. No cannibalism here.

You can make these treats from the herb of your choice. Or you could not use herbs at all. Maybe just use fruit. Or a fruit herb combo. How ever you make them this is a healthy treat that can help your chicken keep its cool.

Ingredients:

2 cups herbal infusion (How to make a Water Infusion)

1 cup cold water, fruit juice, or fruit puree (I used strawberries and blackberries (this is a great opportunity to use up that frost bitten fruit you have in the freezer ;))).

4 packs unflavored 1/4 oz gelatin (you buy it here or any grocery store in the Jello section)

First thing you need to do is make an herbal infusion. Since I want to cool my chickens I decided to go with mint. It has natural cooling properties. Since mint is a strong herb, I only filled my infusion jar 1/4 of the way.

Bring your finished infusion to a boil in a 2 quart pot.

Remove from heat.

Slowly add gelatin while mixing.

Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, just blend it by hand with a wisk or fork. I love my immersion blender and I highly recommend one. You can buy the one I have here or at walmart.

Add cold water juice (or fruit juice or puree).

Blend until smooth.

Pour liquid into a greased, 3 qt 9×13 casserole dish.

Place casserole dish in fridge.

Allow to sit for 1-4 hours (or until firm).

Cut into squares the size of your choice. I like 1/2″ squares.

Serve to chickens.

Watch the chickens steal them from each other and chase each other for the last bit! They LOVE THEM! I tried them as well. I don’t prefer mint jello but I can tell you for sure it has that great cooling effect!

If you made your own flavor and the chickens didn’t like it, you can put the cubes back into the pot and reheat them until liquid. Try adding something you know they love, like strawberries or bananas. Then re-pour, refrigerate and serve again. Have fun! Try new flavors and let me know which one your chickens like best!

Here is my flock enjoying their gelatin treat! Ravenous!