My Flock

Not only has my real life been in shambles, but my farm life has struggled too.

About a month or so ago, a fox got a taste and came back and basically destroyed half my flock. It was so sad. We ended up with only 7 hens left. Our rooster put up quite the fight and it was devastating to lose him.

The other day I went out to feed my ladies and saw that there were only two left.

3 months ago we had over 20 chickens and now I'm left with two.

It's heartbreaking.

We've set traps.

We've secured our fencing the best we could (without going electric). And yet it keeps finding a way.

I mean, we've gone months without issue. But once this fox got a taste...he came back and pretty much finished them off.

Our ladies were on the older side, not having added t our flock in several years. 

We did put in an order just last week for 9 more chickens and 4 turkeys.

But now I'm thinking we'll need more. 

Or I don't know. Until I can secure our pasture or something...I feel bad adding more. I don't want to keep losing them like this.

Baby Chick Season!

It's that time again!

Ava and I stopped at the feed store last weekend and there were so many baby chicks available!

We opted NOT to bring any home that day (go me!) because Steve was suffering from a back "episode" (that's what the doctor is calling it) and we didn't know if it was going to be bad or what. I didn't want to add another thing to my plate in terms of animal care.

I already pretty much do 75% of the outside chickens, the dogs, and the piggies.

But, Steve started to feel better and is now going to PT twice a week.

He was feeling pretty good and decided we'd go run some errands. The sun was shining and it was a decent day.

Last weekend after our visit, I decided to at least bring the big tub over to the basement doors so I could prep for the baby chicks if we decided to go back.

It really wasn't that much work since we have everything. 

We got 12 new babies and they are SO freaking cute. I love having baby chicks around they are so fun to watch. 

We have about 30 chickens now, including 2 roosters. Hopefully these 12 are all female (they are sexed with a 90% guarantee) but that means 1-2 may be roosters. Hopefully not. We'll see!

Our other girls are doing so great after culling 3 roosters. 

The first day we got 24 eggs, then 11, then 13. 

Crazy I tell ya! 

The Ebbs And Flows of Egg Production

It's been a while since I've posted anything "farm" related. 

There's just not much to report on during the winter.

Other than trying to keep everyone alive.

Feeding and watering the birds during the winter months can be brutal, but at the same time, I really want to make sure they are comfortable out there. 

Every winter the egg production slows way down. 

This season (late 2020) seemed a little odd to us. Our egg production was down early in the season.

And over the last couple of months, our egg production was essentially non-existent. 

I'd get one or two eggs every few days. 

Yeah, it was...weird. 

We have about 30 birds.

So here's the thing. We had like 5 roosters.

WAY TOO MANY.

Too many for the number of hens we have.

It was stressing them out.

So we culled a few of them to try to even things out.

That was a few days ago.

And I'm not kidding you guys.

I GASPED OUT LOUD when I went to feed/water the chickens today and saw a PILE of eggs.

Turns out it was like 25. 

A few were cracked and had to be thrown out.

But come ON, people.

These are some gorgeous eggs

We will be turning our clocks forward this coming weekend (March 14) so we will get more daylight. This is also the chickens "clock" if you will. I will be interested to see what we max out at. I remember there were some days when we were topping out at like 20 - 24 eggs per day. It was tough to keep up!

But it's also nice to know that some of my older hens seem to be laying still. Big Red was also being broody! 

On another note, Ava and I stopped at Runnings the other day to pick up more chicken feed. AND IT'S BABY CHICK TIME!!

We didn't bring any baby chicks home, since we are not ready for that right now, but MAN they are CUTE!

I promised Ava I'd get our bin ready in the basement and get ourselves set up and we can go back and pick up a few more...it's so hard not to get new chicks each year! 

With the nice weather coming up, it'll be time to get our coop straightened out. We have to turn over their bedding, get new straw laid down in the run and clean out the nest boxes and stuff. Just a few "housecleaning" items.

Outdoor Chores In Winter

It's been a MINUTE since I've posted anything "farm" related.

My blog is slowly turning into a "lifestyle/fitness" blog? 

I dunno.

Winter months can be brutal when you're taking care of animals who live outside.

Each year we have to prep for the winter months.

It's not something I was accustomed to doing prior to living out here.

Our chicken coop is not heated - there's a risk of fire with keeping a lamp out there - basically, the inside of their actual chicken coop is dry and warm. That's how they can make it through winter. If we put a heat lamp in there, if it fell or whatever, it could easily start a fire and the coop is far away enough from the house we likely wouldn't notice it right away.

Plus, the chickens have down feathers and are able to stay warm 

We DID put in a heat lamp for a few days either last year or the year before due to FRIGID temps. Wind chills at NEGATIVE 25. 

So yeah, we opted to put a lamp in there during those few days - but kept a really good eye on it.

But, our regular chores still need to get done, even if it's freezing outside.

Food scraps need to be taken out to them, the few eggs they are laying need to be gathered. 

We have a heated water system out there for them, it's a metal waterer that sits on a metal pan that is warmed (we run a cord from the coop to our basement). So it keeps the water just warm enough not to freeze.

They are going through more food because of the cold. They spend energy trying to stay warm. 

So I have to make sure their food is full and water is good about every 3 days. Again, not the worst in the world, but when it's freezing or raining, lugging water back and forth isn't the most fun.

I also have to carry 50lb bags of feed from the house to the coop. It's probably a couple hundred feet. 

When there's two feet of snow on the ground? Not that easy! 

Have to bundle up this time of year

I'm glad I have my tall Muck Boots

Steve made a path with the plow from our garage to the coop.

It's kind of a far walk.

Getting closer...

Here's the short cut from our fenced-in area and sliding doors. I asked Steve to plow this path for me so I can make the shorter trek. 

Heavy ass water needs to be carried all the way to the coop.

Through 2 feet of snow.

That wasn't all that fun. It wasn't bad by any means.

But it was cold. And I was a sweaty mess.

I didn't get pics of the successful journey - I had splashed water on my pants and my gloves were wet. I wanted to get inside, washed up and in new clothes ASAP. Ugh.

Another thing I didn't capture is that after I carried the water bucket over, I then had to come back and grab the 50lb bag of chicken feed, threw that son-of-a-bitch over my shoulder, and hoofed it back to the coop, in two feet of snow. 

At least it's done. I'll need to check on them again in about 2-3 days. 

And I only got two eggs. 

WTF. 

Big Red is Broody

Last year we ended up with some new baby chicks. 

Chicks we didn't buy from a store.

It was great!

Well, Big Red is ready to be a momma again.

She's been sitting on a bunch of eggs for a while now.

BUT, we fucked up. We didn't mark the original eggs she was sitting on. And more chickens kept laying...so we now have this abundance of eggs that are likely NOT fertilized, but I have no idea when/if/etc. so ugh. I'm SO annoyed with us. 

So, hopefully we'll see a few chicks in the next week or so. And then we'll need to dispose of the ones that didn't hatch. 

Live and learn, people. Live and learn. 

Green Egg!

I didn't think we had any breeds that laid green eggs.

Unless when we crossed two breeds and got those babies...not sure if that could be it?

Unfiltered photo to show the true color! So cool.

Clean Out

It was damn near 60 degrees on Sunday (March 8).

And sunny.

Like, super sunny.

We took the opportunity to do some chicken coop chores.

The chickens have been cooped up for a couple of months now. About halfway through winter we decided to block off their entrance to our pasture. We did this for two reasons:

1. Trying to keep our numbers up. We've just lost a lot over the last year or so.
2. Keep them warm. We added a few newbies to our flock, and it took them a while to understand how to get inside the coop to stay warm. So blocking off 3 sides of the bottom helped keep the wind from getting to them.

They are so pretty!

We also realized that we have THREE roosters. 

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 

I mean. They aren't fighting. 

Yet. 

Steve wants to keep our New Jersey Giant (in the above photo). He's a good looking bird. 

But, the Barred Rock's crow is super good and he's definitely not an aggressive bird. 

The third rooster is another breed and I'm not sure which. But, he's still just a teenager, so he hasn't been an asshole yet.

It's still not a good idea to have 3 freaking roosters though. They WILL fight and it WILL be ugly.

I'll need to find a home for at least one of them.

We also cleaned out their bedding and replaced it with a nice new layer of pine shavings.

This is the gross part. But, it's super good fertilizer for my garden!

So fresh!

Lavender Orpington. She loves it! 

Ava and I enjoyed watching them forage after a few months of being cooped up.

This is literally my dream. It's like that scene from Cinderella. So cute. 

She kept talking to them "here's your food chickies". Take note of the princess dress jammies, rubber boots and winter coat. 

Not sure what's going on with my face here. The sun was bright. 

"mommy, what are these?" I had to tell her to STOP FONDLING IT.

The dogs also enjoyed the weather (and ugh the glass door is so dirty - I took care of that shortly after taking this photo). 

It felt SO good to get out and clean things up out there.

Since we got an early start, Steve ended up taking the girls four-wheeling at his buddy's house (the one with the mini donkeys!) for the afternoon. 

I got to clean the entire house and catch up on Orange is the New Black. 

It was ALSO "Spring Forward" so we lost an hour of sleep. But we gain daylight! 

However, allllllll of this being said. 

It's only March 9.

So that means we have at least one more snow/ice storm before we can officially call it Spring.

And Another One (Baby Chick #4!)

Welp, Steve went out the other day and saw that we had one more baby!

I can't. So freaking cute. 

They were hesitant at first

Getting the hang of it

I stayed downstairs with them for maybe 10-15 minutes just talking to them and making sure the 3 bigger chicks didn't pick on the baby. They definitely pecked at her a bit but I intervened. After a bit they calmed down. 

One the baby ate some and drank some (you're supposed to dip their beak in the water so they know water is there) and settled in, I let them be. 

Big Red Had Babies!

I can't believe it. 

We had babies!

Well, Big Red (#2) had babies.

We've had a Rhode Island Red sitting on a bunch of eggs for weeks now. 

Steve said something to me maybe 10 days ago "leave those eggs and that mama hen on there and don't bug her." OK!

I was out doing chores yesterday afternoon. 

Water.

Food.

Treats.

Gather eggs.

Check on Big Red. 

And I saw them!

BABIES!!

CHECK THEM OUT!! OMG. SO FREAKING CUTE. The black one is my fave!

Check out these fluffy butts! 

I literally RAN inside to tell Steve and the girls.

They were SO excited!

They eat the yolk/shell for nutrients that first day or two. After that, we should be leaving out food and water for them.

Last night we put out some baby chick food and water.

Since it's pretty much winter now, we will need to keep them warm.

So we will move them into our baby chick nursery today. We'll keep them warm with a heat lamp and also move Big Red in with the rest of the eggs. Let's see how many hatch! 

We'll also be able to ensure they are all on the correct food, with the correct amount of protein. 

I can't believe it! I love them already.

Beautiful Fall Weekend

We've had some gorgeous weather, folks! I feel like we did last year too...but...I'd have to dig back to last year's posts to find out. I'm grateful that I've been able to keep up with this blog for almost a year!  I will be able to look back in a year (and I really hope I'm still blogging) to see what I did almost on that exact date a year prior! I've been doing pretty good with posting daily (I know, I've been busy lately!) but I'm trying.

ANYWAY.

We had some seriously nice weather lately. We've been enjoying the shit out of it.

The backyard

The side yard

The backyard

My garden is pretty much non-existent right now. The tomatoes are completely destroyed (we enjoyed sooooo many tomatoes this year). I got TONS of squash and zucchini and peppers. 

BUT!

I am finally seeing growth with my broccoli and cauliflower! 

My broccoli - don't get too excited. This is the diameter of a dime. I have no idea if we'll actually be able to eat it. lol

Cauliflower! This is a decent size. I'm excited to eat this one. 

This is cauliflower too....whatever the fuck happened to it, I have no idea. Um. I don't plan on eating this fucking thing. 

My other broccoli! Again, dime-size. Ok, maybe nickel.

I got a bunch of these guys too - and harvested them just in time for Fall decorations around the house. This one happened to be tiny and rotting at the end, but the ones I got earlier in the season were big!

Baby squash

All the chickens are enjoying this nice weather too! They have been able to forage and get full on all the bugs that are out. The babies are going through so much food per day. I'm hoping that by letting them out, they will be able to eat more bugs and ergo, get fuller as well. We still have to keep them separated, only because the kinds of food they are on. The hens are on layer food and the babies are on grower food. They will be on grower feed until they are 16 weeks.

All my ladies waiting for me, lol

We let the babies out for the first time! They did NOT like it at first. 

It's incredibly therapeutic to be out there with my chickens

My gorgeous lavender orpington. I absolutely love these birds. Sooooo pretty. 

FLUFFIEST BUTT EVER