What did you do to prepare today?

aaakev · 25-06-2013 10:43am

Always wanted to get chickens myself but a neighbour had them and they were all killed by the cats in the estate within a few weeks. Out place is very bad for cats, seems to be alot of arse hole 'owners' who let their beloved pets run a muck and have litter after litter. The numbers were down for a while but are on the up again..

spynappels · 25-06-2013 10:49am

You need an ALF!

Or is my 80s TV memory distorted?

silentrust · 25-06-2013 11:06am

aaakev wrote: »

Always wanted to get chickens myself but a neighbour had them and they were all killed by the cats in the estate within a few weeks. Out place is very bad for cats, seems to be alot of arse hole 'owners' who let their beloved pets run a muck and have litter after litter. The numbers were down for a while but are on the up again..

I feel for you bro, the dilemma is of course you don't want to keep your chickens cooped up all day (no pun intended) so turning your garden into some kind of Fort Knox using wire and netting isn't an option.

Having said that I have heard tales of a couple of decent sized chickens giving a neighbourhood cat and real run for its money so maybe the fears are unfounded.

I found a plan in an old Homesteading magazine essentially where you divide your garden into three plots. One in which to keep the chicken coop, one where they're allowed to roam and one to sow your vegetables. Apparently the idea is to alternate the three every year, the idea being that the chicken's effluence is brilliant for fertilising the soil but obviously you don't want them directly amongst the cabbages and peas as their acidic leavings will burn them apparently.

Also as animals go chickens are quite easy to obtain and keep, you can get refugees from former battery farms free of charge and in theory you can build your own coop although I am sorely tempted just to buy one and have done with it - would this go against our survivalist principles? :-D

Khannie · 25-06-2013 12:39pm

I also want chickens. I was vetoed while we still have young kids on the "enough to look after" grounds. Couldn't fault it.

eirator · 25-06-2013 12:50pm

Khannie wrote: »

I also want chickens. I was vetoed while we still have young kids on the "enough to look after" grounds. Couldn't fault it.

With a large run its no more than 10 minutes in the morning and a couple at night to lock them up. I've even seen automated doors that open at first light and close at night to save you having to be there.

Danpad · 25-06-2013 1:05pm

We keep 4 hens. They are the lowest maintenance animals we've ever had. We also have 3 cats and two dogs (boxer and GSD)! We let the hens free range every second day and the cats and dogs know not to mess with them! The eggs are delicious too. We get our kids involved by sending them in to collect the eggs and help us muck the hens out once a week. They really are no hassle at all. Only thing is...the wife has given them bloody names now so I can hardly picture bunging them into the oven when the time comes can I!

aaakev · 25-06-2013 1:12pm

Huge mistake giving them names....

Markcheese · 25-06-2013 1:57pm

aaakev wrote: »

Always wanted to get chickens myself but a neighbour had them and they were all killed by the cats in the estate within a few weeks. Out place is very bad for cats, seems to be alot of arse hole 'owners' who let their beloved pets run a muck and have litter after litter. The numbers were down for a while but are on the up again..

I 've a little moveable house and run , on fresh grass everyday...in 5 secs. They get fed scraps and pellets, would love to let them roam more but next doors dog terrorises them .... Suitable for 3 or 4 birds ... But I'm down to 2

silentrust · 25-06-2013 2:14pm

eirator wrote: »

With a large run its no more than 10 minutes in the morning and a couple at night to lock them up. I've even seen automated doors that open at first light and close at night to save you having to be there.

Very clever, thanks for the tip eirator, I'll keep an eye out for a coop that does that.. anything that saves me from crawling out of bed at the crack of dawn... :-)

silentrust · 25-06-2013 2:15pm

Danpad wrote: »

We keep 4 hens. They are the lowest maintenance animals we've ever had. We also have 3 cats and two dogs (boxer and GSD)! We let the hens free range every second day and the cats and dogs know not to mess with them! The eggs are delicious too. We get our kids involved by sending them in to collect the eggs and help us muck the hens out once a week. They really are no hassle at all. Only thing is...the wife has given them bloody names now so I can hardly picture bunging them into the oven when the time comes can I!

Oh dear, I feel for your wife though, I wouldn't have the heart to kill a chicken, can't you just let them live to a ripe old age and have every possible combination of eggs in the meantime? I understand egg production slows down as they get older but surely anything's better than running after them with a vicious strand of chicken wire?!

eirator · 25-06-2013 3:37pm

silentrust wrote: »

Oh dear, I feel for your wife though, I wouldn't have the heart to kill a chicken, can't you just let them live to a ripe old age and have every possible combination of eggs in the meantime? I understand egg production slows down as they get older but surely anything's better than running after them with a vicious strand of chicken wire?!

They'll live for years after they stop laying, our oldest hen is probably 8 years old and hasn't laid an egg in the last 3 years.

silentrust · 25-06-2013 4:18pm

eirator wrote: »

They'll live for years after they stop laying, our oldest hen is probably 8 years old and hasn't laid an egg in the last 3 years.

Really? I also read (just to make things easier) that if you get a few chickens, then try to get a few more, the established ones don't take at all well to their new neighbours, cue much squawking, pecking etc. isn't life a bowl of cherries? :-)

eirator · 25-06-2013 4:56pm

silentrust wrote: »

Really? I also read (just to make things easier) that if you get a few chickens, then try to get a few more, the established ones don't take at all well to their new neighbours, cue much squawking, pecking etc. isn't life a bowl of cherries? :-)

Correct! Where do you think the expression "pecking order" came from. We have 3 groups of chickens outside all the time and they all have their own little territories.

eirator · 25-06-2013 5:31pm

Nice low tide today (full moon a couple of nights back) so took a walk on the beach and had the camera out taking some shots from the beach inland. Also had my binoculars out and thought I might as well photograph the contents of my binocular bag which when I need it a lot I wear on my rucksack waist belt.

Its really a matter of I had a bag that was too big for the binoculars and stuffed as much stuff in with them while still leaving it easy to get at the binoculars. So there's ....

Bag - crumpler fat boy which has a small front pocket and a large velcroed belt loop
Then in the bottom of the main compartment is a box of wind proof matches double wrapped in plastic and a tin of vasaline for fire lighting
On top of that goes some cotton wool pads in a plastic bag again for fire lighting but main use is they cushion the binoculars.
Jammed in behind is the compass which needs replacing as its a cheap crap one that can't be relied on.
In the front pocket goes the wire saw (top right in plastic bag), fire steel with striker, mini gas lighter and a AAA cell Mag Lite.

If you are hungry the rock is covered in lava a seaweed that is used to make lava bread and nori for sushi. Quite edible if you just eat it picked off the rock but often a bit gritty.

Also spotted some seaweed spaghetti which is only exposed at really low tides not something you'd get fat on but another dietary variation if push comes to shove.

picture from http://www.seaweed.ie/descriptions/Himanthalia_elongata.php and recipe at http://sciencegallery.com/edible/place/carrot-sea-spaghetti-salad/ .

mawk · 28-06-2013 11:32am

I showed off some of the kit I have bought and made to a friend who had never thought about it but instantly saw the value. Especially some of the alcohol stoves as he lives in a halfway remote area that gets power cuts in bad weather.
Sowed a seed for someone else to take care of themselves in a common problem situation

eirator · 30-06-2013 10:34pm

Something small really but still something I feel its worth bothering with and that's working left handed.

I had a trailer load of scrap timber free from a neighbor to cut up and I cut half the wood right handed and half left handed. I'm not ambidextrous or anything but I think its worth being able to do most things with either hand in case.

Khannie · 01-07-2013 10:33am

eirator wrote: »

I had a trailer load of scrap timber free from a neighbor to cut up and I cut half the wood right handed and half left handed. I'm not ambidextrous or anything but I think its worth being able to do most things with either hand in case.

Agreed. It's tough to make the switch. Makes your brain go loo-laa. I did it with my mouse in work there a few years ago. Found it really exhausting.

Try brushing your teeth with your left hand. It is mad!

Khannie · 08-07-2013 10:08am

Went to a shooting range with a friend yesterday. Used a scoped .22 for the first time (the scope was the new part). Found it a little easy to be honest. The targets were apparently smaller than rabbit sized and 50 metres away. Didn't miss with my first 50 odd shots and then only when I got a bit bored and went for head shots (and I'm convinced that was because the scope was off.

).

Good learning and good fun though. A fine way to spend a Sunday morning.

I'd be interested in going back to shoot actual targets and see how I get on.

KrustyBurger · 08-07-2013 3:08pm

Khannie wrote: »

Try brushing your teeth with your left hand. It is mad!

Unless you're left-handed.

silentrust · 08-07-2013 4:01pm

Kindly asked for a wooden pallet round from the back of my local store so I can get on with the vertical garden. Am ambitiously planning on growing Butternut Squashes - we'll see how it pans out.

Sh1tbag OToole · 08-07-2013 9:43pm

Not quite today and that is an old pic from last week as most of the field is done now.

During the heady days of the celtic tiger it was popular to do the opposite conversion, keeping in mind potential future buyers of your house and to just drive to the shop more often for food but those days are well behind us now!

Great weather for it now also. It would be a nightmare if the soil and grass were any bit wetter

silentrust · 10-07-2013 4:41pm

Bought a washboard and plastic tub. In all the lists I drew up I never even thought about cleaning clothing!

wolfeye · 10-07-2013 6:45pm

I bought a few boxs of Daz laundry detergent for handwashing a while back,in case electricity supply or water supply was cut.

Does it make a difference than the laundry detergent for washing machines? No idea.Maybe suds formed quicker.

A pair of rubber gloves come in handy for for hand washing.
Remember i once used a laundry bar detergent in Asia.
It was so strong i woke up the next morning with alot of the skin on my hands peeling off.

silentrust · 10-07-2013 9:00pm

wolfeye wrote: »

I bought a few boxs of Daz laundry detergent for handwashing a while back,in case electricity supply or water supply was cut.

Does it make a difference than the laundry detergent for washing machines? No idea.Maybe suds formed quicker.

A pair of rubber gloves come in handy for for hand washing.
Remember i once used a laundry bar detergent in Asia.
It was so strong i woke up the next morning with alot of the skin on my hands peeling off.

I prefer the bar stuff although regular soap will do fine at a pinch - perhaps we should also invest in some rubber gloves? :-D

wolfeye · 11-07-2013 3:29pm

Got a 10 litre roll up water carrier today in Heatons for 6 euro.
Handy item to have.

Collapsible After Use
Non Leak On/Off Tap
Removable Tap For Easy Filling
Translucent Non Toxic PVC
Handle At Each End For Carrying And Support

It's the same as the one pictured below in amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CKRKMIQ/ref=dra_a_cs_lb_hn_it_P1400_1000?tag=dradis-21

Sh1tbag OToole · 16-07-2013 10:14pm

wolfeye wrote: »

Got a 10 litre roll up water carrier today in Heatons for 6 euro.
Handy item to have.
Collapsible After Use

Non Leak On/Off Tap

Removable Tap For Easy Filling

Translucent Non Toxic PVC

Handle At Each End For Carrying And Support

It's the same as the one pictured below in amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CKRKMIQ/ref=dra_a_cs_lb_hn_it_P1400_1000?tag=dradis-21

I just got a targetted ad in another forum on boards.ie for that exact item. Big brother in action!

wolfeye · 16-07-2013 10:35pm

Me too the following day after i posted that link for amazon !!!

Khannie · 16-07-2013 11:39pm

Ghostery. Browser add on. Should stop that to a large extent.

silentrust · 17-07-2013 8:11am

Khannie wrote: »

Ghostery. Browser add on. Should stop that to a large extent.

Don't forget the wonders of Adblock Plus too...! :-)

Sh1tbag OToole · 28-07-2013 5:10pm

Supercapacitor upgrade for my wind up radio ive had for years.

It works way better than when it only had two crappie NiMH cells powering it. You'd be winding it every 5 minutes and the cells couldnt really 'soak up' the current from the winder as good. Supercaps have a much longer shelflife than normal batteries.

The only disadvantage is if its left discharge completely, you could be winding for 5 minutes before there is a geek out of it

What did you do to prepare today?

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