Thursday 18 September 2008

Recipe Onion Bhaji's

This post is not strictly in the true spirit of smallholding but Im sure some of you might enjoy it.

A short while ago we decided to cull one of our excess Dorking Cockrels and have a nice roast dinner with it. The roast was jolly tasty and as Sharon does not like to waste anything she picked off the remaining meat when it was cold and made a Chicken Curry which was also very nice. As well as the Chicken Curry Sharon made some Onion Bhajis to go with it.

When I tasted them I was very surprised how good they were as Sharon had not made them before ( no offence intended ) so I thought I would share the Recipe with you.

Recipe For Onion Bhaji's

4 ozs Chick pea/Gram Flour Sifted
1/2 TSP Salt
1/2 TSP Bicarb of Soda
1/2 TSP Chille Powder
1/2 TSP Tumeric
1/2 TSP Cumin
1/2 TSP Coriander
1 TBSP Lemon Juice
Scant 1/4 pt Water
2 Medium Onions
Oil for Frying

Mix all dry ingredients together
Add lemon juice
Add water & mix well but do not make mix too sloppy
Leave to stand
Slice onions & add to batter
Heat about an inch of oil in a pan and heat till hot.
Place a small amount of mix in pan to test temperature

Place a Tablespoon of mix into oil and cook over a medium heat for about 3-4 mins making sure they are cooked inside.
Remove and drain on kitchen paper

You can reheat in oven if required for 10 mins on gas mark 6

May also be frozen make sure to defrost before reheating.

Enjoy

Chickens Smallholding Tip

Recently after the egg production dwindled a bit we inspected the chicken coops only to find a lot of Red Mite infestation. Red Mites are mainly nocturnal little blood sucking parasites that hide in cracks and crevices, they do not live on the birds but come out at night go on to the birds while they are roosting and make life very uncomfortable for them not to mention sucking out a bit of blood here and there.


You can dust the birds with Red Mite Powder and also dust in the cracks and crevices as well to actually kill the mites at source. There are also a number of chemicals that can be diluted and sprayed in the cracks to also kill the Red Mites.


Anyhow as we were treating the birds we noticed they had Mites crawling on them. Not Red Mites but these mites live on the birds all the time and make life even more miserable for them.


Here is a tip that we use to effectivly treat this problem and kill these mites without to much messing about.

In the morning before I let the birds out Sharon will wait outside while I go in and get one of the chickens, take it out to Sharon who will have some vials of DOGS ONE SPOT FLEA TREATMENT.


While I hold the chicken Sharon then pulls back some of the feathers behind its neck and applies a small drop of the One Spot to the bared skin, this quickly kills off the mites and keeps them at bay for 4-6 weeks. It does not do any harm to the birds and we have been doing it for quite a few years now without incident. The process is repeated untill all the birds are done.


If anybody has any views or alternative ways of doing this horrible task then please let me know.

After doing the job a good bath and a change of clothes are most welcome.

Wednesday 17 September 2008

The Goats Are A Pain In The A____

Our two Pygmy Goats Milly & Willy are like naughty little school children they are always up to something they shouldnt be and forever causing mayhem in the chicken paddock. I had previously told you about them getting into the main chicken coop and eating the layers pellets, well I managed to stop that by reducing the size of the pophole so that the chickens can only just get in but the Goats now cannot.

We have another chicken house where the Icksworths and Copper Marans live, this is up on stilts and 4 feet off the ground, it is accessed by a ladder which the chickens have learnt to climb.
They all live in there quite happily and do not have any trouble from the Goats.

Not untill last night anyway.

Last night I went to lock up all the Chickens and the Goats and I always check just to make sure they are in their houses.
First I went to do the Goats and was panic stricken momentarily when the Goats were not in their shed, I shone the torch up the paddock and was horrified to see chickens perched everywhere.

I quickly twigged what might have happened and on opening the Icksworths hut door my suspicions were confirmed, there was the 2 goats curled up in the corner. They had climbed up the ladder and dislodged the pophole door clip and it had shut down behind them, therefore the Goats couldnt get out and the Chickens couldnt get in.

I went up to the house and asked Sharon for some help to catch the Chickens and put them back in their hut. First of all we shut the Goats up in their shed and after about 40 minutes and a lot of cursing and swearing all the Chickens were safe and secure in their shed, panic over for another night.

As we walked back up to the house Sharon said we are going to have to do something about those Goats they are becoming a real pain in the A---.

Watch this space.

Thursday 4 September 2008

Do Things Properly First Time

Side of Ducks New Paddock

Ducks New House


Sharon With Duck Ready For Trip To New Paddock

You may recall a few posts ago I was proudly showing off my new Des-Res for the Ducks and Scaty our rabbit.

I thought they had everything, a new hut, a nice pond and space to roam around in, which duck could ask for more. The trouble was I was making it look all nice & proper without thinking through the practicalities of it all.

The first problem was that I made the house too small I just converted an old chicken house, and although it may just about have done I didnt realise how quickly it would get soiled up with seven ducks pooing in it all night it meant it had too be completely cleaned out every day which was no easy task and it usually fell on Sharon to do it as I was at work.

Also the task of getting them in the said hut of an evening was an even harder task one that yours truely had to undertake every night after a few nights of expletives and cursing I moved the hut to a corner of the duck paddock and by herding them round to the hut I waited patiently while they all stood and looked at the pop hole then as if by magic one of the ducks would go in and that signaled a stampede and the rest quickly followed to my great relief, job done for another night.

I also didnt think about how quickly the ducks would mess up their pond within three days it was just green and horrible, it was a right awkward job to empty it, clean it and refill not to mention costly.

Something had to be done and as if fate had intervened I happened to get hold of a Wendy House for nothing all I had to do was dismantle it and take it away. It was decided that the ducks would be moved to the paddock where all the chickens were so all the birds would be together (now dosnt that make sense). I set about putting up the wendy house and with just a few small repais and alterations it was soon in place.
Most of the fencing was allready in place so I just had to put a small section accross the front edge. Their water And food in place and some straw in the wendy house it was ready for the ducks.
The photos above show Sharon holding one of the ducks ready to be taken to the new Ducks Des Res. They were all duely installed in there new abode and seemed happy with the extra room to roam around in.
All they need is a new pond and I am on the look out for one of those plastic shell type sand pits which make great ponds and are very easy to clean out as you can just tip them over to empty them.
That evening I went down to lock the chickens up and was surprised and quite amazed to find the Ducks all bedded down in their new shed. Fingers crossed long may it continue.
Finally a valuable lesson has been learnt here, always think things through and plan properly before getting stuck into a project.