DIY All Natural Antiseptic Ointment

Invariably working around a farm, you will end up with cuts and scrapes, splinters and small injuries. 

Instead of grabbing the Neosporin, why not make your own antiseptic ointment?

On every farm there are loads of nasty bacteria and germs hanging around just waiting to strike.  We always make sure we have plenty of Neosporin on hand to treat open cuts so they won't get infected, but I was interested in making a completely natural ointment that we could use on ourselves as well as our animals.  

We currently have horses, a cat, a dog, chickens and ducks and between them all, someone is always getting into something they shouldn't.

NiteGuard Solar Giveaway!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING WINNERS OF A NITE GUARD SOLAR PREDATOR LIGHT!

Sparkle Huston
Carla Brauer
Darlene Holloway
Tara Jewell Case

Please email your mailing address to us at: Fresheggsdaily@gmail.com
so we can send out your light!

A Week in Farm Photos Jan 20 - 26th

This week we got our second snow 'storm' of the winter! Being displaced New England Yankees living in Virginia, we get what some might call abnormally excited when it snows here.  This time it actually stuck to the ground AND lasted all day and into the next day. It only amounted to about two inches, but we'll take what we can get.  Side note: the animals were slightly less excited than we were, except for the ducks who love all kinds of weather and are always happy about everything!

Homemade Suet: A Warming Chicken Treat

Excess fat in your chickens' diet should be limited, just as it should in your own diet.  But when it comes to providing an excellent energy source in the cold weather, you just can't beat fat.  It provides nearly twice the sustained energy of carbs and also slows the rate of food digestion, thereby increasing the absorption of the nutrients in the feed your flock eats. 

Lemony Egg Rice Soup with Mint

  

Winter means lots of soup at our house. Soup with homemade bread, soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, soup with crackers....I am always trying new soup recipes and this one is one of my favorites because for one reason, it uses our fresh eggs in it. It is also very quick and easy to make.

Grandpa's Chook Feeder Review

Help us welcome our new sponsor Grandpa's Feeders! Is this not a state-of-the-art feeder?  And I love how it's called a 'Chook' Feeder (because they were developed in New Zealand and that's what they call chickens down under).  

A Week in Farm Photos January 13th - 19th

The past seven days can be summed up in seven words....
Rain, more rain, then mud, then snow

Your Chickens Premier Issue Available in the US!

I love Your Chickens magazine. I have been reading it for almost two years now and have never been disappointed in a single issue. The only thing I didn't enjoy was that it was only available in the UK.  I could sometimes find back issues for sale on ebay and had to be content reading whatever  issues I could outbid other buyers on.  But no longer.  Beginning with the February issue, Your Chickens will be available in the United States!

Vodka - Shaken not Stirred - Natural Chicken Coop Cleaner

My latest all natural chicken-keeping concoction borrows it's name from the James Bond franchise: Vodka - Shaken not Stirred - Natural Coop Cleaner.

Did you know that household bleach can interact with the ammonia created by decomposing chicken feces and result in toxic gases building up in your coop? Don't despair though, there are common natural ingredients you can use that boast every bit of the antiseptic and cleaning power of bleach - without the fumes.

A Week in Farm Photos - Jan 6th - 12th

Winter in Virginia is in full swing...which basically means lots of brown grass, dirt and mud.  Not a picturesque New England snowy landscape by any stretch of the imagination, we look forward to spring, which fortunately arrives here much earlier than it does up north! 

Life is Just Better with Chickens

We want to share our love for the country life and raising chickens with you....be sure you don't miss a thing...

Join us on Facebook at Fresh Eggs Daily, The Steele Magnolia and Ducks Too 

Follow us on Twitter ~ Join us on Pinterest ~ Watch us on YouTube

Shop our Etsy Shop ~ Email Us at Fresheggsdaily@gmail.com

Because life is just better with chickens!

Fingerless Gloves Made by Meg

Congratulations to the three winners in the 
GIVEAWAY hosted by MADE BY MEG!

Jackie Johnson - you have won a pair of Mixed Berry gloves
Belley Family - you have won a pair of Purple gloves
Amy - you have won a pair of Strawberry Pink gloves
(winners please email your mailing address to: fresheggsdaily@gmail.com)

Thanks to all who entered! If you didn't win but want to purchase a pair of gloves, or anything else in Meg's shop, Meg is offering 15% off if you use the coupon code FED15.

Benefits of Molasses for your Flock

Molasses, specifically blackstrap molasses. can be used as an important addition to your chickens' diet.  Although too much molasses will cause diarrhea, a small amount can be beneficial to your hens' health.   As with most things, moderation is the key. 

From Scratch Magazine

As if the past few months haven't been exciting enough - the highlights being invited to write a guest series on raising ducks by HGTV Gardens, featured in Chickens Magazine, and signing a book contract with St. Lynn's Press - I was just asked to be the Chicken Columnist for the brand-new online homesteading publication From Scratch Magazine!

A Week in Farm Photos Dec. 30th - Jan. 5th

Welcome 2013! It's going to be a great year and we're so glad you're following along with our farm adventures. Here are a few shots from the past week on our farm.

Cast Iron Pan Cloverleaf French Bread Recipe

I love fresh-baked bread. The earthy scent of the yeast, the enticing aroma of the baking bread, there is nothing better on a cold dreary winter day. But I have to admit, I generally just toss the ingredients into my bread maker and let the machine do all the work. 

Top Ten Posts of 2012

Our blog is a year old! The year flew by and, unbelievably, we published a whopping 227 posts in 2012!  Admittedly, being a brand new blogger, there were so many topics I felt were important to write about and share as quickly as we could concerning basic chick care, chicken health, trivia, fact and fiction, etc. and as a result, we covered nearly every popular topic in chicken blogdom in our first twelve months of blogging.

New Year's Resolutions

I am SO looking forward to 2013! Each new year signals new beginnings, a perfect time to shed the old - old habits, disappointments and regrets, people in your life who don't in some way life you up, inspire you to be better or happier. 

I have decided that this year everything I do will be 'relevant'.  To me, to my family, to our animals, to our community or to the world. I don't want to spin my wheels or waste time on anything that isn't relevant in some way.  I am just too busy to be irrelevant.

Besides my 'professional' resolutions of which I have many, I wanted to share my personal resolutions for this year.  They are small, but all relevant to me in some way.  

Do you make resolutions? Do you keep them?  I am committed to keep (at least most) of mine this year.  

Here's hoping for a relevant 2013 for you all!

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