HATCHIN' BIRDS, DIGGIN' DITCHES AND MAKIN' PICKLES

This was a busy weekend out on the farm. Quail are hatching all over the place. We ended up with 46 from the first set (set 98, candled and moved 63 to the hatcher - 73% hatch rate!)

Our second set is hatching as we speak. We set 92 eggs, candled and transferred 68 eggs to the hatcher, and currently have 31 in the brood box, with more to come.



There should be a set of 56 starting to hatch tonight or tomorrow and a set of 222 to be transferred to the hatcher on May 21. We've got lots of birds!

With the garden in full grow-mode, Big John and I realized we needed to get back to work on the building. We rented a trencher Saturday and dug about 400 feet of trenches. By Sunday evening, we had all the water and electrical pipes run, just waiting to be hooked up. That was a huge job, and it's a relief to have it finished. I am so glad I don't dig ditches for a living. I'd much rather hatch birds!

And if that wasn't enough to accomplish in two days, we decided to make our first batch of pickles this morning! Big John wanted to pickle some quail eggs as well, since the Coturnix have started laying.

We ended up with 14 pints and 1 quart of bread and butter pickles.

Pickling quail eggs was quite an experience! We had 66 Coturnix eggs saved up for this purpose. The first step was to boil them and let them sit for 10 minutes.

Next you drain the boiled eggs, cover them in vinegar, and let them sit for 12 hours. This dissolves the shell, leaving just the inner membrane to be peeled.

After all the pipes were laid, trenches covered, and animals fed, we came in to finish up the eggs. Thanks to the day-long vinegar soak, they weren't too hard to peel. We used pickling brine left over from this morning, and Big John added a dash of Tabasco to each jar. We'll let them sit in the icebox for 10 days before eating. They sure do look pretty!

In other farm news: Bo and Beauty are settling in fine, still just taking it all in.

And the twins are doing great! Brother is still a little drawn, but they're only 9 days old. They are both eating well, and Nonie is being a good twins' momma.

So that was our weekend - hatchin' birds, diggin' ditches and makin' pickles. It's time to move more birds from the hatcher to the brood box and then catch a few hours of sleep. Tomorrow I'll be back out in the garden pulling weeds, picking green beans and cucumbers. I think there's another batch of pickles in my future! It won't be nearly as easy without Big John helping me!