What's the Bone-Headest Thing You've Done Lately Towards Prepping?

[mollypup]

I thought I was going to do something quite wonderful for the family yesterday. I bought this humongous pork roast on sale a few day ago with canning it in mind. So I thawed it out and commenced to cutting it up in chunks to put into pint-size jars. I was merrily hacking away and my knife suddenly came to a grinding halt. I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS THING HAD A BIG BONE RUNNING RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF IT!

I cut off as much meat as I could but I only ended up with 5 measly pints. I still have the big bone with meat that I couldn't cut off without running the risk of injury (I'm really paranoid of cutting myself) sitting in the fridge. I guess I'll boil it and make some soup. My lesson learned: Check the label and make sure there isn't a bone in it before buy!!!

(I've actually done a lot of stupid prepping mistakes but this was the most recent one lol!)

So......what's been yours? Remember we can learn from each other's mistakes! :D

[LUNCHBOX]

Molly, I don't know....I would've just grabbed a bag of beans and wanted til later. Canned a little for stock and probably canned some a different way later....haha. Seriously though, you took the time to cut it, can it and stick it, that's more than most.

I did pick up some steak to cut and make jerky to freeze. Yeah, I ate it.

[ladyhk13]

I thought I was going to do something quite wonderful for the family yesterday. I bought this humongous pork roast on sale a few day ago with canning it in mind. So I thawed it out and commenced to cutting it up in chunks to put into pint-size jars. I was merrily hacking away and my knife suddenly came to a grinding halt. I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS THING HAD A BIG BONE RUNNING RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF IT!

I cut off as much meat as I could but I only ended up with 5 measly pints. I still have the big bone with meat that I couldn't cut off without running the risk of injury (I'm really paranoid of cutting myself) sitting in the fridge. I guess I'll boil it and make some soup. My lesson learned: Check the label and make sure there isn't a bone in it before buy!!!

(I've actually done a lot of stupid prepping mistakes but this was the most recent one lol!)

So......what's been yours? Remember we can learn from each other's mistakes! :D

Molly...isn't that dog of yours getting bigger???? I'm sure she would appreciate it!!!!! ;)

[TEOTWAWKI13]

Biggest boneheaded thing? Where do I start?

I did however backdoor my wife into sorta prepping. I caught her watching the extreme couponing show on tv. Her sister is already quite good at it. So I challenged her into getting into it. She's not extreme yet, but we did buy $180 worth of stuff for $101 this week. She's only a SLIGHT bit OCD, so she'll be on it until she's buying $1000 worth of stuff for $30 and then I will have succeeded!!! :) Buahahahahahahaha! (evil laugh goes on until commercial starts)

[JustAPrepper]

I've got one...the brand new can of Powdered Sour Cream we bought in Salt Lake got dented in our suitcase on the way home so when I used it the other day I transferred it to jars and put them in the pantry but hadn't labeled them yet. A couple days later I pulled out a small package of Powdered Milk that had been vac sealed and Mylared to make something with. I used what I needed then headed straight to the pantry where I promptly grabbed an unmarked jar of some powdered stuff and proceeded to dump the milk in it. Two days later I was looking for the Sour Cream Powder and realized what I had done. I think I've made up about 100 new curse words since. :mad:

[Sniper-T]

k... now that^ just reminded me of something I did last year...

I had a bunch of store coupons to use, and bought 50# of white flour, 50# of bread maker flour, 50# of sugar, 25# of powdered milk and 25# of bisquick; when I got home I vacu-sealed everything into quart jars, and arranged them in a purposefull manner on the counter. I printed off a bunch of labels the next day at work, with the dates, contents, etc... only to get home and find that my DW put them all into boxes, and put them 'away'. It took longer than I'd like to remember to get everything sorted out, and I'm still not too sure about some of the flour.

Since then... I label everything as I'm doing it.

[ladyhk13]

I've got one...the brand new can of Powdered Sour Cream we bought in Salt Lake got dented in our suitcase on the way home so when I used it the other day I transferred it to jars and put them in the pantry but hadn't labeled them yet. A couple days later I pulled out a small package of Powdered Milk that had been vac sealed and Mylared to make something with. I used what I needed then headed straight to the pantry where I promptly grabbed an unmarked jar of some powdered stuff and proceeded to dump the milk in it. Two days later I was looking for the Sour Cream Powder and realized what I had done. I think I've made up about 100 new curse words since. :mad:

ok, so far you have won the prize!!!!! LOL!!! So, how did what you made come out?????

[JustAPrepper]

ok, so far you have won the prize!!!!! LOL!!! So, how did what you made come out?????

What I made came out fine since they hadn't been mixed yet. It's what I'll be making in the future that will be a surprise, lol!

[mollypup]

One of my other many "bone-head" prepping mistakes was when I drilled a hole in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket to install a ceramic water filter. I failed to realize that the bucket had a inch-round depression which made it impossible to snuggly tighten the plastic nut to the water filter. It leaked like crazy! I had to start over with another bucket. I did however, go to the hardware store and buy some rubber stoppers to plug into that hole and any future holes I might carelessly make.

[ravensgrove]

I have a horrible one. Grab the kleenex people.

So, this summer I spent a couple thousand hard earned soap making dollars into putting in a new back pasture for the goats. All summer long they grazed happily amongst giant gorgeous mossy maples. The larger goats had eaten amongst these trees for 3 years with solar netting, and have always been plump, sassy and healthy.
This year, with the economy nose diving, we had retained a couple of junior kids which didn't sell to the 4H crowd, eventually we would have eaten them or sold them. After losing two of them to frothy bloat in two weeks time, I went to the vet and paid handsomely for a necropsy...blockage. Culprit: wet giant maple leaf stem. The young kids had eaten maple leaves just like the big goats, and the stems had wedged in their gut between the rumen and the stomach, causing frothy bloat which killed both within hours.
So...the most bone-headed thing I have done to prep lately has been putting in a wonderful pasture, which now will be reserved for summer use only...not realizing the implications of wet maple leaves on young goat kids. And that folks, is real farming...trial and error, happiness and belly laughter at the best of times, sad, sad days and long nights of holding dying critters at the worst of times. its also why I haven't been on here much in two weeks...between flooring and goat tragedy I have been swamped.

[ladyhk13]

I have a horrible one. Grab the kleenex people.

So, this summer I spent a couple thousand hard earned soap making dollars into putting in a new back pasture for the goats. All summer long they grazed happily amongst giant gorgeous mossy maples. The larger goats had eaten amongst these trees for 3 years with solar netting, and have always been plump, sassy and healthy.
This year, with the economy nose diving, we had retained a couple of junior kids which didn't sell to the 4H crowd, eventually we would have eaten them or sold them. After losing two of them to frothy bloat in two weeks time, I went to the vet and paid handsomely for a necropsy...blockage. Culprit: wet giant maple leaf stem. The young kids had eaten maple leaves just like the big goats, and the stems had wedged in their gut between the rumen and the stomach, causing frothy bloat which killed both within hours.
So...the most bone-headed thing I have done to prep lately has been putting in a wonderful pasture, which now will be reserved for summer use only...not realizing the implications of wet maple leaves on young goat kids. And that folks, is real farming...trial and error, happiness and belly laughter at the best of times, sad, sad days and long nights of holding dying critters at the worst of times. its also why I haven't been on here much in two weeks...between flooring and goat tragedy I have been swamped.

Raven...I'm so sorry about your kids! How horrible to have to deal with that and all alone, too. My heart goes out to you and my arms wrap around you for a big hug! I hope that the rest of your animals remain happy and healthy and your floors are soon to be finished. I know they will be beautiful and we are all so proud of you.

[Sparrow]

I have a horrible one. Grab the kleenex people.

So, this summer I spent a couple thousand hard earned soap making dollars into putting in a new back pasture for the goats. All summer long they grazed happily amongst giant gorgeous mossy maples. The larger goats had eaten amongst these trees for 3 years with solar netting, and have always been plump, sassy and healthy.
This year, with the economy nose diving, we had retained a couple of junior kids which didn't sell to the 4H crowd, eventually we would have eaten them or sold them. After losing two of them to frothy bloat in two weeks time, I went to the vet and paid handsomely for a necropsy...blockage. Culprit: wet giant maple leaf stem. The young kids had eaten maple leaves just like the big goats, and the stems had wedged in their gut between the rumen and the stomach, causing frothy bloat which killed both within hours.
So...the most bone-headed thing I have done to prep lately has been putting in a wonderful pasture, which now will be reserved for summer use only...not realizing the implications of wet maple leaves on young goat kids. And that folks, is real farming...trial and error, happiness and belly laughter at the best of times, sad, sad days and long nights of holding dying critters at the worst of times. its also why I haven't been on here much in two weeks...between flooring and goat tragedy I have been swamped.

"sad, sad days and long nights of holding dying critters at the worst of times. " OMG I am so crying right now ... you are a very special lady, I am so happy that you share your experiences so candidly Raven, you are an asset to .. well ... everyone and everything.

[bacpacker]

Sorry to hear that Raven. It sucks having any of the animals on a farm die. Pets as well. It's hard for sure. Prayers sent.

Question for you, how old were the kids? How old are your older goats? I've never raised goats, (Yet??) and wasn't aware that you had to watch the feed for the younger ones so close. I always thought goats would eat most anything and be ok.
More research to be done for sure before I get goats.

[ravensgrove]

Thanks, as you know I think its really important to tell it all...good and bad when it comes to farming. Hopefully, people learn from my joy as well as my sorrow. Not everyone is cut out to farm, and its better people have a clear understanding of what raising livestock really is vs. some book they bought at Barnes and Noble. I have never lost a goat in my life to bloat, I did every last thing through the night I know how to do to no avail, because unbeknownst to me she was blocked with a stem. Frantic I did what a goatherd has to do and paid out the arse for the necropsy and lab reports. While I am happy to know the herd is indeed free of all parasites and disease I am mortified my short sightedness with respect to the leaves killed them. You live, you learn but when it comes at the expense of animals it really guts me.

Backpacker: they were 5 months old. As a rule I don't keep young does we sell them off if they aren't staying in the herd, so I hadn't had any young kids on that field before during fall. Until they are about 7 months old their rumen is not fully developed, they can eat like the big goats 99% of the time after 4 months old, but their anatomy is such anything that clogs a stomach to stomach connection or the rumen or colon causes bloat. Bloat can kill a goat within hours, it pushes on their diaphragm, they can't breath and they basically suffocate slowly. Become lethargic, progresses to can't walk etc. Goats bloat not frequently, but enough I have dealt with it numerous times, I have never dealt with a blockage to the rumen.

[ravensgrove]

Oh and our goats range in age. This herd is new to me since we pcs'd to WA so my eldest doe is 3 yrs old.

[bacpacker]

Again sorry for the loss. Dealing with that just sucks.
We always raised cows when I was growing up. I was eight at the time, but the first calf we had after we moved, to where my parents still live, was very healthy and doing well for about 2 months. Then we had a long wet spell and got cold real quick. He got pneumonia and died within just over a day. It tore me up, I was responsible for feeding and watering the stock and just felt horrible I didn't catch the problem soon enough. It did teach me a lesson about paying attention to things going on around me.

[mollypup]

Losing goats like that is not bone-headed. How were you to know about the maple stems? I doubt anybody would have known about that. I'd chalk it up to a really bad event, but certainly nothing to blame yourself for. You know you're a great goatherder and any goat you got would be one of the luckiest goats in the world! Now that you do know about it, if you let it happen again it would be bone-headed on an extreme scale, but not this time. Can you rake up the leaves by next fall so that they can't eat them and still use the pasture? Or maybe just cut the trees down and replace them with fruit trees.

But, I've tucked this knowledge about kid goats eating maple stems away so if and when we own goats I will be on the lookout for any maple trees they might be around. Really sorry this happened Ravensgrove. It hurts to see your animals get sick and die, especially the baby ones. I had that helpless desperate feeling once when we rushed one of our daughters to the emergency room. Husband was driving and I was holding her in my arms in the backseat and tried my best to soothe her while she screamed in pain. It's a terrifying moment for anybody to go through. She's alright, just had a terrible stomach bug that the doctors couldn't diagnose.

[The Stig]

Unless you count.....

Buying cheap backpacks from CTD and then wondering why the zippers exploded after sitting on a shelf

Having a generator that I've never started and had about 2 gallons of gas on hand to run

Insisting on going 100% in 98F degree weather for 6 hours and ending up out of action for two days

Packing 1,000lbs of gear, some of it in unopened packages, into a "bug out bag" for the wife.

The time I traveled to Nebraska and took absolutely nothing prep related with me. Nothing. Nada.

.......I've *never* done anything boneheaded with regards to prepping

[mollypup]

Yep!!! That's the kind of bonehead stuff I tend to do too!

[bacpacker]

Me to Stig! Me to!

[ladyhk13]

Packing 1,000lbs of gear, some of it in unopened packages, into a "bug out bag" for the wife.



You must know my husband!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!