Chickens – Page 5 – This Old House 2

Why did the rooster cross the road?

To get to my hens on the other side…

much to my chagrin.

He’s a handsome boy, I’ll give him that.

But there are several reasons we don’t have a rooster here at this old house.

1. They beat up on the hens and pluck their back feathers out.

2. They demand sex all the time and I’m not subjecting my hens to that crap.

3. They’re noisy.

4. Some are nasty and will chase you if they feel like you are invading their territory.

This guy lives across the street with two other roosters and his own flock of hens.

Until a few weeks ago he stayed on his side of the road.

For some reason, he believes my flock is his now too, and he comes over frequently

to “claim” them.

I’ve chased him back to his place several times, still waiting for him to get the message.

He challenges me on occasion but knows I’m capable of a good drop kick

..so it’s become a stand-off kind of dance without physical confrontation,

then his reluctant retreat.

Hmmm.. . Maybe it’s the red heat lamp in their coop he has mistaken

for a house of ill repute.

ROOOOOOX anne…. you don’t have to put on the red light…

(did I get you to sing it again?)

We had a very nice Christmas holiday,

time well spent with family on both sides, cousins getting together

The older folks reminiscing, siblings catching up.

Those are the most important gifts –

I hope you were able to catch some Christmas joy in whatever way

holds meaning to you –

As my husband says lately when he ends a call

… (and it’s kinda hilarious if you know him well)

*Peace*

Brrrr…

Well, so much for all that bragging about awesome fall weather. The cold has descended… and it’s a chilly morn here at This Old House. Not that I’m complaining!.. Every day is a gift, right? When the New England chill sets in, there are a few things we layer up around here…

Pardon the crappy iphone pics.. it is what it is.

The minis grow a very thick coat –

The horses do not,

so they are blanketed.

I add extra bedding to the stalls –

The chickens get a red flood light to throw some heat –

(my chicken coop looks like a house of ill repute at night)

ROX anne…. you don’t have to put on the red light…..

those days are over… you don’t have to sell your body to the night..

ROX anne…

Sorry, couldn’t help myself…

… off topic but who knows the artist who made that song famous.

No googling.

You’re singing it now, aren’t ya.

And I throw some hay around the chicken yard so they can forage a little and burrow in it..

The basket of barn gloves and hats is now perched on the mud room bench for the season..

Don’t ever make the mistake of wearing barn gloves to the grocery store, however.

The scent is distinct 🙂

..and firewood rests on the porch, easy access on those cold nights.

Although I may gripe now and again about the cold grey New England winters…

I wouldn’t trade the season changes.

An opportunity for a week or two

in a warm sunny tropical place wouldn’t be scoffed at and turned away, however.

Just sayin.

The one about the Chickens

Chickens tend to be thought of as not very bright. Now that I’m three years into chicken tending, I can tell you I’ve found that not to be true. No dumb clucks in this flock. If they’re let out to free range during the day, they don’t stray too far from the coop, always returning to lay their eggs and roost as the light changes to early evening. If they hear my flip flops on the gravel they come running… knowing this person always has treats for them. When they hear a hawk screech in the sky, they instinctively duck for cover.

There is a reason for all the cliches associated with chickens… it comes straight from chicken behaviors…

Pecking Order…. there is one in every flock. The boss hen (if there is no rooster) lets everyone know their place.

Being Hen Pecked… that’s the chickens who are lower on the flock seniority list.

Coming home to roost … well that’s what they do.

I have the answer to Why did the chicken cross the road, by the way….. to get away from the hawk on this side of the road who just decapitated one of it’s flock mates. good reason!

Chicken Out – Chickens are definitely cautious.

Run around like a chicken without a head. – I have no personal experience with this, thankfully!…

She’s no spring chicken. – Older chickens don’t lay eggs. They stop being egg-productive at about three to four years of age.

Chickens do have their own personalities, this is something that amazed me when I began my chicken raising journey. My own flock of eleven are a very diverse group. I have three of my original seven, who are now aging and not laying as frequently as they once did. There are the four that I had shipped from out west… poor things, won’t do that again. And then there are the four that I adopted when I brought my nasty hen – the one who thought she was a rooster and routinely plucked the feathers off my other chickens – to the lovely young woman at the Cluttered Coop. She provides a home for wayward chickens and roosters. Ever since that nasty hen left, my hens have flourished.

Henrietta is a small Cochin, sweet disposition

Snow is a large Cochin, a little more reserved but definitely curious.

Cochins have feathered feet!

Dorothy is a Black Australorp..

Regal in stature and one of my originals.

The flock tends to follow her around the yard, although she is not bossy.

I’m not sure exactly what Sophias breed of chicken is,

although I think she is a bantam by her small size. She came from the Cluttered Coop.

Notice the feathered feet, perhaps she is also a Cochin.

Below are Autumn, an Auracana (blue eggs!)

And Andie.. my Blue Andalusian..

and Red, my New Hampshire Red.

There are two barred rocks… Salt and Pepper

Rose is at the bottom left, another of my originals, an Auracana as well.

Raven is the black auracana in the background.

I’ve placed new sand in the coop yard.. this needs to be done periodically,

as well as a good raking out every day to keep the environment clean for the girls.

AND… some of you may remember the project my guys put together for me

this summer…

The Chicken Shack!

It’s done and in place.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…

if you’ve ever considered having chickens in your own back yard,

I recommend it highly.

They are a delight to care for and the eggs are divine.

And there’s a reason why people refer to inexpensive things as Chicken feed.

It’s cheap!

Fanning it

Well, it’s hotter than hot once again, with temps near 100 and the humidity thick enough to slice. Yuck. It’s important in this kind of weather to remember the animals in our care. I get the barn, coop and garden chores done as early as I can talk myself into on these hot summer days.

Chickens do not like extreme heat.

They do better in cold weather temps than they do

in high heat situations.

I can’t air condition their coop,

but I do make sure they have plenty of clean water and I dump ice cubes in

the water troughs during the day. I also make sure the coop is clean and there is

a small fan facing into their yard to give them some breeze relief.

(pardon the algae… ahem)

Chickens don’t sweat… if they are heat stressed you

will see them with beak open, panting.

I also let the girls out into the yard where they take shelter in the grove of cedar trees

next to their coop…relatively safe from predators and cool in the shade.

Up at the barn, we’ve just installed paddle fans over the stalls ,

high enough that the horses won’t clip themselves on the blades.

In extreme heat and humidity, to keep the air flowing and

the hay from molding, I also turn on a window fan for cross ventilation.

(pardon the cobwebs! Sheesh!)

The horses come and go from the barn to the pasture all day long.

When the bugs and heat drive them nuts, they come in for respite.

When you see horses out in pasture on a hot day where there is no protection like shade trees or a barn

from the sun and the bugs, oh.. they’ll survive, but they aren’t very uncomfortable.

My dogs go out to do their thing and come right back in, it’s just too darn hot.

I hate when I see dogs chained out in the heat with dirty water to top it off

– they are also plagued by bugs

and can die from heat stroke.

We would be miserable in those conditions,

so are the dogs.

I saw a situation that made me want to spit in the persons face recently.

Sometimes I don’t bother putting a sock in it and

I stand up for the animal being abused.

They can’t speak for themselves.

Here at This Old House, the animals are spoiled.

I know how lucky I am to have the resources to do so.

But it doesn’t take much to be kind to an animal. Not much at all.

If you make the decision to own them, treat them right..

or let someone else give them the home they deserve.

– just sayin.

The Cucumber dilemna and a request for your participation.

It’s hotter than hades in Southern New England..

all farm chores like mucking of stalls and raking out of henhouse

and tending the garden are done very early in the day.

I’ve got a fan blowing in the horses stalls

and a small one at the hen house.

I also brought some watermelon to the girls just a few minutes ago.

Very important to consider your animals,

house pets included, when the heat rises.

As the garden is a-growing,

we’ve got a proliferation of cucumbers.

So many, I don’t know what the heck we’re gonna do with them.

Family and friends will get some, ofcourse,

and if we ever decide to put Buck the Wagon back in business

out front, they’ll have a place to go.

But for now…

out the ears, I’m telling ya.

I don’t mind spending some time in the kitchen on hot days like this,

thank you the- powers- that- be for the invention of air conditioning.

I googled “simple easy quick pickles”… I kid you not..

and a recipe by Rachael Ray popped up.

Just made ’em… and they are really easy, and really good.

No canning experience necessary…took about 15 minutes.

Just slice them, put together brine ingredients and cook in a pot,

pour hot brine over the cucumber slices, let cool and then chill.

Recipe HERE.

Another great recipe I tried and loved has been going around on Facebook.

It’s a Cucumber Salsa, and oh, man is it refreshing and delicious.

(I left out the cilantro – bleh.)

I recommend eating it with tortilla chips or topping off a great burger.

YUM!

Recipe HERE.

Both recipes are great foods for a hot summer day.

Now I’m making a request.

Send me a link to one of your favorite summer recipes.

It can be a link to one of your own blog posts of a recipe.

Or a link like the ones I attached above, most can be found online…

Or, you can type out the recipe and send it that way.

Let’s see what kind of summer recipe blog post we can put together.

If you have a photo to include… that’s even better.

Send your entry to

karenthisoldhouse@hotmail.com

You don’t have to have a blog to participate, just an e-mail address 🙂

Updates here at This Old House

We’ve had a busy few weeks, and today on the 4th we’re going to enjoy having to do nothing much… and I welcome the quiet with open arms. Might even catch up on some reading.

We attended another Quarter Horse Show two weekends ago. K and Max did OK, but they weren’t on top of their game. Sometimes it’s not all ribbons and that’s a good lesson to learn. My thinking is… we’re there to enjoy the relationship with the horse and work together as a team on a goal. It’s the journey, not the reward. As long as the journey is a safe and enjoyable, we’re doing what we set out to do.

Right after the Vineyard trip there was another Dog Days Adoption Event

at Bishop Orchard in Guilford, CT.

Making Hay and other stuff

Sometimes a good post title just doesn’t come to me. Case in point above. Anyway… despite all the rain and rain and more rain we’ve been getting, yesterday was a clear blue sky with a light breeze… good day for making hay. The hay equipment was dropped off last week, pulled out yesterday and the fields were mowed. Just before the rain returned for an evening shower, good enough to drench it.

What it needs now is time to dry before it’s picked up with the baler.

Unfortunately, we’re supposed to get more rain later today.

*sigh*

Making hay ain’t easy.

Kinda like love. There’s all those annoyances you’re not expecting, don’t ya know.

Anyway.. yesterday morning we woke to a Rosy glow at about 5:30 am…

The knockout roses matched the hue…

It’s my favorite time of day, especially the early summer mornings

when most of the world is still sleepy

Up at the barn, Opie says…

this is NOT my best angle.

Senior Max and mini Coady discuss the hay and rain situation…

Every day when I approach the barn I stop at the gate

to lay my hand on this heart rock.

Love lives here, at This Old House.

Impatiens I planted at the chicken coop below.

I haven’t had to water them in weeks.

Henrietta, my lovely vintage mini Cochin out looking for bugs..

…While Snow, Dorothy and Autumn relax and take dirt baths under the pine tree

in the front yard. They are all here in this picture.

Do you see all three? Look closely, all are actually touching in the picture.

Kudos to the person who sees all three correctly.

Snow is truly a beautiful chicken.

A large Cochin.

I’ll leave you today with my basket of flowers on the front steps.

I’m a big fan of something that says “welcome” at the entrance to a home or property.

Something that speaks of happiness.

When I see a home void of any kind of adornment,

I can’t help but think of it as a sad house.

Adornments don’t have to be extravagant…

it can be a little stone bunny with a small pot of geraniums..

or a sign that says Welcome..

or a flag, a wreath, anything that speaks to the occupant.

What speaks of YOU at your ‘front step’?.

It’s a new day all, make it a good one…

and as always, thank you for taking the time to stop by.

It’s all about the Eggs

Cleo and Marc are the proud parents of five eggs.

Now residing over our kitchen porch sliding doors,

lets hope they can contend with the traffic I so sternly warned them about.

Note the chicken feathers and horse tail hair they’ve used

in the construction of their nest. Our farm is a regular birdie home depot, apparently.

No wonder they’re so persistent about this location.

In other egg news…

I collected eggs a few mornings ago

and discovered this tiny mini egg amongst the others.

We all wondered if it would be intact.. tiny yolk and all…

Oops.. a shell, hate when that happens.

But as you can see, there is indeed a tiny yolk. About the size of a pencil eraser.

This morning’s breakfast… I bought commercial eggs to demonstrate.

and here’s an example of a commercial egg versus one of mine.

Top – home grown

bottom – commercial egg.

See the difference in the color of the yoke?

There are several reasons.

1. my egg is much fresher.. you could be eating a month old egg

bought from the store. The yoke starts to lose it’s nutritional value..

and rich color, after two weeks time.

2. What the chickens are being fed.

Mine eat a healthy chicken layer mash,

along with their free range bugs and grass…

and whatever good stuff we have left over, like tomatoes, grapes, raisins,

oatmeal, watermelon, yogurt, shredded cheese.

A happy heathy chicken makes a happy healthy egg.

If you are in an area where you can by local eggs, give them a whirl,

you won’t be disappointed.

I feed the chickens before I walk up to the barn in the morning.

If there are eggs to collect, I gather them and set them on the wall

until I walk back down to the house.

It’s a good thing horses don’t like eggs.

It’s a new day all – make it a good one 🙂

Renewal

Spring took her time this year, but I think it’s safe to say she has arrived full figured and flaunting it. Finally. When I step outside in the morning the smell of damp earth greets me as I make my way to the coop and barn to tend the critters that make this place a farm.

Garden plots are tilled…

The grass is greening up…

seeds are sprouting in the greenhouse…

We’ve got enough Basil to appease the whole of Italy, I do believe…

There are buds on the trees…

The girls are free roaming whilst I keep watch for circling hawks.

(ugh)

This here is Henrietta… She is a Cochin, and I just love her small stout

vintage look. She reminds me of chickens you’d find in childrens story books…

When the hawk attacked one of my flock last week and I reported it on FB..

my daughter texted from work…

“OH NO.. NOT HENRIETTA??”

No, she’s just fine.

..and Andy.. my pretty blue andalusian girl.

I wish I had ordered more of these, they are beautiful and kind.

Yes, chickens can be kind.

The horses have shed a good part of their winter coats

and the shine is coming through. This is an indication of good feed and hay,

overall good health.

The Mr. has sprayed the fruit trees with oil that helps keep the bugs off..

We lost a few to this wicked winter.

I’m finding it hard not to focus on the horrible events in the news this week..

Such sadness and loss. Anger, questions.

..I want to know who it was this time… domestic, a lone wolf?

International? I’m not sure which would be worse.

But life goes on in the season of rebirth…

Life goes on.

PS. I had to remove the anonymous comment ability,

received too much ugly spam. I apologize to those who use this feature often

to join our conversations. Also, many of you leave wonderful comments that I’d

like to respond to or thank you for, but your e-mail is blocked. Just want you to know

your input is appreciated always –

It’s a new day, all – let’s hope they catch the Fucker responsible for this

monstrosity in Boston and he/they are consumed by their own blackened hell.

Lucky Egg

A rather large egg was found in the hen house the other day…

Me:… which chicken do you think laid THAT egg??

Him: The one that’s walking funny.

Regarding eggs produced at home…

Notice the rich deep orange color of the yokes?

Compare them to the color of your store bought eggs.

If they are from a chicken factory, not local or organic, you will see they are pale in color.

Did you know, that in two weeks time the yolk begins to lose it’s nutritional value?

Mass produced eggs age varies. Their expiration dates tell you that they can sit

in the grocery store for weeks, and that’s after they’ve been delivered.

Also, the conditions those chickens live in is pretty horrifying.

The funny thing? My mother in law is grossed out by home raised chicken eggs.

So is another friend of ours. Both are egg eaters and health conscious.

Now, I keep a clean coop and run, and my chickens are healthy happy girls.

Who’s egg do YOU trust to eat…

theirs?….

or theirs.

Just sayin.