Our Super Cheap and Easy Chicken Coop

The last time I wrote a post about our chickens was how we were building a cheap fence for them and temporarily moving them into a converted doghouse until we had time to build something more permanent as well as larger. 

Several months ago before the cold weather really set in we finally got around to making them something. It took a bit of head scratching and to be honest some good natured arguing to come up with a plan that was not only cheap, but met the cities requirements for housing chickens in city limits. 

We knew we didn't want to invest a ton of money into the project, but we still wanted something that would protect them from the elements. 

Our solution was to convert part of our current shed into a makeshift chicken coop. The girls have been in it for around 2 months now and they love it. We love it as well because it is easy to access the eggs and did not take up anymore space in our yard. 

One of our biggest dilemmas was how to cheaply make nesting boxes that would fit in the shed. I watch watching some youtube videos by Becky's Homestead when I saw her describe these nest boxes. (If you need some beginner homestead tips check out Becky's youtube channel. Her voice is really annoying, but she has some good advice)

The idea could not be easier. All I had to do was buy 3 storage totes at Walmart and cut a chicken size hole it in. 

The above picture is of the girls getting acquainted with the new boxes. They were quite curious. At the time I only knew of one chicken that was laying. That's probably her getting ready to head in.  

The reason I love these boxes so much is that all you have to do is lift the lid off and get your eggs. I was so excited about discovering this super simple nest box. And the chickens LOVE it!

The next step was to figure out how to divide the inside of the shed into a storage side as well as a chicken side and still be able to access both sides without disturbing the other side. 

Our solution was to use more of the bamboo poles we had left over from building the chicken fence and make one inside the shed. 

To build the divider we zip tied 4 poles to the frame of the shed ceiling and then zip tied the chicken wire to the poles to create a fence. 

Have I ever told you how much I love zip ties? They are useful for so many things. Lately I have been using them to keep the 1 yr old I babysit out of my kitchen cabinets. 

We left enough room at the bottom to allow the next boxes to slide underneath. 

With the bottom of the fence open we can pull the nest boxes out and slide the pole over to the side if we need to access the chicken side to clean or feed. 

I am sure you can see there are some gaps between the boxes. The chickens are a bit too  large to fit through them, but to be sure we blocked them off with items stores in the shed such as the bag of peat moss in the photo. 

Now that it is winter I have taken out the wood chips and put in lots of hay for them to build nests and sleep in at night. I am anxious to scoop everything off the floor of the coop in the spring to add to the garden as compost. 

I am a bit concerned about how the concrete floor of the shed will hold up to having chicken poo and hay on it all the time. Hopefully it will be ok. 

The last step was to add a door for the chickens. We built the interior fence so that it does not interfere with the sheds door, but that also meant the chickens could not get in. 

This step made us cringe a bit, but the only solution we could come up with was to cut a hole in the side of the shed. We looked at adding a doggy door that we could close up at night, but that was too expensive. Instead we can just stick a large board in front of it at night for now. 

In total I think the only thing I had to buy was the hay and storage boxes. Everything else we already had. I think with the supplies we bought I spend around $25-$30! That is so much better then the cheaply built coops we were looking at that were in the $300-400 range. 

There you have it folks, a cheap and useful coop.

How To Make Pumpkin Puree

If you still have pumpkins laying around from your fall decor don't toss them out! You can turn them into delicious homemade pumpkin puree. It is a lot easier then you might think. 

After Halloween I was able to pick up 15 pie pumpkins for $1 each!! We used most of them for my son's birthday party as an activity, but the rest I am planning to cook. 

Also, one of the local plant nurseries was giving away the last of their pumpkins for FREE after Thanksgiving this year. I was tempted to stop by and get some more, but I knew I already had more then I could probably handle getting processed this year.

It is likely too late to find these deals now that it is December, but hopefully you will remember this tip for next year so you can stock up.

We decided this year to paint all our pumpkins instead of carving them so that we could use them later to make pumpkin puree. 

In the last few years it has been so irritating to me to carve the pumpkins, watch them rot and then either toss them in the trash or the compost. I felt like we were throwing away money. 

Start by putting your pumpkin in the sink so you can scrub all the paint off. 

To do this I got some steal wool soap pads and gloves and went to work. It came off easier then I expected, but it still required quite a bit of elbow grease. 

Please excuse my messy sink. I would have cleaned it before taking pictures, but I wasn't planning on doing this post. I decided to take pictures after I had already started. 

I have 4 kids and watch another 3 for several hours in the mornings. Who has time to scrub sinks.

For this next step there are differing opinions on how it should be done. Some people prefer to cut the pumpkins open and scoop seeds out before cooking. Others peel and chop theirs before cooking.

I have to admit that I am a bit lazy sometimes. I hate trying to cut through a rock hard squash. I prefer to make some slits in the pumpkin with a knife and then toss the whole thing in the oven. 

Make sure you put a cookie sheet underneath them on the next rack to catch drips. 

I usually cook mine at 350 degrees for about an hour. I then test with a knife to see if they are fully cooked. If you can easily slip the knife to the center of the pumpkin they are done. 

After the pumpkins have cooked and completely cooled I take a knife and cut the tops off and scoop out the seeds. 

If you have chickens make sure you save the seeds for them. They LOVE them. If not you can roast them and have a delicious snack for your family. 

After the guts are out I slice the pumpkins in four pieces and peel them.

If you have a Vitamix this next step will be a lot easier, but any good blender or food processor will do. Start adding slices to your blender and enough water to make a smooth puree. 

Keep doing this until you have finished all your pumpkins. 

After each blender full is finished I transfer it to a big bowl and keep going until everything is done. 

I have figured out that each can of pumpkin puree you can buy at the store has approximately 2 cups per can so I decided to use a 1 cup measuring spoon as a scoop. 

I scooped 2 cups of puree per bag and then laid them out flat in a pan to transfer to the freezer later. 

Here is a picture of the finished product. (Plus some bags of black beans I cooked that day) I forget how much is there, but from the 3 pumpkins I cooked that day I think there was around 8 or 9 bags full or 16-18 cups of pumpkin puree!!

When you stick the bags in the freezer make sure they are laying flat. It will make them a lot easier to store once they are frozen. 

I did the math...if I had bought 9 cans of organic pumpkin at the store I would have spent around $27. I think the pumpkins we bought were around $2.50 each. I cooked 2 pumpkins for a total of $7.50. That is nearly a $20 savings! 

I think that is definitely worth the extra time spent processing them. 

I wish I could say that I know of a safe way to can pumpkin, but due to their low acid content they are not safe to can. You are better off freezing the puree or leaving the pumpkins whole and stored in a cool, dry place until you are ready to use them. 

Now to go look up some yummy pumpkin recipes.

DIY Whipped Chamomile & Lavender Lotion

I was playing around with recipes for a handmade swap I am participating in this month. I made this lotion thinking I would use it for the swap, but the recipe ended up not making enough for the five gifts I needed. Plus I was out of the ingredients needed for it so I decided to keep it for myself. I LOVE how it turned out. This lotion is so soothing and made my skin feel soft and smooth.

Unfortunately since this was an experimental recipe I did not get pictures of the process to do a proper tutorial, but I thought I would at least share the recipe anyway.

To make this recipe you will have to start a few days before you need it. Start by filling a jar about 1/4-1/2 full with dried chamomile flowers. Then fill the jar with you choice of oil. I used olive oil since that is what I had on hand, but any kind of liquid oil will work.

Next you can choose to let the oil sit for several weeks to infuse the chamomile into it or you can speed up the process by placing the jar into a pot of boiling water to make a double boiler. Let the oil heat for up to 2 hours. Then let the oil sit until it is cool. It is ready to use now, but the longer you let it sit the better.

To make the lotion you will need...

1/2 cup chamomile infused oil
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup beeswax
10 drops lavender essential oil

In a jar place the chamomile oil, coconut oil and beeswax and then place the jar in a pot of boiling water. Let all the oils and wax melt together until it is liquid.

Take the jar out of the water and let it cool slightly. At this point you can add the lavender essential oil.

Once the lotion has cooled completely you can use it as is or you can whip it with a mixer. I chose to whip it for a couple of minutes to give it a light texture.

This lotion is great for soothing irritated, dry skin and is safe to use on children.


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Busy Days On The Homestead

I realized today it has been over 2 weeks since I have posted on here. I am still here it has just been SO busy around here. The garden is producing so there has been tons of preserving going on.

My in-laws went out of town for a week and asked us to keep an eye in their large garden. We were told that if we would water it and keep an eye on things any produce we picked we could keep. Oh my! I had no idea how much I would be getting. We go over every other day to pick tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers. cantaloupe and blackberries. Hopefully their corn will be ready soon.

I keep telling myself not to complain about the work because we have been given a gift of free food that someone else put the work into growing. I seem to go through this every year about this time. I have about had enough of the garden and the heat. There is produce falling off every counter in my kitchen. I have to constantly remind myself what a blessing this is. There are others who would love to be in my place and would gladly do the work.

I have been canning nearly everyday trying to keep up with the tomatoes before they go bad. This is not an easy feat when you have 4 little ones around needing attention on top of the regular daily chores. I do not know how Ma Ingalls managed. That poor woman must have been exhausted all the time. I know I have never been so tired and I have modern conveniences to help me.

I love my children, but I can hardly wait for school to start in 2 weeks so I can get some things accomplished. I know I will miss them, but for the moment I am ready for them to be busy elsewhere. There are days I can not figure out how I used to do all this and homeschool. I guess I had a different rhythm back then. It seems that ever since I put the kids in public school they no longer know how how to entertain themselves. They seem to need someone to tell them what to do every minute of the day. They are doing better now that summer is almost over.

I have lots of posts planned, so don't go anywhere. I will post as I have time during this busy season. I should have lots of time this winter once the garden is done. Hopefully in the next week or so I will be able to give you our August garden update. 

Some Of My Favorite Homesteading Books

I have read lots of books and blogs on homesteading, but these 3 are my current favorites.  Ok, I realize that Mother Earth News is not technically a book, but you know what I mean.

Some of my favorite book:

Mother Earth New Magazine

Mother Earth News is such a fun magazine if you area at all into gardening, homesteading, or country living. Each issue has something for everyone. I find myself getting so excited every time a new issue comes in the mail. It is so sad that I can't wait for the kids to go to bed that night so I can dig in. 

If you decide to buy any of the Mother Earth News magazines you will get a better bang for your buck if you go ahead and buy a 1 yr subscription. If you buy just one magazine at the store you will spend $6, but if you get a subscription you get 6 issues for a total of $12! 

The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre!

The Backyard Homestead is one of the books that gave me the homesteading bug. It is an excellent source for beginners. The great thing about this book is that it has info for homesteaders no matter how much land you have. I particularly liked the photo in the book (pictured below) of how you can set up a working farm on as little as a quarter of an acre. The yard in the picture is laid out a lot like mine. I am hoping to someday have all the things in the picture actually up and running. 

The Backyard Homestead has chapters to help you get started with garden layout, animal care and preserving. If you are looking for a great beginner book this is the one I would recommend. 


The Five-Year Guide to Self-Sufficiency: Simple Living Made Simpler

My third current favorite book is the Five-Year Guide to Self-Sufficiency. This is not really one I have read cover to cover, but have used it more as a reference guide. Since it is meant to be used over a five year time period. 

The chapters are broken up into how and what to concentrate on each year for 5 years to help you be successful on your homestead adventure. 

I love that it starts out very slow and reminds you not to take on too much at one time. It will walk you step by step through deciding what land to buy and what to look for when purchasing your land. 

I have to say my favorite part of this book is that it recommends as your first step to homesteading is getting our of debt. Ugh. Unfortunately we are still working on that one. At least we are not taking on anymore. 

What are some of your favorite homesteading books?

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Delicious Summertime Watermelon Slush!

Watermelon slushies are some of my families favorite summertime treats. I am one of those really weird people who really don't care for watermelon, or any melon for that matter. I know it's not normal to dislike melon, but I LOVE these slushes. They are so nice on a hot summer day. Not to mention they are really quick and easy to make. 

Watermelon Slushes

2 large handfuls of ice

2 -3 cups watermelon

2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

2 tablespoon sugar (or more to taste)

Throw everything in the blender and blend until smooth. Thats it! Now you have a cold summertime treat that your kids will love. Even better no food dyes.

How To Braid Garlic

I have to start this post by apologizing for my less then stellar photos....not that my usual ones are all that great. These just seem to be much worse then usual. One of these days I will be able to invest in a better camera, but or now my camera phone will have to do. Thanks for sticking around     anyway.

I have always been intrigues by beautiful braids of dried garlic so I decided that this year I would have to learn how to do it. It really was not nearly as hard as I had expected it to be.  Basically if  you can braid a simple braid you can do this.

Before you braid your garlic you need to make sure it is completely cured. Mine has been sitting in my garage for about a month now and was nice and dry.

To get started take 3 garlic stalks and lay them next to each other. 

Start braiding them just like a normal braid.

After you have the braid started you will then add a new garlic stalk to each of the 3 you already have in the braid. At this point you should have 6 garlic bulbs.

Keep doing the same thing until you have used up all your garlic or you think the braid is large enough.

Remember to keep adding the garlic bulbs in multiples of 3. My poor garlic is so ugly. I could not get all the dirt off no matter how hard I tried. It was cemented on and I did not want to break any of the bulbs.

After all your garlic has been added to the braid you just keep braiding the rest of the stalk all the way up to finish it off. I used a piece of twine to tie off the top and to use as a loop for hanging.

Hopefully by now you have a nicely braided bundle of garlic to store for later use. I am for sure going to have to grow LOTS more garlic next year now that I know how easy it is to grow, cure and store. Especially since we eat so much garlic around here.

From Garden To Table: Garden Pasta Salad

I thought I would do a little followup on a picture I posted to my facebook page last night that was very popular.

I often see pictures of gorgeous produce that people pick from their gardens and wonder what they are planning to make with it. I love recipes and can always use some fresh ideas. 

Last night I was too hot and tired to bother cooking what I had on the menu plan. I decided to opt for a quick pasta salad. That way all I had to cook was the pasta and chop a few veggies. That seemed doable. 

After cooking the pasta I took a cucumber, sweet basil, purple basil and some green onions from this basket and turned them into dinner. I only wish the tomatoes had been ripe. They would have been so good in this.

It was so simple and only took a couple of minutes. I also decided to make some smoothies with some frozen fruit I had to help cool everyone off. Shh don't tell the kids I snuck some cucumber into their smoothies. They never said a word.

Garden Pasta Salad

1/2 box cooked pasta

1 chopped and peeled cucumber

1 handful sweet basil

1 handful purple basil

3 chopped green onions

Fresh shredded asiago cheese (Parmesan would also work)

2 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

pinch crushed red pepper

1 clove garlic

Basically you can toss any fresh, raw veggies you might have and any spices that you like. Be creative.

If I can stand the heat in the kitchen today I think I will make some bread for the kiddos with the extra zucchini. 

All Natural Bee And Wasp Sting Treatment That Works!

Last summer both my mom and daughter ended up with nasty wasp stings. I used this treatment on both of them and within minutes they both saw relief.

My daughter got stung right on the face near her ear. She does not handle pain well so I was excited to see how quickly she felt better.

This treatment is simple and only uses natural ingredients. If you haven't noticed yet I use a lot of lavender oil around here. It seems to be my go to when one of the kids has a skin issue.

Ok, here we go...

You will need some bentonite clay and lavender oil for this treatment. As well as some sort of gauze and wrap to hold everything on. Whatever you have on hand should work.

To start with take about a tablespoon or so of the bentonite clay and mix it in a small bowl until you get a thick paste. You want it to be able to stick to the skin.

Next you want to apply one drop of lavender oil directly on the sting. Check to make sure the stinger is out. If it is still there this treatment will help, but it will continue to hurt until the stinger is removed. If the stinger is still in it will continue to deliver poison to the wound causing pain.

After you are sure the stinger is out and you have applied the lavender oil take a small spoonful of the bentonite clay mixture and place it on the sting.

My daughter could not figure out why I was putting mud on her. She thought it was a little weird, but I didn't hear any complaining once she figured out it worked.

After you have the oil and clay in place you want to keep it there. The best way I have found to do this is to cover the sting with some gauze.

Next you want to hold the gauze in place. I happened to have some medical tape so I used it to tape the gauze on. An ace bandage would work as well.

After you have everything in place allow it to sit for an hour or so. You can replace the clay as needed until the pain is gone. In my experience we have only had to maybe replace everything once. My mom's sting took a day or so to heal because we did not notice the stinger was still in her finger. Once the swelling went down we were able to scrape it out and reapply the oil and mud and it was better within 24 hours.

Please remember that I am not a doctor, just a mom sharing what has worked for me. If you notice any excessive swelling or redness please discontinue this treatment and see a doctor. Especially if you think you may be having an allergic reaction to a sting.

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Homemade Strawberry Jam

I wasn't able to grow any berries this year, but I was able to find a great deal on some strawberries. So I decided this would be a great time to stock up and make some delicious strawberry jam to store for later.

I am not an expert on canning, but I have made jam, applesauce, pear butter, and pickles before. Basically anything that can be water bath canned I am ok with doing. If you need more info from an expert on canning You Pick You Own is a website that has TONS of info on how to can just about everything you can think of. They also have a huge list of you pick farms in every state.

The recipe I use is one I found in a Ball Canning cookbook that I bought several years ago. If you have never tried canning before don't let it intimidate you. Water bath canning is really not as difficult as it looks. One of these days I am going to get brave enough to give pressure canning a try...that is if I can find someone to give me a lesson or two before I invest in a pressure canner.

Here is my recipe for homemade jam along with a step by step picture tutorial.

Strawberry Jam

2 quarts washed and hulled berries

3 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 package pectin

 The first thing you need to do when starting strawberry jam is to take the tops off of about 2 quarts of berries and wash them thoroughly. 

Set the fruit aside and get your canning supplies ready. 

 These next steps are very important to make sure you have sterile equipment to work with. When canning you want to make sure everything you work with is clean so you don't end up with things growing in your preserved food that could make you sick.

I start with a large canner filled with water and set it on the stove to boil. This can take a while since you have such a large amount of water to boil. Make sure to start this step first.

I use a 21.5 qt canner that you can find at Amazon, Walmart or just about anywhere you can buy canning supplies.

Next you need to get out a jar funnel, jar grabber and a magnetic lid lifter. Make sure these are clean as well.

I decided to go with small jelly jars this time around. It is very important that the jars are sterile and remain hot until you are ready to fill them. There is nothing worse then getting your jam ready to put in jars and then having a jar break because it was not hot enough when you put in the hot jam.

Some people like to put there jars in the dishwasher to sterilize them, but that method makes me nervous. I prefer to boil them for at least 10 minutes to make good and sure they are clean and stay hot.

Fill the jar rack that comes with your canner with empty jar and put them in the canner once the water is boiling and let them boil for 10 minutes. Try to do this as close as possible to the time when your jam is ready to fill the jars so they are still hot.

You also need to make sure your lids are sterile and warm. I do this by putting them in a pot of very hot, but not boiling water. You don't want the water to boil because it could cause the seals on the flats to not work properly. Leave them in the water until you are ready to use them.

Oops I took this picture sideways and can't get it flipped, but you get the idea.

The next step is to get your strawberries, water and sugar into a large stock pot. Some people leave their berries whole and crush them once they are in the pot. I am lazy and just stick mine in my vitamix to crush them. My kids do not care for chunky jam so it is easier to make sure it is pureed.

Mix the sugar and berries together and let them come to a full boil. Make sure you keep stirring so the mixture doesn't burn.

Boil for 1 full minute.

Next add your pectin and keep boiling for another full minute.

Make sure to keep stirring. It would be terrible to end up with a burnt taste in your jam.

Your jam is ready to go into jars when it starts to gel. One way to check and see if it is ready is to dip a spoon in the pot and then pop it into the freezer. If it comes out after about a minute and has gelled it is ready to go.

For some reason this round of jam never did gel. I finally gave up and made strawberry syrup sort of jam like substance. It still tasted great and worked on toast. I wonder if I put too many berries in. Oh well, we will still eat it.

 Once you are sure the jam is ready to go start ladling it into your pre-sterilized, still hot jars.

Keep going until you have filled all your jars. I think this made about 7 small jelly jars full.

Fill each jar leaving 1/4 inch of head space in each jar. If you buy a canning kit there should be a tool to help you measure this. I don't currently have one so I had to eyeball it. I guess I need to get one.

I failed to get a picture, but make sure you run a damp rag around the edge of your jar after filling to make sure there is nothing spilled on it. If they are dirty or chipped the jars will not seal and can cause botulism to grow in your food.

After you are sure the jars are clean take your wand and pick up a flat from the water and place one on each jar.

Next take a rind and place it on each jar. Tighten it slightly, but not too tight.

After your jars are filled and the lids are on place them in the basket and into the boiling water. BE CAREFUL. The jars and water are very hot and burn. Ask me how I know.

Boil your jam for 10 minutes.

After the jars have boiled for 10 minutes remove them from the water and use your jar grabber to take each jar out of the basket and carefully place them on a towel. Jars will be extremely hot and can still break at this point.

Leave the jars alone until they have completely cooled.

If everything goes well you should start hearing popping sounds. This is a good thing. It means your jars are sealing. You can test them with your finger. If they don't bounce back it means they have sealed.

I did have one not seal this time. It was my own silly fault. I accidentally put 2 flats on the jar without noticing. Since this jar did not seal we had it with dinner. It is not safe to reboil a jar if it does not seal. The seal on the flat may be bad. The best thing to do is to put the jar in the fridge and eat it soon or reboil the jam and start again with a fresh flat.

I rarely have jars that don't seal.

After everything has cooled you can remove the rings so they don't rust shut. Make sure you label what is in your jars and the date.

This process really doesn't take as long as it looks like it does. You will feel so good knowing that the jam you are serving was homemade. They also make great gifts.

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