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!