Productivity

     Today dawned gray, but mild and looked like it might be a good day to work on the weeds in the grape bed.  After turning the pups out for a romp and to do their business and feeding them and me, I walked over to the coop to let the chicks out.  When I opened the door, I noticed that Tweedle Dum or Tweedle Dee, the mammoth white meat birds had been pecked to the blood.  Plans changed to trying to find a solution as I knew that I had too many chickies in the coop and have worried for a couple of days for a cheap solution to separating them into two flocks, the keepers for eggs and the meat birds that will be harvested in a few weeks for the freezer.  I don't know who the culprit doing the pecking was, as one of the unknown breed white birds and one of the pretty Silver Laced Wyandottes roosters are pretty feisty.  The Wyandotte, after pecking at both hubby and me has been named Little Bastard and is sure for the freezer as soon as he has enough size.
     My initial idea was to enclose the base of the raised coop and divide the run, but it really was only marginally large enough.  On our way to buy the supplies to try to solve the problem, hubby and I discussed my digging out one of the compost bins and building a temporary run in front of it.  When we got home with the wire and posts, we found the two new smaller pullets not only out of their temporary pen, but also out of the coop and the run, happily grazing in the compost bin.
     After much digging and stapling chicken wire around the inside of the compost bin, the cage wire was strung around 8 metal fence posts and topped with plastic poultry mesh to keep hawks out and chicks in, a huge tarp doubled and stapled over the prevailing wind and rain side and the top and moved 11 of the chickies to the new pen.

     That solved part of the problem, hopefully without inviting every predator in the county to come feast.  The next problem was to find a solution to separating Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee from the rest of the chicks as they are so big and so lazy now that they have become targets for bullying.  We had a large dog crate unoccupied in the garage, so it was put to use as a resting area for the two.  I divided the run to make a separate fenced area for them, the width of the cage and the length of the run with their own food and water and they are happier too.

     The only remaining problem is keeping the newest two chicks separate from the other potential egg layers, at least until they are larger or accepted by the flock, so I redesigned their pen inside the coop to give them access to the perches.  They are sharing the coop with only 8 other birds now and hopefully the aggression will tame down and everyone will be happier for the remainder of their time on the farm.

Addiction?

     In early March, on a spur of the moment stop at Tractor Supply, I left with a box of 8 very young chicks.  The next day at a different Tractor Supply, I bought 7 more.  Two of the first set died within a week, a hazard of feed store chicks and of the very fast growing meat birds that made up half of the original purchase.
     While I was learning more about raising the birds, I joined a forum for backyard chicken growers and ended up connecting with a local gal who had 6 birds that were the same age and breed as one of the heritage types I had purchased and she couldn't keep them.  I met her in a parking lot to buy the chicks from her.  They adjusted quickly to the coop and run and settled into the routine of being let out each morning and returning each evening by dark.
     Eldest son scheduled a visit to come in mid May to cull the two giant meat birds and help do some work at our house with plans to return in early July to cull the rest of the birds that we won't keep as layers.  It appears that most of the 6 I bought last weekend are roosters and won't be kept.
     Today, we went to Tractor Supply to buy a 5 gallon waterer as the gals and guys are now getting quite large, looking like chickens, not chicks and were emptying the 1 gallon jug at least twice a day and in the parking lot was pickup truck with several cages in the back of chicks about a week or two younger.  Two of the three breeds they had, were heritage breeds that I wanted, an Easter egger, that lay blue or green shelled eggs and Buff Orpingtons, that are just a pretty dual purpose chicken.  They were all pullets and I left with one of each to add to my flock. 
     Unfortunately, they are much smaller than the ones we already had and several of the "older" ones took issue with the newbies and attacked them.  This resulted in making an impromptu cage in the corner of the coop to protect them until they get similar size or at least the others get used to them.
     The plan is to keep the two new ladies, 2 of the Rhode Island Reds, and 2 or 3 of the Silver Laced Wyandottes as my laying flock.
     Today's purchase has given my hubby all the fuel he needed to decide that I have a chicken addiction and has resulted in some teasing, all in fun.

     The flock just can't get any larger, the coop and the run just can't handle any more.

Green, green grass of home

     One of the Asian Pear trees did not leaf out this year.  The trees are about a year and a half old, so not to fruiting stage yet.  Today we went to Crow's Nest Nursery, my favorite local nursery and bought a new tree that is about three years old.  Before I could plant it, I needed to mow the orchard and around the chicken coop and garden.
      Since I put electric fence around the entire garden, chicken, and tree area, I can no longer mow it with the tractor without taking the electric wire down each time.  When I mowed around the house last week, a narrow swath of grass was left for fear of damaging the house and deck with the tractor or brush hog.  I pulled out the professional size and style weed trimmer and spent several hours trimming the knee high grass around the perimeter of the house, around the outside of the electric fence and finally, around the coop, garden and the area within the electric fence.  I am spent.  Knowing that this will be a task repeated at least every two weeks during the summer and fall, we are discussing buying a yard riding mower and reserving the tractor for the heavier mowing of the parts of the yard that are only mowed a few times a year. A riding mower can be used to do a lot of the trimming that we have been using the weed trimmer to do.
     Since our local Sears is closing and they are starting their closing sale in a few days, we may on their doorstep early to see if there are any deals on their mowers.
     I still need to plant the tree we bought today, but that is going to have to wait until tomorrow.

Monday productiveness

     Each day as I go out to water and feed the chicks, I see that the weeds in the garden are quickly taking over and from experience, I know that the thicker and taller they get, the harder my garden prep work becomes.  Today is cool, sweatshirt cool, but clear and blue and since the mastiff has gone on strike and won't get in the car to go on a town walk, I turned the pups out, turned the chicks out into their run and decided to see how much of the garden I could deal with in one afternoon.  The garlic and onions only needed minimal weeding, the herb and greens beds were done a couple of weeks ago when I bought the starts, that left a 4' square bed, an 11 x 4' bed, and an 8 x 4' bed that needed to be prepped for planting.  The berry beds were done about a week ago also and as they are heavily mulched with straw, they weren't too bad.  The garden is weeded, except for the grape bed.  I thought I had that one handled as I put a cover crop of oats and field peas on it in the fall.  The cover crop came up beautifully, and the deer thought I put it there for them, so after a few freezes, some grazing by the deer, there was no cover left and the weeds are winning.  I think I will sharpen the hoe and hack them down another day, then plant a heavy crop of clover in there to try to keep the weeds down for the season or plant the winter squash and pumpkins in that bed, knowing their dense leaf cover will help keep the weeds down.
     Two types of shelling peas are planted and I harvested enough of a mess of greens from the ones that survived the winter, to have a meal of African chicken and hot greens with farro pilaf.  A delightful dinner, heavy on our garlic from last year.
     I have enjoyed watching the young chickens explore their first full day outdoors as I worked in the garden.  I think they will be a good addition to our farm, adding fresh eggs from pasture raised birds and enjoyment watching them search for bugs and greens while chasing each other around the run.  I think they have decided that I am friend, not foe, they even gathered at the fence on the side I was observing them.  I am awaiting whether they will coop up on their own now that it is getting dark or whether I will be out there in the gathering dark and cold trying to catch each of the 21 birds and putting them in the coop.
     My knitting and spinning have taken a rest while I work my way into spring.

White Trillium

Sunday musings in April

     This month has been busy for me with a half week trip to Northern Virginia to help out with childcare during eldest grandson's spring break and the little guy was on the tail end of a bad cold that lasted his entire break, so he didn't have much energy to do things.  We did manage one trip into the D.C. museums, but he didn't last long.
     A week in Florida with our daughter and her family to try to help her out a bit was delightful, though her son was also sick the entire week I was there and spent much of the week in his room.  He managed school for a day and a half, so daughter and I got some of things she wanted to get done accomplished, including throwing a successful surprise birthday party for her hubby.
     The month has brought two snows, one of 7 inches that lasted less than 24 hours, gratefully, and a week of mid 80's temps to make us think it was summer and that we missed spring entirely.  This week is more typical of the mountain spring with night time temps in the low 30's and daytime up into the 60's.  With two more weeks before we reach our last average frost day, this is more normal.
     The week I was in Florida, the grass turned from winter dull to emerald green and the trees started leafing out.  It is exciting to see the brown mountain sides flushing with color again, even if it meant that I had to mow the grass around the house yesterday to reduce the tick load when I walk over to the chicken coop.  I can't believe we are already finding those disgusting critters this early.  If the chickens were a bit bigger and I knew they would go back to their coop at night, I would turn them loose to feast.
     Speaking of chickens, they seem to be multiplying and they aren't even old enough to lay eggs yet.  Hubby says I have an addiction.  I moved them last weekend to the coop where they have much more room and roosts to perch on.  Today I was going to start giving them outdoor time, but yesterday, I acquired 6 more Silver Laced Wyandottes, a heritage breed that are the same age as the ones I already have, so they need to be cooped for another day or two, though they may follow the rest of the flock back into the coop at night.

The black ones are the Wyandottes, the darkest reds are Rhode Island Reds, the lighter reds are the Red Rock crosses, the 2 smaller white one are unknowns and you can see one of the white dinosaurs right by the waterer, at least 3 times larger than the others.  They aren't cute little chicks anymore.  In about 9 weeks the flock of 21 will be culled down to 6 to 8 hens for eggs and our eldest son will come to be the executioner and put the rest in the freezer for meat for his family and us.  It has been an interesting experience raising them so far.  I've learned not to try to raise them indoors, way too dusty and smelly.  To wait until mid April to get chicks so that the weather is warmer and the brooder can go in the garage, or even pen off part of the coop and put the heat lamp out there.  I don't know if I will ever get to the point of having brooder hens to raise the chicks, it would certainly be easier.  I am still toying with whether to double fence my garden and let them loose between the fences; risk free ranging them with the number of hawks we have, I think that is asking for predator loss; or increasing the size of their pen and keeping them contained.  The only locals that I know that keep chickens,  two free range and one pens.  Surprisingly, few of our farmer neighbors raise them or for that matter, even keep one of their pastured beeves for meat for themselves.  They raise the beeves, send them to the stock auction, then go to the local grocery to buy their meat.

Home to springtime

     This morning, I left Florida and my week long mom-cation for our daughter.  It was a delightful week of daughter time, grandkid love and a successful surprise birthday party for our son-in-law.  Grandson was sick the entire week unfortunately, but it gave him more time at home while I was there.  Our 16 month old granddaughter took better than half a week to warm up to me, other than to make faces and laugh when I made them back, but snuggles were forthcoming later in the week.  She is adorable, with a blossoming vocabulary that seemed to expand even while I was there.  I was able to help with chores, cook some meals, and try to give our daughter a little less stress and was glad to be able to do it.
     While I was gone, our youngest son and his family, another 6 year old grandson and almost 2 year old granddaughter, arrived here and spent a few days with hubby, the pups and chicks.  The chick doubled in size and seriously out grew the 110 gallon animal watering trough that we were using as a brooder.  My return early enough this afternoon, allowed me to relocate them from the too small and very dirty brooder into their coop with clean bedding and relocated water and food source.  Tomorrow I will make a 5 gallon waterer for them and in a few days they will be allowed into their outdoor run during the days, hopefully to return to the coop at night without me having to catch each and close them in.

     Also while I was gone, spring arrived, the fields are green, the trees are blooming; forsythia, maple, cherry, peaches, redbuds.  Some of the trees have squirrel ear leaves, and the weeds in the garden took off.  I am going to have to get out there promptly and take a hoe to it or I will end up on my hands and knees aggravating my arthritis and trigger finger symptoms hand weeding.  The seedlings indoors are looking healthy and should soon be able to be transplanted into the beds for summer produce and flowers.
     It was a great change of pace last week, but I am delighted to be back home and see that spring
has arrived.  About 3 more weeks to get past the last frost date and the garden will be in full swing.  We already need to mow around the house.

Girls day out

     Today is 60 f, clear and beautiful.  Tomorrow is supposed to be better, but I am leaving at noon for a week, leaving hubby to care for the puppies and the girls.
     Now I know, they aren't girls, but at this point, I'm not sure about gender and the only ones we will keep will be girls.  They are 4 weeks old.  The meat birds look like dinosaurs next to the other chicks.  The red rock crosses are larger, but only marginally.  The Rhode Island Reds, Wyandottes, and the 2 mystery birds (maybe Columbian crosses) are feathering out, but so much smaller.

It seemed like a good day to introduce them to the outdoors for a while, not permanently, so I build a temporary net pen, loaded them into a doggie crate and moved them out for a romp in the grass.  I wish they had more space to play, they were funny, pecking at clover, looking for bugs, and chasing each other around, except for the two monsters, who just lay there in the grass like lumps.

     I'm off for a Mommy-cation, not for me, but for my daughter.  She is feeling the effects of being a mommy of 2 young children, full time student, homemaker, and running a small business, so I'm going to help out for a week to see if I can relieve some of her stress and let her focus on less.  It will give me some grandkids time, some daughter time, and a change of venue for me for a few days.

Friday Tradition {6}

     April "showers" equal 6 inches of . . .

. . . but the sun is coming out and it is supposed to go up to 55 f today, so maybe it won't last long.

Race against the storms

     The past couple of days have been beautiful, azure skies, sun and enough warmth to need no more than a light fleece or sweater during the daylight hours.  The nights are still falling to the 28-32 degree Fahrenheit range.  Today and tomorrow are rainy and cooler expectations.
     Yesterday after having our 24 year old neighbor, who is a machinist and gunsmith, set the scope on my new rifle, I got to practice shooting on his range for a few minutes and managed to shoot 3 plastic bottles of water with only 4 shots, the first one was high.  I have never been a proponent of guns, we even had an ugly Christmas when my father-in-law presented to my husband, an old family rifle and insisted that the children and I be present when it was given.  I stormed off angry over the incident.  I haven't fired a weapon of any sort, except a child's bow since 1969, and I was old enough to have purchased that handgun at the insistence of my ex-husband who was going to Viet Nam for a one year tour.  It was fired at a range until he thought I could handle it and then it was placed in a locked box and spent the next 44 years being moved from house to house and finally locked in the gun locker we put in this house when my hubby and I settled here.
     We live on a farm.  Our neighbors are all farmers and hunters.  We have coyotes, groundhogs and other vermin that destruct the garden, attack calves and fawns and we need to be able to protect our livestock when the fencing is up and they are added, so that our horses and cattle aren't attacked by the coyotes or our chickens aren't attacked by them, the raccoons, or foxes and to keep the groundhogs from devastating our vegetable garden or digging dens and tunnels that cattle and horses can break a leg in.  The environment here was different than the city and having guns for the right reasons has never been a problem for me, so the small 22 magnum rifle was purchased and I am now learning to handle it properly.  Next question is whether I will be able to use it against something living, even if it is a nuisance.
     Sidetrack over.  The rest of yesterday was spent erecting the fence for the chicken run.  The chicks have about 1 more week indoors, then they move to the coop for a few days to a week until they know that is home.  By late April, they should be feathered enough to start spending the days outdoors and cooped at night.  Because the coop is raised on 4 X 4 legs set on a sled base, the underside had to be fenced so the chicken can not just scoot out under it.  But I wanted them to be able to escape under the coop from hawks and the heat, so the first part of the project involved stapling wire around 2 1/2 sides of the coop.  Next the 50' roll of 4 foot garden fencing had to be staked and anchored.  I got nearly around and realized I measured wrong and didn't have enough fencing.  Frustrated, I quit for the day and went to my ladies knit night group to unwind.

     This morning, refreshed and before the rain set in, I bundled up against the morning cold and finished the job.  The chicks now have about 160 square feet of play space.

 

 

Back of coop, run, garden and orchard in the background and the next project, repairing or deconstructing the 6 bin compost bins.

The makeshift gate I realized I would probably need, though once the bird netting as a hawk deterrent goes on top, I will have to duck walk inside the run.

 

 

 

Surprises

     Today is chilly but sunny and the nursery had cabbage, kale, broccoli and lettuce mixes as seedlings.  This was enough incentive to weed the two covered beds to plant the seedlings and I was delighted to find the lavender survived the winter, the parsley coming back in one bed and in the other bed, where I cut off the cabbage heads last fall, there are small heads forming on the side of the stalk and the purple kale overwintered.  The 8 kale plants, 4 cabbages, 4 broccoli and 4 lettuce plants have joined them under the row covers to ward off light frost and cabbage worms.
     The orchard is now fenced with electric and should keep the deer and dogs out of the garden and orchard.  Tomorrow is also supposed to be another nice day, so I will erect the chicken run.  They benefitted from my efforts with a small lettuce head and a handful of bugs as a supplemental treat to their chick feed.
     It really seems like we might be edging into spring, though I needed a fleece and a hat and gloves to work outside today.  I got the basil seed and will get them started this afternoon too.
     Another season has commenced.

April Showers

     Hopefully, the April showers of today will bring the May flowers.  Today is a bit cooler than yesterday, but definitely feeling more spring-like, though the Friday forecast is for a wintery mix again.  We ventured into town with a list of errands and purchased the fencing wire and posts for the chicken run, the spool of electric wire to attach to the charger and enclose the orchard, resupply of chick feed and bedding and the flats to start the garden veggies.

     Nestled on the warming mat, under the grow light are seed starts for 2 types of tomatoes, 2 types of peppers, spacemaster cucumbers, winter squash, pumpkins, chard, 4 types of flowers and a row left for the globe basil that I seemed to have failed to order with my seed order.  Guess I'll have to pick them up next time I'm in town.  I want to plant fennel seed too, but still have to figure where it can go in the garden without killing off its companion plants.  It may be time to go to the indie grower in town and look for some kale, spinach, salad mix, and bok choy seedlings.  They should do fine under the row covers now.
     If the rain stops tomorrow, the chick pen will be established and they will get to start spending warm days in the sun looking for bugs and seeds.  It is definitely time.  I'm toying with moving them to the coop and putting their heat lamp out there with an outdoor extension cord just to get them out of the house.

     The cute little chicks are now gangly teenagers and the two big white guys on the right of the picture weigh several pounds each (that is a gallon water jug for comparison).  They are the two remaining meat birds that convert feed to meat so quickly that they can hardly stand up.  Their lifespan is measured in weeks where the leaner smaller birds live years, if we let them.  It looks like at least two of the silver laced Wyandottes, which I hoped to keep may be cockrells, so they won't stay around.  I can't tell on the Rhode Island Reds yet and I have decided not to keep the Red Rock crosses for eggs, so it doesn't matter as they will fill the freezer in about 13 or 14 more weeks.  When we were in Tractor Supply, they had Buff Orphingtons which are one of the heritage birds I wanted to raise, but I am not buying any more chicks this year.  If I can get through the year with a handful of egg layers, I may consider some heritage birds next year and may even let one of the heritage varieties breed.
     It is exciting to be readying the garden and chicks for a summer of homegrown delights.  I am hopeful that the blueberries that I purchased last year and the raspberries that I divided last year all survived the winter and will start providing us with fruit soon.  The garlic and walking onions are up and looking strong.  It will be a good year.