Fall around the farm.

Well ladies and gentlemen, I think it would be safe to say "Fall came early this year" and brought with it, allergies, cold damp weather, and just the over all blahs that normally don't hit us until much later in the year.
With the upcoming fall season, there are lots of changes happening around here.

 A big one, involves our decision to get a wood burning stove.  We stop running the AC around the beginning of September, so that helps with our power bills, but then it starts getting cold and we have to run the heat.  We have a gas furnace, so not only do we have the gas bill, but also the electricity needed to pump that heat thru out the house.  The house previously had a wood burning stove, and all the existing chimney is still there,  on the recommendation of several people we are having it cleaned and looked at to ensure we are able to safely use a wood burning stove.  We also decided to buy one brand new as opposed to getting a used one off of Craigslist, not because there is anything wrong with the ones on CL, but because the government is offering a tax credit on all EPA certified stoves.  Plus the one we got is extremely more efficient than a lot of the older models.  Hunter has already started splitting wood. As soon as it is up and running I will post some photos.

Its finally time to build the coop.  After lots of planning, and budgeting we are finally ready.  And it could not have come at a more opportune time, as my chickens have started laying eggs.  I need to get them separated, to produce pure bred eggs, and chicks.  I am very excited about this venture, and am very grateful that not only does Hunter support my craziness over all things chicken, but he also enjoys helping me hunt for eggs, and hand feed them their "treats".  We have also decided that we will be raising broilers in the spring/summer/fall of next year, using a "chicken tractor".  We plan on having 16 birds at a time, which means that any "chicken" needs you may have can come from our "farm fresh free-ranging happy (for ML)" chickens. (these chickens will not be named or personalized)  We will be processing them ourselves which means we can't sell to the public, but would really like to not only sustain ourselves but share with our families as well.  Speaking of providing for our families, how would you all feel about a farm fresh Turkey for Thanksgiving?

There is a lot more going on that I will hopefully be able to share soon, but its time for dinner...and I'm hungry.

To hang out with Chickens...

So I often post on Facebook, that I am hanging out with my chickens. And my brother continually asks me, What does that mean? How do chickens hang out?  so I am here today to explain how one (mainly myself) hangs out with chickens.

First you must wear comfy clothes, that you don't mind getting dirty.  You also need a chair, towel or old blanket (I generally use a combination of all 3).  And then you need treats...any small yummy substance will work, my chickens are particularly in love with dried cranberries and cut up grapes.  Then you go and sit or lay down (I recommend sitting or squatting while feeding).  You become one with the chickens.  You talk to them in soothing tones. You gently stroke them when they come near.  You hug them and scratch under their wings or on their back.  After a while the chickens lose interest in you, and go about their business of scratching the ground, taking dust baths, or sunning themselves.  This is where I either A)get my camera and take photos B) read a book while still outside or C)go about my day as well.

and here are some photos for your viewing pleasure:

Whats new...

I first have to apologize for not writing in what feels like forever...but things have been extra busy lately.  We have had a ton of storms lately, causing lots of clean up for Hunter in the yard.  We also still have the 2 litters of puppies from Maddie and Mossy, which altogether makes 11 puppies, that need to be fed and changed several times daily...September 17th can not get here fast enough.  

I have acquired more chickens, which meant that we needed to expand our chicken house (I can't really call it a coop yet as we are still working on the permanent one).  We are using some of our dog kennels put together in a larger configuration, than what we had before.  This allows me to separate the LF (large fowl) chickens from my Bantams (miniature chickens) as well as give everyone much more space.  We set it up as one large kennel with different dimension stalls, 1 is 5x10, 1 is 10x10, and 2 are 5x5.  Also in the world of chickens, we have adopted some "Show quality" chickens from a friend of mine in Newton, NC.  They are LF English Orpingtons, and they are HUGE.  Hunter refers to them as his Giant Chickens...we have a trio, meaning we have a roo and 2 hens.  These birds take longer to develop than my other chickens because of their size, so we probably won't begin seeing eggs until later this year, maybe even next.  I also have attended my first "Chicken Swap"  in Lincolnton this year, where I traded some of my Polish juvi's for some gorgeous Silver Laced Cochin Bantams.  I bought a breeding pair of Partridge Color Silkies (George and Henrietta), and I also got some more ducks.  My mom has also allowed me to bring each of these new additions with me to her house, as I always seem to go down on days when other family is in town to visit.  Thanks Mom, the chickens all love hanging out under your tree.  I really enjoy my chickens and getting to know them all individually is very entertaining as they all have little quirks about them.  One thing they all have in common though is Treats, and how much they LOVE them!!! We feed our chickens with Purina Layer pellets and crumbles mixed together (it seems to make it last longer) as well as letting them free range from about 8 or 9 am til dark, but their favorite time of day is when they see me coming with either the compost bowl, or a bag of dried cranberries.  They go absolutely nuts for cranberries!!  I literally have them all eating out of the palm of my hand, and at times have to remind them to mind their manners, as they get pushy to get just one more.  We are also still only getting 3 eggs today, 1 brown one from Tillie Millie, a miniature white one from Mrs. Frizzle, and a lovely blue one from Amelia.  Amelia and Mrs. Frizzle share a small dog house as their nest box, but Tillie Millie is much more creative in where she lays her egg.  We had stacked bales of wood chips on our back porch , that had a rolled up hose on top..similar to a nest.  She chose to start laying her eggs there.  Then Hunter moved the hose, and she kept laying eggs there.  This made for a huge mess of eggs rolling off the bales and smashing onto the porch, so we got a nest box and secured it up there.  Well then we needed the wood chips and other chickens were starting to lay, so I moved the nest box back to the coop, and Tillie Millie stopped laying until we put this UNC Carolina chair on the back porch in that same place.  Now she lays every single day in that chair...and raises a huge fuss when we move it, so we don't.  

There is so much more to say but it will have to wait til next time...