Les Van Valkenburgh

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since Feb 03, 2017
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Recent posts by Les Van Valkenburgh

Carol Nelson wrote:I have two racks in my kitchen area, one over the wood cookstove and one over the island. I got those racks from Amazon and couldn't be happier with them. I also have a monster rack in the basement near another woodstove that holds the cast iron I'm not currently using. I think hanging racks are the way to go with cast iron.


Love those racks, Awesome!
7 years ago
We don't keep ours hung up, would like to, but old house with small kitchen, apparently 'back in the day' the kitchen wasn't as important for a big room as it is now.
We just stack them up and store in the oven. Yup, got to remember to take them out when preheating the oven, get pretty hot if you forget Lol!
They do not have to be oily, wipe them out under hot water, toss them on the burner to dry them out and put a thin layer of oil on them. I like to use just a few drops of oil and wipe it around when it's HOT with a coffee filter, paper towel sucks too much off IMHO.
7 years ago
Andrew, I live in the Catskills, my advice unless something prevents you from doing so, look further towards the western side, same nice mountains, and half the price with WAY more acreage. Those temps, maybe average, plan on planting zone 4, not 5, some of NY is five but not all. Can be pretty mild, 30s, 40s, maybe 20s...does get down to well below zero some years with 20-30 below zero windchill sometimes for months, happened three and four yrs ago so recent, last two yrs mild, well this yr so far. Snow fall can be more than you want to deal with extreme to barely any. Summer what few months we have of it can get 95+ brutal. Perennials, can't think of any as far as food, only fruit. Kale does well here even grows with snow on it, everything else grow and stockpile unless you have a heated greenhouse.
7 years ago

R Ranson wrote:

cockerel always wins,  



Not in my flock.  Hens usually take the rooster role.  Very few cocks can hold their own, most get henpecked and sent to the stewpot.


What breed do you have WOW!
I like to hatch my own, don't like relying on hatchery birds to replenish the flock, no way would I put up with that. I don't even like a aggressive cock, usually the product of hatchery stock also, they hatch for #s not for temperament, probably never even observe the birds. No nasty birds here.
7 years ago
I know this is a old thread but I'll comment anyway, beings it was the first 'permies' thread I read a couple yrs ago.
I agree with you Adam Klaus, Jersey Giants are a good breed of dual purpose chicken. I have found raising white giants the last couple yrs contrary to much that is said they actually eat less than the majority of breeds out there and I've had quite a few through the yrs. I think it's their slow metabolism, so calm and somewhat of a slower moving non-excitable breed. Have not found them to be 'hogs' at all, and they free range great and go farther than many other breeds I've had also.
I process any I don't need for breeding or don't plan on growing out (cut down on #s to save feed $$) around the time the cockerels start crowing, 12 weeks? Big birds but only about 3lbs dressed, still great tender meals though and plenty of meat on them just no where near their potential. At about 6-8 months they are huge, not mushy meat bricks like a CX but still lots of meat. Those legs, like turkey legs and very dark meat like turkey and still tender, the breast while not as plump as a CX there still is plenty of it cause it's so long and on a much bigger bird bone wise than a CX. Still pretty tender at older ages I think cause of they're not a run around like crazy breed, lumber around like dinosaurs.
The hens lay as well as any other dual breed I've had, and great in the winter with no supplemental light, super cold winters here.
7 years ago
Never heard of this roosters turn into hens, hens turn into roosters, have to look into it I guess.

Anytime you have just hens there will always be a 'boss hen' the whole 'pecking order'.  I've seen newly introduced young cockerels into all hen flocks, boss hen will fight that cockerel just like a rooster, she will submit though eventually, cockerel always wins, then back to a happy hen house with the cockerel in charge playing his role.

Hester Winterbourne, more likely your rescued hen was just what looked like a young pullet that was actually a immature cockerel. Some breeds it is hard to tell until they start crowing.

If you want to keep the boy, there is a product out there called the 'No-Crow Rooster Collar'. I have no experience with them but hear they work.

"collar designed to dramatically reduce both the volume and the frequency of crowing. It has been tested and adjusted for maximum, safety, comfort, and effectiveness" " The collar prevents roosters expelling the contents of their air sacs all at once, preventing them from unleashing a full-powered crow. While wearing the collar, they can still vocalize in all their normal ways--but the volume is limited. The collar is made to bend and flex with the rooster's neck so he can do everything he always does (eat, drink, dust bath, other vocalizations). It isn't tight enough to bother them, and it allows their necks total freedom and flexibility to expand."
7 years ago
Dollar store dry beans sprout pretty good. I get them at a regular dollar store, 1lb and 2lb bags for a buck. Pinto, kidney and white navy. Actually planted a lot with our corn this yr cause they sprouted so good for the chickens, grew great.
7 years ago
I just use the rubber bowls, bust the ice out. Nice thing of the rubber bowls is they don't flip them over, way back I just used cut off milk jugs, ice busts out also, eventually they get a hole, thin and cheap, but also cheap to replace. I actually have one coop of naked necks with a milk jug water bowl, left the handle on so I could attach it to the coop and they can't dump it Lol!
7 years ago
Anyone have  Haudenosaunee Skunk bean seeds?
[quote=Tam Deal]Air guns are probably the best thing out there for harvesting truly small game, like rabbits and squirrels, no noise, very little damage to meat, cheap to practice with.  Airguns can be highly accurate, while few are those who can truly call a shot on small game with a bow.  This means the arigun can be a more humane choice for small game.  [/quote]
New here, might take a little to figure this out.
I've hunted small game and big game by all sorts of means. Back when I had beagles I preferred a shotgun with a short smooth bore slug barrel, widest pattern or don't plan on eating the rabbits.
I a couple yrs ago started using a decent break action pellet rifle, completely up'd the ante on the 'focus' factor. Love them, hunting small game with a air rifle is the best for small game.  
7 years ago