CSA for Thursday, August 9th.

Surprise! More babies!

A day with a few little distractions.  The ladies of 'From Dirt to Dinner', the documentary on CSA and Aagaard Farms, were here with photographer Shaun this morning, getting some footage of the preparations for CSA.  They will be at the pick up tonight, too, for coverage from start to finish!  Aside from a short meeting first thing for us to lay out what we'd be doing where...the group wasn't really much of a distraction at all!  They ghosted around, shooting here and there!  According to Twitter, Shaun did get to try a young banana pepper that gave him a bit of a start!

A much bigger distraction was....the discovery of baby chicks!  Meg came back into the house after lunch, asking when we acquired chicks.  We answered June, and she said she'd just seen some little fuzz ball types around the waterer!  Out we go and sure enough:  one of the hens has quietly and discreetly gone broody and hatched five eggs!  Don't know where, don't know how but we've got five brand-new  critters, a day old!  Three black and two yellow peeping, chirping babies!  While Farmer Man watched, Rocky the Rooster wandered over and pecked at one, so we got the baby play pen back out, scooped up Momma and chicks and got them safely ensconced in the barn!  There's a cute picture on our Facebook page - check it out!

As for food - we got at that today, too!  Growing partners Amanda and Ed provided nice cabbage for everyone today.  Check out Tuesday's blog post for some great recipe links for everything from salad to braised to stir fries!  Cabbage and summer squash go well together in a stir fry....and there is, of course, some summer squash in your boxes today.  On Sunday, I made these zucchini brownies;  just delicious!  Moist and full of chocolate flavor, used the easy icing recipe included - very good!  Got the first pick on cucumbers, not enough for everyone today but they're coming nicely!  Also got a few bell peppers from one of our renters...Sandra can't eat peppers but loves to grow them so we scored a few for the Full Shares today!

We've dug 'Yukon Gold' potatoes today: one of our favs with a buttery flavor, nice crispness that does make them excellent for homemade french fries.  They're starting to get up to a good size now!  We're interested in knowing if you're getting enough/not enough/too many potatoes - leave a comment at the end of the blog!  A few years back when everyone was on the 'Low Carb' diet - suddenly we seemed to be giving out way too many potatoes!

So, for the FULL SHARES:  We weighed them: 30 lbs of food!  In the box: 2 cabbage, a Romanesque summer squash, Patty Pan squash, a Kousa or Mediterranean squash, Crookneck squash,  zucchini, bell pepper, cucumber, 1/2 lb green beans, 1/2 lb. yellow beans, 1 lb. Dragon's Tongue beans, 3 lbs. 'Yukon Gold' potatoes.

PART SHARES: 2 cabbage, a Romanesque squash, Patty Pan, Kousa squash, Crookneck squash, zucchini, 1/2 lb. yellow beans, 1/2 lb. Dragon's Tongue beans, cucumber, 2 lbs. 'Yukon Gold' potatoes.

SINGLE SHARES:  A cabbage, Patty Pan squash, Kousa squash, Crookneck squash, zucchini, 1/2 lb. yellow beans, 1/2 lb Dragons Tongue beans, 2 lbs. 'Yukon Gold' potatoes.

Brooding...and I Don't Mean Young Vampires!

At the beginning of May, I posted a picture on our Facebook page of some of the hens laying their eggs in the goats hay bin.  Now, one of the Ameraucana hens won't leave the hay bin!  The first few days I gently snuck underneath her and collected the eggs, as I do with all The Hens.  By day three, she resisted a little more strongly, giving me the hardest peck I've received from a hen and making a rather angry squawk!  She continued to almost growl at me as I stood beside her, so I backed away.  Yo ho!  Is one of our hens getting that 'mothering' feeling?

Hens lay eggs, it's what they do.  No rooster required, no special feed, it's just what they do - you can't stop them and why would you?  If no rooster is around, the eggs would never produce chicks.  If a rooster is present, and the hen is allowed to sit on the eggs for three weeks, a chick will develop if that egg has been fertilized.  With two roosters and forty seven hens, it's very possible some of our hens are not getting any, ummm, male attention; roosters seem to like a harem of about ten or twelve females.  When a hen wants to sit on the eggs and have babies, it's called 'going broody'.  It's quite an investment of her time: a mother hen will keep those eggs warm almost twenty four hours a day, only leaving for a short period each day to eat, drink and 'freshen up' a bit.

In our five years or so of having chickens, we've never had a hen go broody.  Our reading tells us that the instinct has almost been bred out of many varieties; the Leghorns and Isa Browns we've had the longest have never shown any inclination to have babies.  Our potential Mama is an Ameraucana, we have no idea if she's been mated, or if the Daddy would be Rocky the Barred Rock or Buddy the Ameraucana.  We've also noticed that the hen as adopted other eggs laid in the hay bin, a mix of Black Sex Link and Isa Brown eggs.  She's currently sitting on eight eggs.  She's showing classic signs of going broody: the protective instinct and unusual warning calls, her body is low and flat covering all the eggs, she's there almost all the time, she has a far-away, glazed look in her eyes.

All we can do is wait three weeks and see what happens.  It would be wonderful if we could be self-sufficient in chicks, so to speak.  We have already ordered twenty new chicks, for delivery at the end of May, so we may have quite the flock of babies here!  I'm already worrying about whether they'll fall out of the hay bin and hurt themselves!  As the old saying goes:  Time will Tell!  I'll keep you posted, check our Facebook page for weekly updates!

The First Pastel Egg!

We've waited a while for the Chicks to start laying eggs.  In the last few weeks we've gone from three eggs a day from the old Hens to about fourteen a day!  When the Chicks really get going, we should get about thirty eggs a day.  But, what I've been waiting for is a pastel Ameraucana egg!  It's why I got the breed, aside from the fact that they are beautiful hardy birds, because they lay gorgeous blue/green eggs!  The  eggs are ultimately no different in taste or nutrition to any other egg, and you don't get the shell served on your plate with your eggs, but still I had a yen for some pretty eggs.

We've been getting brown eggs from the Sex Links, in a small way,  for about two weeks. Finally, yesterday morning, an Ameraucana Hen laid an egg!  Unfortunately, she chose to lay it by the front door, on the outdoor bed for Blaze the Border Collie.  Blaze was the first to spy it and promptly picked it up, brought it to Farmer Man's feet and dropped it!  Splat! went my first beautiful egg.  We figure Blaze thought it was a wee ball and wanted Farmer Man to throw it for him.  There on the pavement was a gorgeous, deep yellow yolk and bits of a truly lovely egg: somewhere between sky blue and mint green.  The picture doesn't really do it justice - it is really a lovely shade!  Oh well, I don't get to eat my first pastel egg but there will be more to come! 

I Love My Ameraucana Chickens!

A mix, one of the roosters top left, the pure white Ameraucana
is partially hidden bottom left.

The lacey gray top, one of the Ameraucana roosters on the
bottom; the other two are Black Sex Links.

As The Hens are getting older (an aged three years old), egg production is going down and will only continue to decrease.  We've got way more demand for our eggs than we can supply.  We decided it was time to get new chicks this Spring.  We wanted to try some different breeds and were looking for a hardy, brown egg layer.  From the Berg's Hatchery catalogue we chose Black Sex Links hens, a handsome black bird with rusty brown marking around the neck.  I have also been craving the blue egg laying Ameraucana and we order ten, which would come unsexed meaning we could possibly get all roosters.  Not sure why the Ameraucana's can't be sexed at birth, but what the heck!

From the beginning, early in June, the Ameraucana's were a mixed bunch.  There was one golden chick, a couple of dark beige, a couple of dark grey.  The Black Sex Links were almost identical black.  As the chicks have grown, the Blacks are all similar, with small differences in the amount of rusty brown on their necks.  The Ameraucanas are all completely and absolutely different!  They're quite gorgeous, too.  There's a gray lacy one, a cream with rust and black accents, a black with rust accents.  The little golden chick has turned out pure white!  Those that seem to be roosters, with a more pronounced comb (thanks to Linda Boys, my chicken mentor, for info on identifying the roosters), seem to be very fluffy around their heads and necks.  We're pretty sure we have four, maybe five, roosters; the amount of roosters is a bit of a disappointment, but we'll still get some pretty blue eggs!

The Chicks are getting out-and-about now; they are sort of on pasture around the greenhouse, which became their home as they got bigger.  We've been very careful to keep them separate from the other chickens (to avoid fights) and the barn cats and our doggies, until they were big enough to fend for themselves.  Farmer Man has just this week removed the fence between the two flocks, so they now are slowly mixing and becoming accustomed to each other.  The new Chicks will start laying at the end of September or early October and I am so looking forward to my first blue egg!  

Farmer Man Has Chicks, Lots of Chicks!

Yesterday we picked up our baby hens.  Thirty little Black Sex Links girls, a very hardy bird that can be used for their brown eggs and for meat (although we have no intention of eating them).  We also got ten little Ameraucanas, also known as the Easter Egg bird because they lay eggs in pastel shades of green and blue.  The Hens are two years old, and will start to lay less and less eggs, so it was time for some new girls.  The Ameraucanas are not sexed so we may get some roosters.  They are an interesting bunch; most are brown and beige striped, one is quite yellow like the classic Easter chick.  I love picking up chicks: you are handed a peeping, cheeping box that rustles constantly.  Once we got them home, where the brooder was all set up an waiting, we have to dip each little beak in the waterer so they know where and what it is.  The food dispenser they find on their own; as soon as one finds it word seems to spread quickly.  They are so adorable, rushing and tumbling around, mobbing under the heat lamp.  Numerous checks yesterday right into the evening left us confident that they are settling in nicely!

Enjoying a Lovely Late Fall Day

Linda 'e'd this cute picture of Rocky's little son and his two nest mates. It was a truly lovely afternoon, sunny with little wind. The chicks are checking out the dog dish on Linda's porch.

Rocky's Babies

New photo from Linda of the chicks (as apposed to The Chicks). The little one that had black spots seems to have lost the spots and is fluffy white. Linda has only Isa Browns, so the two fluffy white chicks are Rocky's babies but The Girls DNA seems to have over-ruled. Linda is quite sure the bigger chick is a rooster, so he will probably return to Aagaard Farms because Linda doesn't really want anymore roosters. Rocky has more ladies than he can handle now, and we intend to introduce The Chicks to The Girls soon!

Progress Report

Linda's been in touch with a great photo of her new chicks. Apparently 'Clucky' the hen is an excellent little mother. She's a very involved momma, constantly tearing up food from the veggie garden for her three little ones (like the 'Rainbow Lights' chard in the picture), herding them up, tucking them in. She's earned the name Clucky because she's almost constantly talking! How cute!

Rocky May Be A Dad!

Our friend Linda had a hen go broody, which means want to sit on the nest. Normally, laying hens like ours lay an egg and walk away. Now and then, one gets the urge to be a momma, and goes 'broody'. She really wants to sit on that egg and hatch it! Linda was up for that but hadn't had any success in previous attempts. She suspected her rooster may not be, well, up for the task. She asked for some fresh eggs from us to slip under her hen. She slipped a few of her own under the little hen, as well. Three little chicks made their debut this weekend - and, apparently, such a proud little momma! One white chick, which could be an Isa Brown male, from Linda's own flock. The second chick is a little golden beige one, probably a female from Linda's flock. But the third little one - definite black spots! We can hardly wait to watch the little ones grow!

The Chicks Leave Home

Well, leave the house, actually. It was all getting a bit much - they could get up on the sides of their pen, from there onto the furniture where they were, well, pooping with great abandon. The whole house was starting to smell like a chicken coop. So, Farmer Boy built a new pen in the barn and we carefully placed them in crates and moved them out! Empty nest time for us! I kind of miss the sound of their peeping and cheeping. The new pen has more room and higher sides, but still has the heat lamp so they should be happy. And all just in time - niece Laura is coming for a visit in a few weeks and the sunroom is probably where she'll sleep. A BIG cleanup is in order, now!

The chicken coop has been started. It has a floor! Construction should go fairly quickly now. Nothing happened yesterday, though, as we had a very good (and timely) rain. The Girls seem quite happy in their makeshift coop but it is getting a little dirty for our taste. We did 'muck' it out a few days ago but they can get up on the sides and we can't wash down hay bales. So, time for a move, soon.

The Terrible Twos

The little Isa Brown chicks are just over two weeks old! They've changed so much it is rather amazing. They are starting to get more mobile, they can easily fly up to the enclosure around their pen, and may even start roosting there soon. From the pen, they could conceivably fly to the desk, then to the wall unit, then.........It makes it, um, interesting to care for them now because anywhere they've been, they've pooped so we have to be very careful getting into the pen. No more sitting on the edge to watch them.

In the evenings they still like to snuggle up under the heat lamp; we have raised the lamp and they don't get right under it anymore. It may help that we are finally getting some hot weather, with nights staying up around 14 Celsius (roughly 60F) the little ones don't need the lamp as much. Last night was the first night that we left a window open in the sunroom. Partially to keep it cooler, partially so that the smell didn't build up! Yes, we need a chicken coop soon!! Farmer Boy has been so busy setting out seedlings that the coop is still in it's raw state. As the chicks continue to grow, they may be able to escape the sunroom soon and we'll wake up with a couple in bed with us!

We've Got Tail Feathers!

Yes, our twenty five little butts are sprouting tail feathers!! And much stretching and flapping of little wings is going on today. One little girl even managed to 'fly' up onto the crate the separates them from the wall. Pretty soon she'll be able to get onto the ledge for a view outside! Their little heads are showing markings; their combs are getting ready to make an appearance, probably!

They Grow Up So Fast...

The chicks are growing rather quickly! It's only been three days they've been with us and we can already see changes. Particularly the wings; the babes have little wings all of a sudden, with little spotted feathers where only fuzz used to be. They are getting a wee bit bigger, too. Not really noticeable but a little heftier. They are a little steadier on their feet but there is still some rough-and-tumble around the food dish. They picked up on the eating thing really fast; they all try to stand in the dish for best pecking. Quite cute (oh, no, there's that "c" word again!)

The 'girls' are doing very well, too. We got seventeen eggs today, almost one from everybody! They have definitely filled out a bit since they arrived. They've settled in rather nicely: all the eggs were inside the roost tonight, and almost half were in the nests! It will be interesting to move the 'girls' into the finished chicken coop and it will be reaaaaally interesting to try to mix the two groups! The 'girls' are Leghorns and the 'chicks' are Isa Browns, so at least we'll be able to tell them apart!

There's Nothing Cuter Than a Baby!

Baby's, in general, are adorable. Doesn't matter the species: fish, fowl, mammal, they're cute! But there can hardly be anything more adorable than a baby chick. The ultimate in cuteness! Right out of their little box, our twenty five are peeping, pecking, fluffy cute machines. Little dashes around their pen end in little tumbles head-over-heels, then they stand up and dash somewhere again! Forays into feeding end up as face plants in the feed dish. And the little, gentle 'peep peep peep' all the time, just excruciatingly cute, cute, cute!!

There little pen is in our sunroom for now. We excluded the cats completely by stapling heavy plastic to the door, with an expandable gate over that so they can't get underneath or through the little area left for our access. We're both just popping in to check them out - then end up standing there just watching their antics for more time then we should spare. The heat lamp is set up; they should be happy in their new home!

Chicken Coop - Raw!

Farmer Boy certainly has his work cut out for him now!! Delivered today: chicken coop construction material. Twenty five chicks arrive in five days, and they will need a home. Granted, they cooould start out in the sunroom but we haven't quite figured out how to tell the two cats that the little creatures will NOT be for amusement purposes. So, Farmer Boy must build, seed, plant seedlings, water, cultivate areas to be planted, keep up with the weeds, feed and tend 'the girls', and well, it's really great when he makes dinner, too!!

Farmer Boy has his design settled on and will have a proper door and a small window. Lo and behold!! At the dump today he finds an excellent triple-paned window. In great condition! How to reuse and recycle!