There’s been a lot of buzz (and wrong information) about the FDA’s new Veterinary Feed Directive, so I wanted to address it here.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the US Food & Drug Administration released a Final Rule (regulations that will be codified into law) that removed certain antibiotics from the market, namely, antibiotics that livestock yards and industrial chicken farms put in feed and water.
(Full disclosure: I worked for the Food & Drug Administration for about 10 years prior to starting this blog)
There’s been a lot of twitter on the internet that over-the-counter injectable antibiotics will be removed from the market, and advice out there to stock up before it’s gone.
A lot of backyard chicken owners and livestock owners are worried about whether they will have access to antibiotics after the rule takes effect in January.
After reading the Final Rule and the guidances FDA issued, I formed a different opinion about how the Veterinary Feed Directive effects backyard chicken keepers and farmers.
Here’s my thoughts (and how I’m preparing):
I’d like to hear from you!
What do you think of this new law? Leave a comment below!
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
A Cluckin’ Good Time is a Facebook Live Stream Show that I’ve developed along with my friend, Mindy Young of Farm Fit Living.
We talk about homesteading, kitchen hacks, chickens, goats, livestock, and pretty much anything that we think of. Lots of audience participation!
A Cluckin’ Good Time airs Sunday nights at 7pm EST/6pm Central. You can view the show anytime – we leave it up on the FrugalChicken Facebook page for you to enjoy!
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
Our Thanksgiving plans (including Mindy’s recipe for simplifying pumpkin puree so it makes holiday pie making a snap)
Why it’s important to learn from every livestock experience
Our personal opinions on free ranging (and whether we free range our flocks)
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
You can’t make goat milk soap (or any soap) without lye, but I’ve shied away from it for the most part.
While handling lye isn’t that dangerous (precautions are necessary but many people use it with goat milk without problems), I know a lot of you aren’t comfortable handling it.
But the benefits of goat milk soap can’t be swept under the rug, and it’s the only soap we use on our homestead.
That’s why I’m a fan of melt and pour soap base, which lets you make your own custom goat milk soap without handling lye.
In this article, we’ll cover how to make your own luxurious, custom goat milk soap without using lye.
This is a very simple step-by-step process that anyone can master. If you don’t want to watch the video above, here’s the process I use to make custom goat milk soap without lye right on our homestead.
Ingredients
Melt & Pour Soap Base
Essential Oils
Anything else you want to add (flowers, oatmeal, almonds, you name it)
Choose a goat milk soap base
For this recipe, I used Stephenson Melt & Pour Goat Milk soap base, but you can use any you want.
Remember: You can’t make soap from scratch without lye, so your soap base will contain lye, but all the hard work is done for you.
It’s been cured, and the lye is neutralized, making it completely safe to handle.
You want to make the pieces as small as possible. I cut them into 1″ or 1/2″ cubes.
The smaller the cubes, the faster it will melt.
Set up a double boiler, and add your goat milk soap to the top boiler.
If you’ve never used a double boiler, simply grab two pots, one smaller than the other.
Fill the larger pot halfway with water, and rest the smaller pot in it. Put the pieces of goat milk soap base in the top (smaller) pot.
Wait for the goat milk soap to completely melt in the double boiler
Be sure to watch the top pot; as the water in the bottom pot begins to boil, the goat milk soap will melt.
Make sure the soap doesn’t boil or scorch (I’ve never had this happen), andstir occasionally so it doesn’t form a film on top as it melts.
It will start to look like goat milk as it melts – it’s quite impressive.
In the meantime…
Set up your molds
You can use any mold you want, but I highly recommend using silicone molds.
They’re easy to flip over and pop the soap out of.
They’re also heat safe, so you don’t have to worry about your mold melting on you.
Here’s the one I use:
And these two look super cute:
If you want, you can grease the sides of the molds with some oil to make removing your goat milk soap easier, but in my experience, it isn’t really necessary.
After the goat milk soap base melts…
Immediately pour the melted soap base into the mold
As soon as you remove the goat milk soap base from the heat, it will start to cool.
Use a funnel to quickly transfer it to the mold.
The funnel will help keep everything tidy (although accidents will happen as you see in the video!)
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
Not sure if that “fresh” egg is good or bad? Try the egg float test!
Why do you need to know about the egg float test? Chickens are masters at hiding their eggs if they want.
Every so often, I come across a nest of “fresh” eggs on the homestead – and I have no idea how long they’ve been there, and if they’re good or bad.
Chickens like to hide their eggs in dark, tight places.
Why?
It’s an evolutionary thing – eggs that are hidden are less likely to be snagged by a predator.
At the same time, if a chicken wants to hatch eggs, which requires sitting for long periods of time, a dark place is best – she’s more likely to be left alone.
But let’s say you come across a nest, and aren’t sure how old the eggs are, and whether you should just toss them.
Want to know how to tell if eggs are good? That’s where the egg float test comes in!
If you’ve never tried the egg float test, it’s a great and visually easy way to tell if eggs are fresh.
Also, if you have store-bought eggs in your fridge that are expired, it’s worth trying the egg float test to determine if they’re okay to use.
So, how do you perform the egg float test?
The egg float test is easy.
First, grab a cup of cool (not ice cold and definitely not hot) water.
If you want to try the egg float test using a mason jar, make it easy on yourself, and use a wide-mouthed jar so you can get the egg out easier.
A cup of water works well, too.
To complete the egg float test, just gently insert your egg into the water.
According to the egg float test, if your eggs rise to the top of the water, they’re too old to use.
But if they sink, they’re fresh and still good to eat. Of course with anything there’s a catch.
What does the egg float test mean if your egg sort of floats, but sort of sinks?
If your egg suspends on one end, it’s technically still okay to eat, but you need to use it soon.
Personally, I usually toss these eggs to my pigs, since there’s typically fresher eggs available.
I know the pigs appreciate them.
And remember…
Once you’ve put the egg in water, you’ve stripped off the bloom, which means air can get into the egg quicker. (Learn more about cleaning eggs here).
The fresher an egg is, the less air it has inside of it, so it sinks.
Old eggs, however, have more air in them because oxygen has had time to permeate the shell. So, they float.
Because of all this, the egg float test is considered an accurate way to test your whether those eggs you found are okay to eat, or if you should just toss them.
Other “Freshness” Tests: How to Tell if Eggs are Good
There are a couple other ways besides the egg float test to tell if the eggs you found are fresh.
One option is to candle the eggs, just as you would if you were to hatch them.
In this test, you’re looking to see how intact the yolk is (the more intact the more likely it’s fresh).
And, similar to the egg float test, you’re looking to see how much air is inside the egg (the more air space, the older the egg is).
Another test is to hold the egg up to your ear. If you hear a lot of movement, the egg is said to be old, but if you don’t hear anything, then the egg is fresh.
Personally, I prefer the egg float test, and I have more experience with it.
Now that you’ve determined your eggs are fresh using the egg float test, how about some egg recipes to help you use them up?
I’d like to hear from you!
Do you think you’ll try the egg float test? Email me at [email protected] or comment below!
Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flockis my best selling book about raising healthy hens! You’ll learn how to handle sticky first aid situations, raise baby chicks with the week-by-week checklist, how to give the best care even in the worst weather, and more!
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
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