Chick-less...

I thought that we would have some chicks hatching (from the eggs we set when Ryan was here) over the weekend. I thought for sure by Monday, some would peep, pip, and get ready to join this world. I went into lock down on Friday and waited. I waited all day Saturday. I waited all day Sunday. And, after a 14-hour work day at the McDonald's Heroes Hope Healing Golf Classic today, I couldn't wait to see if some had obliged us by pipping in our absence.

Checking for chicks was one of the first things to claim my attention when I walked in the door. I approached the incubator and peered hopefully into the plexiglass windows on the top of it. Nothing. I lifted the lid and carefully checked each egg for signs of pips or sounds of peeps. Nope. Nada. Nyet. Hmmm... This is troubling. I am concerned that this batch did not survive to hatching, but I am not without hope. While the temperature remained constant for this hatch, it did not get up to 100 degrees for a couple of days- which could make today really only day 20-21 and therefore, hatching might be coming tomorrow... Maybe.

Even though it is past 10pm, part of me wants to candle the eggs to check for signs of life tonight. I am so tired, I am barely coherent and certainly not thinking clearly. The spirit is willing but the flesh will wait until tomorrow- after a good night's rest to reset my frazzled brain.

Tomorrow will be a good time to see if I can smuggle a few eggs from under the broodies in the nest boxes and see how they are faring, too. Broody-Barred Rock is sitting on 10 eggs; these seem to be days ahead in development compared to the other nest. Broody-Wyandotte has 8 eggs under her wings; I removed 2 eggs when I last candled her eggs. One of them was not fertilized; the other was not viable. I'll take some pictures and post an update in the afternoon.

Thanks for stopping in, friends.
Good night.
Sonja ♥

Jasmine's Fence Repaired

We finally (!) got some rain overnight Friday and into Saturday. Our garden appreciated it- even if our chickens and goats did not. We had been watering them daily in the evening, but all the vegetable plants were thirsty for a good soaking rain. As anticipated, all the fruitage exploded in both size and ripened almost overnight.

Suddenly, we had cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers all ready for harvest and the watermelons were well on their way towards that goal. There are at least 8 watermelons started on the 2 groupings we planted and 3 of these are the size of baseballs! This is all very good news. We are expecially pleased with the success of growing tomatoes this year. Momma Twombly fried us up some green tomatoes, which I had not tried before, but plan to learn to make myself. Delicious! ♥

The rain did not stop us from having to work in Jasmine's pasture. Last week, Jasmine snapped the post holding the wire fencing that prevented her from roaming the back field. She was still contained by our back up fencing, but this needed to be addressed. You can see in the picture below, the white wire down across the back of the field area.

Since we were going to be working on the pasturage, Sean and I agreed that it was better to put in more posts all the way around. The photo below shows some of the new posts set before the white wire was attached.

Seven posts later, wire wrapped and fastened with heavy duty staples, the field was once again secure and looked great.

Horse pasture secure, we spent some time playing with our goats. Jedidiah does not seem to be overly concerned with being separated from his girls.  He is still determined to eat as much of their hay and grain as he can by pushing his head against the wire fencing and stealing as much as he can catch on his long tongue, but since the girls aren't complaining about it, I guess it is okay. I think the girls appreciate the lack of head-butting directed at them from Jedi while they enjoy their meals. And, it probably helps that they can see each other, smell each other, and rub noses through the fencing. 

Abigail gave us a little scare yesterday. She was acting strangely. She spent a long time in the pasture off by herself laying down. We wondered if she might have an upset stomach, but she ate her meals fine and her droppings appeared normal. Her behavior concerned us because it is unlike Abigail to want to be away from the others. She snapped out of wanting to be alone when Sean cut and offered the goats some green brush branches.  Then, she was back to playing with her brother. It bears watching, though- just in case. ♥

Caitlin- I thought that you would like a recent video of Jasmine.

Thanks for visiting with us!

Sean & Sonja ♥

Wide Open Spaces

In an attempt to make further amends for the upset to their world, Sean and I worked for an hour and a half yesterday night to disassemble the temporary goat kid pen in our back yard. We decided to repurpose two of the 10x10 chain link panels that were in excellent condition to extend the size of the main chicken coop yard.

By adding the panels on opposite sides, we were able to give them an additional 200 square feet of green yard. The response from our feathered friends was unanimously positive. They immediately swarmed to the new grassy area and started scratching and searching for bugs. Even knowing that the grass would be decimated within a few days, it was wonderful to watch them clucking and having such fun in their expanded pen. And, again, we wished that they could just roam free, but that would be dangerous and fatal for them with threats of neighborhood dogs, wild predators, and the other enemies to watch for.

Our main coop is 8ft x 8f x 8ft. The yard measures 600 square feet of space.  It is currently inhabited by 2- American Buff geese, 8- Mallard ducks, 6- Black Swedish Cross ducks, 11- 2 month old pullets/possible cockerel mix, 10 hens; 2 of which are sitting on nests in the boxes, and 2 Americauna roosters.



From the side view, you can really see the difference in yard cover. We have to add fresh hay every couple of days for the chickens to play in and the ducks to build nests in. We will still have to do this even with the expansion. When confined to an area, fowl are very hard on the land.

I am pleased with the area we now have, but as always, it is a work in progress. The master plan calls for the geese and ducks to be located in a separated area with a HUGE pond for them to play in. But, it is finishing the barn that must take the priority for this year. It seems that the chickens are pleased with this new space, too. After getting only 4 eggs from the coops for the past 2 days, we collected 7 eggs today. No where near the 14 eggs we had been collecting, but hopefully, this gain continues and we will be back in business.

This weekend, Sean and I will be working on repairing the fencing for the horse paddock. If we have the time, we will also try to work more on roofing in the barn. Another project on the docket is to start sheathing the lower portion of the exterior wall of the milk room. The goat kids have been moved into the pasture and are in with Momma Ellie. We are hoping that their nursing will help to get her milk production up. It had declined to only 1/2 quart of milk at her milking times. We thought that keeping her with the kids for a few days might stimulate more demand and thus, more milk. Since the milk room is merely a framed out shell, if we sheath the lower part, Ellie can sleep there comfortably and safely at night. We can milk her first thing in the morning and then, move her to the main barn and let her remain with the kids all day. It is not a perfect plan, and it cuts down the milk we collect, but we should still be able to collect enough milk for my cheese making experiments. That's the hope, anyway.

Well, that's where things stand right now. We're still hoping the chicks in the incubator hatch out this weekend. And, we snuck a peek at a couple of  the eggs Broody Barred Hen is sitting on and they are looking really good; lots of movement and good sized air pockets. And, in a surprise result, we candled a couple eggs under Broody Wyandotte and were pleased to see development inside those eggs, too- though they are not as far along as the other nest. Still, things look likely. We'll keep you posted.

Thanks for visiting us tonight.
Sonja ♥

From 34 To 17...

And, sadly, that is how it sometimes rolls.

We started with 34 eggs that Ryan and I set nearly 3 weeks ago. Of those, we later discovered that 4 were not fertilized and we removed them. The others all had "spiders" form and most looked like they were developing properly. When Sean and I candled them last night in preparation for removing the automatic turner, we discovered problems in another 13 of them. Some had formed dreaded tell-tale blood rings. Others had definitely developed into embryos, but died in the week 2 stage. We have not had any temperature fluctuations, no turning failures, no reason for these late stage miscarriages. I just don't know.

By our "set date" we are  due to hatch over the weekend into Monday. I guess, we'll see what happens.

In other news, the chickens are still protesting our messing with their pen, adding more chicks, moving some of them to tractors and have shown their displeasure at us by refusing to lay eggs with any regularity. Yesterday, we collected a total of 4 eggs. I have been giving those living in the main coop yard additional rations of grain and more treats of fresh fruit & veggies than usual, but that has not softened their position on the matter. I hate change. "It is new and different. Therefore, I fear and reject it." has been my creed for many years, so I get where they are coming from. While I appreciate their sentiments, I don't like the resultant lack of egg production when I have Customers depending on my supplying them dozens of eggs on a weekly basis. I am considering other measures to make amends.

. In the meantime, I did get some more pictures of the chicks from June 3rd's clutch. I think that this beautifully speckled Americauna chick is a rooster. He acts very differently than the others. You can see his upright, alert carriage in the photo on the left. He often stands "guard" over the other chicks and is the first to become interested when anyone approaches them. I made these photos small, so they would fit the blog page better, but I highly recommend clicking on them to see them enlarged. He is a gorgeous lad.

Diana is striking. She is mostly black, but she has a lovely ring of gold feathers across her shoulders. Sean called it a golden necklace last night and that is what prompted me to name her Diana. She is a very royal looking pullet and she even walks with a regal gait.

We named the black hen Niecy and the white speckled hen Dolly. These are quickly becoming some of my favorite pullets. Looking at the poof of feathers on their heads just makes me happy. They seem to always be together. I think they will stay good friends and companions as they grow.

The goat fencing has been fixed so that all the goats are living together, but separately in the barn and field areas. Originally, we let Pepper stay with Jedi for company. After seeing Jedi ram her hard into a corner during the feeding of afternoon grain, we changed our minds on that plan. I don't like that Jedi is separated from his herd by fencing, but I will not allow him to ram the females because he wants to eat all the grain. So, that is what he gets. It is open enough that he can see them, nuzzle them through the fence, but cannot ram them or breed them. This inability to breed them is of great benefit to us. I want to have due dates so I can be prepared for kids coming, milk production, cheese processing, and all the other wonderful details that come with growing our herd. He will not be alone long, when Asher grows a little more, he will be moved to the buck pasturage as good company for Jedi.

We have been thinking more and more about breeding the goats as the summer slips away. This will be the first full year where the ladies will be of age to come into "season". (I guess we will see if the fencing is secure when they do and Jedi becomes determined to get to them.) According to the ADGA website: "Dairy goats are usually seasonal breeders. Most breeding occurs in late summer through early winter. The goat has an 18-21 day estrus cycle or "season." The doe's "season" lasts from a few hours to two or three days. The gestation period is five months. Twins are common, but single or triplet births are not rare. A doe milks approximately ten months following kidding, then is held dry for two months before her next freshening."  We could have attempted to breed Rachel and Leah last year, but chose not to. The girls are young adults now at 16 months of age, so if we can buy a nice Lamancha yearling buck, we will plan to breed them October or November for kids to arrive in March. If they are not already bred, which is possible, but doesn't appear to be the case. Contrary to standard practice, Ellie will not be bred again this year. She has been in milk since April. Our plan is to milk her until mid December (so long as she cooperates) and dry her off. We will attempt to have her bred again in the Autumn of 2013. Nor, will Abigail be bred this year. She would be 8 months old by November, but we want to give her an extra years growth before we breed her. The wild card in this bunch is Pepper. We think she is pregnant and could deliver as early as January- which would not be ideal. If she is not pregnant now, we will attempt to breed her this fall with Jedi.

So, best case scenario, we will a rest from milking from December to March and then, have 3 does milking for their first time come Spring. And, 4-6 healthy kids to sell. We are hopeful for at least 1.5 gallons of milk each day when the does get into the swing of it. I have found from my experience that 2 quarts of milk makes:

2 quarts of goat's milk -or-
2- 5 oz containers of chevre -or-
2 quarts of buttermilk -or-
2 quarts of yogurt -or-
3- 5 oz containers of salad dressing/dip

I have yet to perfect either mozzarella or feta cheese making, but I plan to keep attempting them until I do. With the prospects of having over a gallon of milk coming in each day, we will have plenty to eat ourselves, some to freeze for the few months we rest from milking, and even some to sell to/trade with our neighbors.

If, If, If...

Thanks for visiting with us today!
Sonja ♥

Dilly Beans

Perhaps one of my most favorite late summer/early fall treats is the canning of Dilly Beans. Or, closer to the truth, the eating of Dilly Beans!!! I like fresh beans- with a yummy dip, preferably. I could eat canned cut green beans all day. (I know some will object to that, but I can't help it! I like the watered down taste!) But, dilly beans. Sweet Googly-Moogly, they are the BEST. I mean it.

My recipe is from Grandpa George.

Ingredients:
3 lbs fresh green beans

For the Brine:
3/8 cup canning salt
3 3/4 cup vinegar
3 3/4 cup water

In Each Quart Jar:
1/4 tspn cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic
1 head of dill (or 1 tbsn dill weed)

I start by putting water to boil in my canning pot on the stove top. Then, I add all the brine ingredients to a medium saucepan to heat and dissolve the salt. While those are getting ready, I cut the green beans to size. You want to make sure that they are pretty uniform in length and that when you layer them into your mason jar, you leave 1/2 inch head room. When I am finished, I add the cayenne and dill to each jar. I add the beans next. (Tip: If you turn the jar slightly on its side, you can easily lay the beans in so they fit straight.) The beans should be a little snug, but do not over stuff them. I slice the garlic into two or three slivers and add them around the beans. At the point, you are ready to ladle the warm brine over the top of the beans. (Take care to leave that 1/2 inch head room!)
This recipe made 6 quart jars.

Invariably towards the end, some beans are not long and lovely. I chop these in 2-3 inch lengths and make up the last jar with these pieces. (They are the right size and taste great on Italian sandwiches!)

Once all the jars are ready, they can be placed in your canner to be heat-treated. Do not over process them or your beans will turn mushy. Dilly Beans should have crunch like a good pickle with a little bite at the end. I usually process mine for 5-10 minutes. To be honest, since the beans are in a brine of vinegar and salt, I am not entirely certain they need to be processed with a canner at all, but with my ingrained modern attitude about avoiding germs and botulism, I can mine, anyway. Any that fail to seal properly go into the fridge for immediate consumption. These are ready to eat in as little as 3 hours, but the taste develops more deeply, the longer they soak.

Of the 6 jars I canned last night, we have already disposed of one third of them! One has already been eaten- Alas! I am not the only one that loves them in this house! And, one has been promised to my Mother. I don't know if Daddy Dale has had the pleasure of trying dilly beans, yet, but if not, I want to introduce him to them. (I think they would be too spicy for Momma Twombly, though.) That leaves me with only 3 quarts for the pantry.

That won't do.

I definitely see more Dilly Beans being canned in this farm girl's future. ♥

Lord of the Dance

This video has been a long time in the creating. It was probably too ambitious an undertaking for my limited skill level- truth be told, but I had an interesting time putting it together. The difficulty came in trying to splice video footage on a rapid tempo that continued escalating and changing! After 3 days of playing with it, I am satisfied (aka so tired of watching it repeatedly in whole and in parts and fiddling with it that I announced, "Enough!" whether I should have or not.)

Kimmy Jo, there is a part where a black hen (Australorp) attacks and tears a chunk of feathers from a young chick. I added the footage because it made sense to the story and because it is what happened. I want you to know, though, when it happened, I stopped filming and addressed the situation. I shooed the Australorp away a couple of times. When it became clear that the adult hen would not stop pushing around the chicks to an excessive degree, (some pecking is to be expected as they sort things out among themselves) both Australorp hens were removed to the chicken tractor with Rufeo. They are thriving and eating fresh grass and bugs to their little chicken hearts content. So, it is all okay. I just wanted to warn you and also add this as a sort of disclaimer. Unlike nature programs, this photographer interferes when the beasts can't play nice together.

So, with that, I present... Lord of the Dance. Enjoy!



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7-9 Days to Go...

I candled the chicken eggs, as promised, on Friday. I did not snap pictures, though because I wanted to do it quickly so the eggs would not cool too much and also there was only my set of hands to work with.  (Sean and Dale are currently occupied installing a new water heater to live in the basement. I am sure Sean would have helped, but I thought his project more pressing for his time and attention.) Add to that, my camping girls absconded with my good flashlight, so it was harder than usual to see through the shell. Is that enough excuses for my lack of photos?

I think the news is mostly good. With just over a week to go, I only removed 2 eggs that were definitely NOT developing. There are another 10 or so that are questionable, but all the rest seem to be growing and developing from dark, Chickie "globs" into the fluffy peeps we are hoping for.

On Thursday, we decided it was time to move the 2 month old chicks into the main coop where they belong. We had never really intended on them living in the chicken tractor for a long period of time, but it became a necessity while they were small enough to walk through the coop fencing. Having grown sufficiently that this was no longer a problem, we made the move. This freed the tractor for Rufeo (our Rhode Island Red Rooster) and his hens. With the hopes of being able to breed sex link chicks from him, we rehomed 2 Wyandottes and 1 Barred Rock. This arrangement was problematic in that 3 hens would not be suitable in numbers to avoid their being balded by Rufeo's romantic attentions. The 2 Australorp hens in the main coop were being exceptionally territorial to the new chicks; plucking feathers and chasing them mercilessly. So... we added them into the chicken tractor population, which worked out quite nicely for everyone. (The broody hens will also join Rufeo- once they are done sitting on their nests- bringing the ratio of hens to roosters to 7:1, a much better situation for them.)

The new additions to the main coop are settling in just fine. There are still some issues deciding who gets to eat first among the group, but by and large, they have at least been accepted, if not enthusiastically welcomed. They are developing lovely individual coloring traits, which means these will get their own names. In this photo you can see in the fore, a couple of (what we think are) pullets with interesting feathered crests. They are the black facing forward and the white with speckled feathers to the right of her.

Added to the list of unique traits, we hatched a gorgeous pure Americauna with ear tufts (that we suspect is a rooster- No!), a couple of blacks with gold markings and two blacks that resemble nothing so much as mutant crows! Check out the one pictured on the left. What do you think?

In addition to the eggs in the incubator, one of the Wyandotte hens and one of the Barred Rock hens have gone all broody on us and are each sitting on clutches of 10 eggs in separate nest boxes out in the main coop. We have never allowed our hens to hatch out their own chicks, but we thought to give it a try. We were remiss in informing Miss Meaghan of our intentions before she very helpfully collected the eggs for us Thursday afternoon. Sean returned them to some very annoyed hens who were not shy about pecking his hands and squawking their displeasure as he sought to return their treasured orbs. Unbeknownst to the ladies, they are sitting on a variety of eggs from the coops. It will be interesting to see what kind of assortment these hatch to be... if they hatch, that is.

Broody Wyandotte has since become confused about her nest and has moved herself three times. The first time I caught her in the wrong box, I put her into the correct one and she settled in nicely. Later Saturday afternoon, she was back in the wrong box sans eggs. So, thinking she just preferred that box more, I candled the eggs in her first box for evidence of life and put the viable ones under her in her new box. Broody hen moved them into the position she wanted them in and settled herself. When I visited the chickens on Sunday morning, she had moved once again- to a completely different box. The eggs in the nest were stone cold and it was pretty clear she hadn't been sitting on them at all during the night. Since the chicks had already started to develop inside the eggs, I think it is a pretty safe bet that they are no longer viable after many hours of 50 degree temps. This is sad, but sometimes, what happens. I suspect that in Broody Wyandotte's case, the idea of sitting on eggs was -and seems still to be- more interesting than the work actually involved in sitting on eggs. At least, Broody Barred Rock seems to be vigilant in her efforts to hatch a clutch. And, Wyandotte can move to the tractor, instead.

Broody duck(s) are sitting single-mindedly, too. This broodiness seems to be contagious. What started with one, quickly turned into two ducks sharing sitting duties. A third invited herself to the party under the guise that it takes a village. But, when a fourth hen and a drake tried to join the mix, one of the geese stepped in to moderate the debate and get everyone sorted. I captured this exchange on video. No musical soundtrack, though-


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Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.

Thanks for visiting with us today!
Sean & Sonja ♥