moving on with thoughts of spring chicks...

The snow is falling, 14" is forecasted to fall overnight. 

Now that football is over for me I am left with a little bit of a void.  

If my Pats made it to the Super Bowl there would have been two additional weeks of football fun before the truly cold  hard reality of winter hit.  

The post season is such bliss until it isn't.  

It just wasn't in the cards this year.  

It is time for this New England chick to rally.  It is only January for cripes sake! 

I don't care what the ground hog says, winter is just long here, shadow or no shadow.

However along with the cold it is also catalogue time.  

Seeds, plants, chicks and bees, oh my!

Just what this chick needs to rally a snowy day away.  

We have a few plans this year.  We plan to get some additional egg layers.  

Our girls have hit the two year mark.  Their production just ain't like it used to be.

I had to.....(gulp) wait for it....

I had to buy eggs to make Christmas cookies this year!!!

Now I love my girls, but I thought we had an understanding.

Anywho, time to order some hens and decide on meat birds.

I have decided after last year that I will only order my chicks from McMurray hatchery.  

Last year we ordered our meat birds from Meyers and we lost 5 chicks out of 35 before 2 weeks.  

Some losses are to be expected but that was just too many.  

I have to honest, comparing past years, I just think the McMurray has better stock, gene pool I guess.  

I really know nothing about gene pools and stock.  All I know is my observations and that is what I believe.  I will also only go with Cornish Roasters.  The X Rocks are big, but I think the Cornish seem healthier and taste delish!

Though we only have the meat birds for 6 weeks from chick to butcher, it is a commitment.  

They eat, they poop, they drink ALL DAY!

That means lots of clean water, lots of food and lots of fresh shavings. 

They come home from the post office...

Oh they are so cute...

They then transition from "so cute" to sitting by the water or food all day.  Some of the bigger ones will try to position themselves between the water and the food for the least amount of movement to fill their faces.

The fateful day arrives.  I thank each of them before they get crated up, that is my job.  Calm is the mantra, we don't want any chickens stressed on the way to the butcher.

My Dad's dump truck is the best for this job.  Easy to load, easy to clean out.

We purchased the two large white crates at a ridiculous amount of money(I think $60 plus shipping per crate) My husband made the wooden one and then we improvise with the milk crates.  The white ones are the best because of the height.  They just plop down and don't try to walk around.

We wire tie cardboard on the tops of the milk crates.  We use the milk crates for the bigger meaner birds that might be aggressive or for smaller ones that might need a little protection on the ride.

It is a 25 minute ride there, which my husband does.  I stay back and clean the coop.  After about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours they come home ready to be weighed, ziploced and frozen.  

We do rinse them when they get home before we bag them.

Being prepared is the key.  We have everything ready the night before so things go smoothly the morning of. Since it is summer we are also sure to have lots of ice for the ride home.

It is a lot of work but I think worth it. 

Time to get ordering, that 5:45am call will come from the post office before we know it. 

Hot Chicks in the Country...keeping them cool

Ok...I will admit it.  I sing to my chickens. Especially in this hot weather.  When no one is looking, I have been known to make up my own lyrics to songs.  I am not proud.  Some are good, some not so much.

As of late, it is hot... when it is hot one song comes to mind.  I don't know why and again I am not proud...I make up my own words and sing it to my chickens.  They are pretty indifferent at this point to my singing.

Anywho...I digress.  It is going to be hot here tomorrow, in the mid 90's. We have 40 Cornish Roasters ready to go to the butcher on Sunday. One more hot day to get them through.  Our hens are not as bothered by the heat but our meat birds are another story.  They are just not able to with stand the heat.

Last year, some of you may recall the sad day for our coop when we lost 5 chickens in the heat.  There are some very simple things you can do to keep your chickens cool.

#1 We have a tin roof on our coop.  We run a sprinkler all day in the heat.  It lowers the temp in there and really keeps it cooler. We also have 5 fans.  Yes it may sound like a lot, but they are needed. We have 2 in the windows and 3 stationed to keep the air moving.  Putting frozen blocks in the waters helps too and with the fans blowing around the waters, cool air radiates off the waters and circulates.

#2 See the lawn mower? Fresh cut grass in piles for our hens is a favorite and seems to be cooling for them. We also give them lots of fruits and veggies including watermelon and cucumbers.  These keep up with hydration.

#3 We give the meat birds a water supplement. Either broiler booster or quick chick from McMurry's Hatchery.  I found a recipe for a home made solution I plan to try.  I will let you know. These supplements have the little extra the birds need in the stress of the heat. I will also give some to my hens.

#4 Lastly we are ready for emergency response. We have the three buckets ready by the coop in the event that any of the birds need cooling.  A bird can die so quickly from heat and be saved from the heat just as quick.  If you have a bird in distress, dip them in water to cool them down.  You will be amazed how quickly they will respond and recover.  There is more detail in this post about cooling your chickens and keeping them safe while doing so.

Stay cool...all you hot chicks!

the welcome wagon

I remember when I was a kid my friend moved to a quaint New Hampshire town.
I had gone to stay with them for a few weeks right after their move and what do you know?
The welcome wagon showed up.  It was the first and last encounter I ever had with a welcome wagon.  I remember my friend's mother giving some, shall we say "nonfactual information" to said welcome wagoner.  You know, to give appearances that they were keeping up with the Jones.  Truth be told they had moved from a very small house in MA to a much bigger one in NH and did not have furniture to fill it up.
She made up a story about all the 'things' that they were waiting to arrive from MA. 
My friend and I giggled around the corner as we new that this was not true.
I will admit it, kids can be real tools and we were. 
Now that I am grown, the lady from the welcome wagon who visited my friend's mother
seemed more like trying to get the low down on the family than
actually welcoming them to the town,
but anywho I can be a little jaded at times....

I have my own welcome wagon.

Every time they see any human activity they gather and welcome.  

Some act happy to see us.

Some squawk like they have something to take up with the landlord,

but most of all they want to know what is in it for them...

some old bread, or other yummy kitchen scraps.  

No pretense and I love them for it.

I did partake in some post game misery.  I didn't shower, I'm not exactly sure when the last time I brushed my teeth and I have eaten more chips and cookies today than I care to truthfully disclose. 

I am dedicating this year to my year of health.  Last week I learned of a woman who was 5 years older than me and dropped dead from a heart attack.  I have to get my shit together here people.  I have to get and feel healthy.  I am going to take a shower and brush my teeth now, detox from cookies and chocolate tomorrow and develop my plan.  I am so happy I have picked this week as a I will be making a chocolate cake big enough to feed 200 people frosted with my delish butter cream frosting.  I can do this...I will keep you posted.

two for one...

We have a girl...

She is a fancy girl, with feathers all the way down her feet.

Her name is Glinda, yes like the good witch.  Her feathers are

so full and she looks so fancy we thought it just fit.
She is a Light Brahama.  We got her as a day old chick
from McMurray Hatchery.

She leaves us special presents...they are huge!

 She lays an egg this size every 2-3 days.  Her eggs are so much bigger than our other girls'.

and there is something else that is special about them...

Yup, they always have a double yolk!

I was worried at first that this wasn't healthy for her, but it seems that some

lines in a breed just have this genetic trait.
It makes a nice egg sandwich on a Sunday morning.

"An egg is always an adventure; the next one may be different."
~ Oscar Wilde

Now this sucks!

and it sucks really good! It has a HEPA filter that captures 99.3% of the dust and after using it just once in the coop, I believe it.

Now let me back up, I am not a clean freak or a constant cleaner.  I do have an allergy type asthma that when I am having allergy problems, anything can really set the cough off.  Especially a dusty chicken coop.  If you have chickens, you know how dusty they can be. 

We have a good size coop and I like to hang out with my girls if I have a few minutes.  I was spending less and less time with them and I knew it was because of the dust.  I had also learned from Terry Golson at her Chicken Keeping Workshop that dust harbors many diseases in a coop.  I was on a mission.  I wanted something that would not kick up the dust while vacuuming and I wanted something light enough that I could hold onto while on the chicken's side of the coop.  It worked great! 

What has happened to me that I am this excited about a vacuum cleaner?

Operation Rooster Relocation

I have read that often times the favorite hen of chicken keepers many times turns out to be a rooster.  I hate to say it, but it happened to me.

Big Bossy

It became clear in the past month that my favorite girl was actually a boy. Big Bossy was bossy AND was violating my girls all over the place!

Then there was Perry.  He started out gender confused, if you recall.  The chicken we thought was Katy Perry who turned out to be Joe Perry.

Then there was Clyde who started out as Cruella but then clearly was a he.

We had 2 issues at hand, really 3...actually more but who's counting.  Issue number 1 was that the  hens in the house were mercilessly plucking the feathers from the heads of Perry and Clyde.  The crazy crested head feathers were just too much to resist and every time they put their head down, any hen nearby would pluck away.

Clyde's head, he is supposed to have a full crest of white feathers.  He was picked bald and bleeding.

The next issue was the constant attempts of Bossy trying to get busy with all of the girls.  They were getting skittish and on edge.  They would be minding their own business and then Bam(literally).  Then came the day when my 9 year old came to me and said,"Mommy Bossy needs to go. He grabbed a hen by the neck with his beak and was standing on her!"

So began the relocation quest. 4-H clubs, no dice. Fellow chicken keepers, no dice. Then I found Vinny.  Vinny is an old timer who lives a few towns over.  He promised that my roos would live a happy life(until they ended up in his pot). As long as they didn't end up in a cock fighting ring I was fine.

The day came.  PC was ok with the decision to rehome them.  He did love them, but they, especially Bosy were getting a little intimidating.  We crated them up and loaded them up in our SUV.  As you can imagine, 3 roosters in the same vehicle... a little loud and very funny when they seemed to be crowing to the music on the radio.

We got to Vinny's.  It was a winged paradise, full of chickens, geese, ducks and a bunch of other winged creatures. 

Vinny put the roos in cages to acclimate them to the run before letting them go.

It was easy, I hate to say it, but it was.  We had all become a bit anxious with the goings on in the coop.  We said our goodbyes and headed home.  We were welcomed by very happy hens.  The dynamic had changed almost instantly.  Hens that didn't like to be picked up suddenly did and they were all...happy.  It was a few days later, I believe in their way of saying thank you, they began laying eggs. 

Life is good...   

I'mmmmm baaaaccckkk and I'm Thankful...

Happy Thanksgiving!  I can't believe it has been almost a month since I have been in the land of the blog. I am thankful for the emails checking in on me.  I have not been in my chicken coop all this time, but there sure has been a lot of action in the coop. (more on that later)

I am thankful for so much, but right now and in no particular order...

I am thankful for the cup of glogg I am enjoying while I type this.

I am thankful for cinnamon rolls and the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.

I am thankful for my favorite Christmas decorations, even though you can see our

 fall decorations out the window.

I am thankful for the beautiful little brown egg we found in our coop this week.

I am thankful for the little reminders of my grandparents I have when I put out my Christmas decorations.

I am thankful for family traditions and

my family to share them with.

Happy Thanksgiving

Who turned on the lights?

 Predawn at the coop...

We are crossing our fingers our girls are going to start laying us

some eggs.

They will be 20 weeks on Friday.

We have set some lights on timers.

We are hoping 14 hours of light will get some eggs out of these girls.

They were very curious looking out the big door into the early morning.

This picture the girls are just standing there, looking out the pop door. 

It reminded me of early morning commuters waiting for their train.

So glad to be in the coop than standing waiting for a train.

Mornings like this I do love working from home.

 Bossy and Perry looked out the pop door to be sure the coast was clear.

The girls then began venturing out in the early morning light. 

 

Hoping this wooden egg in the nesting box inspires one of our girls...

and the egg watch continues...

Coop Keepin' in the Rain and in the Snow

This week we got a lot of rain, cold and heavy rain.  We have been spoiled with good weather. 
The coop seems so far away in the cold rain(really it isn't but...)

 The girls just watch as I stand in the rain filling up their waterers...I think it is going to be a long winter doing this...good thing we have some time before the snow...

We are also on egg watch...we know with the days getting shorter our girls may not start laying just yet but they are 19 weeks old.  PC got the basket out for luck and wishful thinking...

Then just after the rain stopped...

We got our first snow on the coop and all over our Halloween decorations.

Big Bossy didn't know what to make of the dusting of white stuff...

Well Bossy, the weather man says we are getting 6" of the white stuff tomorrow...

The joys of New England weather.

Put a log on the fire, bake something good and I am making Pumpkin Soup.

falling leaves and foraging chickens...

Fall has finally arrived in New England and our girls enjoyed foraging around in our yard.

Happy Fall!

Some people have hot tubs for 6 people...

we have a dirt bath for 13 chickens...

 Here is Big Bossy right in the middle of it all.  I just love that girl.

Just a normal Saturday morning spa treatment around here.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Pennies from heaven...

Today was a work day for this full time employed chick. 

Yes I work from home, but how can you work when your computer crashes?

I waited and waited...surely someone would be out lickety split to get me back up and running.

I waited and I waited some more...

Everything goes through my computer, even my phone. No computey, no workey.

Our dryer broke, I figured it was as good a time as any to wash and hang out sheets.

 

Eventually I decided I would clean my scrapbook area while I waited. 

It was a mess.

I am a scrapbook supply hoarder.

The picture below was after the clean up began.

Just a pile of stuff waiting to find it's way on to a page.

and then...all done.

Still no computer man coming to fix my computer...I figured it was time to clean and freshen up the coop.

The girls were very appreciative. I told them they are all ready for Irene.

Who is Irene they asked? Long story girls but you will know her when and if she gets here.

Still no computer...time to cool off, coop cleaning is hot work.

Finished off with a little reading on my Nook...The Help.

I love it! It is such a great read.

This was a day that was like pennies from heaven and I loved every minute of it.