Building a Chicken Tractor...

This is a chicken tractor....it is a portable chicken house, that can be rolled around the yard, changing the location daily, it would be great for the backyard chicken farmer, for 1 or 2 chickens, I have 4 in mine...you can fertilize the yard this way and keep the chickens happy, they have new bugs and grass to eat every day....you can lift up on the handle in the front to swivel the house and yard...or to push to a new location....I also push it from the back....after it is moved I water the grass that the chickens have just been on....it keeps the grass clean and the flies down....and it is now 'greening' up nicely...

My chickens have a nice winter house.,,, although it was pretty barren.. I would let them out to forage and they would get into the garden, eat berries, and hang out on the patio.....so here comes the chicken tractor idea, I always wanted one..I have seen some that are huge...those you move with a tractor...this one is a one man chicken tractor...or if you are going up a slight incline it is a mother, daughter and granddaughter chicken tractor.....here are pictures of it being built.....it is not real big....I do think an average handy person could build one

it is 12 feet long....6 feet high and 4 feet wide....

the corners are put together in a very special way...they are notched and then screwed together....

the floor is 4 by 4....

the front has the cut out for the chickens to enter....and it is good to have a nice slope to the roof for the rain to run off.....

I put vinyl on the floor to make it easier to clean....

they have little privacy curtains...which of course they are very thankful for....

this is the back of the house...here you can open it and get eggs out without going inside.....

they also have a big door on the side to go in to clean the house out....not sure if you can see or not but they have fencing wire...on the sides and on the top is chicken wire as well as on their front door...

this very big, back of the property yard is perfect for this....

oh the wheels....they are big wheels that came from the harbor freight store...they kind of screwed into the sides....( can you tell yet I don't know what I am talking about) you can see it has roofing...and metal edges on the roof so the water doesn't rot the wood...

here are the chickens checking it out....I hung their feeders so that when it is moved they don't slosh around...

buttercup likes it!

I put a little board across the bottom front...mama was trying to scoot under the door...

this is the finished other side....it shows the door...

 I added a treat pan on the front edge...for their table scraps....,,well there you have it....I hope you all build one and have adorable chickens who give you wonderful flavorful eggs everyday...you will be forever happy with them...

One more note...this is my celebration  400th blog....I love my blog and I love you all...thanks for joining me!

Cheers to Happy  !!

Ginger Peach Jam...

ginger peach jam

I had a whole box of ripe peaches to do something with today, I had bought them last week-end in Yakima in Eastern Washington... I made jam....lovely, lovely jam... ginger adds another layer of flavor....and I can't wait to try this on a roast chicken or pork loin as a baste....Jam is easy..it is not a mystery...some people are scared to make it...but it is easy and you can invent flavors...this would probably be good with a little vanilla and squeeze of fresh lemon juice, thrown in...

Ginger Peach Jam

41/2 cups of fresh chopped peaches

1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
6 cups of sugar
1 package of sure jell


Peel and pit peaches then finely chop or grind and pour into sauce pot and add ginger.
Measure sugar and set aside.
Mix fruit pectin into fruit in sauce pot then place over high heat and stir until mixture comes to a full boil.
Immediately add all sugar and stir.
Bring to a full rolling boil and boil 2 minute stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and skim off foam with metal spoon.
Ladle quickly into hot jars then fill to 1/8 inch of tops.
Wipe jar rims and threads.
Cover with two piece lids.
Screw bands tightly.
Process in a water bath.

What do you do with a beautiful box of peaches?

you make peach jam, of course...

this is the easiest way to peel peaches....place them in boiling hot water for approx. one minute....

plunge them in ice cold water....slip the skins off and you are ready for jam....

these are waiting to be jammed!

chop 4 and 1/2 cups of fresh peaches up and place in large deep pan....

add the ginger and sure jell to the peaches and stir...this is where you could add vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest or juice....

...when it starts to boil sometimes it pops...hurts like a son of a gun! be careful...

bring to a boil...

meanwhile put your lids and rings on to heat.....

once boiling....add the sugar all at once...

bring to a boil....again...

and boil for a couple of minutes...

warm your jars...if you have a dishwasher you can keep them in there...or you can put them in the oven on low heat...or like me you can put in hot water in the sink....

we are ready to bottle..

skim the top foam off of the top of the jam, place it in a container to be put in the refrigerator.....this is the best part of the jam...eat this on toast the next morning....so good!

now we are ready....

carefully ladle in jars...

put the lids and rings on the jam....

put the jam in a water bath for 10 minutes...

this is summer in a jar!

the best jar! the skim and leftover jam....

line the pretty jars up on the counter on a pretty towel..and admire for a week or so, doing this is mandatory! admire all the fruits of your labor...

Cheers to Happy  !!