Chicken pen number 7

About two or three months ago, we put 20 chicks in the new pen number 6 with Tonto and two hens. Four that we adopted with their mom (one of the hens), three that we hatched from eggs our neighbor gave us to hatch, one exotic that arrived with a batch of meat birds, and 12 that we hatched from our laying flock. Those chicks are now getting huge! They also eat like crazy. The little ones keep digging out under the fence, but they usually walk right back in the door at feeding time! We figure that it won't be too long before that pen won't hold them all comfortably. Also,we can't tell if there are any roosters yet. That would be awesome-good if they were all hens! The exotic will likely be a rooster, but, we'll see.... Anyway, we also have to get two of the roosters out of the transition pen (Sammy's pen). Turns out that Coco's a roo, and the pretty black and white one, too.  That pen currently has 3 Roos and 3 hens. Good for humans, bad for chickens. Sammy has them under control for now, but only because they are young. Thus Pat and Jeff started building Pen #7. We will probably put the two young Roos and half of the young hens in it. In three or four months, we should be getting lots of eggs!

The frame:

It needs a little straightening up. Hehe.

A new papaya source!

Our hard, messy labor finally paid off! We used to bring 4 - 5 5-gallon buckets to the market and ask the vendors individually if they had any culls for our chickens (fruit that they would otherwise throw away). Then our favorite vendor suggested we put a big garbage can in a spot by their stall and they would put all their culls in it and we could pick it up whenever we wanted. So we chained two big garbage cans to a pole, and picked up fruit twice a week. The up side: we got lots of fruit. The down side: people put other things in our buckets, also. Like avocados, citrus, and onions (that chickens don't eat) and garbage (that no one eats). AND it sits for a few days, getting very, ah, ripe. So when we picked it up, we had to sort it. Pile 1: edible chicken food, Pile 2: edible pig food to go in the pig farmer's bin, Pile 3: garbage to go in the garbage bin, and Pile 4: recycle bottles and cans to go in the recycle bin. Then we cleaned out our cans and picked up the area. Dirty, nasty business. But it had to be done, and we persevered. Sometimes, in the late afternoons, we'd run into "Uncle Rudy," who had a big truck, full of papaya, and he'd say, "You want these?" They were always greener, solid papayas, so we'd say, "Yes, please!"and make room in the truck. Last week, we were picking up our mushy papaya, and Uncle Billy asked us to take our cans home and wash them. Okay, time for a clean up. Uncle Rudy was there also, and he said, "Here, fill 'em up with papaya!" Then he suggested we just come at 4 in the afternoon and get our papaya from him and don't bother with the cans. Yes! The papaya is fresher, the job is cleaner, and Rudy gets a good deal on our meat chicken. We all win! The papaya looked so good, I just ate a half! Life keeps getting better. I love Hawai'i!

We tried another WWOOFER....

Yes, we have another WWOOFER. He's been here a week, and it's a totally different experience. The key is open and clear communication. He is an artist. Paints, mostly. Quite good, actually. He is currently on a painting excursion to the east side of the island. Probably be back tomorrow. In addition to learning about and helping to feed the chickens, he has cleaned up the living space downstairs, dug up and replanted one raised bed, and built another. He also just jumps up and does the dishes without being asked! I'm glad I'm having a good experience right after the bad. Restores my faith in humanity.

Don't tell me chickens aren't smart!

Yesterday I went into the coops to dig out some manure for our new raised bed. I dressed for the occasion, in the same boots and gloves that I wear when I catch and butcher roosters. After I'd been in the first coop a few minutes, working, I guess one of the chickens noticed my attire, because they started getting all agitated. It went from pen to pen, and I didn't know why at first; I thought there was a predator, like a dog, stalking the property. They settled down when they realized I wasn't chasing them, but the hens broke two eggs in the nests in the process! Guess I should wear my gear more often!

Organic.....

Organic. It used to be a common word that could be used in everyday language. But it has been stolen by the USDA.
From ams.usda.gov:
"Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used."
Therefore, you should not use it as a generic term without qualification! It has been usurped into a labeling term! Nonetheless, I think it is a good thing that there is someone regulating food production. And that we can buy chemical-free, hormone-free, non-GMO food that has been produced responsibly. And, like any rule-making body, they are not perfect. They also sometimes are influenced by lobbyists, contributors, the scale of "national", and inefficiency.
When we looked at for info on "organic", we first found a website, published by the USDA, that gave only partial information. Ok, so we believe one thing. But it did lead us to a link to the full regulations. In the full regulations, there was a reg about ruminants needing organic pastureland. Well, hmmm.... Chickens aren't ruminants, but even if they were, the ground they peck around on is organic. They should not be fed any slaughter waste. We don't. The only meat they get is table scraps. Couldn't find the reg about organic feed and grain. BUT a friend sent me link to a brochure, also published by the USDA, that says that you DO have to feed your livestock organic grain. Now I know why they need such a large workforce to help farmers understand and implement the regs.
Then I thought to myself, why do I even want to claim my chickens and eggs are organic? My chickens are happy and healthy. The eggs are delicious. The people that buy them from me don't care whether they are organic, and currently I am always sold out. I only raise enough meat chickens for friends and family, and we all love them. They are delicious also.
I just have to remember not to use the Word.

How knowledge develops in civilization.

I am a scientist. I do, and have done, research. What is research? The first time someone tries something. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. And that applies to the growth of the body of knowledge in all fields common to civilization. These days, with the Internet, and mobile devices, and the easy-to-use tools developed on them, deccemination of new knowledge and discoveries is rapid, nearly instantaneous. But it occurs the same way. I try something, it works, I share it with others, they improve upon it, etc.

Thus I am lead to discuss the dilemma of dog poop. My thought was always that it was too high in nitrates and potential parasites to use anywhere in a garden, or as compost. And that is one of our major waste products that grieves us, disposing in plastic bags for landfills the poop from 4 large dogs!

And then a colleague told me that her daughter composted dog poop with yard cuttings and used it on shrubs. Hmmm. So I looked it up on the Compost Expert's website and found that, no, you cannot really compost dog poop in the normal way, but you can safely use worms to compost it! Really!?! Earthworms or red wriggles! Of which I have millions! With one caveat. Worms who eat dog poop won't eat anything else, so you have to have separate dog poop worm bins. (Glad someone else figured that one out for me!) I'm going to try it! As soon as I find a few eligible bins.

Our chickens and eggs ARE organic, according to the published USDA guidelines!

I'm so smart! Why didn't I think to actually read the USDA guidelines on organic poultry and eggs before I got all defensive? Well, here it is, folks, directly from the USDA Consumer Brochure: Organic Food Standards and Labels: The Facts: 

"Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones."

Period. That's it. On to the next topic. No mention of feed. So, according to the guidelines, my poultry and my eggs are organic! And, as our small farm makes less than $5,000/yr, we do not need to have a certification to claim organic.

So, all you organic geeks who think you know what, who claim that we have to feed our chickens organic food to say they are organic, you should know that what you buy in the store is only required to adhere to the above guideline to receive their USDA organic certification.

That's all I am saying about that.

I produce, eat, and sell organic chickens and eggs. Period.

More social engineering on The Four Daughters' Farm

It really is time to butcher some roosters. Some of our juveniles have grown to be obnoxious boys, and the boss Roos aren't putting up with it. Our only problems are in the main pen (Racer's domain), and Sammy's pen.

Two of the young birds in Sammy's pen are roosters. Both should probably go. Just because there are too few hens in there for more than one roo. But one of them is old enough to give Sammy problems, and they have been fighting. It got so bad today, that the other rooster ended up hiding under the ramp in the pen. We decided we had to get him out of there. One problem...the nuggets were still using the hospital pen. Well, they were all healthy now, and could go to the other pen, but still much smaller than the dinners, who are not quite ready to butcher. They still look a little small, even though they are 8 weeks old. So my handy wife, Pat, threw up a chicken wire divider to make the meat bird pen an instant duplex! We moved the nuggets in with some food, water, and a little box for shelter, and they were all set! Then, we moved the troublesome roo into the hospital pen, until Friday, when we plan to take care of them (euphemism for butcher). And none too soon, either. The poor guy already had one eye shut and some blood marks! It will be a mercy killing.

Meanwhile, in Racer's pen, we had picked out a little red roo to keep, and were going to butcher the other three or four. Well, I think Racer agrees. Today, the little red one was on top of one of the hens, doing his thing, very politely, and she was letting him, not even squawking. Then one of the other renegade roosters came over, kicked him off, and tried to jump on. The hen shrieked, Racer attacked that rooster and chased him away! Like I said, hens and Racer are okay with little Red, but those big spotted ones gotta go! They will make good dog food. Lately our dogs have been spoiled with meat birds! We cook one, grab enough meat for two meals for us, and make two batches of dog food with the rest. Then skin, gristle, and marrow to the chickens. That's how far a 5-lb. chicken can go!

Our first WWOOFERs!

We had our first WWOOFER experience! They came, and they left. 3 days. We have a few things to work on.  I expect the next one will be longer.....

The Dillies laid an egg!

Yay!!!!! After 42 days of barrenness, we got one white egg from the Dilly's pen today! AND, one of the two hens in Tonto's pen laid an egg. First egg from that pen, EVER! A happier day for the chickens! And, no deaths, only recovery..... the nuggets are doing much better. Happy Thanksgiving, chicken-world!

what's the difference between an Ameraucana and an Araucana chicken?

A really good overview of the differences between Ameraucana, Araucana, Easter-eggers, and olive-eggers can be found at http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/ameraucana-easter-egger-or-araucana.html . That is where I got this excerpt:

Araucanas were recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) as a breed in 1976. They are blue egg layers with yellow skin, no tails, no beards and no muffs. They possess ear tufts, which are feathers that grow from a slender, fleshy flap just below the ear. The APA recognizes five colors of Araucana: Black, Black Breasted Red, Golden Duckwing, Silver Duckwing and White.
Ameraucanas have been bred from different strains of Araucanas since at least 1960 in the United States. The American Poultry Association recognized Ameraucanas as a breed in 1984. For an extraordinarily thorough and fascinating history of Ameraucanas, please see http://www.ameraucana.org/history.html   

Ameraucanas lay blue eggs. Other traits include a pea comb, white skin, full tails, muffs and beards (always together), and slate or black legs; they have no ear tufts. The APA recognizes these colors: Black, Blue, Blue Wheaten, Brown Red, Sliver, Wheaten and White.

Now, in case you are wondering, I purchased my Ameraucanas from Ideal Poultry and this is what they said about them:
Ameraucanas, known as the "Easter Egg Breed", are a multicolored breed. They have beards, muffs and a normal tail with a tail head. They are often incorrectly called Araucanas, which have ear tuffs, are rumpless, and do not have a tail head which gives them a bunny tail appearance. Most of the chicks sold as Araucanas are really Ameraucanas, which are excellent, efficient producers of large eggs of many colors and shades including blue and green.

By the way, all my chickens lay the same color eggs, blue. Here is a photo of an Auracana, courtesy of the chicken chick's website:



And here is an Ameraucana, from the same website:



The tufts make the difference!

Mine are the multi-colored, brown, gray, etc., that look like this:


Okay, I'm satisfied.

The nuggets are on the mend!

Things are looking up for the chickens! My chicken farming buddy (another fanatic) came by to pick up some of our excess papaya, and took one look at our dying babies and said "Coccidiosis! That's what they have! One of my hatches got it once and nearly died! I have meds for that. I'll bring it by tomorrow!" So this morning, she brought the meds by, and we put some in their water, and they are looking better already! After a 5-day treatment, they will be really fit! We are very happy to have friends that know something, and that have helped us save our babies. What is cocciodiosis? According to Backyard Chicken's website:

Coccidia are a microscopic parasitic organism that infect poultry when ingested by the chicken. The parasites found in the ground or bird feces attaches itself to the lining in the gut, multiplies and becomes an oocyst feeding in the digestive tract which will make it bleed. Once infected it passes the parasites in its poop days before symptoms occur. The coccidia that infect chickens do not affect other types of livestock, and vice versa. Different kinds of birds are even infected by a different kind of coccidia. Coccidiosis (pronounced cock-sid-ee-oh-sis) in chickens is caused by nine species of Eimeria protozoa, some are more serious than others. It is fatal, but if your chicken survived this disease it would be immune to future cocci infections.

I think it only got to the babies because I put diatomaceous earth in the other chickens' rice meal, which should clean out all parasites, but the babies don't eat much of it. BUT, the 'medicated' chick starter should have protected them from it. Oh, well. Sad and expensive lesson. Don't know even if I would have caught it sooner if I knew what to look for. They were just a little sluggish and had a "lurchy" look. All seems to be okay now though, fingers crossed.

A Rough Day for the Chickens

The other day our chickens had a very rough day....

We had heard some ruckus in the chicken coop at night, dogs barking, chickens squawking, but it died down, so back to sleep we went. We often hear passing dangers.

When we got up, there were 4 dead nuggets and 1 dead lunch in the meat bird pen. The rest were just milling around. There were blood tracks here and there, but no mangling or missing chicken heads or pieces. It didn't look like anything had broken into the pen, and dogs would've killed them all, eaten one or two. The only thing we figured is that maybe dogs were stalking them and got chased away by our protective mutts, but in the frantic rushing around, the weak got trampled. We had wondered if it would work, putting the 4-week olds in with the 6-week olds. When we watch them, the big ones tend to hog up all the food, and nudge the nuggets away, but they didn't show any aggression. Thus, we thought it would be ok.

Then, we went to Tonto's pen. Everyone seemed fine, except mama only had 4 babies. Where was #5? We looked and looked and counted (3 times) and just couldn't find her. Then I noticed all the babies were working on the fence between their pen and the meat bird pen. I got down and looked really closely and could see a little chicken foot on the other side of the wire, buried in the rock and straw. I touched it and it wiggled! Sure enough, that little chick was trying to break out, and had gotten stuck on the other side under all kinds of rubble. I rescued her, and she ran around, looking very bedraggled. But, I must say, she went right back to it! (But we blocked that spot with rocks.)

Then, when I was feeding Sammy's pen, Junior Hen flew right out over my head. Dumb! The pups took off after her. They brought her back, in one piece, with only a tooth mark in her belly. She is now miraculously fine. When will they learn?

Later in the day, another nugget just fell over dead. And then another. We don't know if it's still fallout from the trauma or what, but we decided to get the nuggets out of the pen with the lunches. We moved them to the hospital pen. Since the move, one more dead. Now we have only 7 of the original 16. Geez....

This morning, 3 of Mama's adventuresome babies had found their way through the other fence, out into the yard! Yes, where the DOGS are! Pat cleverly shooed them back into their pen and, yes, plugged the new tunnel!

I am NOT an entrepreneur!

I am not an entrepreneur!

I am many things. As you age, it's good to realize what and who you are. It's also good to realize what and who you are not.

 I am a mother, and a good one. I listen, I offer advice when asked, and remain tacit when not, and love my pups like a lioness.

I am a teacher, a good one. I can teach most anything, and love it.

I am a chef; I can create meals from any set of available ingredients for any number of people.

I never used to be creative, but over the years I found that imitation trains creativity.

BUT...

I am not organized... You should see my house...

I cannot clean house (see above). It takes me hours, I don't finish, and some tasks, like mopping the floor, result in a dirtier floor than before.

And..I AM NOT AN ENTREPRENEUR ...

This is made clear to me over and over. Examples:
People I know who have chickens make the off-hand remark, "Oh, yeh, eggs are your money-maker." What?!? I sell my eggs for $5/doz, but they must cost us $20/doz to produce, the way we feed them, and building the pens, and the water system, etc.
I make these adorable shopping bags from the chicken feed bags, cat food bags, bird seed bags; all it takes is the leftover bag, scissors, thread, a sewing machine, and about an hour. (A friend gave me the idea, before you think I'm too creative!) I give them away to friends. It makes me happy. Some woman sells them In Waimea for $20/bag.
I make fabulous mustard, gluten-free, again, a friend's recipe, that always sold out at the farmers market. I made it, but it sits in my cupboard....
The kicker is.... I have a great worm farm. It produces lots of dirt (castings), plenty of worm tea,which I throw on our garden-to-be areas, etc. Just yesterday we ran into a friend that said he's selling worm tea on Craig's List for $45/gal. Say,what? He's an entrepreneur.

I made a flyer....

I made a flyer...

Yes, I made a flyer for the chicken and the eggs, full disclosure, and here it is:

THE FOUR DAUGHTERS' FARM
Farm Fresh, Free-Range Chicken and Eggs!
Susan Brown
808-375-6821
stbrown808@gmail.com

Better than organic, humanely treated, locally raised and fed.

THE CHICKEN:
$15/chicken, whole, fresh-"frozen, oven-ready when thawed

What kind of chicken is it? They are hybrid meat birds, called Cornish Cross Rock. They are specially bred to eat a lot and grow fast, so that they are ready to butcher, at 3 - 5 lbs dressed, in 8 weeks.

Where do we get them? We buy them as day-old chicks from either McMurray Hatchery or Ideal Hatchery. Both are reputable mainland firms. They ship them via USPS, usually reaching us within 4 days

Do we keep them in a pen? Then how can you call them "free-range?" Free-range birds are required to have 4 feet of inside (coop) space and 10 feet of outside (running around) space per adult bird. We adhere to this requirement for all our birds. Our meat birds run around, dig, climb on their structures, romp with one another, and compete for treats, the way that socially integrated birds do.

What do they eat? In addition to the staple, 22% Nutrena Meatbird Crumbles, we give our meat birds the following twice a day:
* Local papayas
* Natural, non-GMO Brown rice
* Natural, non-GMO barley, sprouted
* Organic soy milk
We augment their diet, when available, with local-grown vegetables, weeds, and table scraps.

How do we kill them? We believe that the less trauma the chicken suffers, the better the meat will taste. We love our chickens to the end. We wrap the chicken snugly, and hold him, petting him until he is calm. Then we cut the jugular to drain the blood, afterward removing the head. We continue to hold the chicken until he stops moving. We believe that is more humane than many alternatives we've investigated.

Do we use chemicals, pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics? No, no, no, and no. We butcher our chickens outdoors, depending on UV light to naturally disinfect the area. (As with all poultry, you should always cook it through -no pink!) If mites or parasites show up, we fight them naturally, with diatomaceous earth, grapefruit seed extract, etc. We turn the pens with fresh straw in between batches.







THE EGGS:
$5/dozen

Why do the eggs seem dirty? Because we do not wash them! When a hen lays an egg, it is covered with a thin, protective film. It seals the egg and keeps dirt and bacteria out. Unfortunately, it is water soluble, so washes off with water, leaving your porous eggshell an open door for bacteria. Commercial enterprises wash all the "dirt" off the eggs, oh, and the natural protection, so then they add an artificial sealant to keep the egg fresh longer! No need with these natural eggs! I wipe off the big chunks, but no water. So, wash them right before you use them!

Why are they different sizes and colors? These eggs are from different breeds of chickens, and different ages of chickens, thus they vary in size and color.

How old are these eggs? I can't tell you exactly, but my chickens lay 18 - 24 eggs per day and I usually have 1 - 3 dozen in the house at any one time, so the eggs you are buying are at most 3 days old. I often sell out, and say, "Come back tomorrow, or have a cup of coffee; they're working on it!"

Are the eggs from free-range chickens? Yes! Free-range birds are required to have 4 feet of inside (coop) space and 10 feet of outside (running around) space per adult bird. We adhere to this requirement for all our birds. Our layer pens have very complex social structures. We have 5 layer pens, and they all have their own society!

What do they eat? We give our chickens food twice a day. We try to give them a large variety of food to choose from. We do give them some standard scratch grain and high quality layer pellets, to ensure a vitamin balance. But, additionally, we give them:
* Local fruits and vegetables
* Natural, non-GMO brown rice
* Organic soy milk
* Eggshells
* Homemade sourdough bread
* Leftovers and treats whenever possible!

Our chickens live happy lives, and you will taste the difference. If you have any other questions, please email stbrown808@gmail.com or call 808-375-6821.
<end flyer>
No, it's not fancy, or colorful, but it's honest and forthright. My values. I distributed 5 of them to small cafés and restaurants along the highway to Kona. A lot of "oh, wow, yeah, we'll call you!" But no calls to date.

Note that I feed my chickens bread and barley. Hmmm... For all you gluten-free fanatics out there, does that mean that the eggs and the chicken aren't gluten-free? I only ask because, well, follow me now.... Eggs and chicken aren't organic, even if they are not exposed to harsh chemicals, if they eat something that is not organically grown. Some yogurt, in the store, although all yogurt is made from milk and bacteria (not wheat or other gluten-containing grain), is marked 'gluten-free.' Is that because the cows that produced the milk consumed no gluten? What about their mommies?

We have a new chicken pen!

The new pen!

Pat finished the new chicken pen last week! It is 8 ft x 16 ft outer. It will hold about 15 adult chickens. We put Tonto and his hen in there, Mama and her 5 babies, and the 17 other babies we'd hatched (that includes the 2 rare breeds and the three x's).  Yes, that's more than 15, but they are not adults either! 

We haven't had any serious trouble in there. Tonto screamed bloody murder when we were moving him, but he was miserable in that little temporary hospital pen. Once he got into his new place, he's strutting around, acting like a big shot. Haven't heard him crow much though. Too busy posing for Mama. Of course, Mama and Tonto's hen have been battling for top hen. As far as I can tell, Mama's winning. She's been teaching her 5 little chicks everything there is to know about life, food, bugs, etc., but she won't give the time of day to any of the other chicks! Pecks at them if they come too near her or her precious little babies! They stick together, and they're learning, but Mama's little chicks are gonna' grow up snobby! 

When we first put them in the pen, about 30 minutes passed, and suddenly, about 8 chicks were running around the yard! They had found a little gap in the wire and escaped! Fortunately, we caught them before the dogs did, and fixed the gap! All safe now.....

Now for the pig pen....

Knowing people....

Have you ever known someone, say for 13 years or so, intimately even, then one day they say something totally out of character, totally different, totally new? And it's good. I mean, it's personal insights to their thought process that you simply never were privy to in the past. It made me stop and think, "Hey, who are you?" But my second thought was, "Don't question it, just be grateful." And I am. I am grateful for the people and the animals in my life that love me and trust me. Life is good.

The best way I've found to harvest worm compost!

Harvesting worm compost... always a hot topic! I know plenty of people that use a complex screening system, that unfortunately takes a lot of fiddling, and loses some worms. I used to just grab a trowel-full of compost and hand-pick the worms and unprocessed food out, putting them back in the box, and the remaining teaspoon or so of dirt goes in the slowly growing bucket. Good enough, if you have a Netflix movie to watch out by the worm box. Well, I finally have found a way to harvest my worm compost that yields plenty in little time! Look what I got in about 5 minutes:

A big half-bucket of worm-free dirt! How did I do this? Well, the secret is to let the worms work in the full box for awhile without feeding it anymore, so that it is mostly dirt. Thus, I have three worm boxes, about 1 cubic meter each, working. One I am actively feeding, one is getting ready for harvest, and one I am harvesting, whenever I have a few minutes to work with the worms. And what I do is, take the top off and skim the dirt off the top with my trowel. Worms, like vampires, hate the sunlight, and when I scrape off the top fine layer of dirt, the worms that are uncovered dive for darkness, leaving another fine layer to scrape off. Repeat. Until I'm bored. There is a lot of food still in there to keep most of the worms alive until the next box is ready, and harvesting is MUCH easier! Oh, and what do I do when I find the occasional roach in the worm compost? Grab it an take it over to the chickens for entertainment, of course! Chicken-TV!

The Glove Tree

This is the Glove Tree. It started out because Pat's leather gloves were wet and she wanted them to dry out, so she stuck them on the branches of this half-dead tree. We thought they looked cute, somewhat scare-crow-ish, so just left them there. One of those farm humor things. Well, I guess she wanted to use them the other day, and took one off the tree. Luckily, she took a peek inside before sticking her hand in! about a half-cupful of bugs (beetles, roaches, etc.) had taken up residence! Hmm... she thought... She walked over to the Marys' pen and threw the glove right into the pen. (You can see the waterer and the door in the Marys' pen in the background of the photo.) All the bugs ran out. Did the chickens chase the bugs and gobble them up as expected? No-o! They were too busy running away from the scary glove! Silly chickens! So, she took the other glove, full of bugs and took it to Sammy's cage (much hungrier chickens), and shook the bugs into the pen. They attacked like nobody's business! Yum, yum! Now the gloves are official bug collectors for the chickens, well, not the Marys...

Less chickens... more gardening...

Well, we had a big blow recently. We never actually touted our eggs or chickens as 100% organic. However, we practice organic farming, insomuch as we use no chemicals, no growth-inducing additives, etc. We are no careful about the free vegetable waste we pick up at the market to feed them, however. And we don't sift out the non-organic leftovers from our dinners. And we give them "natural brown rice," not the more expensive "organic." And we don't pay an extra $10 per bag for "organic" chicken feed. The local restaurant was, however, selling our eggs and chicken as "organic." And we had a standing order for 20 chickens per month and 20 dozen eggs per month. Yes, we ordered 40 meatbirds based on this order, and increased our layer flock also. Well, I went trotting into the restaurant with the egg order in one of my nifty up-cycled feed bags - yes, good ol' Nutrena non-organic poultry feed with the cute chicken on the outside! And the customer that eats my "organic eggs was sitting their waiting for her "organic" eggs, and she said, "Did you make that?" And I proudly and stupidly said, "Why, yes, I'm up-cycling - I have lots of these!" And she said, "Well, then I guess your eggs aren't organic!" And I said, "Wha......?" Yes, I am dumb, with a capital D! Like, I don't even know how organic you have to be to be organic! So, the reputation of the restaurant took a BIG hit (my fault, their fault, we all are hurtin') and we are stuck with lots of chicken that we probably won't be able to sell. NOT organic, but free-range, yummy, well-loved, well-fed, never saw a chemical or pesticide or growth hormone in their life, chickens! Oh, well, puttin' a bunch of em' in the emu next week. And, we will buy only enough for our own good eating and special orders from now on, and start growing vegetables.
Pooh!

Top Ten Signs that YOU may live on a Chicken Farm

Top Ten Signs that YOU may live on a Chicken Farm:

10. Every time you go to a potluck event, you bring deviled eggs, egg salad, or chicken salad.

9. The crowing roosters wake you up at 5 am, 4 am, 3 am, 2 am, 1 am and midnight.

8. No one wants to eat with you because you always seem to get to the topic of how you "humanely kill chickens" (in graphic detail).

7. You feel at home when you get out of the car and smell the familiar chicken poop smell.

6. Your hands and arms frequently sport small peck marks from huffy hens.

5. You'll be sitting around in public and suddenly notice small flecks of chicken poop or chicken food on your shoes and/or clothes.

4. Your friends who do NOT have chickens have started avoiding you at parties because all you do is talk about your chickens.

3. When you call home, the first thing you ask is, "How're the chickens?"

2. Your to-go container at restaurants is a small bucket that you scrape all your plates into (and if you're not careful, you start scraping others' plates also).

And the #1 sign that you may live on a chicken farm is.....

1. When your beloved crawls into bed at night, you roll over, take a whiff, and ask,"Have you been cleaning out the brooder? Please go take a quick shower....." That chicken smell definitely sticks to your hair!

Butchering Week #3 And how do those dead, headless chickens talk?

When you are elbow deep in chicken blood and guts, you have to find something to laugh about. So, sometimes we play with our chickens, or should I say chicken bodies, just for a laugh. So, one day I was dancing my headless, naked chicken around, bouncing him up and down, and.... he squawked! Just as if he were alive! shocked me! And I realized that when I was cleaning him out, I left a bit of the windpipe in. Thus, when I bounced Buddy, it forced air through the windpipe, making the chicken squawk noise! So, yes, that's how it happens, as creepy and as funny as it is!

The first sad chicken delivery.....

We have had 7 batches of meat chicks delivered. 3from a place in Texas, and this was our 4th from this place, in the Midwest. The most "losses" we've ever had in the first 5 days was 5 chicks, which was from 'the other place,' and we were, of course, reimbursed for them. Otherwise, we only lost one or two, from pen accidents, drowning, or trampling. Chicks are very delicate, and the world, even a little box, can be dangerous!

As a matter of fact, our last batch was the best yet. 25 chicks plus one rare breed chick; all 25 grew to maturity (4-6 lbs, fully dressed), and the lovely cuckoo Moran is still in the pen!

However, this new batch, received last week, well, first of all, they somehow mis-counted and only put in 39 plus the rare one (unless one escaped en route). Then, when they arrived, there were already 6 dead in the box. Before the day was out, 7 more toppled over. The next day, 10 more died, despite our best efforts to keep them warm, feed them mash, give them water, hand feed them vitamins, etc.  we ended up with 12 survivors plus the rare one. Heartbreaking. Needless to say, we are getting a replacement shipment in a few weeks. I hope they arrive in better shape. I guess that sometimes something happens during the trip that stresses them out and they cannot recover. Bad fall, too hot, too cold, whatever. Anyway, I hope we don't have to go through that again!

At the same time as all that chick-death, the incubator chicks were popping out daily! Out of 21 eggs, 14 hatched, but one died after a day or so. Only two are light yellow-brown; one is grey; and the rest are black or black with white chests. Our friend gave us 4 fertile eggs to hatch. They all hatched little black chicks with yellow marks on head and butt! Unfortunately, one looks lame and will probably have to go tomorrow.

And, finally, when I was at the market, another friend said, "I have to get rid of these chickens." In her carrier was a normal-looking hen with 5 chicks that looked just like the Rhode Island reds that I got as my starter chicks 3yrs ago. They couldn't have been more than 2 days old. Before I knew what I was doing, I said, "I'll take them." I guess we'd better build another pen soon.

Butchering week #2, Test driving the chicken plucker, aka the chicken mutilater

Butchering week #2

Test driving the chicken plucker, aka the chicken mutilater

Our fellow chicken farmer and good friend loaned us her automatic chicken plucker, to help with the de-feathering process. The plucking is, by far, the most time-consuming part of the entire chicken processing. The steps involved in the process are
Kill them by cutting the jugular.
Drain the blood.
Cut the head off.
Scald them for 30 sec.
Douse with cold water.
Pull out all the feathers.
Remove all the insides.
Clean them up.
Weigh them.
Bag and label.

Anything that will shorten the process is welcome.

The "plucker" was not a set of robotic hands that gently pulled out feathers. No, it was a series of fat rubber fingers that rotated. You hold the chicken against the rotating rubber sticks, they slap the chicken, and the feathers are supposed to be rubbed off by the "fingers." Hmmm... Yes, some feathers were rubbed off, lots of skin was rubbed off, and some of the beautiful chicken meat was chewed up. Ouch! Mark that chicken "for home consumption only!" We are back to hand-plucking!

Butchering week #1

Butchering blog #1

Reflections of the Butcher

As we wait for the blood to drain,
   I flick the chicken poo off my pant leg
       with a bloody knife,
And we chuckle together
   as we remark once more
       that headless chickens
Really can talk.

Butchering week blog intro - READ FIRST

Butchering week blog intro - READ FIRST

The next few blogs will be about butchering week on our little farm. We had to butcher our 25 meat chickens in the span of 4 days. Some of the content may be disturbing to the faint-hearted; therefore, if you think you may be upset by the photos, the subject, the prose, or sometimes morbid reflections, please do not read the blogs that start with "Butchering week #". Other blogs will be of the same tenor as my usual fare.

Consider yourself warned.

I love my hairdresser!

I must have an amazing haircut! I am no good judge of how I look, because I always think I look horrible. I used to spend several minutes (well, maybe 5) on my hair, with mousse, blow-drying it and trying to get it to look like it has some body, then spraying it in place so that it continues to look like it has some body for a few hours. Well, since we now have 85 chickens and 4 dogs, and usually have to leave by 10 in the morning, I really haven't had much time to fiddle with my hair. So lately I have been doing more of the "I'm-in-a-hurry-abbreviated version." Which is 1) jump out of the shower, 2) towel dry, 3) run a comb through it, 4) put a dab of maximum-hold gel in it, and 5) run my fingers through it, letting it dry through the day.

Now, the coup-de-grace! I walked into a starbucks the other day, passing the counter, noting that there were two young women at the pick-up-drinks counter. After we made our orders, we went to the counter where they were standing, and they stopped me (me!) and said, "We wanted to tell you that we love your hair." I responded with, "Do I know you from somewhere?" trying to check to see if they were friends just trying to make me feel better (like everyone else). "Oh, no," they responded, "we just think you hair is just perfect, you know, the way it frames your face and all." Now, remember, I am 20 lbs. overweight, and am wearing NO makeup. I stammered a "Thank you" and went on my way. All I can say is, "I love you; you put the GOD in Godfrey! My miracle-working hairdresser! A cut makes all the difference!" At 60 years old, my time has come!

What keeps the Chickens Laying??

I don't know why, and I guarantee that I am NO chicken expert (see previous blogs for proof of that!), but for some reason, when all the chickens around here are taking a break for winter, fall, or molting, whatever, mine are still plopping out eggs. We get 12 to 25 daily and have about 30 layers. I have some theories, but that is just what they are, theories, and probably just a bunch of hooey! But I will share my chicken hooey with anyone who cares to read about it!

For one thing, we give our chickens a varied diet. We think they like it. Our chickens have to be penned, or our dogs will eat them for snacks, so they cannot freely forage. But freely foraging chickens eat all kinds of things: bugs, flowers, grasses, worms, mice, leftover food from the trash, dead stuff, fallen fruit, vegetables, etc. So we do our best to give them the variety they crave. We feed them layer pellets and scratch grains (to be sure they have a balance of the correct vitamins and minerals for proper nutrition and egg-laying). Then, we give them our special rice mash. The base is cooked all natural brown rice (good for them and less expensive than prepared feed), and we add a variety of old sourdough bread (we make way more than we can eat every week), crushed eggshells, leftover scraps, gravy, organic soy milk, milk (sour or fresh), outdated yogurt, sometimes a can of cat food, etc. Mixed all together, it's a chicken-yummy mash! Then I throw them any bits of meat, bone (cracked to reveal the marrow), vegetables, fruits, etc. We have two garbage cans chained up by some of the vegetable stalls at the Kona market to collect the overripe papaya  that the vendors throw out. We bring it home twice per week for our papaya-loving chickens!

The other thing is social  change. Some people say that chickens like routine. Although that may be true, I think that they sometimes become complacent. Then they think, "Hmm, I've been laying all these eggs. It's hard work. I think I'll take a vacation, and just eat and ay around for a few weeks." Say, what??!! Let's say I take a vacation and don't feed you for a few weeks? Anyway, my observation is that chickens are very competitive, and they can be happy without being "content." And I think happy and challenged is better than happy and content. So we try to change it up on our chickens every now and again. We keep some young hens in with the old, and it seems to get the old ones laying again, as if to ensure their place in the "pecking order." The roosters are busy protecting and teaching the new hens, while maintaining their turf, so no one has any time to be bored and think about vacations! Right now we have a pen with 7 hens and a rooster that has always yielded 4 - 6 eggs per day. Well, I sometimes am getting 1 these days! So, since the pen can hold 5 - 8 more chickens, it's time to move some of the young ones from the transition pen to this one (called the Mary's pen). The only problem is, we want to move them at night. Well, they all sleep upstairs in the waaayyy back corner, and, uh, well, we can't reach them. oops. So, as soon as Pat makes a little adaptation to the pen, we will move them :)

More later!

Pie from the Past

My grandmother (Nana) used to make this pie that we called Crumb Pie or Shoo-Fly Pie. I loved it; we all did. A child, I never wondered what was in it, just happily ate it, as many pieces as I could finagle.

I was at my sister's a few weeks ago (see last blog) and she told me she had the recipe! Yay! So, tonight, Pat and I had our favorite dinner, Pie! And it was Nana's Crumb Pie! Freshly made in my kitchen! And it was... Gluten-full, filling, made of all things I shouldn't eat, not too sweet, high in iron, and absolutely deeeelicious!! We are now contemplating the second piece. This is definitely a depression-era recipe, but one you can try if you need a dessert and have nothing fresh on hand, only staples. The ingredients are flour (lots of it) butter or shortening, molasses or dark syrup, water, cinnamon and a little baking soda. Put into two pie crusts. Now, to make it somewhat healthy (hahaha), I used coconut oil, organic flour, and dark molasses. The pie is easy to cut, has a lovely chewy consistency, with cinnamony crumbles on the top. mmmmm....

The Marriage Trip

First, note the title. "Marriage," not "wedding." Not to imply that it was not romantic, or loving, or all that; however, it was lacking in a few of the usual "wedding" trappings. Like decorations, guests, invitations, announcements, witnesses, flowers, well, you get the difference. I mean, this IS the third union of this type we have had in the last 10 yrs. of our contiguous relationship. BUT this was the one that counts, federally, on our taxes, for benefits, as if we were actual, real, people and spouses, just like heterosexual spouses! It's a miracle! And we did it all in one day!

Okay, not exactly. We used several days' preparation, making sure we had appointments, proper paperwork, etc. Pat even created a travel binder (very awesome!) to hold everything including maps and reservations.

And then, of course, we traveled all night, then spent a day recuperating at my sister's. Which, btw, was wonderful! We visited Charles at the VA hospital, and he was in great spirits, and she outdid herself BBQing for us!  We did our best, but just couldn't manage to eat food for 20. She's got plenty of leftovers! We helped, though, by having steak and blueberry pie for breakfast before we set out on our adventure!  The blueberry pie was the best I've ever had, and she even emailed me the recipe (the secret is lots of berries, and half of them are uncooked). If you faithful few followers are good, I may post it! She also gave me a copy of my nana's crumb pie recipe, a depression era favorite. Some mixture of molasses, sugar, flour, all in a pie crust - cinnamony and delicious

Back to the main story: We got up early, drove to the Marin county courthouse, parked in the 2-hour parking lot, made it with 5 minutes to spare for our marriage license appointment.

I don't know how it could have gone any smoother. There were two very nice ladies in the county office that issued our license. We were the first appointment of the day. They just had to swear in a few county counsels before us, short wait, then we were the first ceremony they performed, at 9:30 AM. We had it out in the garden, by the fountain, and the herb bushes. Confidential license, no witnesses required. Pictures tnx to our iPhones instantly posted to FB. We were back on the road, officially married, even with a last name changed to a hyphenated thingy, at 10:30 AM. Stopped at Starbucks to pee and have a celebratory coffee.

Then we drove to San Jose, Moffet Field, to DEERS office, to see about getting the dependent military ID card. Our appointment wasn't until 3:20 PM, but we wanted to make sure we could find the office. Good thing, too. We got lost. Twice. Or three times. But we did find it. And walked in at 1:10. Amid multiple signs stating "no walk-ins" and "must have appointment" (and even one sign that read "no walks-in" for those who only understand hillbilly), we said, "Oh, our appointment's not until 3:20." To which the nice lady responded, "Would you like for me just take you now?" Of course, we said, "No,aff we'd rather come back later." SNAP!! Just kidding! We jumped at the opportunity, and 20 minutes later, I walked out of there with my pretty peach-colored dependent ID card that identifies me as an SP. Woo-hoo! Then we went to celebrate with yummy Mediterranean food!
Later that evening, we met up with my daughter, who just happened to be in town at a workshop/training thingy for work, and my step sister, who also lives in San Jose, has the same first name as I do, and is only a year different in age. (We had an interesting childhood, but that will be the topic of a different blog!) We had yummy Mexican food, after driving all over SJ, but NOT at the taqueria recommended by the young son (hence the driving). Finally turned in, exhausted.

The next morning, Suzie (the not-at-all-wicked stepsister) brought us breakfast in bed at 9:30 AM. Which is a good thing, because we may still be there, sleeping, had she not. The hotel had blackout curtains; what a concept. We didn't set an alarm bc our flight didn't leave until 1. Well, we live on a farm, get up with the sun, the chickens, the dogs who want their breakfast, etc. I don't sleep very well, so if I wake up and it's dark, I force myself to go back to sleep until it's sunny. Well, I was just thinking that it ws th longest night in the world when she showed up! Doh!

So, all went well...However, back at the farm...

I'm still on the plane as I write this, therefore, I haven't been home yet to survey the situation.  But Lorraine called the first evening, sounding panicked. No water! No water for the dogs, no water for the chickens, no water coming out of the pipes for the human! She was on her way to the local pump to pick up 60 gallons in her truck. Well, we didn't think we could be out of water, because we had checked it the week before we left. For those of you who don't know, ocean view does not have city or county water so we use a catchment system. Basically, we catch water on our roof and channel it through the gutter to a big tank. We pump it from the tank into the house through a normal plumbing system. In our case, we also UV filter it. Running off a roof and sitting in a tank is not to sanitary. We treat it with chemicals, but the UV light ensures it is safe from a bacteria standpoint. Well, bottom line on the water is that our brand new pump burned out some of the fittings and pipes, and the water tank was empty.

But, on the up side, a bunch of our friends and neighbors pitched in and were still working on it the last time I talked to them. And... The dogs are happy and healthy, well, healthy anyway. Hunny's mad that we're gone. She just eats and ignores everyone else. Geea also misses us; evidently she's been hiding in the bedroom a lot. But those little whore-puppies have just moved on! Kai's best friends with Lorraine now, and Oho is Panter's buddy. I can just hear Panter now, when we get back, "Can I have an Oho of my own? Pleeeease?" (Oho is Lorraine's sweet male dog.) Noho, Panter! No Oho of your own! Four dogs are more than enough! Maybe Oho can come and visit every now and then. I can compromise.

Well, hopefully they'll still recognize us.

warning! the softest tp isn't always!

ok, I don't know what the blog rules are... can a company sue me if i talk about their product online? just in case, i'm going to do some ranting and raving, or, i suppose it is technically raving and ranting, about a product that we are very particular about. and I will call it by an alias, so as to protect the company from any slanderous ideas it might have. So, just so you all know, I AM NOT using the actual name of the toilet paper coming in the following story. The names have been changed to protect big business in America. From a little ranting blogger in Ocean View. Okay, now the story...

There is nothing more important about toilet paper than softness. I don't know about you, but we have found the absolute softest tp on the market. Charming (name fake to protect big business). We have tried bargain brands, Devil Soft (must be soft, because soft is in the name) but Charming is the softest of all. We even buy "ultra soft" Charming tp. Still wonderful, big roll. Well, the Charming company made a BIG mistake. We accidently bought a multi (like 64 rolls) pack of "ultra STRONG" Charming. Knowing it was Charming brand, we just thought it would be strong AND soft. Ha! No way! And I, for one, am NOT willing to sacrifice softness for strength! TP has to be strong enough, doesn't have to be stronger than necessary, but can NEVER be too soft! Who needs it as strong as paper towels? And as rough? So, you out there who, like me, want softness in your tp, do not buy the 'ultra-strong' version of our beloved Charming! Stick to regular or 'ultra-soft,' who still are the best on the market. Protect your ass.

"Goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get ma-a-a-ried..."

"Wow!" you say. "Are you really blogging? We thought you'd forgotten all about your two avid fans!" No such luck! I've just been really busy, emptying out all the penny jars, collecting egg money, making plane reservations, making ID card reservations, making city hall reservations, finding a brave and desperate soul willing to take on 4 dogs, 1.5 cats, and 90 chickens for 4 days - have you guessed it yet? Yes! After a long successful scientific career, a short catastrophic real estate career, and several years of semi-retired chicken farming, I will finally achieve my life's goal of becoming a military wife, while actually staying married to my own lovely wife! (Haha - just joking about life's goal, but the benefits are astounding, just for being who I have been for the past 13 years!) We have to jump through a few hoops, but, well, small price to pay, so San Rafael, here we come!

Meanwhile, back at the farm...

We sold Silver to a friend. We hope he's warming up to his new ladies. Brother misses him, but the girls are all his now - he'd better get busy!

We have 18 more eggs in the incubator - due September 21, the day after we get back from Calif.

Brownie laid her first egg - chocolate brown! Yay!

We got another gorgeous rooster from Vera's. Disposition as yet uncertain. (DumTeDumDum.....)

The meat birds are 5 weeks old, huge and hungry. The local restaurant tried 2 of them. We'll see if they take 2 per week.

Otherwise, all's calm.

My Babies!

Not a great hatch. Out of 15 eggs, we had only 7 survivors. And they were awful cute. The last two got trampled by the bullies. A new neighbor had come by last week with his son and wanted to buy some chicks for he and his son to raise for eggs. He came back by and *whoosh* all my babies are gone. I almost wouldn't let him take them. I put them in a box, and when he went to take the box, my hand wouldn't let go! But, it finally did, and they are gone... to their new home...*sob*  I'm incubating another batch tomorrow!

And NOW we have baby chicks!!

We are very soon going to have to do more social engineering! Well, in 4 weeks, when the baby chicks are ready to go outside! We incubated 15 eggs. One died at birth (we 'helped' it too much). Another is looking poorly, having been trampled(we weren't here to help it 'a little.' He-she may not make it. And 3 have yet to hatch after 24 days. So we have at least 10 viable little additions. There's a fellow down the street that wants 5 or 6 of them. So that is 4 or 5 for us to integrate into our flock. We'll have to start thinking about it...

The chicks in the incubator:

Massive social Engineering to accommodate the new arrivals!

We just adopted 6 babies, 1 gorgeous rooster, and 6 hens. Our friend is leaving the state, and we made it by just before the humane society visit. We still only have 4 pens, and Sammie definitely needs his own domain! Being an established rooster and all... Spurs almost 2 inches long! So we brought all our new additions home, waited until dark, then began some complex chicken social engineering. After a few hours of measuring, discussion, research, further discussion, compromise, we went into action. 

The first move was to take the 'teenagers' (5 chickens that are about 4 months old) out of the portable and put them in the main pen (with the other 30 chickens) under the watchful rule of Racer and his son Black Cape. We were thinking they were old enough to hold their own with the other hens, especially if introduced as a group. So, in they went, up on the roost. The very last one we caught, squawked just like her mama - you'd think we were killing her! But she quieted down as soon as she got on the roost with her sisters.

Then, we had to move the dillies. We had decided they needed a change of scenery. Although they have been laying eggs, we haven't gotten any, or, very few. There was a little mouse family living in the downstairs level of their condo (I've even seen them upstairs) that was eating all the eggs. I was trying to tell the dillies that they should eat the mice, but they were either too timid or, well, they are picky eaters bot they may have been eating eggs also (but leaving the shells; they never deign to eat shells). We thus decided to move them to the portable. Shake them up a little.

Then we moved all the new crew to the transition pen.

Except for one. The smallest baby. We named him Buddy and took him into the brooder to keep Coco company.

Who is Coco? Coco is a month-old Cuckoo Moran of undetermined gender that arrived with the 25 meat chicks (our free rare exotic chick) that now had to be separated from them to avoid being trampled by their fat little growing-like-crazy, rushing-to-the-food-trough bodies. He-she was lonely in the brooder all by his-herself.

Next day:

We woke up, and eagerly ran put to see how everyone was doing. the teens were fine, running around the big pen, not picked too much (they're fast). we looked in the transition pen, and there were Sammie and his ladies, but wait! where are the babies?!? Nowhere to be seen! We looked in the entire pen, and....no babies! Could they have escaped? Could the other chickens have eaten them? No, there'd be evidence, feathers or something, since there were 7 of them. Wait! There they are! They had all slipped under the wall between the transition pen and the main pen (the previous residents had dug a little tunnel just big enough for babies). There they were, running around in a little group, darting to and fro, on their big adventure. They seemed happy enough, so we left them there.

Having done that, we noticed that the Angel that was in the Mary's pen was unhappy yet again. If you recall, we moved her there because she was getting tag-teamed by Spot and Black Cape, and was traumatized, shivering in the corner. Well, now there are 2 roosters in the Mary's pen, and, sure enough, they are tag-teaming that same poor Angel. And for the entire month or so that she has been there, she has only laid one egg. Well, Spot was the big troublemaker in the main pen, and he has since become dog food, so we thought maybe Angel will be happier if she goes home now. We hope Racer will protect her, or she can hide amongst the other hens. So, while we were moving things, we moved her back to the main pen. She jumped up into a nest and sat. Looks positive.

When we went out to feed them, all was well, the new girls actually laid an egg, and the babies came back to their original transition pen. Go figure. We checked on them after dark, and were glad to see that the new flock had worked out a really great sleeping arrangement. Sammie had 4 hens on the downstairs ledge with him, the babies were all packed into the upstairs nest box, with the other 2 hens on baby-duty. Makes sense to me. So we decided to add Coco and her-his buddy to the baby-cluster. Just plopped them right in the box. And said, "Go back to sleep." And they did.

Next morning, everybody's safe. Coco is a little ostracized, either because he-she is timid/afraid, or they won't be friendly, but he-she hangs out on the ledge or ramp and jumps down to get food until someone chases him-her back up. Appears to be holding his-her own and getting enough. The new hens have laid 2 eggs already, and the dillies have laid 3. Yay! No mice to eat them! But the BIG news is.... The new flock is cleaning up the transition pen. I saw those industrious hens running around with wriggling little mice in their beaks! No co- existing with a good protein source happening here! Yay! The mouse problem solved!  Yummy!

Why won't my dogs eat?

We have four dogs. (Of course we do...don't all lesbians have at least four?) Two older ones (12 yrs) and two pups (18 mos. and 9 mos.). Hunny and Geea (the older dogs) are  very dogly dogs. Especially with respect to their food. We prepare it; they eat it. Anytime, anywhere. They eat it all. Up. And lick the bowl. And would eat more whenever we give it to them. Dogs. As they should be. But, the two pups are just weird. At dinner time, rather than standing there, at our feet, drooling, waiting for the homemade dog food to get warmed up in their bowls, they run out to the big back yard and start playing!?! What!?! There we are, the dog-moms, holding two big, full dog bowls, yelling for our silly puppies to come and eat. They are big dogs. The 'little' one is over 50 lbs, and Kai probably tips the scale at 110 these days. They should be hungry. They finally come up to the deck and look at their food. Not 'gobble it up' or 'wolf it down' or 'scarf it down' - no, they look at it, sniff (maybe), walk away, look up at us questioningly, anything but eat. And it's not that they don't like their food; we've tried all kibble, no kibble, homemade with chicken, homemade with beef, with and without spices, with and without water, changing bowls, etc. We thought maybe the older dogs that really like to eat were terrorizing them somehow (dirty looks, or threats when we weren't looking), so we tried to feed them separate, for example, in the kitchen or bathroom. (The dogs usually eat on the back deck.) They just got so nervous and didn't eat then either. The only way they actually will eat is if we hand feed little bits of their food at a time. Not much fun for us, as our hands get all dog-foody! Yech! They couldn't just be spoiled rotten, could they?

Another Episode of Farm TV

This one is more exciting - we do it morning and evening - it's how they get their exercise!

Chicken TV at its finest!

'Farm TV'

You really haven't lived until you've watched "Chicken TV" or "Chick TV" or "Dog TV", well... you get the point. We here on the farm often get distracted just watching our animals. Some episodes of Farm TV are more exciting than others (we sometimes watch the dogs sleep) but some are pretty exciting (like chick football). Ah, you're interested, and asking, "what is chick football?" well, just try throwing a large cockroach (alive) into a box of chicks. They start the game on their own - one of them grabs the roach and the rest chase him around the pen.  Looks like football... But nobody's blocking. They all want the roach. The poor ball carrier is on his own.  hehe

So here is an episode of chick TV: (not the most interesting, but not totally dull. Note the little black one in the right hand pen!) It's not very long (saving grace). When you see it live, you find yourself in the brooder room for a really long time before you know it!

Yum! Buggy Chicken bread!

Doesn't this look great:

This is a huge loaf of 'Buggy Chicken Bread'!! yum! The recipe is soo simple. 5 lbs of flour with bugs in it (donation from a neighbor cleaning out her cupboards) and enough water to be 'battery'. I think I put 12 - 16 cups in, 4 cups at a time. Then I poured it into the pan that had been greased with organic coconut oil, and baked at 350 degrees for about 1 hour until a toothpick came out clean. I will break it into 4 -6 hunks and crumble each one into a feeding with their rice mash. They will love it!  Unleavened, protein-enriched bread.

Why are some yolks only yellow?

Look at this picture of my two fried eggs from breakfast this morning:

They both came from my chickens. They both had brown shells. They both came out of the same coop. I feed all the chickens the same stuff. Granted, I don't give them individual bowls, i.e., they have to gather their own food from around the pen, where we scatter it. And the pellets and mash are put into 4 bowls around the pen that they share. So the questions that come to mind...

1.     Does the chicken with the pale egg dislike kale, and thus avoid it, so the yolks don't get the deep orange color?

2.    Or was it from a timid chicken that doesn't get her fair share of the rich food?

3.    Or was that chicken just not feeling all that well that day?

4.  Or was it one of the newer chickens that haven't acclimated to our diet? (the 'newest' chickens are already 3 weeks here - they would also correspond to the most timid, so this may equal #2)

We just don't know, but it tasted okay!

The nuggets are here!

Post title: The nuggets are here!
Date: August 5, 2013

Our baby chicks arrived in the mail on Thursday! 25 little 'nuggets' and one 'rare exotic breed' chick thrown in for a bonus.

'Nuggets' are what we call the little fuzzy meat bird chicks. We order Jumbo Plymouth Cross Rock chickens, straight run. These birds are nothing short of amazing. They are a hybrid, bred from 5 or so chicken gene pools. Their most striking traits include the following:
Their primary interest is eating. They eat voraciously whenever there is food available. We usually pick up their food at night so they will sleep; otherwise they eat all night. I don't think the Colonel is so considerate...
They reach full-size (~ 5 lbs. fully dressed) in 8 weeks +- 1 week. Which is great, because in 8 weeks, we go through 40 lbs of grain, 150 lbs papaya, and 50 lbs of rice, so we are ready to stop feeding them!
After 7 or 8 weeks, they get a little heavy for their legs also, and risk dislocation of their joints or actually breaking their legs. They can also develop heart and lung problems if you let them go too long before 'harvesting' (a popular euphemism for butchering, which I guess sounds too real).
They have fewer feathers than your typical barnyard bird, easing the plucking operation.
They stay indoors in a brooder for the first 3-4 weeks, then we put them out in their pen. At that point, we call them 'lunches.' Later, when they start to resemble roasted chicken on legs, they are 'dinners.' But right now, the nuggets are cute little yellow chicks, just like Easter.

With every order from Murray McMurray Hatchery, we get a free rare exotic chick. The surprise bird. That's how we got Fop. That's how we got Speckle. This batch's free one is black with a yellow spot on its head and a yellow butt. We think it's a Cuckoo Moran. Which would be great, even if it's a roo, because we can cross it with an Americana and get some more olive-eggers! Yay!

"Help! I've fallen and I can't get up (but I've still got the )!"

The title of this blog is the chicken-farm-run-by-old-ladies version of the famous saying, "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up." (If you haven't heard that one, you've been living in a foreign country and I can't help you there....) A few examples will help clarify:

True story:

The day our 6-month old bulldog/Heeler puppy got spayed, she came home VERY drowsy. She staggered to her feet in the evening, like she needed to pee. So I let her walk down the ramp (how stupid - it's a long ramp) to the back, which is some grassy area, but mostly lava rock, as I watched from the comfort of my deck in my bathrobe. Somehow, in my tiny brain, I thought she would go to the bottom of the ramp, tinkle, and come right back up. Noooooo, she hit the yard, and kept on going. Until she was in the middle of the lava field. And then, the sleepyhead just sat down, fell over, and fell asleep! I panicked! Threw my garden slippers on, (these are open-toed crocs) and ran out to where my little 45-lb baby was stranded in the dark lava field. Without thinking, (not that I've been thinking at all during this story yet) I scooped her up in my arms.  Whoa.... Big mistake. I became top-heavy, couldn't maintain my footing, and crashed to the hard, sharp, lava ground. Ouch! But Panter was securely buffered from the fall by my body, and I wasn't letting her go. I hollered to Pat, "Help, I've fallen, and I can't get up, but I've got the dog!"

Another true story (repeated many times):

Chickens are clever in some ways, and stupid in others. Some chickens just want to escape. Even if there are big dogs outside the pen, and the food is inside the pen. Every now and then, one of the chickens will escape into the yard. Then we have to catch it before the dogs do, or it goes into the next batch of dog food. It's pretty entertaining, watching Pat and I run around the yard after a chicken. They are faster than you think. Anyway, there are a few spots where we trap them, corners by the pens, garden latticework area, etc. Problem is, they are also the places where we (and this is the 'we' that means Pat) have to get down and crawl into the corner and lurch after the chicken to grab her, preferably with both hands. Think about it...have you ever crawled backwards out of a tight space without using your hands? So, after lunging, Pat is laying there in the bushes, can't get up or move backwards, with a firm grasp on the chicken, and she says to me, "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up, but I've got the chicken!"

Panic! Batten down the hatches!

This next blog was supposed to be the next installment of Eden's rooster adventure, but... I got busy, and something else come up that I just HAVE to blog about. of course...

Living on Hawai'i has its oddities. One of them is the weather. You think, 'always sunny,' right? No, always the threat of the Great Tsunami! I was reminded of that when my better half, Pat, made the mistake of watching the weather report before we went to bed the other night. We were scheduled to drive into Kona the next morning. The implications there are:

1. We have to drive 1.5 hours on a long, curvy road.
2. We have to leave our 4 dogs and 43 chickens untended. (The 1 cat can fend for himself; he's pretty smart by all evidence.)
3. Then, we have to drive 1.5 hours home in the semi-darkness on a long,curvy road.
4. A storm may take out parts of the road or power or both.

Well, the weather report said a really, really big storm was coming with really, really big winds (65+ mph). Should hit us at around 6 - 8 am. Now, this was 11 pm at night. And she was very concerned. 

Hmmm... Now, remember, we have lived in the Hawaiian Islands for about 10 years. We NEVER watch the weather reports. (This was really a fluke.) The following is a true story:

3 am... the phone rings. It's my sister in California. "Hello?" I say, sleepily. She asks, "What are you doing?" "Sleeping," I respond, not quite getting the point. "You weren't hit by the tsunami?" she asks. "What tsunami?" Then I gather my wits and say, "Hey, I'm fine, can I call you in the morning?"

Another true story:

A friend of mine, that actually LIVES on the Big Island, was traveling on the mainland, and sent me a text. I forget what I was doing, maybe cooking or gardening, or playing cards. The text read, "Did you suffer any damage from the earthquake?" My texted response, "What earthquake?"

I guess the bottom line is that the weather-related events make more news elsewhere than they do right here, where they are happening.

So, when my wife started fretting about the storm that was 7 to 9 hours away, I said, "You know, it may just pass us by, or die out before it gets here. Why don't we wait for morning, and see what happens. Unless, of course, you want to batten something down tonight." Which suggestion she was not into at all. Worrying was one thing. Actually going out into the dark (leaving warm bed) and putting away some buckets and things didn't sound like a good time at all. So we went to bed. And woke up to a sunny morning. The storm did hit, but much more north than expected. And not quite as heavy. But that didn't stop my daughter from calling to find out if I was safe.  Ahhhhh...... she loves me.

We pick up the roosters.

To continue the story from the last blog....

We drive the two and a half blocks to our friend's house to get the chickens. She had tried the method that had worked the other two times, i.e., fed the chickens in the coop at night, then shut them in. They sleep in the coop, and in the morning we go get whatever is locked up in there. BUT... this time, there were only some hens and little babies in the coop. The roosters had gotten wise to her tricks. We humans pride ourselves on being smarter than the chickens (or we'd never eat eggs or chicken), and innovation won out. The next day, our friend went out in the morning, and yep, only a few hens and some babies in the coop. She let them out and threw some scratch into the coop. (For non-chicken people, 'scratch' is a mix of grains, mostly corn, that chickens love to eat off the ground, and 'scratch' around for.) The roosters went running in for it and.... BAM! the door was shut and they could eat to their hearts' content until we get there to pick them up! (I wonder if it will work the second time?)

We arrived with our pickup and cage and there were 7 roosters, 2 hens, and 2 babies. The babies were probably a month old or so. The three of us, Pat, Eden, and myself, started trying to catch them. Someone should really video it. We are usually too concentrated on actually catching them and getting them in the cage to think about the video we all have on our phones to do it. I always think of Rocky having to catch the chicken before he is ready to fight. We are not ready to fight. We have to chase the chickens into a corner, and wear them down. But even once we catch them, that's not the hardest part. We have to hold on to them. While opening the coop door. And while opening the cage door. They will definitely try to get away. And once you have some in the cage, they think a good way to escape is to rush the door when you open it. They are actually correct. Several have escaped that way. And one has done not-serious-but-scarily-visible (for two days) harm to my face and neck trying to. But didn't! I won! Concentration and preparedness is the key. The chicken will act all tame and calm, then suddenly fly out of your arms, or at the door. This time, and partly because after three trips we have become experts, and partly because we were three people, we managed to arrive home with all eleven birds!

First stop, the portable cage to drop off the 'keepers.' That would be the 2 hens and the 2 babies. The natural instinct of the flock is to protect the mothers and children, so when we looked in the cage, all we saw were the roosters. They had the moms and babies hidden in the back!  While guarding the cage door, one of us, she with the longest arms, reached back and tried to grab the ones we wanted. Eventually we got them all, but it wasn't easy. Then we took the roos back to ..... the butchering station.

That adventure is for the next installment...

Eden learns about life on the farm!

I just got too busy to blog, and couldn't get back to it. Now I forget what day we did things, so the day-by-day event summary of Eden's visit is no longer in my memory bank. But I will relate events.

The first time Eden visited us, we had 6 chickens, 5 hens and one rooster. Now we have 42 chickens that are permanent residents, and 25 meat chicks on order, about 20 meat chickens in the freezer, and every few weeks we round up 6 or 7 roosters from a friend's farm for dog food.  She went with me to feed the chickens several times, and found out that it was a real production!
1. Prepare the chicken food: I prepare 3 buckets to take out to the chickens. One bucket full of brown rice, leftovers, crunched up egg shells, milk, leftover cat food, fat, etc. It makes a runny pudding-like mass that they love. Bucket two is their fruit. It's usually papaya that we get from the market garbage; they always have lots of overripe papaya. Sometimes during mango season they get mangoes. I cut it in thirds or fourths. Bucket three is filled with lettuce, bits of meat, bones, other vegetables, scraps, all cut up small. This preparation takes 30 min plus.
2. Take it down to the 5 pens and split it up between all the pens. The rice goes in the bowls, the papaya is laid out so they can eat it, and the other bucket gets thrown out by handfuls - lots of fun to watch them run for it!
3. Give layer pellets to all the pens, and spread scratch around in all the pens.
4. Collect eggs.
We do this twice each day. Yes, we love our chickens! Eden was a great help to have around for 5 days to help with this production.
She said one day, "I guess I'd like to see you guys butcher a chicken." We called up our friend, and asked her to lure some roosters into the coop, and we'd pick them up! It took two tries, but she called on Wednesday to report a bunch of roosters in the coop! We packed up the truck and headed on over. We had a large dog crate in the back of the pickup to put the chickens in, and we were ready to go!

I have to go to sleep now, so I will continue this (hopefully) tomorrow!

Sue

The last day...:(

The daughter goes home today... but not until after a fun-filled day of...mostly driving! yay! Well, this IS the Big Island! My friend, who lives on the BI, was telling me that she was vacationing in Maui, and had a rental car. When she turned it in after 3 days, she was shocked to find that they only drove 35 miles! At home, she averages 60+ per day. I get it! It's not uncommon for me to drive 100+ miles in a day. I was telling someone the other day that the pace here is very laid back, but everyone is very busy. It's true. Ya gotta live it to get it. For example, it's 1.5 hours to the nearest Starbuck's!

What the heck did we do for all these 6 days?? Let's see if I can reconstruct it.

Friday: Pat and I drove to Hilo to pick Eden up at the airport. On the way, we stopped in Pahala (30 min from home) to get prescriptions, then stopped in Hilo town to deliver chickens (organic, fully dressed, 5 lb. each), then to Ken's House of Pancakes to have Oxtail Soup and cheeseburgers. In our defense, we did go to 3 Sushi restaurants before deciding to go to the local, dependable Ken's. The first one had two tables and a 2-seat bar. We missed the seats at the bar by 30 sec. They said, "We're full, but you can wait." We thought we'd take a walk to check out the other places, only blocks away. One was huge, but full and the line was out the door. The only other one in town was closed. So we went back to the first one, and a table was empty, but they had quickly put a "reserved" sign on it! ouch! Thus, Ken's. Then, time to get the Girl-child!  And, a 1.5-hour drive home. Meet the dogs. The old dogs recognized her immediately, Geea wagged that tail more than she has since the last girl came home, Hunni smiled, and the two new ones immediately sniffed and said, "Family," and cuddled right up. And to bed.

oops, gotta go feed chickens, more later!

One of the daughter's is home to visit!

Eden, the 'middle' daughter, is home, at the Four Daughter's Farm, to pay us a short visit! Yay! And "Yay!" say the old dogs, who haven't wagged their tails so much in the year since she was here last! Big Geea's tail was going back-and-forth-and-back-and-forth, etc., in double time - and she SMILED! (Mostly, she lays around until we lead her to her bowl to eat; and twice a day, she goes out to the field to take care of business.)

It was a difficult night for city-bred Eden however, *drumroll* as she was threatened in her bedroom by a GIGANTIC, BIGGER THAN SHE'S EVER SEEN IN HER LIFE, SPIDER!! She called us in, and, as we turned our heads to look for a weapon (we have a stash of appropriate spider weapons - shoes, flyswatters, etc.), the thing scurried off; we know not where. And, she was correct, it was very large and menacing - 3 inches across! We are very carefully avoiding telling her that:

1. We have seen, and even killed, larger ones and
2. We killed one last week that had a big white ball on it, oh, I mean her, as I assume the ball was an egg sac, or baby sac, or whatever. Now, I also have read Charlotte's Web, and know how many babies a spider has. And it was her favorite childhood book. But, well, you know, it was probably the only mommie in the clan, right? Right?

On the comforting side, we have not yet been bitten by any of these ferocious creatures since we moved to the farm almost 2 years ago, so we don't feel threatened. Eden, on the other hand, did not sleep well. Maybe tonight. If she survived - maybe I'd better go check on her.....

It LOOKS like she's okay....

This is the site of the great spider siting!

hehe

The happy pen!

This will be the good news chicken post.
We have one pen that is a very happy pen. It has a big square open area, and 6 built-in nest boxes, and a roost in front of the nest boxes, and a covered upstairs area. The current residents are:

• Angel - an all-white brown egg layer that was in the big pen before. She has lost a lot of her feathers on her back and shoulders (the roosters rode her a lot) and she was very bitchy over there. She is much happier here, but she has only laid 2 eggs in a week.
• Wild Thing - this is the chicken that adopted us. Just came around and wanted in. She was very hungry and has laid an egg almost every day since she arrived. We thought maybe she'd be happier in the big pen when we got more chickens of her type - small and black with some brown around the head. So we put her in the big pen. She escaped (we don't know how) and went over to the cage she was in first in (that she is in now). So we put her back. Again, we know nothing. I guess she was boss chicken there, so she's happy.
• 5 Americanas - we call them all 'Mary' - they lay light blue-green eggs. They love it in this pen. They were a little picked on in the big pen. They are laying almost an egg a day.
• 3 Grand chickens - these are the spawn of Racer, our Rhode Island Red, and our other chickens. One is definitely a rooster; he is white with gray trim, and he crows and jumps the Marys. The other big one is gray and brown and is probably also a roo, but I wouldn't swear by it, as I haven't seen him crow, or jump any hens, nor have I seen him lay an egg. The third one looks like a hen, she is brown and smaller, BUT, again, I haven't seen an egg yet, so I wouldn't stake my life on it.

Anyway, these 10 chickens eat a lot, get along, run around, argue a little, and lay lots of eggs. A happy community!

This is the front view of the Marys' pen. You can see the ramp going up to the second floor, and part of the roost.

These are their nest boxes. And their roost. The Marys, Wild Thing and Angel sleep on the roost. The Grand chickens sleep in the tree next to the roost.

This is the side view. The entire upstairs is shielded from wind. Those are the nest boxes sticking out. I can access them from the top (a door opens up) to get the eggs.