successes and failures part 2 - the birds

Failure - Starting the baby birds in our bedroom! What a mess! The same tote brooders will work just as well in the barn with secured lids.

Success - The totes themselves, two separate ones for the chickens and ducks. The ducks make such a mess with the water! We let them visit for days outside while they were still young. When we moved them outside to the tractors they got along just fine.

Success - We used dog crates as little chicken tractors in the front yard until we got the big coop built, it was a good temporary solution that could be used again if needed.

Success - The coop we built from timbers and cattle panels has worked really well. It is sturdy, easy to move (we have to give it a little push up hills with the four-wheeler) and is now, after a few lessons, pretty secure. It has been covered with plastic for the winter, and it is nice and toasty inside.

Failure - Escapes. Both the coop and run had gaps in the bottom of the wire along the ground where chickens escaped and were eaten by the dogs. We solved these problems with bricks and logs to fill the gaps inside the coop, and using tent stakes to anchor the fence to the ground in the run. Attention is key, check every day for gaps that could have formed.

Failure - Nest boxes. The buckets we started out with were too small, the trough we built instead is sturdy and they like to walk around in it, but they still lay their eggs around the yard and coop in the grass or piles of hay. Next year we will use golf balls or something similar to try to train the new birds to lay where we want them to.

Having the birds has brought great joy to my life.

Until next time,
Angela and Jonathan

our dear ducks

the garden - before the ducks

the newly covered duck house - on the garden

the garden - after the ducks. goodbye weeds!

the backside of the ducks house, with their door to the run and a little window for ventilation

The last week has been very windy, stripping the colorful leaves from the trees and leaving things looking much like winter, much too soon for my taste. This morning I recovered the duck coop with clear plastic, less drafty and more sunny. When I was doing my homework about preparing the bird house for winter I was pleasantly surprised to learn that ducks are much more hardy than chickens. They just need a semi-draft free space, unfrozen water, and some dry hay to keep their feet warm. Of course we try to give them more than just what they "need", like a brighter enclosure and access fresh grass. Stay warm duckies!

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

bountiful harvests and the joy of fresh eggs

My amazing nieces and nephew helped me harvest some vegetables from the garden yesterday. They have been staying with us for a few days, and it is so nice to see them. We came back with a full laundry basket and a half of onions (red, white, and yellow) squash, zucchini, beets, carrots, and tomatoes. They were all quite tasty (the rabbits enjoyed the beet leaves) and Jonathan made me a great repurposed drying rack for the onions and beats (and soon enough, potatoes.) 

Thank you, first garden, you have taught us much already.

(BTW apologies for the crappy cell phone pictures, I lost my camera, temporarily.)

Oh yeah, and this morning I woke up to our first eggs from our beautiful hens. Yay!

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

july - the rainy season

the smallest bun-buns

bird baths

always interested - our three pretty hens

the first squash of summer

climbing cucumbers

and zucchini

a small harvest from the week

We have not been incredibly productive on the farm these past few weeks, not nearly as much as we should have been, but things are rolling along as they always do, regardless of our efforts (and lackthereof.) The garden has started to produce beautiful squash, zucchini, beets, and onions, which we have been enjoying on a nearly daily basis. The rabbits are growing fast and we should have 30 plus to eat or sell by the end of summer. The hens should begin to bless us with eggs within the month. The mushroom baskets are all pinning and we should have a nice and timely harvest for market next Thursday. 

Yes, despite our efforts, mother nature keeps us moving forward.

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan 

rainy day birds

chickies on fresh grass

one big happy poultry family

I love to watch the ducks drink water

always on the look out

It's certainly the rainy season in the mountains. Overcast and showers nearly every day last week, and on the forecast for this week. The birds don't seem to mind much though, just another day to them. It's good to have them out on pasture now, and their hoop house is so easy to move, we just hook it up to the four wheeler and drag it a few feet. This isn't by any means our ideal chicken living space. We hope to get an electronet fence sometime this summer, then we could let them out of the hoop house during the day to be more truly free range, then lock them up at night to protect them from the predators lurking in the woods. The electronet is an amazing temporary fencing system, it's easy to move around and with a solar charger we can move it anywhere on the property. One day...

rainy day birds

  Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

among the clouds

April showers seem to be here to stay, making us a big wet mess- but we're adapting.

chicks. I'm not sure what breed they are yet, but those two little ones are growing very slowly.

The Pekin ducklings seems to protect the smaller Rouens constantly, even from my camera

cloudy

onions (and weeds)

hello there

bunnies bunnies bunnies

flowers, in an amazingly rocky flower bed

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

a big step

There's been lots of little projects, growth, achievements...

the garlic grows more every day

our white rock chicks are getting fat

the pekins are obviously much bigger than the rouens

the little layers

bunny pile

but the biggest step of all... we finally have a greenhouse.

at long last

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

april showers

Well spring is definitely here! The trees are blooming, flowers and grass growing. Oh, don't forget the rain. Our first litter of rabbits are growing fast, already out exploring with their mom. The ducks and chicks are quickly outgrowing their brooders. Today we moved the ducks into their new yard pen until we get the coop finished. The chicks are definitely jealous, but their time is coming soon. 

Life is busy busy busy, and it couldn't be better.

baby bunnies are growing fast

Rose and Hopper are enjoying their time together. I think Hopper is quickly becoming a bit of a farm mascot.

Rose

the ducklings settling into their new home

the chicks are definitely jealous

Live simply,

Angela 

bunnies and birds

Today was a very busy day.   

the birds enjoying a field trip outside

duckies are growing so fast

the red pullets are so pretty, and small compared to the white cornish rocks

Our mornings start around seven am, when we tend to the rabbits and birds before we leave for work. We returned home about five o'clock, and thanks to this wonderful spring daylight had plenty of time for projects. We planted nearly all the onions and put together the frame for the poultry tractor. 

the poultry tractor frame being assembled

onions planted

We just need to buy a whole bunch of chicken wire to finish the poultry house, as well as the rabbit tractor. It was a great day, and each one seems better.

Leela, a good mother

the babies are growing fast

Until next time!

birds

We have started our very own little flock of poultry!

ducklings!

they are two pekins (yellow) and two rovens (black)

chickies!

the two lighter ones are probably going to be for meat, the others are egg layers

We couldn't be happier!

Angela and Jonathan