Up until about 3 weeks ago when we had a week of sub-zero temps, our chickens were producing incredible quantities of eggs: 8-10 every day. It's really quite amazing to have this product you spend real money for at the grocery store just keep coming and coming and coming with so little effort. The chickens need food, water, shelter and to be cleaned up after and then dozens of eggs are there for the taking. Remarkable provision that has been designed in to the world.
At one point we had a subtle yet profound moment of connecting labor with produce. We were grumbling about having to refill the chickens' water over and over until we realized that the water we provide is going in to the yokes and whites of the eggs we will be eating over the winter. It's a "duh" moment in some ways, but also a small remarkable insight into how a farm works.
After the sub-zero week, the temperature has been much lower than previously. The egg production has dropped off considerably: now 2-3 eggs per day. The chickens don't seem to like snow much; they walk out into it to eat and drink the way a cat avoids getting its feet wet. Also at one point when it was -10 degrees, a few of the chickens combs were frosted so that the tips got discolored and floppy. It was unfortunate but the combs are healing and the chickens are still active and healthy.
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| Chickens are not sure about the snow... |
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| Just SOME of the eggs we have. Labeled with dates for storage. |
As previously reported, one of the other elements of the homestead life we are working on is learning about and using natural and herbal remedies. As part of this work we have made our first batch of tinctures. Tinctures are super-concentrated doses of herbal extracts that are used to deliver potent medicinal properties quickly. Tinctures may be, depending on the herb, taken by themselves (e.g., a few drops of Peppermint for an upset stomach) or may be mixed in order to target a group of symptoms (e.g. feverfew, valerian root and lavender for headaches). On the relative scale of herbal potency, tinctures are more potent than infusions, which are themselves more potent than teas. Tinctures are administered via dropper due to their strength and, though some herbs can be dropped directly onto the tongue, they are often added to hot water to dilute the taste and potency. Tinctures of some herbs are so potent that care should be taken in making, administering and even handling them.
Tinctures are made by placing a quantity of herbs (dried or fresh depending on the herb) into a jar and adding a solvent. In our case we used 80 proof vodka, although apple-cider vinegar can be used in order to avoid alcohol (though a tincture made from vinegar will not have as long of a shelf-life as one made from alcohol). This mixture is then left to steep for 4-6 weeks in a sunny location, shaken daily. As the pictures below illustrate, you then strain out the herbs in order to bottle the tincture. Note that the remaining herb mush is so concentrated that you should take care, and do your homework, before placing them into a compost pit even if the herbs are organic (and you really should only make tinctures, or any herbal medicine, from organic herbs since you would be concentrating the pesticides from non-organic herbs and your tincture would then have little resemblance to medicine). The herbal intensity and alcohol residue can kill the microbes in the compost.
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| Pouring and straining the steeped mixture |
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| Squeezing out the tincture |
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| Bottles should be either brown or cobalt glass to protect from sun damage |
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| Tinctures are administered with a dropper. Be sure to label well! |
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