how about an update on the deer Kathy. Did it heal,, die, or did you put it down? Did you do anythign that seemed to help it?

on another note,, I have a BUNCH of carrots, that I need to do something with,, to hot for soup/stews, ect. Any ideas on how to keep them from going to waste??

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), June 23, 2002

Answers

Carrots - our favorite way to fix them is to boil the carrots until they are fork tender; drain; then plop in a lump of butter and either some honey or brown sugar; shake 'em up, then enjoy. We like these hot or cold!

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), June 23, 2002.

Carrot sticks! Dip them in a dressing of your choice. Or, make carrot and raisin salad. Or, use a vegetable peeler to top a salad with carrot curls. My carrots were always just left in the ground until I wanted them.

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), June 23, 2002.

these are store bought carrots. I use them in salads and such, but I have 10 pounds. Was hoping for an easy way to "preserve" them for alter use, before they get bad

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), June 23, 2002.

Peel them, split and put in a jar with cold water in fridge. Stay nice and crisp for quite some time.

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), June 23, 2002.

Stan, do you have a food dehydrator? You could dehydrate them and use in soups or stews later. Another way is to freeze them. They would have to be blanched for 5 minutes first, cooled immediately then packaged. Check this site out on food preservation. National Center for Home Food Preservation: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/freeze/carrot.html

-- (dreamcatcher@yahoo.com), June 23, 2002.

Big 'uns or little 'uns? Don't guess it matters, tho. I like to can the little ones from the store. Dump them in a pint jar, shake them down, add a couple tablespoons of honey, then water to the shoulder of the jar, wipe the rim, put on a new lid that has been sitting in hot water, ring band; then pressure cook at 10# for 20 minutes. Cool naturally. I put up about 20 jars of the little ones when I catch them on sale for a good price. Takes about a pound bag per pint. I can't grow carrots worth a darn, tho I keep trying every year. Those little Thumbelina ones seem to do the best for me; tho I had some larger ones do okay last year. Poor germination is the main problem.

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), June 23, 2002.

Sorry Everyone, I've been pretty busy & just didn't get around to posting. Tom's car lost a transmission on Friday, so it's been the mad scramble to get him a different vehicle. 'Bambi' is still with me, she has a heavy limp but she eating(she loves sweetfeed!) & drinking well. Does anyone know if deer will overeat like a horse or do they have more sense? I don't know if I should restrict the sweetfeed or switch to plain crimped oats. The leg looks like it's atrophying(sp?)-it's about half the diameter of the other one, so maybe there was some other problem like a stricture that caused it to die, it's hard to say what happened. I gave her the Chondroiton/Glucosamine, MSM, Colloidal Silver & a dose of antibiotics I had from the vet(called to check that they were safe for deer). She goes into the brush & woods each day but returns during the heat of the day to the barn and also she spends her nights in the barn or under the yard light by the barn. So far I think it's going pretty well, she 'snorts' at me when I go outside, not a mean sort of snort but more like an acknowledgement. I'm not trying to tame her, my hope is she can just live out her days in my pastures as free as possible. Thanks for caring, you guys are the best. KA

-- Kathy Aldridge (beckoningwinds@yahoo.com), June 23, 2002.

Kathy, interesting about the atrophy. I would be very careful of the grain as her system is not at all adapted, and also with her reduced activity, her rumen could be very vulnerable. I would definately add baking soda or probiotics to it, and only a little (if at all?). If she is eating good hay or/or browse I would think the additional supplement may not be nessary, and could make her more fearless in approaching humans. Just some thoughts. :) Good to hear she may be able to still live a relatively normal life.

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), June 24, 2002.