Hen House

Tic, tac, toe, Three in a row! We have 15 laying hens right now and they are laying about 11 eggs per day, plus the turkey hen who is doing her best to lay nearly every day.  We have been collecting and incubating and hatching eggs like crazy. Today starts the third round of hatching and there are duck eggs and turkey eggs in the incubator. It takes 28 days for a turkey or duck egg to hatch and 21 days for a chicken egg to hatch. 

Turkeys and Chickens

We are raising some poultry for meat. We have 8 turkeys that are three and a half months old. They are Chocolate Turkeys and Bourbon Red Turkeys. Both are heritage breeds and growing very well! The Chocolate Turkeys have mostly brown bodies. The older corn on the cob is a big hit these days. Another favorite is cantaloupe and half the fun is eating them from the outside in and finding the seeds in middle always calls for a turkey whistle!

The chickens we are raising for meat and eggs are New Hampshire Reds. They are also an older breed and very pretty birds. These pullets are 5 months old and ready for the next phase of contributing to the farm shares! The chickens have had free range on over an acre of pasture grass, plus daily grain rations and some leftovers from the vegetable garden. Don't worry, the smoke in the background is lightening up and we have clearer days now! Thank you firefighters, everyday!

Carbonation

The chicken coop was cleaned out over the weekend and all of the carbon rich manure was put into the garden. There were thirteen piles, but the little two-footed feathered friends made a quick job out of distributing the compost.

The hens don't like a dirty coop and they won't lay eggs if they think there is a bad odor in the nest boxes. It is a slow time for egg layers anyway, but the hens that are producing deserve a clean spot to lay.

Hard at work in her own pile, this golden sex link hen will make easy work of moving and sanitizing the straw and manure. This will add great nutrition to the garden soil. Isn't it amazing how warm it looks? There are frozen bits of snow in the shadows! Night time temperatures are dipping to the low 20's. Nothing like a hen party to warm up the January days!

Great Eggs and Happy Hens

As we are collecting just a few eggs a day from our flock of 19 hens, we are grateful for the golden goodness and for the opportunity the hens have to rest. Their favorite spot to hang out is on the south facing side of the house on the sun bench!


This poor little hen happens to be molting now, in the cold days of winter. We make sure she is getting extra rations of walnuts, pork fat, and sunshine! She systematically turns herself in the sun to expose all sides of her body. Our hens are laying about 260 days out of the year and need a rejuvenating season. For some, it is now.

This is a great book! We got to go and listen to Joel Salatin speak in Jackson County a few years ago thanks to Annie. She mentioned on her blog that he was coming to visit British Columbia and we got to wondering if he would be visiting Southern Oregon. He was and he did! Joel Salatin is a great speaker, writer, and farmer. His common sense practice of farming is stretching across the country. One of his many great practices is raising chickens for meat and for eggs. Folks, This Ain't Normal, goes beyond farming practices and looks at food, food production, and the future of food. It is also written with great humor and a very enjoyable and informative book to read. Here's to happy hens~

Strawberries and Chicken Wrangling!

There is an amazing strawberry patch right outside our kitchen window with over ten thousand strawberry plants. It is closer to the kitchen than the barn and the chickens have discovered it. At first, it was a casual meeting and greeting, and the hens were snagging as many slugs and runaway bugs as they could. Then the luscious berries started to ripen into ruby red sugar bites! The hens could not resist. Fortunately, for us it is only three of our flock of 20 that have the wanderlust. Tim has patched holes in the fence that looked innocent, he has built up mounds of soil under the gate and then guarded the field with rapt attention. One day was given to three rescues and a grand commotion that included two farm dogs, three hens, and one farmer wrangler.

Now, here is the rest of the story: The strawberry patch belongs to our neighbor!! We barter and trade many things and it all evens out beautifully, but the ladies in the strawberry patch is definitely crossing the line! Our neighbors are gracious people and thought the hens may do more good than harm, but then we saw this:

More than six pounds of perfectly ripened and sweet perfection (despite the coolish weather) strawberries and they were just for us! So the chicken wrangler got even more serious about his berry patch watch!

There was plenty of berries to eat fresh and more for our first batch of the season strawberry jam. The kitchen began to smell delicious with all of the berry goodness cooking!

We ended up getting about three quarts of jam out of the berries, plus we had many for eating and snacking on, and even drizzling over the top of vanilla ice cream. The hens still got a little sampling of the candy red sweetness because the tops were given to them in the compost scraps.

Moral of the story: Chicken wranglers are well paid! xo

Nesting Boxes

The hens are busy laying eggs and we are busy hunting for eggs! While there are beautifully built, easily accessible, fresh filled boxes, the hens insist on laying their eggs in obscure and random places. One or two eggs are actually laid in this box right now. It used to be the favorite. Now, an empty water trough, under the tractor, on a back shelf of the barn, and in an old manger have replaced the nesting boxes. We still find this box handy though!

Winter Blues

This is one of my favorite pieces from my mom's kitchen that I remember as a young girl. It hangs in my kitchen now in just the right spot to get the end of the evening sun low in the sky.


The blue deviled egg dish is an old piece found in one of our local antique stores. It is not really an antique, but charming and ready to hold some delicious eggs.


Finally! The hens are starting to lay some beautiful blue eggs. The daylight is lengthening just enough to encourage a few more treasured eggs today. I wonder what kind of winter blues you find around your home.~

Missing

We have 15 hens right now and not one of them is laying eggs. It is the first winter in many that the girls have gone on an egg laying vacation. I have been on the hunt in and around the barn, but there just are any eggs. I may need to change the song I am whistling to the hens...?!

Got Eggs?

The hens have decided to lay their eggs anywhere but in the nesting boxes lately. So we are looking in every little nook and cranny to find these delicious treats! A couple of hens decided they would nest near the tractor. I sure am glad we were persistent in finding these beauties. Once they were collected, the hens quit laying in this spot.


Then one of the feeders was getting heavily used, so we put some straw in it to make a more desirable nest. The girls were lining up for this location, location, location!


The rabbit cage has been the latest hot spot for nesters. It is the funniest idea that the rabbit cage once used for bunnies, then became part of the chick mobile, has now become a nest cage! The door is latched open so the hens can't get trapped inside. The only challenge is reaching with a long enough wooden spoon!


The amazing egg hunt is well worth it when the reward is so tasty! Anybody want to help gather the eggs?~

A Tall Drink of Milk

Our neighbors milk many goats everyday and sell their rich, delicious milk to the cheese factory. Occasionally there is a surplus of milk and our good neighbors bring the extra over to us...Well, actually to the animals! The ten growing pigs get first slurp. The next bucket to get filled is for the chickens and the dogs. Usually the dogs lap up their fill of the creamy goat goodness, and then the hens get a taste from the milk pail!

A Dozen a Day!

The hens are happy now with the longer day light and they are laying a dozen eggs a day! The eggs are beautiful in color: blue, green, creamy white and rustic brown. They follow us around and hope for a tender treat. Then we follow them around as it is their favorite time of year to for Easter Egg Hunts!