Teenager News

The young girls have tripled in size in the last week and they are getting into some grown up ways. They are quite curious about the big girls. Hopefully they will not imitate their habit of eating their own feathers. The one Rhode island red is almost completely bald now, and she is doing it to herself. The young ones are now able to get into their coop for the night, with a little persuasion. That means moving their food inside. Chickens always follow food. A few of them have figured out how to get on the roosts, though they still seem to sleep in piles. Yesterday when it was raining, they were under the coop in two piles, one at each end. One pile had the black and whites, and the other had the reds. So they have established some age segregation it seems, which coincides with color also. One of the wyandottes is really looking like a rooster already, and the guy at the feed store says we can bring it back and maybe exchange it for another. Hard to see what we would bring home however. All the chicks at the store are only a day old or so. There are so many really cute ones. I almost came home with a few of the Polish chicks, which have an extra cap on their heads that looks like a beenie. They are really sweet looking. But I was disciplined and only returned with food and a big chick drinking can.

Since the resident squirrel in the garage had chewed through the plastic feed container, we have moved things around and acquired another big metal can. The food for the young ones is in a white bag in the same can as the big girl food for now, so pay attention. Scratch and the new developer food in the other can.

Our broody hen has changed little in the last week. She sits all day in the same box. Some of the hens lay on top of her and she broods the eggs until we get them. She can be carried outside and she might walk around for a few minutes. But she is rather grumpy about it, attacks any hen that gets near her, and soon returns to her box. It is not clear when she eats or drinks, but when she is kicked out for awhile she seems perfectly normal. Since she gets no exercise, she feels like a bag of jelly. She doesn't seem to like anyone, but is willing to watch out for eggs. Several others will sit on a few until we come to get them. We do have a few egg eaters who have been caught in the act, so it seems the others are being protective. So far we have caught a red, an auracana, and a barred rock eating eggs. Average egg production is now 13-14 a day.

The new coop needs cleaning. Who wants to be the first to try it with ten teenagers running around under foot?

Peggy, teenage guidance counselor

Chicken Construction News

It has been a busy month at the Homestead Coop, and we are sorry we have not communicated much to our readers. All of us are on overload this month. With the arrival of the ten little girls (we hope that's what they are) the pressure was on to get the summer juvenile coop annex built. They were outgrowing the box in the garage quickly. We also had to rebuild the back pen so the big girls would have some shade, and the little ones could temporarily get some air while we were building. They are so much fun to catch and put away at night. We had forgotten how much exercise we get with new chicks. The old ones are so used to the routine by now, that they just run into the coop when we offer them the appropriate bribe. Not the little ones. So it has been back and forth for a week or so, while Matt and Wendy worked out the details and built the new coop for them. The fact that both of them have gone back to work just made it more challenging. Jeanne and I built the new back pen, so we could give the new ones day care. Frank had dug the new trenches for the new side pen, which proved a real chore as there were massive tree roots to contend with. Then Wendy and Matt planned, built, planned some more, built something else, planned again, changed the plan several more times, and managed to get a rather unique and practical new house for the new ones to grow up in this summer. They used some recycled materials, and bought some new stuff. It was really fun to watch them work on it. They are both so relaxed and steady in their approach to a project like this. We tried to stay out of the way, as we knew we would be next to useless at the engineering involved. When the coop addition was done, Jeanne, Frank and I finished building the pen around it and put on the top part. This involved some gymnastic talent on our parts, particularly getting the wire over the top of the rather slippery roof of the coop. But it is all done now, except Matt plans to tweek a few things. The girls will need a small  window of some kind, in addition to the vents. They seem a bit freaked out going into it at night. Matt has had the chance to crawl under the coop twice now to capture them. Great fun. Tonight I managed to convince most of them to go into the coop to get food and water, with me standing in front of the door, and I got them to stay. Of course there is always one rebel. This might be our rooster, as "she" has been difficult from the start. Jeanne had to come out to do her chicken herding routine and help me get her captured. This is their third night in the new coop. They are getting good on the ramp and can fly off the front porch, or even fly right up onto the coop platform. One of them flew up onto the coop roof, then had to ski down the slant to get off. Luckily we had a top on the pen. The big girls, who are now right next to the new ones on two sides, seem only mildly interested. The little ones show some curiosity, but they are very busy trying to learn how to catch the large number of big flies we have right now, thanks to the tent worms, which they parasitize. No one will eat the tent worms, at least not after the first try. 

     There will be some new photos up soon. I have finally gone digital and have taken a number of pictures. However, I have only gotten to page three of the manual and now cannot find it. I have no clue how to get them into this computer, but Matt will get to it soon, when he has time to breathe, and teach me. I wished I had the camera with me tonight when Jeanne was herding four chickens at once. They were having such a great time digging up our flower beds tonight, that they balked at coming in and I had to call for help on four of them. There she was using her famous stick strategy to move them to the coop, where I waited with their bribe. Chickens do not herd well, but she is getting good at it. Be assured that she doesn't hit them, rather she corrals them by holding the sticks out to her sides low and moves them along in the right direction.

     We also have one hen, a buff, who has refused to leave her nest box for the last month. At first we thought she was sick. We hand fed her water and food and expected to find her dead every morning. She does not lay eggs anymore, but she will sit on those laid in the nest box she occupies. Several hens will climb on her and lay their eggs. We have decided that she is simply broody, and that's all she wants to be. When I take her outside and dump her with the others, she acts normal for a short time, joins the crowd digging at the compost or taking their sand bath, then she pops back inside as soon as I turn my back. She must eat and drink when we are not looking. If we put a cup of food in the box with her, she will eat it. Same with water. So we have stopped worrying about her. At least we always know where she is. 

     The Coop has also moved into working sort of as a community garden. Frank and Jennie have planted a large raised bed, and so have Matt and Wendy. These new beds are in our existing garden space, so all of us now have lots of sun to grow veggies. Jeanne and I have gotten carried away again also. With the early spring and all our hard work, we have a rather amazing community garden going now. The new fence we put around it earlier keeps the girls from tearing things up at the wrong times, but they can patrol the perimeter for grasshoppers and other unwanted bugs. they were allowed in before we planted and will clean up in the fall. Everything is popping up green. We all take responsibility for watering, particularly in the intense heat and dry spell we have just had. The tent worms are fading out finally, letting in more sunlight than we really wanted in the forest. Boots has not yet caught the squirrels or chipmunks, but has managed to get one moth. Perhaps when the gypsy moths hatch she will be on top of her game. All is well at the Homestead Coop. Still have plenty of eggs and visitors are always welcome.

Construction request from the hens

It seems that the girls want a few more nest boxes than the 8 they presently have. Today three laid their eggs in the far corner under the roosts in a new nest they have constructed. We have also had two eaten eggs this week and a lot of fighting over boxes. Sometimes three try to get into the same box all at once. Esmeralda still lays her egg on top of one of the Buffs in the same box each day. The Buff then protects the egg until we get it. I wish I had the camera with me when it looked like the Buff had two heads, one coming through in the middle of the Buff's body. Quite strange. The little ones are adjusting to their new digs, and though they come from two different batches and are not quite the same age, they get along very well. Their conversations in the garage seem to have scared off the squirrel that was living there. No sign of him since their arrival.

The vegetable gardens are becoming part of the Coop now, with the two new raised beds finished, and some planting done. Asparagus is starting to emerge, though still small. Carrots, peas, beets, onions, garlic, lettuce, strawberries, chard, all are showing their little selves. Jeanne has been harvesting lettuce for a month. We are eating some Kale that came up from last year. The new kale is emerging also, and finally there are some recipes to use it with. Wendy has some seeds in, Jeanne is adding flowers to the garden and has peas planted everywhere, Frank is waiting for Oryana plants to come in, and Jennie and Peg will work on a three sisters corner when it warms up a bit more. We have added two pear trees, three peaches (all decent sizes), and 15 rather small Black Walnuts to the land. The trillium is stunning this year and we are keeping the tent worms under control so far. First rhubarb harvested. Now if we could only find time to finish the juvenile coop and the other two pens. The girls are thrilled to be out roaming around in the woods so much lately, gobbling up bugs. They are behaving very well and come in like good kids just in time for Boots (the dog) to have a good run after a day at the office with Wendy.

Peggy, Happy Homesteader

New Pics of the New Chicks

Hi All

Well I wasn't able to make it over to the coop to take pictures today - This whole "working" thing is really starting to cramp my style! Fortunately Wendy was able to head over and get some pictures of the new chicks for us. At least she made a valiant effort to do so. Apparently having a camera lowered down into your enclosure is a fairly terrifying experience when you're a three week-old chick, so Wendy ended up getting lots of pictures of little chicken backsides as they were running away. The best picture she managed was the first and that is the one now gracing the top of this page. The rest look a lot like the photo that accompanies this post...

Matt

Famous Hens and New Additions

Just back from two weeks in Key West, and is it ever nice to be home. The trillium are in full bloom, completely blanketing the forest floor in places, and the gardens are coming along nicely as well. While Key West has it's own beauty and charm, as a little girl from Kansas once said, "There's no place like home."

Our girls are now famous, gracing the pages of the spring edition of Edible Grand Traverse (on newsstands everywhere and on the web at http://www.ediblegrandtraverse.com). Susan Ager gave a great write-up and her husband Larry took some fabulous pictures. As is often the case when a story goes to press, this one was edited down a bit and some important (important to us at any rate) details were lost. The biggest omission was any mention of some of the folks who were instrumental in getting the co-op up and running but have since had to step away from the group for personal reasons. I'm referring of course to the Moehle family and Keith Brucker. The Moehle's not only designed and helped to build the coop, but they also raised some of the chicks at their home. Keith was a great help during the construction of the coop and the pens. I was erroneously credited as being a "key player" in the construction of the coop when in reality illness and travel prevented me from participating at all. Just wanted to set the record straight and make sure that all parties received the recognition they deserve for their efforts.

In other news, our flock increased by 10 today. Peggy picked out the new additions from a group of three week-old chicks and came home with 3 Barred Rocks, 3 Wyandottes, and 4 New Hampshire Reds. The reds are a new breed for us and are known for being good layers of large, brown eggs. They are currently dwelling within the relative safety of the garage in a custom home designed and created by Peggy. They are cute little fluff balls at the moment, but won't stay that way for long so we're going to have to get busy with completing the "juvenile housing" and pen in the near future. We have a plan as well as most of the materials we'll need, but are lacking in free time right at the moment. I've just started a new job, Wendy's work is getting busier, Frank Jennie and Keith are booked solid, and Peggy and Jeanne have an impressive array of projects, obligations and activities. I'm sure it will all come together, but it's going to take a bit of juggling to make it all happen.

That's about all the news for now. I'm hoping have a photo session with the new chicks tomorrow (photographing children is so difficult!) so that you can all see them at their cutest and we can finally get a new picture up for the blog - I do believe it is time to replace the picture of Pete standing in the snow-covered yard...

Matt

Chickens on the alert

The girls got several shocks this week. First of all Matt left them for some out of state work for a few weeks. For the first few days they were just out of sorts, picking at each other, yeling alot, fighting over the smallest scraps, and taking their sweet old time laying those eggs. They are adjusting now, particularly since they realize they still have everyone else to pamper them. Also there are lots of grubs and really ugly bugs for them to eat these days, and we have been letting them roam alot. But then three guests arrived and they brought another dog with them. The girls freaked out when they saw Charlie for the first time, even though Charlie is old, basically deaf and ignored them. They tried to fly away, but they were in the pen, so that didn't work out too well. They were hysterical for quite some time. Poor Charlie just wandered back with his human to the house. On the other hand, they seem to ignore Boots now, even though she would love to play a bit rough with them if she could. The girls are not such good judges of intent sometimes. Yesterday they seemed upset about something , and put themselves back into the coop early. We never figured out what bothered them. Maybe they are getting smart about the hawks. There is a resident red-shouldered out in the woods.

The girls were glad to see Joan and Mary again, visiting from Canada. They haven't seen them since before they started laying eggs, so they were happy to get a taste of their fresh productions and hold the warm eggs at last. Pauline, who is Charlie's human, also likes the warmth of the newly laid eggs, and their appearance in Jeanne's good cooking.

The coop is gradually moving to expand its activities to include a community garden of sorts. Jeanne and Peg already grow their own veggies here and are constantly expanding the diversity in the gardens. Now Wendy & Matt have built their own large raised bed, and Frank, Jennie, and Keith have built one for their family. We have brought in a huge load of compost to start the new garden plots off, and use raised beds to smother out the knapweed and grass existing there now. This will give the other families a chance to get more sunlight on their veggies. And it is more fun when we can work together growing healthy food. We have added some fruit trees this week also. All of us are on tent worm patrol lately, as they have hatched out again. We are hoping this year is no where near as bad as last, and we expect the girls to help by eating every worm in sight, along with the grasshoppers. Right now they are working on the flies that hatched last week and doing a pretty good job. We finished the big fence around the vegetable garden so we can keep the girls out when things are sprouting, but let them in early in spring and for fall clean up. They have plenty to do running around in the woods and the rest of the yard. They are taking too much time growing back the feathers they lost during Pete's reign. We suspect they are now taking out their own feathers or each other's. They eat the feathers usually. It's not like they are starving. They are very well fed, with extra calcium supplied in the form of oyster shell. We might think they are molting, and maybe some are. But they still lay from 13 to 17 eggs a day. They take regular dust baths, and we don't see parasites on them, so we really don't know what is going on with some of them who remain too bald in spots. They all seem quite healthy. It seems it takes time to recover from roosters. We met some other chickens who had had the same experience recently and they were full of bald spots too.

Submitted by Peggy

Chicken Coop News

The girls were really unhappy about the snow today. They only gave us 11 eggs. They have been averaging about 14 this week. They are still eager to get out of the pen in the afternoon and run around a bit. But then they are just as happy to go back in when we want them to. If they are left alone outside for about an hour, they come running to us when we show up with scratch. They will then march right into the pen to get their treat. Sometimes one or two are not paying attention to the program and have to be picked up and hauled home. Generally they have been very cooperative. We have now fenced off most of the flower gardens they like to dig up, so they are concentrating on the compost piles, the vegetable gardens that are still open to them, and the nice litter under the trees. The posts are up for a large fence around the vegetable beds, so we will soon be able to keep them out after we plant, or selectively let them in one of the three gates to forage in particular beds as needed. We will be adding some more raised beds for the use of coop members. Work has begun on the back and side pens. Frank is working on the new trenches. Peggy is working on post holes. Jeanne has finished painting the back of the coop and Matt is busy designing the juvenile coop annex for the new chicks we plan to add soon. Wendy has gone back to work and the girls are having to adjust their schedule a bit, but are getting used to the slightly later timing of the opening of the coop. But they miss her. Boots is still on the morning route however, racing around the coop until Matt comes along to continue the morning run. We looked at the chick choices yesterday while picking up feed. Too many of course. I suggest we send a delegation so I don't come home with more than the ten we think we want. I found a large plastic bin for brooding today. We just need some big cardboard to put around the outside to keep them in and we are ready to brood again. We can get some that are already three weeks old if we want, or start again with the cute little ones.

It seems that the egg eating and pecking are focused more on the blue eggs than any others. Two of the Araucanas are now laying often under the ramp, perhaps to hide their eggs. They seem to get pecked more than the others. This week we have managed to avoid outright eating of eggs, but that is because we collect a dozen times a day. The buffs and a few others are willing to sit on several eggs until we get them out safely. Hopefully next week we can finish up the fixing of the back pen and get the side pen built. We should be ready to give the new ones their own quarters by the time they are big enough, and keep them safe from the big thugs until they can fend for themselves. With grass and bugs coming along now, the girls should be able to soon leave each other alone and maybe grow back some of those feathers they either lost to Pete's attentions, molting, or each others picking from boredom.

Peggy for the girls