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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Tuesday Already?

Saturday prime time entertainment
feels good feels good feels good
neighbor’s horse scratching her belly.

My 2-year-old thought it was the funniest thing ever. This Mare and her painted pony will be stabled in our barn soon. The neighbors’ house and land is up for sale. He wants us to have the horses when he leaves. Don't know if I am looking forward to that or not. The boys are thrilled.


Turkey Snalurkey {have no idea why I call him that, just do} a.k.a. Thanksgiving dinner. He is the only one of 5 that we managed to raise. I wanted to keep him as a novelty, but as I consult all the homesteading books, they say it is too expensive just to keep one as a pet. If he was female I could have sold turkey eggs to the gourmet shops to pay for his feed. But he is a tom and the only benefit is his meat. So the day before thanksgiving we will dress him out. I have mixed feelings about it. We bought him for this purpose, but I didn't realize I would like him, even if he is trying to mate with me.


Remember the fact that I mistakenly bought only an egg turner and not an incubator?

Who needs an incubator? We have a heat lamp and a thermometer! 18 eggs, Mother Hen {the banny} had managed to hoard 18 different eggs from me. She was not happy when I removed them, she actually hissed at me. We have them in the master bathroom along with the brooding chicks, keeping them at 100F {37c}. Tonight I will make a candeling box and see if they are developing.

So what is you favorite way to cook your turkey? Have any bread stuffing recipes you want to share?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That isn't a bad looking horse but that is a lot for your neighbor to put off on you. Feeding/care those suckers can be expensive!

I hope your eggs are developing! (How strange does that sound?)

Jasmine said...

oh, i badly like that horse and that turkey. you know it is only in zoo that i could approach them.And the developing situation will be appreciated in your next article :)

The Unusual Farmchick said...

Let us know if it works out with the egg turner. My ice chest adventure just steamed the eggs. Kinda funny yet sad.
Is there not a female you could "save" him for? Maybe barter for her?
Oooh and the horse.. (green with envy right here) Can it be used for pulling a wagon or plow and not just for riding so it can be "useful"?
*cooking the turkey I like to first soak mine in a brine like the Alton Brown suggests from good eats. The best & most moist turkey I have ever had was using his method of the brine and his oven tips.*

Phelan said...

Alrescate, that's what I mean by not being too thrilled. Between the price of feed and NAIS looming over us, I don't know if I want to take on the horses. But my boys are thrilled and the oldest has promised to take care of them.

Jodie, this is the first time I have ever been close to a live turkey. Horses are pretty common here. Kansas might be in modern times, but we still have lots and lots of cowboys.

TUUF; barter for his life? Not to anyone here, they will eat him just the same. I had hoped that he would call in some wild game and we could just use him as a decoy, even if I am not a hunter. But he hasn't. Saving him for a female? I would need to find a shop that would be willing to buy eggs and whole turkeys before I do that. Turkeys eat a lot, and from everything I have read it isn't feasible to breed turkeys unless it is your main income. We bought him to eat, so unless something changes by the end of November, that's what we will do.

Thank you for the suggest on cooking a turkey, will look that one up.

Phelan said...

oh a TUUF, I was wondering how the egg in the ice chest was going. Steamed them? bummer. Get a heat lamp if you don't already, and place the eggs up on a couter top on a towl, or make shift nest. Turn them by hand and see if that works.

Zac said...

Hi,
I remember the first time I bought geese, we named them and decided to keep them. We then bought another and called him roasty so we didn't forget why he was there.
I haven't had poultry for 10 years now but bought 4 ducklings on Tuesday. I have to keep telling the kids that at least one is for christmas dinner!
Suz

Phelan said...

We have two gees that we plan on breeding for meat and eggs. We did have 2 ducks, but they were both male, and they were killing hens because they wanted/needed to mate. We ate them.

oh and I really like your blog, have blogrolled it.

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