Today was a little bit of a sad day for us on the homestead. Our Buff Orpington hen passed away. I always felt bad for her because of her life history. She was originally owned by Craig's grandma as part of a small backyard flock of 2 hens. The other hen passed and she was given to Craig's uncle, who already had 4 hens. She was lucky to have survived that transition. Then she was given to us with the other 4 hens and moved with us to our new house. I think she enjoyed having the room to roam and could easily escape from the other hens if need be.
Yesterday she seemed a bit off. She spent a lot of the day by our sliding glass door looking in. I just figured she wanted to be where it was warm. This morning we found her sitting by the front door. When the kids went to pet her, she didn't even try to move, which is highly unusual. She just laid there and eventually shifted to her side. I sprinkled some food by her, hoping she would eat something, but she just laid there. I found the other 4 hens eating her food and practically standing on her! Chickens are so mean to each other. She passed before it was time to pick up my daughter from school.
I think she must have gotten sick, although she didn't have a whole lot of symptoms. She was just lethargic and had some watery poop. It's really too bad, because she had recovered so well from Roxy, our large dog, gnawing on her leg. You couldn't even tell the dog had touched her. Fortunately, the other 4 hens are acting normal, so it seems to be an isolated incident.
My two boys and I had the task of burying her in the yard earlier today. It was sad, but the kids seem to be fine with it. I have tried to help them understand the circle of life and that things live and things die, and I think that's helped. It also doesn't hurt that we have 25 other hens in the garage.
RIP Shirley.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Where my eggs at?
Since we've moved to our new house, we've gotten around 4 eggs from our chickens. That's 4 eggs in the last six weeks. I wasn't too concerned because it is winter and hens tend to stop laying in the winter. I've been reluctantly buying normal eggs from the store to satisfy our egg needs.
Our 5 hens have been wandering aimlessly around our property, taking care of all the bugs and weeds. When we first started watering all the fruit trees, a bunch of grass started popping up around the trunks. Those chickens took care of it in no time. They gobbled up the grass, pooped all around the trees and then scratched all dirt around them and worked the "fertilizer" right into the soil. It's the greatest thing ever to let the chickens take care of weed control.
So yesterday, Craig was working out in the yard and discovered 2 eggs under some roof tins by the barn. I knew they were laying somewhere in the yard, that was not in their nesting boxes! We took them inside and I was silently praying they were not rotten. Who knows how long they had been sitting out there. Fortunately, it's been pretty cold, and the eggs have a nice, protective coating on them when the chickens lay them, to help them last longer. So I took those eggs inside, washed them off and stuck them in the fridge.
Sunday mornings are waffle mornings for us. We make a bunch of waffles and feast. As I was making the batter, I went to get 2 eggs and saw the ones we found yesterday. I thought it would be a good idea to use them. I'm not going to lie. My hands were shaking as I went to crack them. In my head I was thinking, "Please don't erupt in an explosion of rottenness!" To my delight and surprise, they were the best looking eggs I've seen in a while. The yolks were dark orange and thick and the whites were super thick too. When I beat them, they were so thick. I was in heaven and was thinking that these were going to be the best waffles ever! And they were.
It was a total bonus for us. Not only are the chickens acting as our pest and weed control, they are laying superior eggs because of it. Healthy chickens lay healthy eggs. They look way better than the ones they even laid at our old house. Needless to say, I am loving life here at the new homestead. I can't wait to set loose our new batch of chicks in the yard and let them have at it!
Our 5 hens have been wandering aimlessly around our property, taking care of all the bugs and weeds. When we first started watering all the fruit trees, a bunch of grass started popping up around the trunks. Those chickens took care of it in no time. They gobbled up the grass, pooped all around the trees and then scratched all dirt around them and worked the "fertilizer" right into the soil. It's the greatest thing ever to let the chickens take care of weed control.
So yesterday, Craig was working out in the yard and discovered 2 eggs under some roof tins by the barn. I knew they were laying somewhere in the yard, that was not in their nesting boxes! We took them inside and I was silently praying they were not rotten. Who knows how long they had been sitting out there. Fortunately, it's been pretty cold, and the eggs have a nice, protective coating on them when the chickens lay them, to help them last longer. So I took those eggs inside, washed them off and stuck them in the fridge.
Sunday mornings are waffle mornings for us. We make a bunch of waffles and feast. As I was making the batter, I went to get 2 eggs and saw the ones we found yesterday. I thought it would be a good idea to use them. I'm not going to lie. My hands were shaking as I went to crack them. In my head I was thinking, "Please don't erupt in an explosion of rottenness!" To my delight and surprise, they were the best looking eggs I've seen in a while. The yolks were dark orange and thick and the whites were super thick too. When I beat them, they were so thick. I was in heaven and was thinking that these were going to be the best waffles ever! And they were.
It was a total bonus for us. Not only are the chickens acting as our pest and weed control, they are laying superior eggs because of it. Healthy chickens lay healthy eggs. They look way better than the ones they even laid at our old house. Needless to say, I am loving life here at the new homestead. I can't wait to set loose our new batch of chicks in the yard and let them have at it!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Baby Chicks
Our baby chicks came about 2 1/2 weeks ago and I'm dying for them to turn into big egg-laying chickens. This is what they looked like at 2 weeks. Isn't it amazing how fast they grow? I've got so many different breeds that I can't even keep track of them all! They are a bit high maintenance though. I have to change their newspaper lining daily and I'm constantly having to refill their food and water. They eat and drink A LOT. It will all be worth it in the end when we have eggs coming out of our eyeballs.
We ordered from Murry MacMurry hatchery and got the rainbow egg layers. This means that we have a variety of breeds that produce several different egg colors, including brown, white, green, and blue. I'm excited to have a basketful of colorful eggs. The little day old chicks came in that tiny little box.
For reference, you can see my daughter holding the box. It's small. I got a call at 5:45 am on a Friday from the post office letting me know that my chicks had arrived. I woke the kids up and we headed out in our jammies and got to go in the back entrance of the post office and pick them up. We heard a lot of peeping coming out of that little box.
We came home and immediately unloaded them into their cage we had set up for them. They were so cute and fuzzy.
Look at those cute little guys. There were 26 sent to us but one didn't make it, so now we have 25. We also still have the 5 we brought over from our old house. The plan is to "harvest" them. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it. I'd like to do it at least once, just so I know how to do it and know how to cook them so they're palatable. These little chicks are growing so fast that I think the time to harvest will come quicker than I expect. Eeeeeeeeek!
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