Combining Two Chicken Flocks

Rocky the Rooster and The Hens have lived in their insulated coop since it was built.  The Chicks started out in Farmer Man's shop in their incubator, then moved into the greenhouse when they got bigger and then into the new shed/coop when it arrived.  We have always intended to combine the two flocks in the insulated coop for the winter.  Combining two flocks can be interesting: roosters and hens alike can fight, pull feathers and cause general mayhem while establishing their 'pecking order'.  We were particularly concerned because our ten Ameraucana chicks had turned into six feisty roosters and four hens.  We really like Rocky: he's a gentleman and a great protector of his little flock; we'd hate to have anything happen to him.  We're not quite so fond of some of the Ameraucana roosters; they are aggressive, randy and don't really look out for the hens.  We had put the Ameraucana roosters on our local web site eBrandon as breeding stock but no takers.

We did have the knowledge that the two flocks had been free ranging together for the last two months with few problems.   We were still debating the best way to go about the whole thing when Mother Nature decided for us, as is often the way on the small farm.  A forecast of 10 - 15 centimetres of snow (3 - 6 inches) with forecast lows of -22 C (about -10 F), freaky cold for November.  There was no decision to be made anymore: The Chicks had to go into the insulated house or perhaps freeze to death!  Farmer Man got busy installing new, more extensive roosts from willow scavenged from our shelter.  The willow is a great example of reusing, recycling because he had originally cut the heavy branches for feeding the goats, choosing ones that were big enough but not too big for roosts!  The goats eat the leaves and the bark, so the branches were nice and smooth for chicken roosts.

We let The Chicks go to bed as usual in their shed that evening and, with snow falling, we carried the sleepy Chicks into the insulated coop where Rocky and The Hens were already cozying up for the evening.  So far, no big problems.  We can certainly see a few hens with some missing feathers, but no big fights have ensued.  The biggest problem for us is that not all The Chicks 'get' their new home yet and return to the shed each evening.  In cold, windy, snowy conditions Farmer Man and I have had to find them and return them to the insulated coop each night.  Three or four that have been laying their eggs in the barn are also insisting on maintaining that habit, too.  We've had to step up our egg gathering so that we find the barn eggs before they freeze!

Good Friday and Earth Day! Celebrate!

Hope you're celebrating today:  so many things to celebrate!  Saw an excellent Tweet this morning from @AndrewJParker:  'In a perfect world, every day would be Earth Day and every Friday would be Good!'  Too true!  Also loved the Tweet from @jerryjamesstone: 'Happy #Earth Day: Reduce, Reuse and Retweet!'  Earth Day is about putting aside the time to really think about what you're doing to improve Life on this Planet!  If you only do one thing - it will help, really!  Every little thing each person does adds up to some Big things!

How to get started?  Well, this Earth Day I'm recommending that everyone start reading a little green/environmental news every week - to start to keep up with what's happening on this Planet and to start to get informed.  Follow a blog, get RSS feeds, drop into a website once a week, follow them on Twitter for fast, snappy updates.  Here's a few of the favorites from Aagaard Farms:  Grist, Mother Jones, Rodale, Treehugger, Mother Nature Network.  If you've got a tiny bit of spare cash and want to make a difference check out Kiva, Philanthrope and Heifer International.

What are we doing for Earth Day?  Farmer Man is potting up seedlings and planting some melons.  He's being very Earth-friendly and using homemade pots from recycled newspapers (which may count as 'upcycling').  We love the PotMaker, a handy little gadget that lets you form plantable pots from strips of newspaper.  It's especially perfect for seedlings that tend to be brittle and hard to handle because you plant the seedling out in the garden in the pot, which will just break down!  We've had our PotMaker for years, I think we got it from Lee Valley Tools.  It's become a bit more widely available the last few years and can be found at garden centres and through many seed catalogues!  A most worthwhile investment if you start much of anything from seed.

If You Build It....

Love this! From a link on eBrandon, if recycling if fun, people will do it! This is from wimp.com, it's someplace in Europe and it's about making recycling work. This is such a fun, inventive idea - and it encouraged people to recycle their bottles way more than the conventional collection method. Check it out here!

Using the Precious Compost

As the planting of seedlings progresses, Farmer Man has started to make good use of last years' compost pile. As he plants each tomato, a scoop of compost goes in the bottom of the hole. He's done the same with some of the 'heavy feeders' like peppers. A little went in the pot with each sweet potato cutting. We don't have a lot, so we use it carefully! Admittedly, adding the chickens has certainly increased the size of the compost pile, but there is never enough. We compost in piles, that get turned and 'shredded' by the tractor - we're doing things on a slightly bigger scale then the average home gardener. We do end up with sticks and chunky things, so Farmer Man devised a screen from an old bed frame found in the barn and some chicken wire. How to recyle, upcycle and reuse, Farmer Man! Love that! Once planting is done, we'll divvy up the remaining compost in different areas (some for my shrub and perennial borders, some for the perennial crops like asparagus and rhubarb, I hope). We don't really fertilize around here, except for the occasional dose of fish meal, liquid kelp and alfalfa meal. We rely on our soil being healthy: leaving crop residues on in the fall (to prevent soil erosion, as well), tilling them under in the spring, adding what compost we have. That's what being sustainable is all about, isn't it? Using what you've got!

Talk About Upcyling/Recyling!

An interesting piece from the local Brandon Sun website, featuring some buildings made of bottles. Yes, buildings made of pop bottles! They are beautiful and functional. Can't imagine what it is like inside on a sunny day - or a moonlit night! Check it out here!

Something Fresh and Local for The Hens

Just because we want to keep The Hens happy, and because we like to recycle, we put something new and different in their pasture today! Grass clippings, with mountains of dandelions heads! Farmer Man did the first mowing of the season on the front lawn, which was awash with bright yellow dandelions. We frequently leave the clippings on the lawn, for 'on-the-spot' composting - the clippings break down quite quickly (it only looks messy for 24 to 36 hours, I promise!), returning their nutrition to the soil. But, the lawn was quite long and it would have been quite messy, so Farmer Man decided to take some of it off. Now, we could have composted it but we do tend to have a lot of green, juicy stuff in our compost so it seemed like over-doing it! So, something different for The Hens to scratch in - and they seem to be loving those dandelion heads!

Upcycle, Recyle, Repurpose

I just love the website 'Etsy'. It's a shopping site for everything handmade, handcrafted from around the world. Their email today was just a joy - artisans who are rethinking 'junk' items and turning them into fabulous stuff. Such inventive minds!! Check it out here. I think my fav is the blender turned into a lamp! What's your favorite?

Brandon's Earth Day Celebrations!

Sunday was the City of Brandon's official Earth Day celebrations and it was a resounding success! A great turn-out on what started as a nice, sunny Spring day but turned a little cool and cloudy. (We finally got a little rain later in the day, and we are absolutely not complaining!) The big draw was the opportunity to buy an awesome rain barrel for a mere $25! I had a good look and it was an excellent barrel and a fabulous deal! Info on composting, recycling, conserving water was there, the Community Garden Network was there, Habitat for Humanity was well represented by our friends Menno and Evelyn Isaac. Marquis Project was supplying coffee, free bison burgers were supplied by the City and the organizing committee, the City had their compost there and people were filling buckets and bags. (I don't actually know if there was a charge for the compost) Some great vendors were there like Pollock Farms with certified organic spelt flour, Common Ground bakery from St. Boniface and Wild Wind Natural Skin Care. We were there selling seed potatoes, including some of our exotic varieties, and talking about CSA and the upcoming Farmers' Markets. It was a great day in the park!

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!