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Recipes & DIY

Make your own healing ointment for your livestock:

Mix:

25% Standard lard, bacon grease or Bag Balm: Bag Balm on Amazon HERE.
73% sulfur powder: Find on Amazon HERE.
2% Pine Tar Oil: Find on Amazon HERE.


Bickmore Pine Tar Quart - 10FPM104Product Details

Tweak your mix by adding more Bag Balm/lard/bacon grease or pine tar until it feels like a good consistency.  It should be a thick ointment and not runny or watery.

This mix is perfect for cuts, infections, vent gleet (yeast infections), fungal infections and will kill lice and mite eggs on feather shafts.

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DIY Apple Cider Vinegar
By Vicki -


Save those cores and peels from pies and apple preserving projects. Use organic apple scraps, or know your local apple grower’s spraying policies. For your first batch I’d recommend using between 5-10 apples’ worth of scraps.

Place your scraps in your widest-base, food-safe container. Avoid aluminum or galvanized steel; the acidity level will rise as your vinegar ferments, you don’t want metallic compounds in your salads and marinades. An enameled stone crock-pot bowl would be ideal, but stainless steel, food-grade plastic tubs or enameled cast iron/steel are good vessel options. Whatever you use, make sure it’s something you won’t need for at least one week.I use quart jars.

2. The volume of sugar will depend on how many scraps you have. Dissolve 1/4-cup sugar in 1-quart water. If that doesn’t cover your scraps then multiply that ratio by as many quarts as you need to completely submerge your scraps in sugar water.

3. I smash my cores and peelings in the jars and cover them in the sugar water. I cover my jars with cheese cloth and leave it on the counter for 1 week.

4. After a week I dump the jars in a sieve and strain out as much bits and pulp as I can by pressing along the sides.

5. Put the juice back in the jars and cover. Place them in a dark place for a few months.


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DIY Laundry Detergent:
By Bee



First I have three empty 44 load laundry detergent jugs with the spouts removed but the nice measuring cup caps remaining.



Fels Naptha laundry bar soap...you can now find it at Kroger's and Walmart, thanks to all us ladies who started requesting these items.  Before that it was sometimes difficult to locate.  It's an old timey item.  Arm & Hammer washing soda... not baking soda.  This is important.  This too was difficult to find and could only be found in pool supply places until it got more in demand.  You will most likely find it right next to the Fels Naptha in the soaps aisle at Wally World...you're quite welcome!  Borax 20 Mule Team laundry additive.  Easy to find.



1/2 bar of Fels Naptha, grated so that it will melt easily.  Yes, you can do this in the food processor but it's easier and faster to make your kids do it while they watch TV. But, I digress...

1/2 cup A&H washing soda
1/2 cup Borax
6 cups of water

Combine in sauce pan and heat the mixture until the soap all melts.  Makes the house smell lovely!   Fill two of your laundry detergent jugs half the way full with cold tap water, then split your heated soap mix between the two jugs to complete the fill.  You may have to top this off but don't make it too full to shake the mix up effectively.  When your jugs are full, shake them well.  Let this mix sit for 24 hours to set up.  It will turn into a gel-like substance and you will have to mix it up again before you pour it out for use.  It will look sort of like pale yellow egg whites but thicker and it may have some chunks of thicker material in it.  No worries.  I use two caps full because it's so darn cheap but the normal instructions say just one cup will do...I always add more than folks say.  The original recipe calls for 1/3 bar of FN but I do it my own way...   

It will not suds in your water but it will remove dirt...VERY well.  It can make whites dingy over time so some folks just buy regular detergent for whites...I just stopped buying white things and the few sheets and pillow cases I do have that are white, I just wash in vinegar and water only.  Works great.  It is easy on septic systems and will work on the newfangled washing machines that take special detergent. 

I shake it up each time before I try to use it because it will gel up as it sits.  It leaves absolutely no smell in your laundry and you won't need fabric softener if you just use those blue plastic balls in your dryer...you can get those for $5 now and they last for years.  There is no build up in your clothes so it leaves them softer.  Some folks try to add essential oils to this detergent to make it have a "smell" but I tried that and you are throwing money away....essential oils are..well...oils.  Detergents remove oils out of fabric, not deposits them into fabrics.  Your clothing will come out of the dryer smelling like cloth and not essential oils and you will feel like a ninny.  I know I did.... 

Why do I keep 3 jugs around when it only makes 2?  Because when one becomes empty I can make a new batch and have 2 full jugs waiting while I empty the second jug from the last batch.  I am still using plastic laundry detergent jugs that I bought many, many years ago...these things are tough and last a long time! 
 

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Natural ear mite/yeast infection treatment for dogs & cats:

By: Pigeonguy

1 shot glass of nu-stock
1 shot glass of vegetable oil
1/2 shot white vinegar (my ear doctor said to use white and said never to put ACV in your ear. I figure if I can't put it in mine I'm not putting it in my dog’s)

Dose: 1-2 ML. (depending on the size of animal). You can usually get a small syringe (without a needle) at feed stores or your local pharmacy. Squeeze the solution into the ear canal and massage the base of the ear to work it in.

It will cure ear mites or yeast infection. Yeast infection is the most likely case if your dog/cat can't hear. You can usually smell a yeast infection, also.

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Pigeonguy’s Creepy-Crawly-Critter-Killing Whitewash
(Will help keep coops free of lice, mites and their eggs/nits/larvae)
In a five gallon bucket, mix:
1 gallon barn lime
Hot water till it is thin enough to paint with.
2 cups salt dissolved in hot water.
Stir everything together
Let set over-night (for at least 12 hours)
Stir again add more water (if it needs it) to paint with.
Put on old, old cloths and a pair of safety goggles (not glasses).
Take a 6 inch paint or dry wall brush and slop the white wash on with a painting motion. Get it everywhere – roosts, in the cracks and all over the walls. No need to be neat - you will see why after it dries.

This should kill every creepy crawly critter in there. This is why out buildings were white washed back in the days – for parasite control and not for looks.

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Dakin's Solution (Antiseptic Wash)
 

42 comments:

  1. Thank you for putting this here. It would have taken me FOREVER to go back and find the post on the BYC site (I forgot to save it the first time I saw it).

    Julie (Just Me)

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  2. So glad you got this recipe put up!

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  3. Could you put up a recipe to make your own ACV with the mother?

    Jlynnet

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  4. Thanks so much for posting this!
    Finally an affordable solution!

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  5. thanks for posting these ,as I'm on a pension every penny saved helps cheers

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  6. love the "Bee's Wax" one. Some may not be aware, but look at the feed store for the pine tar. Farriers use it on hooves so some of the feed stores that also carry horseshoeing stuff have the pine tar.

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  7. It also can be found in sporting goods as they use it as a resin for baseball.

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  8. Now i do feel like a ninny I asked on BYC for the list of ingredients and I could have come here so much easier. Oh well.

    Miss Lydia

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  9. I guess I am lazy. I just grate the soap in my food processor, and then add the dry ingredients. I do not melt the soap. I just use 1/4 cup dry. My husband says it makes his clothes smell like his childhood.

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  10. question on avc. made mine out of apple cider I put the cider in a gallon glass jar with a coffee filter rubbered band on it. It is growing what I would assume is the mother. When do I put the lid on it? Does putting a lid on it stop the mother from continuing to grow? Should the ph level be checked?

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    Replies
    1. You don't need to check the pH. Once you have a good growth of Mother, then put the lid on and you'll have a good batch to work with.

      Delete
  11. A couple of questions about Bee's Wax please: I can source the sulfur but am unable to find Pine Tar or Bag Balm. I do not live in USA so ordering these items online through Amazon is too expensive for me. Are there any alternatives to these two items please? Also, I do have ready access to virgin organic coconut oil - could this be part of the mix, and if so, how?

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    Replies
    1. Angela - yes - you can use coconut oil, but your ointment may be a bit loose or runny. You could also mix in another kind of ointment that you trust and has natural ingredients. As for the pine tar, some may call it pine oil. It has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. I'm not sure what this could be replaced with - - I'm sorry I can't be a bigger help.
      Leigh

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  12. I saw identical pine tar at TSC the other day in the horse dept for $10.

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  13. another tidbit... for exceptionally dirty/greasy things, go to Lowes and buy some TSP (tri sodium phosphate) it's the ingredient that actually made laundry detergents work BEST way back when... then the enviromental whackos decided it was killing everything (before they figured out it wasn't the TSP) so it was removed as an ingredient.

    Hubby's a mechanic, so all his uniforms are usually pretty grungey. TSP has replaced his need for lots of bleach in the wash.

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    Replies
    1. In which dept. at Lowe's would I find the TSP?

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    2. Ask an associate. It is *probably* on the aisle with the cleaners, but an associate can always look it up and help direct you to just the right place.

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    3. I'm definitely WAY LATE to this party but...

      You can get TSP in any paint store/paint department too (I work in a paint place :D ) It is the item they use to pre-wash walls, decks, etc., before applying a new coating. Trisodium phosphate.

      I didn't realize you could use it in the laundry!

      Delete
  14. I was wondering about the addition of OxyClean in the detergent mix. It sure is great for taking out many stains.

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  15. Tip on the white wash. Put the jelly of a few scajineel (nopal) leaves in the wash before setting overnight and it will *stick* better. I got this tip from a vet in Mexico. He said you can also use aloe.

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  16. Interesting on the nopal addition I have access to plenty around here. I was wondering if anyone has tried to make the nustock yet and how it went. Should nustock /home made salve be used as a preventive on legs and vents?

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    Replies
    1. Yes - you can use home made NuStock to treat leg mites and to help prevent issues.

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  17. How often would you reccomend whitewashing of the coop?

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  18. how much lime do you need to add to water to make the gallon required for the whitewash please, also is 1/2 box mule team borax 38oz? i am trying to work out this receipe using uk info so not sure on your quantities.

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    Replies
    1. Hmmm... the directions are for 1 gallon of lime (lime measured into a gallon container) but that might not be something easily acquired in the UK.
      Yes - it should be 1/2 of a 38oz box of the mule team borax.
      Sorry I'm not more helpful!

      Delete
  19. Q:
    in reference to the homemade laundry soap/detergent, you mentioned using Borax...
    Borax makes my wife itch like crazy....
    is there something I can use instead of Borax??

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    Replies
    1. Hmmm... perhaps you could either leave the Borax out altogether or try replacing it with OxyClean.

      Delete
  20. Hi many thanks for all of these super home made tips.
    I am definitely interested in trying the white wash but struggling to find the barn lime and 20 mule team borax. I am in the UK so anyone else out there who has tryed this please let me know where you got the ingredients from.

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vicky -
      I wish I knew what to tell you. Have you checked online sources to see if you can have it shipped to you?

      Delete
  21. If I make a 5 gallon bucket of the white wash, can I keep any extra for later use? Does it store or is it all supposed to be used at once? The small coop I plan to make probably won't need a whole 5 gallons to cover it all inside. Thank you for your wonderful site!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It keeps pretty well covered for a week or more, can be reactivated with a bit of water. Like the borax idea.

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  22. Thanks for the cider trick ! It was an amazing taste. Thanks once again.

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  23. For the healing ointment to work on poultry lice & mites, how do you apply it to get them all?

    Can this be used on other livestock too? How would you apply it in that case? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The ointment should only be applied around the vent to help prevent lice eggs from hatching. Use wood ash and diotomaceous earth in the feathers over the rest of the bird to control external parasites.
      :-)

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  24. Hi there. Is "Pine Oil" the same as Essential Pine Oil, and can I substitute Pine Tar with Essential Pine Oil? Many thanks. aussiebushgirl at micanip dot com

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    Replies
    1. I'm afraid Essential Pine Oil is something very different and won't work the same way. Essential oils are very concentrated and can be harmful to the skin if used incorrectly. Pine tar is a product made from the sap of a pine tree - very sticky and thus, very good as an ingredient for wound dressing.

      Delete

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