Homemade Suet Cakes

Homemade Suet Cakes

October is one of my favorite months of the year. I love that the hustle and bustle of August and September have started to slow. Harvest time is finishing up, my garden is dormant and school routines have been established. The leaves are changing to beautiful yellows, oranges and reds. All around is a picture perfect view of nature.

At my home, we have had two nights in a row that temperatures dropped to freezing levels. Frost and ice have covered both the grass and my car’s windshield. Winter is on the horizon and this backyard chicken keeper is starting to get into the routine of preparing for the cold weather to come.

One of the ways that I help my Ladies get through the long Michigan winter is by preparing homemade suet blocks. The extra calories help the hens to stay warm. Beef tallow, suet,  is a great binder to hold together extra goodies such as cracked corn, sunflower seeds and millet.  These provide not only extra calories, but have nutritious value without any preservatives or added chemicals. The rendered beef tallow,  alone,  can be kept in a sealed mason jar in your basement, pantry or canning cupboard for up to a year, longer if kept in the refrigerator. The mixed up suet cakes can be kept in your refrigerator for up to a year before going rancid. If at any time, a rancid smell develops, please err on the side of caution and do not consume or feed it to any animal, dispose of the product immediately.

Things you will need:

Glass Jar (for holding the tallow)   

stock pot

1 Pound Beef Fat/Suet

¼  Cup of Black Oil Sunflowers

¼  Cup of Cracked Corn

¼ Cup of Corn Meal

½   Cup of Millet Bird Seed

Fine Mesh or Cheesecloth for straining

molds for the shape of suet cake you would like to make

Steps:

1. Begin by chopping your beef fat into small chunks. This makes rendering the fat quicker.
2. As your fat is rendered to liquid, scoop out any large pieces of crispy bits or cracklin as we call them.
3. While the fat is rendered, prepare your jars by sterilizing them in boiling water.
4. Pour into the warm, sterilized, jar using a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth to catch any left behind bits.
5. Allow the Tallow to cool. Mixing your hot tallow with your seeds would cook the the ingredients.
6. Once the tallow has cooled to room temperature, before it solidifies, mix your ingredients together.
7. Place in molds and allow to cool and harden. The corn meal and cooled tallow will begin to thicken quickly, but to get fully hard I let them set overnight. You can place them into the refrigerator to cool more quickly.
8. To serve to your birds, place in a suet cage or serve in a feed bowl. Store the remaining cakes in the refrigerator, wrapped in wax paper and placed inside a storage baggie.

 This is a basic recipe for making beef tallow as well as homemade suet for your birds to enjoy. I use these during Fall Molts and through out the winter to give my Ladies a booster of calories. Once you are comfortable working with tallow, you can add different things to your suet cakes. 

Peanut butter, dried fruits, are all appreciated additions that your flock is sure to love. I feed these during the day and remove them from the chicken area at night. I have had good luck so far with night time predators, but do not like to encourage them by leaving food out at night.
 
 
http://www.communitychickens.com/homemade-suet-cakes/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=CC%20eNews&utm_campaign=2014.10.14%20CC%20eNews

 

Winter Lighting For Your Chickens

 

Egg production tapers off when hens don't catch enough rays, which explains why many flocks stop producing completely in winter. 

A little mood lighting inside their coop, however, can help compensate for the shorter days. Just be sure to select bulbs that cast a warm glow—as the chandelier shown here does—since bluish-white light won't trigger laying.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20712574_21354981,00.html

Who ever thought about keeping chickens as backyard pets had a dumb idea. This is more like it.
 
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Modern Cats

 

You can purchase prints and posters of these timeless illustrations at CharleyHarperArtStudio.com

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Designer Cat Hideaway from Lord Paw Pets

October 12, 2014 by hauspanther

These elegant wire structures are both modern sculpture and kitty hideaway. Handcrafted by Martin Zapata from Colombia, some designs rest on wooden legs while others are suspended from the ceiling. Each structure has a luxurious faux fur pillow inside.

The wire form would give kitty a sense of being inside the hideaway, while still allowing a 360 view of her surroundings. I would like the design even better if it had two entrances, one in front and one in the back.

The globe beds come in several metallic finishes and are currently available from the Lord Paw Pets Etsy shop. They don’t have any of the hanging structures currently listed, but you could always contact the seller if you’re interested in one of those designs.

Found on: http://www.hauspanther.com/2014/10/12/designer-cat-hideaway-from-lord-paw-pets/

Getting Ready for Winter

 

Getting Ready for Winter

 Jennie E.

We prepare the car and the house for the coming winter season but we also need to get the chicken coop ready too. Luckily, chickens handle the cold better than we humans but they still need some protection. And don’t think that they don’t appreciate it, because they do, a well tended chicken will reward you by producing better year round.

Dominique Rooster and Black Star Rooster

“When you’ve finished cleaning – take a picture because it won’t look this great again until Spring!”

The first order of business is a good fall coop cleaning. Empty the nests and sweep or shovel out the coop. Don’t forget to compost all that great fertilizer and old hay. Grab the steel wool, a bucket (or the power washer) and the vinegar. Use a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water. Start from the top and work down cleaning all the surfaces as you go. If you want to whitewash, this is the time. When you’ve finished cleaning – take a picture because it won’t look this great again until Spring!

Coop Security/Insulation Check

As you clean look for holes, cracks or crevices where the winter winds can come blowing in. Fill those holes with caulking or cover them with a board. If your coop isn’t already insulated you might want to do that too. Just make sure that you don’t leave any of the insulation where the chickens can peck at it because they will eat it up and it’s definitely not good for them. If the coop is a dirt floor check for holes caused by predators or erosion along the outside walls and seal them up.

Feathered Friends

“DTE kills lice and other bugs, deter’s mice and the added bonus… it works as a dewormer if they eat it!”

There has to be a vent of some sort in order to keep the moisture/humidity down in the coop. This can be achieved by installing a roof vent, a side wall vent or leaving an opening in the winterizing material that you use.

Once you’ve finished the cleaning then sprinkle powdered lime and Diatomaceous Earth (DTE) throughout the coop. Powdered lime does wonders in reducing the “aroma” of coop. The DTE kills lice and other bugs, deter’s mice and the added bonus… it works as a dewormer if they eat it!
Now your ready to add new straw or, if you live in a humid climate, add wood shavings to help reduce the chance of frostbite, refill the waterers and throw the girls some scratch for their patience.

If your winterizing includes adding plastic or tarps be sure to use at least 3 mil thick to ensure that it’s strong enough to hold heat and to survive wind and ice.

Heating For Hens

It’s not time yet to heat the coop but it is time to start thinking about how you’re going to do that. Since chickens acclimate well to the cold, you don’t need to provide heat until the temps are down in 20’s. Two great ways to heat are with a 75 watt black incandescent light that is available at most animal supply stores and home improvement stores or an oil filled radiator heater. Unless you have a very large coop or sustained temperatures below -0 the black incandescent should be sufficient. If you want efficiency with your heating, install a dimmer switch for the incandescent bulb. If you use an oil filled radiator be sure to keep it away from the chickens with a cover over it that will allow proper functioning but will not allow the chickens to touch it.

Winter Water Works

Another area of major importance is how your chickens will have water during freezing weather. You might opt to do the ‘bucket carry’ method by carrying two buckets, one with fresh water and the second to pour the old water into. Adding a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar (ACV) to each gallon of water will keep the water from freezing a little longer. You can also install a watering system with a built in heater like the ones used for dogs and cats. Just be sure the wires are not exposed. If you have a water faucet spigot in the coop be sure it is well insulated.

There are some special precautions you can take if you live in really cold climates, areas that receive lots of snow or areas with brief deep freezes. Some of these include covering your chickens combs and waddles with an oily substance like petroleum jelly or vegetable oil. Keep walking paths shoveled for them so that they don’t get frostbite caused by walking in the deep snow.

See the above pictures of my “operation”. I have 42 layers and too many roosters right now. Plus I keep a dozen bantam/game hens and 7 guineas who are not housed in the “big house” as we call it. I live in central Texas so it’s still a little early for winterizing but I did do my fall cleaning this week and made out my “honey-do” list for the hubby.

 http://www.fowlblog.com/2014/10/getting-ready-for-winter/?utm_source=Winter+Blog+Campaign&utm_campaign=Winter+Blog+Campaign&utm_medium=email




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