Local honey made by locally raised bees
Over the years all my egg customers have learned that our chickens don’t lay much in the winter. We all miss the eggs! Although you might think reduced laying is their response to the cold weather, the primary reason egg laying slows down during the winter is the shorter length of the day. Chickens apparently …
Continue reading “Who knew chickens were so good at telling time?”
Having made the decision to let our chickens free range, we have accepted the risk that they may fall victim to predators. We have lost chickens to hawks, and raccoons, and occasionally to an unknown, when one just doesn’t come home. Each time, I struggle with my decision to let them wander and after a …
The backyard is littered with feathers …. and a reliable eyewitness reports that the perpetrator of the attempted murder was a member of our household. Meet Willow. She is a Bernedoodle, who joined us in Decembers, at age 7 months, and will be one year old next week. Although she is our third dog, she is …
We have been waiting with great anticipation for Luna’s due date as we all love baby goats. Luna must love them too, because she got an early start, with the babies arriving 4 days before we expected to see them. Early this week I came out for on evening goat walk at the end of …
When I last wrote about the chickens, I told you of my failed effort to have a broody hen do the work of hatching and raising chicks for me. You may recall that the first broody chicken gave me a good effort, but failed in the end, and my second broody hen rejected my suggestions …
Last year, after a series of missteps dealing with a broody hen, I thought I had it all figured out. But as it turns out, NOT! Three weeks ago, when one of my chickens decided she wanted to brood, I knew I was going to allow her to sit on eggs. Free chicks! To try …
Continue reading “In the battle of wills, the chicken is winning”
When I look in my bird book there is actually no such bird as a chicken hawk, but according to Wikipedia it is an unofficial designation for three types of hawks: Cooper, Sharp Shinned and Redtail. Recent personal experience has given me a pretty good idea of how a hawk becomes designated a ‘chicken hawk’. …
I have been taking every opportunity to be outside to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather this week. And given the number of chicken feathers decorating the yard I suspect that I am not the only one at the farm grateful for these warm days. In general, a pile of chicken feathers can be an ominous …
So far (thank goodness) we seem to have avoided any bird flu, and the ladies are thriving, and laying well. The first broody hen has long since moved back into the regular coop, leaving her three teenagers to fend for themselves in their little “private shed”. They are getting pretty big, and I have started …
It all started a couple of weeks ago, when one of my hens decided she wanted to be a mother. When a hen’s mothering instinct kicks in, she “goes broody”. A broody chicken wants to sit on eggs, and once she has decided to do so, she can be pretty determined! She leaves the nest …