Elijah Oct 4, 2011

Spring Chicks

Our boy Thor has proven his rooster-hood! (I believe he is a Speckled Hamburg.)
One of our hens went broody, so I marked about 16 eggs for her to sit on, really not expecting anything to happen. I've been a chicken lover for about four years now, and have always had to purchase my chicks from a retailer.
Mary-Kate, (or Ashley, I cant tell them apart) was such a good and patient momma, never leaving the brooder. I really felt sorry for her, and would leave her handfuls of feed and little dishes of fresh water. The other night I went out to lock up the coop, and she was out of the brooder and on the floor of the coop, all puffed up and staring at me, not moving. We've had predator attacks lately, and I was worried that maybe she was injured. When I picked her up to put her back in the brooder, about a dozen little chicks took off running in every direction~ It was so exciting! I hurried to Farm-n-Fleet to get electrolytes for the water, and some chick feed. Apparently, the adult layer feed is bad for baby chicks, and can damage their reproductive systems. I also bought a heat bulb, but that wasn't necessary, since these babies have their momma to keep them warm. I also do not need to worry about keeping them separated from the rest of the birds like I do when I order chicks from Welp. Momma is right there to protect them, so the others just leave them alone. They are now a few days old, and I have not found any sad little chicks that didn't make it for whatever reason. Typically, when I order chicks, I always have to order a few extras because I would always lose at least one or two. Partially, it would be error on my part, for example, not knowing to put marbles in the water and one would drown. Also I think the being one day old, then put into a box and mailed is probably a rather traumatic experience.
I have no clue what breed these babies are, looks like a few different types. Most are black and tiny, a few gray and a bit larger, and one gold colored bird.

The Wait

Seems like a million years ago since we went to the informational meeting at Pauquette. Since then, we have pulled the house together a bit, completed our home study interviews and (most of) the paperwork, and sent out our portfolios. Now it's just "wait and see."
I have finally allowed myself to buy some stuff, baby supply stuff. Was afraid to for the longest time because I didnt want to jinx it. (spelling?) Now we have a cool 3-wheeler stroller for hitting the trails on the back 40....a car seat, a bouncy chair, bottles, monitor, and loaner items from bro-and-sis-n-law. We've decided to go with cloth diapers, for a few reasons, the environment, health issues, and of course, money. (Thanks Walker, I'll think about you every time I wash a shitty diaper.) I've interviewed a couple day-care providers, and am meeting with a pediatrician this week. All we need now is a baby. It's weird to think somewhere out there is a woman, or girl, struggling with a decision, and maybe choosing us. Please choose us.

Roses & Rylie

We were finally able to get Aunt Dort's ancient rose bush to bloom! I have been feeding and gently pruning this lovely rose for the past 5 years, never able to produce a bloom. After much research, I decided to prune more aggressively, cutting the plant down to only two "Mother" stems. Reduced the entire plant to about 1/4 it's size, but my brave efforts were rewarded with a TON of buds and extremely fragrant blossoms.

Our newly adopted boxer-mix Rylie has blended right into our family. Here she is, helping Daisy groom our cat Alabama.

Kittens & Chicks

Some new chicks arrived this week, all "silvers": Silver Spangled Hamburg, Silver Cochin, and Silver Phoenix. They were ordered from Welp Hatchery, and so far seem very healthy and active. We also were "blessed" with a new litter of kittens last nite. Cute little Stripe is now a momma.

Spring Stuff

Last night we celebrated the new Spring growing season with a few small fires in the newly expanded garden beds. March had been freakishly warm and lovely, but now early April is back to normal temps, including snow flurries. The past few years, once the soil warmed and things started growing, it seemed like all we did was turn our backs for a moment and the weeds would crowd in. By mid-August, we'd be so frustrated with what seemed like futile efforts, the whole garden would become pretty weed ridden. This year, we are expanding the bed to twice the size, with the aim of creating a more manageable garden. One Shermen can ride the mower through, and one we can (occasionally) spray a bit of Round Up on the paths when necessary. We'd tried to "totally organic" thing, and it was just too much work. We cannot afford all the organic sprays and oils, and the home made remedies just weren't effective enough for us. Apparently Round Up is a pretty non-deadly alternative....safe for animals, and gone from the garden in a few days. I guess the University Extension gardens use Round Up...so if it's good for them, it's good for us. All I know is it makes life much easier.

We've transplanted our strawberries into raised beds, much narrower, to reduce the space for weeds to move in. I had been letting the runners go and take root, thinking "hey, more free plants" but read somewhere that allowing runners reduces "crowning" so this year I'm cutting them back to see what happens. Red Pontiac, Yukon Gold, and Norland Red seed potatoes have been cut and are curing in the solarium. I cut, cured and planted some of the Kenneboc potatoes we had left over and sprouting from last year. Last weekend I direct sowed a few varieties of lettuce, wishing I'd started a little sooner. Now I have to wait over a month to harvest one of those mind blowing home grown salads. If Shermen doesn't make me work in the bathroom grouting all day, (see http://www.ferndellfarm.com/ferndellfarm2010.html for renovation pictures) I plan to direct sow some sugar snap peas today. I got my Rouge Vif d'Etampes and Sweet Lightning pumpkin seeds from Jung Seed Co. and would like to get those started inside this weekend. I am excited about expanding the varieties in our pumpkin bed from the oranges, blues and whites we had last year. Pumpkins are so low maintenance, and such a fun way to end the growing season since you can use them for both decoration and yummy seeds and pies. I'd like to try a few different pumpkin recipes this year, since they are supposed to be so good for you, high in Vitamin A and beta carotine.
I ordered some fertilized Norwegian Jaerhon chicken eggs. These are lovely and unusual birds, and very appropriate for a couple of Norse hobby farmers. It will be my first experience with attempting to hatch eggs, and I will post how it goes. I plan to use my hens for sitting, rather than purchase an incubator. I (plan to) also try a homemade incubator, found some plans on Mother Earth News, and will post how that goes as well. Wish me luck!!

The 2010 Growing Season Begins!

Little purple crocuses are popping up around the yard, as well as tips of daffodils and tulips. Signs that my bulb planting frenzy last fall was not in vain. My hands are covered in blisters from raking, but the yard is looking tidier. We've got the seed catalogs out, I've already picked up a few packets of the cold weather crops.....snap peas, gourmet lettuces, beets. I'm trying seed tape for the beets this year. I never have the patience to strategically plant those tiny, tiny seeds, I just sprinkle 'em over the soil. Nor do I have the patience or the heart to thin the seedlings, I want them all to live and grow and be yummy. What they wind up doing is elbowing each other right out of the soil where the chickens can peck at them. So anyways, this year I'm trying the tape which should eliminate the need to thin. I also purchased one of those little tools that you put the tiny seeds in so you may sow them one at a time.
My last minute garlic from last year, (cloves thrown into chunks of frozen ground then immediately covered in snow,) seems to have actually produced a few sprouts. The chickens scratched up a few, but I pushed them back into the earth and then topped the area w/wire. The chickens are happy and free, already the egg yolks are turning a rich golden orange, far more nutritious than the weak yellow of winter when they are living on mostly feed. Of course, now the hens are also back at the egg hiding game. Daisy's coat is gorgeously shiny from her renewed diet of stolen eggs. I'll probably have to start keeping them in the coop for the first half of the day if I want to collect any eggs. We lost our last bantam, the beautiful Beloved, a couple weeks ago. Those tiny birds are so lovable and sweet, but they just cannot defend themselves against the various predators around here. We are sticking with the large breed birds from here on out. I've ordered a few silvers and need to get the chick rearing area ready for their arrival, sometime in early April.
We are making quite a bit of progress inside the house. Shermen built a really lovely wall / shelf area in the downstairs bathroom, and I am (supposed to be) tackling my storage insanity up in the attic so we can start tearing down walls and putting in the 2nd bathroom and (!!) baby room.
We are sending in the completed application to Pauquette Adoption Agency this week. Wonderfully exciting and busy times!
A great resource I've found for what to do with all that produce we'll soon be finding in our gardens or at farmer's markets, Clean Eating magazine. Recipe ideas, as well as good articles on healthy living. I'm trying to move more and more in the direction of avoiding processed foods, eating as "clean" as possible. They also have a facebook group.