Homemade dog treats

The holidays are just about passed and we can move on to our hopes for 2013! I love Christmas and New Year celebrations. The family and fun and warmth that comes with everyone gathering together to eat and fellowship is something I always look forward to.
This year I made it a goal of mine to try to make most of my gifts to save money. Gifts are so much more personal if you make them to suit the person receiving them. Along with my gifts to family, this year, I decided to include the pooches in the family. I made bone shaped cutout biscuits and sent them off with a little toy. I had trouble finding a recipe I liked( I wanted a recipe without peanut butter) so, I just threw something together.
  Here is the recipe I used:
3 cups flour
1 cup quick oats
1 Tsp sugar
1 Tsp baking powder
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 Cup hot water
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese3
1 egg

Dissolve the bouillon cubes the the hot water.
Mix dry ingredients.
Add water and egg and cheese.
Mix until combined.
Turn out onto floured counter and knead until smooth dough comes together.
Roll out to desired thickness and cut out.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in pre heated oven at 325· for about 20 minutes (depending on thickness and how crunchy you want them to be)
*I baked mine for 18 minutes and they were about 1/4 inch thick and they came out a little crunchy.
Enjoy!

Speaking of pooches, check out Helping Hands pet rescue. They work hard to save pets lives! (:

Emu In The Incubator

 Of all the pets we have now or have had in the past(we've had lots!), my favorites Will have to be our emu. We've had them since they were hatchlings, and have bonded with them so much since then(2 years)!



Hubby Playing with Our Emu

  Our dogs love them to as they were raised with them from pups. Originally we bought 2 emu hatchlings as a pair, Male and female, with intentions to breed them and incubate the eggs. 2 years later, we have come to the conclusion that we have 2 males! (Male emus make a grunting noise when they are matured and females make a deep drumming noise. We have 2 grunters!)
 This week we found 2 female emu for sale and had to get them. Now our boys finally have mates!



Emu Playing

  I'm Thrilled to be able to start incubating emu eggs. Emu are by far the cutest chicks in my opinion.
We've done our reading (and googling!) and found out the exact temps and humidity levels needed in order to hatch healthy chicks. If you think you may want to incubate emu eggs in the future, read on!(:
 The Ideal Temperature for incubating emu eggs is 96.5 to 97.0 degrees Fahrenheit.(The Temperature needs to stay at a steady temp. Not like chicken eggs that can have a successful hatch rate at varying temps)
 The Humidity level should be around 70-75 degrees. (Keep a small bowl of water in the incubator for humidity)
 Turn the eggs 2-3 times every day.(you can mark an X with a pencil on one side of the egg so you can remember which eggs have been turned)
With chicken eggs, you could continue to turn the eggs until they begin to hatch. Emu eggs on the other hand Should not be rotated after day 41 or so. The chicks are preparing to emerge from their shells during this time!After 43-50 days in the incubator, your emu chicks should be here!
 I am so excited to see our chicks hatch. We only just put them in the incubator, and I already cant wait!