This mix is especially helpful in the spring when the ‘babies’ are coming. We’ve used it for years for calves, lambs and even baby pigs when ‘mama’ wouldn’t cooperate for a day or two. This is especially helpful when the little ones get diarrhea. We work too hard to get these babies on the ground, and we don’t want to lose them. It’s handy to have these ingredients on hand, especially when blizzards and other adverse weather hits and you can’t get to the veterinarian.
ELECTROLYTE MIX
One package of fruit pectin (for jelly making) Sure Jell and Pen Jell are two that I know of
2 teaspoons baking soda
One 10-ounce can of chicken broth (or 10 ounces of warm water mixed with either four chicken bouillon cubes or four teaspoons of powdered chicken bouillon)
1 teaspoon plain table salt
Mix well. It will foams up a lot, so you need to use a large bowl. Let the foam settle a bit and then add 2 quarts (8 cups) of warm water.
Administer the mixture for at least three days, then gradually introduce milk again.
Lambs or baby goats should get 8 – 16 ounces per feeding, three times a day.
Calves should get one quart (32 ounces) two or three times a day.
BANISHED ‘GAMEY’ FLAVOR
A reader writes:
Some of my family members hunt wild game such as deer, elk, wild turkeys to feed their families. We were given some of this meat last Christmas, but my children didn’t care for the taste. My sister-in-law told me how to fix it. She told me soaking the meat overnight in sour milk will take that ‘gamey’ taste out of it.
She was right – I soaked a roast, and the kids ate every bite of it and didn’t even ask where it came from.
(tip submitted by NM, IA)
PRE- MADE COFFEE PACKETS
This is such a cute idea! A reader writes:
My husband goes to work at midnight and likes to have fresh coffee for his thermos, but he makes a mess when he makes his own coffee. My 12-year-old daughter, who is a ‘neat freak’ came up with an idea to make coffee packets for her dad. She puts a coffee filter in a round plastic freezer container and places the right amount of coffee in it. Then she sets another filter, upside down over the top. She then takes a needle and thread and stitches around the edges of the filters to hold the coffee inside.
She stacks several of these in another container, alongside the coffee pot. Now all her dad has to do is pop a coffee packet in and brew his coffee without making a mess all over the counter. Pretty clever!
FREEZER HINTS AND HELP
It’s inevitable at some point during the winter we will lose power – sometimes for several days at a time. If you are home, you can start the generator to keep the refrigerator, the freezer and the furnace working. But if you’re not, you may be in for a surprise when you open that refrigerator or freezer.
My neighbor has an easy way of knowing if her freezer has been off while she’s been gone. She puts a small container of ice cubes on the top shelf of her deep-freeze, and if they’ve melted some, she knows the power has been off, and some of the food probably won’t be safe to eat. She saved some gallon plastic milk jugs, filled them with water and completely lined the bottom of the freezer with the full jugs. When they’re frozen, they make a layer of ice over a foot deep, and it would take days for them to thaw, keeping the food safe for consumption.
I’ve also heard of people filling large, heavy-duty freezer bags full of water and tucking them into
STORING ALL THOSE EXTENSION CORDS
We have a big Christmas display outside of our home each year, and after the holidays, everything gets tossed into a spot in the garage until we have time to get it all sorted, packed and put away again. Over the years, we’ve collected more and more strings of lights, those big animated figures, etc. and it takes lots of cords to connect everything. Keeping them from getting tangled was a problem until my son decided to use toilet paper tubes to store them in. He folded the cords into a foot and a half lengths and slid them in the cardboard. Works great!
(tip submitted by CN, MN)
NOISY WINDOWS
I live in a very old house, and some of the windows really get to rattling when the wind gusts. It’s hard to ignore. A co-worker told me to use gauze, folded up and stuffed in between the frame and the sill. I tried her tip, and it worked. She said her granny used corn pads – but they’re costly.
(tip submitted by MD, OK)
FIND THAT FLASHLIGHT
Can’t ever find a flashlight when you need one – like when the electricity is off? Here’s a hint for you: Use ‘glow in the dark’ sticky tape and wrap it around the big end of the flashlight, along with a strip or two down the sides. Or buy some ‘glow in the dark’ paint at a craft or hardware store. Put a large stripe around the head of the light and down the sides. Makes it much easier to find when you’re stuck in the dark.
(tip submitted by DS, WY)
DUCT TAPE TO THE RESCUE
My daughter has a black sweater that she loves to wear, but one of my other kids did the laundry and didn’t sort the clothes. He put her black sweater in with a load of towels, and it ended up covered with ‘fuzz balls.’ We didn’t have a lint roller, but he solved the problem by wrapping some duct tape around his hand (sticky side out) and was able to remove the fuzz.
His dad likes the idea because lint rollers are expensive, and duct tape has other uses – besides picking fuzz off sweaters!
(tip submitted by BE, MN)
RECYCLE OLD REFRIGERATORS
My 30-year-old fridge finally gave up, and it was going to cost me a fortune to haul it to the dump. Instead of hauling it to the landfill, we put it in the back porch, and I use it to store big baking pans and roasters that only get used a few times a year. This freed up space on my overloaded kitchen cupboards, and I can get what I need without crawling around on my hands and knees and moving everything around to find what I need.
(tip submitted by GA, WV)
