I think that every story that dv8 posts on deaths or beatings should be followed by a post by Malko it will balance out our emotions. Malko there is a book in you, your adventures and the way you relate them would be an easy uplifting read. Perhaps you and dv8 could collaborate and trade off chapter for chapter you would have us laughing and crying.
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Feel Good Story of the Day
Hahahaha.
Mom uses that phrase too ( but she substitutes weeks by days ).
And then arrives in the dr, complains all the way from SD to my hills about the heat and humidity ( when she pauses complaining about my driving), and needs a hot shower when we finally arrive at my house....... go figure.
in water related news: we are renovating bathrooms. this morning plomero arrived, installed the toilet in newly tiled on suite and proceeded to rip apart the guest bathroom. at midday, before leaving he announced" no se puede usar inodoro nuevo hasta la noche." so in the afternoon i promptly squatted in the garden, accompanied by a small trash bin. errede.
This morning we another 9 chicks born during the night !!!!
Last month we had a good month, with 25 births ( that survived the month, 5 died
).
And december is starting off very well. So 9 newborns ( 1 died squashed by mummy hen ), 2 other hens which have eggs that will hatch in the next few days, and another 2 hens that have started the process ( ie sitting on the eggs ) a few days ago, so due in more or less 2 weeks ( 21 days from the point they sit on eggs ).
We started off raising chicken a year ago with 6 hens and a rooster. Today we have a 100 +. All of diffrent creollotypes ( no pollo gringo ).
We fenced off a piece of land , maybe 20m?5m, and just leave them to it ( well still lots of work cleaning and feeding...... ).
Everyone was making fun of us at the beginning, saying chicken should be left free to roam.
They stopped laughing the day I projected a home made film of the "local's" chicken feeding on dog sh!t and sewer water !!!! Bon appetit !!!
It takes a long time for a chick to grow into a hen and to start getting pisando by the rooster in order to lay eggs.
But know we are finally where we wanted to be.
12 to 15 hen laying eggs at any time.
4 to 5 hens "sitting" on eggs or bringing up their chicks.
And our chicken meat supply ( we mainly eat roosters at 6 months +, big enough to eat but young enough to not have started fighting with the main rooster ).
We eat half the eggs, and leave half to continue to expand the flock.
Chicken that you buy in a supermarket or colmado or a pollera are the gringo sort. 60 days from egg to plate. Raised on chemical feed and antibiotics and also growth inducers....... mmmmmmh. The meat is white.
When I first arrived here, I doubted the diffrence in quality. Well let me say I was wrong !!!!!
The meat is much darker and actually has a lot of taste.
I also always wonder why white eggs ( gringo eggs) were less than a 100 pesos for a dozen and why the brown eggs were much more expensive.
Now I know !!!
Now everyone wants our eggs and our chicken, which is a big no-no. To much work, lots of corn and vegetables. It is not so cheap to attain a good quality meat. Only for our own consumption.
When we do our weekly tour of my wife's friends ( mainly old folk ), eggs are a good gift to take around ( along with platanos, avocados, mangos, pommergrants, guandules, lechosas, tayotes, oujamas.....and anything else we grow ).
I have noticed that, here in the campo, the people who actually ASK for stuff ( our produce ) are NOT the ones who need it (well they may need it but only because they spend their money on rum and cuervas).
The old folk who have nothing and are in need, are the last ones to ask for anything.
Needless to say only the latter are worth our time and effort.
All in all, even if it requires a good deal of work, raising chicken at home ( well in the conuco ) is very rewarding. We hope to be able to continue for some time.
And of course the dogs are very please to get chicken innards and bones, twice a week !!!! Makes for a change from salami........
Last month we had a good month, with 25 births ( that survived the month, 5 died
).And december is starting off very well. So 9 newborns ( 1 died squashed by mummy hen ), 2 other hens which have eggs that will hatch in the next few days, and another 2 hens that have started the process ( ie sitting on the eggs ) a few days ago, so due in more or less 2 weeks ( 21 days from the point they sit on eggs ).
We started off raising chicken a year ago with 6 hens and a rooster. Today we have a 100 +. All of diffrent creollotypes ( no pollo gringo ).
We fenced off a piece of land , maybe 20m?5m, and just leave them to it ( well still lots of work cleaning and feeding...... ).
Everyone was making fun of us at the beginning, saying chicken should be left free to roam.
They stopped laughing the day I projected a home made film of the "local's" chicken feeding on dog sh!t and sewer water !!!! Bon appetit !!!
It takes a long time for a chick to grow into a hen and to start getting pisando by the rooster in order to lay eggs.
But know we are finally where we wanted to be.
12 to 15 hen laying eggs at any time.
4 to 5 hens "sitting" on eggs or bringing up their chicks.
And our chicken meat supply ( we mainly eat roosters at 6 months +, big enough to eat but young enough to not have started fighting with the main rooster ).
We eat half the eggs, and leave half to continue to expand the flock.
Chicken that you buy in a supermarket or colmado or a pollera are the gringo sort. 60 days from egg to plate. Raised on chemical feed and antibiotics and also growth inducers....... mmmmmmh. The meat is white.
When I first arrived here, I doubted the diffrence in quality. Well let me say I was wrong !!!!!
The meat is much darker and actually has a lot of taste.
I also always wonder why white eggs ( gringo eggs) were less than a 100 pesos for a dozen and why the brown eggs were much more expensive.
Now I know !!!
Now everyone wants our eggs and our chicken, which is a big no-no. To much work, lots of corn and vegetables. It is not so cheap to attain a good quality meat. Only for our own consumption.
When we do our weekly tour of my wife's friends ( mainly old folk ), eggs are a good gift to take around ( along with platanos, avocados, mangos, pommergrants, guandules, lechosas, tayotes, oujamas.....and anything else we grow ).
I have noticed that, here in the campo, the people who actually ASK for stuff ( our produce ) are NOT the ones who need it (well they may need it but only because they spend their money on rum and cuervas).
The old folk who have nothing and are in need, are the last ones to ask for anything.
Needless to say only the latter are worth our time and effort.
All in all, even if it requires a good deal of work, raising chicken at home ( well in the conuco
) is very rewarding. We hope to be able to continue for some time.And of course the dogs are very please to get chicken innards and bones, twice a week !!!! Makes for a change from salami........
when i first heard the term "animal husbandry" i thought it was a book by marquis de sade. i'm not too far off, right?
don't say "gringo eggs/chicken". this is a standard produce sold in all supermarkets and 99% of the buyers are dominicans, for crying out loud. it's not like a shop keeper pulls that stuff out when he sees a white face.
don't say "gringo eggs/chicken". this is a standard produce sold in all supermarkets and 99% of the buyers are dominicans, for crying out loud. it's not like a shop keeper pulls that stuff out when he sees a white face.
What I meant is that the locals in the campo call them gringo chicken, not because they are sold to gringos but because ( I presume ) the chicken is white.
As opposed to other sorts of chicken which come in all diffrent sorts of colours.
There is also a diiffrence between pollo and gallina when speaking about chicken meat, buy I am not to sure what it is.
As opposed to other sorts of chicken which come in all diffrent sorts of colours.
There is also a diiffrence between pollo and gallina when speaking about chicken meat, buy I am not to sure what it is.
Are rulos the same as "platano burros"? They seem to look the same. There are a huge number of banana species, but some of them ripen so quickly that they are not stocked in stores. I counted six different varieties in the Barahona market, including purple ones. I have found that people in markets often smile and throw in an extra item sometimes.
Yaut?a has a lot of names: dasheen and malanga are a couple of other names that I have heard.
Yaut?a has a lot of names: dasheen and malanga are a couple of other names that I have heard.
Ahhhh gallina.... La Sirena had a sale on frozen gallinas, I think it was like 32 pesos a pound. I thought, Great Deal! And I bought 5. They are tough old hens, not 'chicken', and you have to cook them forever! Actually were tasty, but tough. I was so glad when we finished the last one. Never again.
We use them for soup, cooked for hours on the forgon. Supposed to keep away amenia (?) in MIL......
But I agree, tough meat.
On a side note, MIL needed a soup of fish heads ( no fish flesh, only heads
), something to do with blood pressure.And the best soup ( not ), soup of cow feet !!!!! Sunday delicacy.......
What I meant is that the locals in the campo call them gringo chicken, not because they are sold to gringos but because ( I presume ) the chicken is white.
As opposed to other sorts of chicken which come in all diffrent sorts of colours.
hey, but gringos come in lots of colours too!
never tried that but i looove cabeza de vaca soup. i kinda dig all the weird meat cuts. in poland we eat a lot of pig feet dishes. and cow tongues.
We use them for soup, cooked for hours on the forgon. Supposed to keep away amenia (?) in MIL......
But I agree, tough meat.
On a side note, MIL needed a soup of fish heads ( no fish flesh, only heads
And the best soup ( not ), soup of cow feet !!!!! Sunday delicacy.......
When you grow up in the developing country, everything is game. My mom loves and eats fish heads (including eyes) like it s a delicacy. To her, my disgust, it s just proof how spoiled I am.
Lamb head is good though
Before the dr I'd only eat chicken breasts (the white ), filet of beef ( I had an aversion to fat ), filet mignon of pork or lamb.......
The dr has changed me !!! I am much less fussy.
But I havent quite gotten to the point of eating chicken feet and pequeso ( considered the best pieces in my campo ).
But liver, whole fish, chuletas are now on my menu.
The dr has changed me !!! I am much less fussy.
But I havent quite gotten to the point of eating chicken feet and pequeso ( considered the best pieces in my campo ).
But liver, whole fish, chuletas are now on my menu.
Pescuezos de pollo are chicken necks. Animals have pescuezos, people have cuellos.
I would wager that Poles were happily eating chicken feet in the days of Paderewski.
I would wager that Poles were happily eating chicken feet in the days of Paderewski.