No Eggs? Try Golfballs!

On the car ride home from picking up our quails they had laid three eggs on the floor of the dog crate they were in by the time Kevin had pulled in the driveway! We had read that quails weren't picky about where they laid, but were so excited to see them!  Yesterday we were like two little kids checking their box every so often waiting for more.  We waited and waited and checked and checked, but by late afternoon, not a single egg had shown up. A little bummed out, we expressed our concern and disappointment to our neighbor, who just so happens to be my wonderful brother in law, and he suggested we put a golfball in their coop. I thought it was a bit silly but we just so happened to have an old chewed up golfball in the yard, and decided it couldn't hurt. We put the golfball in the coop with the quails, and within 20 minutes we had eggs! I couldn't believe it!

With a little bit of research and some feedback from our awesome Facebook fans, it's seems as though this is a commonly used trick to get your girls to lay eggs. Not only does it help promote egg laying, if you have girls that seem to lay their eggs all over the place and you would like to train them to lay in a specific spot, like you know....the nest boxes that you took the time to build them, throwing in a few golf balls seems to do the trick here as well.  Good things to know I would say! :)

One of our coturnix quails standing guard of the eggs...err golfball and eggs. 

Our golfball.  Isn't it a beauty!? LOL


While you're here, why don't you pick up a few for your girls?! 

Strawberry Tops

Reese had left us a comment in our "Happy Hen Treat Giveaway" post that her chickens favorite treat was the greens from the tops of strawberries.  Tonight after my son downed an entire pint of them, I brought the tops out to the girls to see how they would like them and this was their reaction.  A whole lotta staring.  HAH!!! After dinner I'll go out and check to see if they ate them and i'll post an update.

Update on the dogs

Beckman and Bettie have been getting along great. At her last visit, Bettie has gained 2 pounds! The vet says she will probably max out at about 8 pounds.

As I predicted would happen, her crate training lasted only a few days and she now sleeps in bed with Emily and I. She absolutely loves sleeping under the covers.

Sun Tea (Kevin's Recipe)

Nothing beats a refreshing glass of iced tea after a day working outside in the garden. Here's my recipe:

Fill a clean pitcher (with a lid) almost all the way full with filtered cold water. Do not use hot water, as your water heater may have sediment at the bottom leaving a less than desirable taste.

Place 2 black tea bags and one Passion fruit tea bag into the pitcher leaving the tags hang out for easier removal.

Add sugar to taste. I like it sweet, so I put in at least 1 1/2 cups of sugar in the raw.

Add a pinch of baking soda and put the lid on the pitcher. This helps to rid the mixture of any bitterness.

Place in the direct sunlight for a minimum of 4 hours, and longer if you like the tea stronger. Remove the bags, fill a tall glass with ice add a mint leaf from the garden, fill and ENJOY!

*****If you have a different recipe, please share!!!!!

How to remove urine stains from a mattress

I know, it's kind of gross. But lets be honest here, everyone who has had a child knows that they pee in their beds (and ours).  When we bought our new house we also bought a brand new mattress, which four years and two babies later has seen it's better days.  Changing the sheets makes me cringe and I have always dreaded the day when we will have to kick it to the curb because the thought of someone seeing it is just embarrassing! Some of us get smart and buy mattress pads, but for those of you who never did, or maybe did but it was far too late, this concoction will absolutely BLOW YOUR MIND!  It's so simple, easy and it takes almost no effort at all and it actually works MIRACLES.  I am so kicking myself in the butt right now for not taking before and afters!!

Here's what you will need:

• measuring cup
• empty spray bottle
• 10 oz hydrogen peroxide
• drop of dish soap 
• 2-3 tbs baking soda

Here's what to do:

1. Measure out your 10oz of hydrogen peroxide in the measuring cup 
2. Add your 3tbs of baking soda to the hydrogen peroxide and mix until dissolved 
3. Pour the mixture into your spray bottle and add a drop of the dish soap
4. Shake and spray, spray, spray!!

Additional Notes:

I let the spray set in for about an hour with the ceiling fan going on high.  When I came back the stains were gone.  I didn't even touch it.



UPDATE:
This recipe has saved us on so many occasions, however like others have pointed out the mixture does have a tendency to get clogged in the spray bottle.  I have graduated to sprinkling the baking soda directly onto the mattress and spraying the soap and hydrogen peroxide mixture directly onto the mattress.  I rub it a little with a rag and vacuum when it has dried.  A little messier than the original recipe, however a lot less frustration with the clogged bottle!! 

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Happy Hen Treats Giveaway

Enter For Your Chance to Win This 10oz Tub of Happy Hen Meal Worm Frenzy! 

To Enter:

1. Like us on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/OurLittleCoop

2.  Once you like us on Facebook, look just under our banner picture to find the picture above.  Click on it and fill our the official entry form.  The direct link is https://www.facebook.com/OurLittleCoop?v=app_197602066931325

3.  Leave us a comment below telling us what your chickens favorite treat is or why you love Our Little Coop!


CONTEST ENDS 6/8/12 at Midnight

The Prize:

Mealworm Frenzy  (10 oz)

Spoil your chickens with the tasty all-natural mealworms found in Happy Hen Treats™ Mealworm Frenzy™.

-The world's first line of treats specifically made for chickens
-Offer chickens the taste they love without the inconvenience of live worms
- Resealable zip top bag for freshness and easy storage

Ingredients:
100% natural whole-dried mealworms.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min.) 56.58%, Crude Fat (min.) 18.0%, Crude Fiber (max.) 7.2%, Moisture (max.) 5.0%.

For more information about this and other products visit: www.happyhentreats.com

If you can't take the heat... neither can your peeps!

As summer begins to settle in,  Our Little Coop is typically missing its man of the house.  As many of you know, I work for myself as an HVAC service provider.  For those of you that are new here, the name of my company is Thermo Green, Inc. HVAC. I usually find myself away from home on average of anywhere between 8-16 hours a day, leaving our free-range chickens and dogs to fend for themselves.

The few precautions I usually take to make sure everyone will be ok during the day always pay off.  The most critical of all, is to ensure everyone has access to plenty of fresh water and shade from the sun.  Every morning I rinse/ refill 3 drinking containers and a large dog bowl with a combo of water and Kent VITA-PAK.  The VITA-PAK can be found at most feed stores or online.  I do not worry about the dogs drinking the chicken water or visa versa because they all get this combination.  The Kent is nothing more than extra vitamins and electrolytes which are critical as the mercury climbs.

To provide shade,  we have 2 large silver maples on our property as well as many ornamental grasses that are alone our property line.  At least half of our yard at any given time is shaded.  Additional shade can be provided with the use of anything that would totally block out the sun, like a piece of plywood or even a bed sheet draped over a clothes line. STAY COOL! ~ Kevin

Update ***** How to make the waterer pictured:

Kevin has fallen behind but is going to post a more detailed version. Basically what you do is take a clean 5 gallon bucket and drill a few 1/4" holes around the top (opening) of the bucket about 2 inches down. Find a pan that has sides that are at least 3-4 inches high. Fill up the bucket, place the pan over the top, and carefully flip the whole thing upside down. The water will fill the pan up to the holes that you drilled, and will maintain a constant height there. Hope this helps!? Stay tuned for the more detailed version. :-)

Mulligatawny Soup Recipe

• MULLIGATAWNY SOUP

  *Picture Coming Soon*

  
  

  Ingredients:

  
  

  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 apple, cored and chopped
  • 1/4 cup white rice
  • 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half - cut into cubes
  • salt to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch dried thyme
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream, heated

  Directions

  1. Saute onions, celery, carrot, and butter in a large soup pot. Add flour and curry, and cook 5 more minutes. Add chicken stock, mix well, and bring to a boil. Simmer about 1/2 hour.
  2. Add apple, rice, chicken, salt, pepper, and thyme. Simmer 15-20 minutes, or until rice is done.
  3. When serving, add hot cream.

  
  

  Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mulligatawny-soup-i/detail.aspx

  
  

Puppy food recall

Just wanted to inform our friends and make them aware of the expanded recall on The Diamond Food Brand which now includes most of their puppy food line. This is a popular brand found at most feed stores and TSC.

We never fed our dogs this brand, so are in able to make any fair assessments on the Diamond Brand product. We are aware there are other foods, sold under various names, packaged by Diamond.

Do a little research and know what is in your dogs feed!

Our Little Coop just expanded.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted a Min Pin/ Chi. On the way to get Beckman (our 5 yr old boxer) his food, Emily and I saw a bunch of little heads popping up in the store window in town. Best Pets Antioch, IL. I couldn't resist! She is 9 weeks old and weighs 3.3 lbs. stay tuned as our new addition grows!