canned Yams, --
Home made Brooder
Is it much like a sweet potato?
It is like a irish potato, -- but it has a little more nutrition, richer flavor, more fiber, and a little coarser texture, -- I love them, they also help my arthritis, and other old age stuff, -- They produce extreemly well here, and potatoes do not, -- They are more trouble to work with, -- some[ one or two] we cut up last week end were 20 lbs each, -- there is more waste, as the peal is rough and all has to be removed, [ but the chickens ate it all] - they are very slimy feeling before they are cooked, but once cooked they are firm and have great taste and texture, -
Do they make seeds?
in Tropical areas they will make viable seed, -- sometimes mine make seed but is not viable, -- the vines make small areal tubercles, these are what I plant /sell on my website[e-bay store] - they ,unless frozen, have 100% sucess rate [they all grow] in well drained soils.
Do you have a picture of the vines?
see picts, -- www.michaels4gardens.com /Yam
That's cool. Reminds me of what we used to grow just for looks. But what we grew was kinda knobby. We called it a Texas Potato or an Air Potato. It had big pretty leaves and it would climb like crazy.
Thanks, like Cajun I am reminded of the air potato.
Dioscorea bulbafera [Air Potato] is a relative of Dioscorea alata, and D. rotundata, the two I mostly grow, --
the last 2 are very good to eat, -- D. bulbafera is not [except for one cultivar I know of] bulbafera is prohibited here, and I would get in troubble from the USDA enforcement agents, [when they raid me again] if I should sell any of that, --
Thanks for the information; I was going to look it up.
Wow, this has been very interesting. Your website is great too but i don't think I can do snails no matter what they're called :-)
I plan to use Snails as a protein supplement, for my Chickens, [Water Snails have the most amazing reproductive rate I have experienced] along with Water Hyacinth, -- the pasture will be rotated, -- but I will need lots of chicken food, -- [ I like escargot also]
We ate snails down the bayou. We call them biganeauxs. pronounced bee gah nose.
they are yummy
We boiled them like crabs, crawfish, shrimp and squid.
I boil or steam, --then remove from shell, and clean, and then use , -- they and baseball size and you get a lot of meat in them, ---
Haha There isn't enough butter in the world to get me to eat them. I'd rather eat vegemite ( waving to Catscan!).
That is what makes the world go round. -- everybody likes something a little different, -- it's all good, --
The cajun motto is "Anything tastes good if it's cooked right". Ours were not nearly so big as that.
Depends on what we are used to eating, especially as children, and also how hungry we are. :)
Michael, you are quite impressive. Would love to try the potatoes!
The Yam would probly grow well in your area, -- but they have to be kept damp durring the warm season, -- they have an ability to digest compost at an early stage, and will grow fast in rich soil, - I had one that was over 20 lbs at the end of the second season, -- it was planted under 2 feet of horse manure and sawdust [bedding material] --I forgot to ask how long your growing season is, -- they need at least 100 days, lots of mulch in the winter, -to keep the root from freezing, --
This message was edited Jan 13, 2011 1:48 AM
Best tomatoes I ever grew were in straight sawdust and horse manure. Honkin big maters and plenty of 'em.
still have not lost any birds, -- am trying to grade the dirt for concrete slab fo new henhouse, 30x48 - will need it soon, --
That is amazing you have not lost a single one. Must be a record.
MichaelP I wanted to ask about the feeders in your pictures--did you make them?
If so, would you describe for me what the feeders are made from and how you attached them to the cages?
Thank you.
cs
the first picture feeders are made from 3" pvc pipe, -- I ran it through the table saw, and cut out 1/3 [or so] I drilled holes in it and attached it to the brooder with screws, it has cheep "test caps" in the ends, [dont glue them, so you can remove them for cleaning], --
--the wood feeder shown later on was made from a 2x6 and 6" strips of 3/4 plywood, with a piece of 3/4 emt [conduit] in the top part, --
Re:all 200 still alive---- this is a record for me, -- I have always lost a few, --
Thank you.
I am trying to come up with ideas on how to make some decent, tough, easily accessible and cleaned, feeders for my girls. I swear they waste more food than they eat. And chicken feed is no longer cheap. I really like the pvc pipe. I thought that's what it was in the pictures but wanted to make sure.
cs
re-group. == the nest box I made with plastic 1/2x1/2 hardware cloth, on the bottom, -- has a problem. -- the squirls ate through the plastic bottom, and ate the eggs and ruined the mesh, -- looks like I will be going back to metal Hardware cloth, -- -- Bummer---
Chickens are all still alive, -- and growing, -- they are eating about #50/day won't lay marketable eggs till April, --
Wow, have they ever grown up! Your rooster looks like he's still enjoying being the nanny :-)
Does that means 50 lbs of feed each day?
They are really pretty too!! I've never really cared for that color before, but I like it now!
Not one loss is really incredible.
That's what my RSLs look like. I have gotten 2 eggs yesterday and today from 2 of my RSL pullets. I am so happy!
they are eating 50 lbs /day [aprox] and I supose it will stay that way for the rest of their life, -- the info i got on this cross when I ordered, [Hy Line brown production handbook] gave all the amounts for feed consumption, etc, -so far they have been right on track with the info in the book, acording to the book, --they should produce marketable eggs, by the first of april, -- We will see---
I am very happy to still have all 200 -these are very healthy birds, --and very interested in everything going on, -- they sure get underfoot when I am feeding or trying to wash out equipment, -- they get on my feet and pull/ peck on my pant legs.
Chicken scratch is almost $10 a 50 lb bag here now. It was about $8 not long ago, now $10. Might be because my local feed store has new owners, or could be the feed is just more.
I bought two large bales of hay for my donkey the other day. They are $50 a bale. I told the man, "I sure am glad I only have one donkey, this could really get expensive if I had two or three." Seems that donkey eats it so quickly too. He loves it and I'm happy to get it for him though. He is such a joy and blessing to me.
How do you count 200 chickens?
Yep, feed prices are going up!
corn price ,is one of the major problems with feed prices, corn has gone up a lot the last few months.
I feed perennial peanut hay to my Cow, she loves it, it has about the same nutrition as alfalfa, but they don't ever bloat.
I get it for $10/bale, alfalfa is $20 [easy choice]
I don't count the chickens, -- just look for dead ones [so far none] I haven't counted them since moving them to the greenhouse, --
We are paying just under $10 for 50lbs of scratch too. $12.50 for 50lbs of laying pellets. I feed half and half.
I got 8 eggs today. Been getting 5. I am suprised I got any with the wind blowing as cold as a day old corpse. Before daylight it was 50*. Then it got down to 33* but the cold wind made it feel like 0*. (I'm sure that is an exageration but it was plenty cold. LOL)
I hope to sell eggs in the spring when they get to laying steady and I am going to charge $2.25 a dozen. What do you get for a dozen down there?