THE BLOG – Farcyde's Stuff

Chicken Den Insulation

December 8, 2022 farcyde

I’m from germany – the homeland of orders and regulation. Amongst many others, there is an overabundance of strict and in-depth building laws to follow meticulously. So, as a decent citizen I have diligently insulated the chicken den to keep up to our beloved green party’s visionary energy saving laws. </irony off>

Well, ok, also to keep it frost free and cozy for the girls over the winter 😁 It kept an inside temperature of 6°C when it was -4°C at night, just from body heat. I’m pleased with this result.

I used 30 mm Jackodur ™ for insulating, which is waterproof, rot resistant and non toxic. It is a popular material for the thermal insulation of basements, so it’s available in every hardware store and it’s fairly affordable.

Greenhouse Heater

November 29, 2022 farcyde

Temperatures are dropping meanwhile (especially at night) but I want to try cultivating certain suitable greens over the winter nonetheless. So, in order to keep the greenhouse frost-free, I ordered a greenhouse heater – this product in particular with about 300W of power. You can purchase it for around € 60,- if you’re willing to invest a little time surfing the net, and so far it works.

November 19, 2022 farcyde

Poor Priscilla in the middle of molting. She has already grown a lot of brand new feathers and many pinfeathers are waiting to develop, but she still looks like she got under a lawnmower.

November 13, 2022 farcyde

Now that a year and a half have passed, I have learned geometrically and gained a lot of experience tending to my brave and pretty chickens. So here are my updated notes on chicken care and feeding. Maybe someone will find this useful, since they’re solely born from experience and, well, trial and error – but that makes these notes all the more “original” and reliable for me.

New Load of Home Processed Meat

November 10, 2022 farcyde

I finally had the time again to make some cured and/or smoked meat again! I’m glad! Four pieces of fine meat that I cured with my standard meat curing formula and each souped up little.

Japanese Dining Culture… well, sort of

November 6, 2022 farcyde

Two small chopstick rests that I made out of scrapwood and sheer boredom 🙂

Codsworth Cheese, November 2022

November 4, 2022 farcyde

Well, yes, it’s called “Cotswold” correctly, named after a beautiful region in the southern UK where it originated from. But “Codsworth” sounds so much better for an old Fallout Fan 🙂

November 3, 2022 farcyde

… or “cheese harp”. It’s used to cut the coagulated curds into equally sized pieces during the cheese making process. I made one since I either didn’t like the ones you can buy at the store or they are suited for large 50 l batches of milk. I needed one for my small 4-5 l milk portions that fits my pot.

New Wooden Bench in the Driveway

October 29, 2022 farcyde

When, four years ago, we visited the property for the first time, we immediately noticed that little wooden bench directly at the border.

While located on our lot, it faces the common driveway and invites neighbours to sit when returning from a walk. It made for such an idyllic scenery in the warm summer sunlight, that I pledged to replace it if it should ever be necessary. Now that time has come and I fulfilled my promise.