One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1475 of 2143 - I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

The Baby Chickens Have Arrived!

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 2, 2013 · 23 Comments

Over the weekend The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird and I headed to the feed store and picked up 8 day old baby chicks for fall. When we brought them home Lucy flipped out!

She LOVES chickens, and especially baby chicks. When brought baby chicks home earlier this spring she sat outside of their little chicken yard every chance she got and watched them for hours. It was the sweetest thing ever, so you can imagine how excited she was to see the new flock.

Mottled Java #1

We picked up 8 chicks. 4 for us and 4 for Girly Girl’s kiddos. We haven’t named them yet because we are still waiting for her kids to choose which ones they want.

Mottled Java #2

Girly Girl has a larger dog, 2 cats and a toddler so she is afraid to raise baby chicks. We told her we’d be happy to raise her chicks until they are about 8-10 weeks old and then bring them up to their enclosed chicken run/coop for her kids.

Araucana #1

Once her kids choose the ones they want, we’ll name ours. I’m pretty sure she’s not going to pick the Buff Orpington though. 😉 Not after the whole Buff the chicken fiasco last year.

Araucana #2

The Girl wants to keep this one and name it chippy. She says it looks like a chipmunk.

Buff Orpington

Can you see Lucy in the background? Oh my word, I think she would sleep with those chicks if we would let her.

Blue Laced Red Wyandotte #1

These blue laced red wyandotte chicks are going to be beautiful. We have a lot of black chickens right now so it will be nice to add some color to our flock.

Blue Laced Red Wyandotte #2

These were day old chicks so we only snapped a few photos because we didn’t want to handle them too much on the first day. I’ll take some better photos next week so you can get a closer look.

Cuckoo Maran

Cuckoo Marans are one of my favorite birds. All of the cuckoo’s we’ve had have been very sweet. {And quite}.

How about you? Do you plan on getting chicks this fall, or will you wait until Spring?

~Mavis

Thinking about getting some chickens? Check out Keeping Chickens by Ashley English. It’s got everything you need to know about how to care for a happy healthy flock.

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How to Collect, Clean and Store Chicken Eggs

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 2, 2013 · 18 Comments

I have the most amazing readers, and sometimes someone sends in a question that I think, “Hey, I bet lots of people would love to chime in on this.” So, I am going to try to feature some of your questions and answer them, the best I can.

Question One: “I have a couple question that I would like your opinion on – and hopefully your readers will chime in on. What do you do with your just-gathered eggs? Leave on the counter? Refrigerate immediately? Wash or not wash? Personally I don’t wash mine, and most of the time I store them in the refrigerator unless I’m going to use them right away.”

I personally don’t wash mine either. I use a 3M scrub sponge to scrape off anything if it is dirty and then I refrigerate them. I have heard you don’t have to refrigerate them, and in Europe, they rarely refrigerate their eggs–with no ill side-effects. I think it is a personal preference. A lot of bakers swear that room temperature eggs yield better results, so if that matters to you, you may want to take it into consideration. Of course, I feel obligated to let you know, the FDA recommends immediate refrigeration.

Question Two: “My girls are laying in a really clean area/box and the eggs are clean. It’s all new to me, so seriously I’m out getting eggs right after they are laid. 🙂 I put them in an egg carton without washing – but rinse in warm water before breaking them open.

What do you do? I’m curious about what others do.

Thanks!

Susan”

I don’t collect my eggs immediately. I check them usually once a day. Even on hot days, I have never had an issue with the eggs sitting. As I mentioned above, I don’t wash my eggs–at all, unless for some reason they are really dirt. I usually just buff the egg with sponge. In the event that I have to wash an egg, I use warm running water {I don’t soak the egg}. If I do have to wash the egg, I try to eat it first, because the protective “bloom” that comes on the egg has been washed off.

I hope that helps, and I would also LOVE to know what the readers think. How do you collect, clean and store your eggs?

~Mavis

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Mondays with Mavis – How to Feed Your Family for $100 a Month

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 2, 2013 · 2 Comments

Albertons – $17.14

I went in for milk, and came out with 4 pints of Haggen Daz. Do you ever have shopping trips like that? NEVER go shopping when you are hungry {or have just had your teeth pulled and your mouth is sore}. 😉 No excuses here people, and YES, they were all Delicious!

Local Fruit Stand $5.55

Avocados 3 for $1, bananas $0.59 a pound and Fiji apples $.50 a pound. Talk about some awesome prices. I think I’ll probably go back and get a few more apples.

Anniversary Gift – Free thanks to Farmer Ted

Not only did the HH present me with 2 giant boxes of fresh corn for on our anniversary last week, but he got them for FREE thanks to our friend Farmer Ted. Seriously, does it get any better than that? 😉

Mr. Produce Guy – Free

Watermelons, radishes, apples, corn, grapes and even a few tomatoes were free last week.

Fresh heirloom tomatoes. Just one of the many things from our garden.

How did YOU do this past week? Any surprises? 😉

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $22.69

Total Spent This Year $1,518.70- It’s official, I’m over for the year!

Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $919.96{I bought a Meyer Lemon Tree, Rhubarb crowns, 6 Fruit Trees , 16 yards of soil}, Walla Walla Onions and 90 pounds of seed potatoes. Plus, supplies to make my own potting soil. I also picked up a boatload of heirloom tomato plants at the Seattle Tilth sale.

Read more Shopping Trip Stories.

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One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure – $2 Bushel Basket and a FREE Dog House

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 1, 2013 · 14 Comments

Yesterday I was driving down the road when I saw a small neon sign that read “Yard Sale” so I pulled in. There were two simple tables set up with a few housewares and a couple of tools. Not much.

As I turned to leave I spotted the old bushel basket and asked “how much do you want for the basket?” The lady said $2. So I snatched it right up. As I turned to leave I noticed the old dog house and asked how much it was.

It’s Free. And I’ll even deliver it if your close by the lady’s husband chimed in.

Free? Heck ya! Delivered? Double heck ya!

Lucy must like it because she spent a good 30 minutes sniffing her way around the house and them went in and did the same thing. When the HH came home is only comment was “It looks sturdy” {which it is}. I’m pretty sure with a few coats of paint it will look pretty cute.

And the bushel basket? Yep, Lucy liked that too.

So what do you think?

Did I get a deal for $2, or do you think I wasted $2?

~Mavis

Do you have an eye for trash or treasure? Send a picture of your awesome find and the story behind how you came upon it and if we post them, you’ll earn a $20 gift card to Amazon.com. The greatest store in the world. Go HERE for complete details.

See More Trash to Treasure Posts:

Red and White Enamelware + Vintage Berry Press
Terra Cotta Flower Pots
Mavis Scores Big At The Garage Sale
Wooden Garden Sign
Mavis Scores BIG at the Goodwill
One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure – Pumpkins
How to Find Free Containers For Your Garden
Mavis Goes to the Goodwill and Finds the Best Dress Ever!
Mavis Goes to The Goodwill and Finds 50 Boyfriends Worse Than Yours

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.