Farm Funny Photo Shoot

Last weekend, Sean and I spent some time working on a photo shoot for a project that some of the "Farm Chicks" from Farm Chick Chit Chat are putting together. It is much more difficult to be on the front side of the camera since I am so much more often behind it, capturing the shots. But, in the end, we put on some good dancing music and just went with it. We wanted to share some of our favorite pictures from the shoot.

Miss Niecy is a born model. Each morning when I enter the chicken yard, she flies up to my shoulder and hangs out there while I scoop feed and collect eggs. She was much more comfortable having her pictures taken. So much so that I began wondering if I was, in fact, her prop. Don't tell the others, but she is one of my very favorite hens.

Miss Buff Cochin allowed me to hold her, but she clucked her concern the whole time. I can't swear that she was trying to direct the shoot, but it sure sounded like that to me.

Of course, not every picture was usable. Some of them cut out my fabulous, rubber wellies. In others, my companions attempted to take flight or otherwise escape the limelight. Still others had such undesirable problems as poor lighting, crossed-eyes, or mouth hanging unbecomingly open. In all, Sean took almost 400 images. We kept less than 20. He is a very good sport. I thought I would, also, include some of our photo "out-takes". They made me smile. I hope they make you smile, too.

In other news, the below freezing temperatures have subsided for a couple days and the warm rain is melting our snow and making the animal yards all sorts of muddy. But, it is a sure sign that spring is getting ever closer. The days of relative rest and planning will become long days of seemingly endless chores before we know it. I am just itching for it, truth be told, but I am biding my time creating more items to sell at our farm stand, etsy store, and perhaps, in area gift shops. Besides our homemade goat's milk soaps, I think I may start to also offer note card sets designed with my original watercolored art work. This is a scene from a beach Sean and I visited on our honeymoon in Cape Breton Island.

It has been some time since I have updated you on the different animals, but I plan on finding some time this weekend to do just that.

Thanks for visiting tonight, friends. We're glad you came by.

Sean and Sonja ♥

Hobby Hill Farm

Look what came in today's mail for us! Meaghan claimed the cap while I was looking through the catalog. I have my eye on several items that would be useful around here. Remember, our friends at Hobby Hill Farm have offered you all a 15% discount when you use the code LBF at checkout.

Sonja ♥

Miss Orpington: Day 5

I have not been updating Miss Orpington's progress every day. She is recovering from her injuries, but wounds take time to heal. I wanted to wait until there was some change to report. Happily that change, is all positive.

Three days after the attack, Miss Orpington was still not eating. I tried offering favorite treats; scratch, apples, cantaloupe, scrambled eggs, even bread, all to no avail. She drank water with vigor 4+ times each day. We received many caring suggestions from readers and personal friends, but these failed to pique Miss O.'s interest. As the days passed, we began worrying less that she might die from her wounds and more that she might starve. Since she was drinking, we decided to offer some raw egg in a shallow dish. Miss O. took a couple of sips of the egg. That was something, anyway.

Sean suggested bringing in another hen to keep her company. He thought that if she saw another hen eating, she might become interested and eat something, herself. It is a sound theory. We've spent many an afternoon watching "Chicken TV" episodes of hens chasing each other for spaghetti, fruit slices, and other edible treats. It was worth a try. We needed to keep a good eye on the interaction, though. Another peculiar trait of chicken behavior is, when they see an injured chicken, often that triggers more attacks, especially where there is blood showing. One of our Wyandotte hens had some missing feathers near her tail from our ever-attentive roosters, so we decided that she would be an excellent candidate for this trial. We added Miss Wyandotte on day 4. It worked just as we hoped. Miss O. began eating almost immediately. And, today, Miss O. turned the tables and tried to steal Miss W.'s treats! A good sign of her returning appetite and vitality.

Even with the roosters needing new homes removed from the main coop yard, it will be several days still before the hens can be re-introduced to their flock. We want to make sure both hens are fully recuperated and ready before we return them.

Additionally, I ordered 2 new chicken saddles from Louise's Country Closet. The good folks there have been a sponsor of some of my favorite blogs for a long time. I had seen the advertisements for chicken saddles before, but Sean and I had never seriously discussed purchasing them until now. I was really pleased with the selection they offered and the price was really reasonable. I used fellow "Farm Chick" Lisa's Fresh Eggs Daily code: FRESH to get 15% off my purchase. As a small family farm business just starting out, we have to watch every penny, but at less than $6.00 for both saddles and free shipping, this was a purchase I felt good about all the way around.

I took some pictures this evening to share Miss O.'s recovery progress with you.

First, a reminder of what she looked like the day after her attack.


Right side view.

Left side view.

Today, most of the black and blues are fading. Miss O's right eye is open and more alert; her left eye has begun to open, too. The damage to her comb is less pronounced and beginning to heal.

  I have to end the post with one last picture. I placed Miss O. on a clean towel on the kitchen table to snap these photographs of her. I have gotten lax in many areas of our life, but I draw the line at allowing the animals to walk on the table we eat on. No sooner did I have the protective towel spread out and turned my back to collect Miss O., than did THIS happen:

Neither the hen nor the cat minded one another's presence. I minded Machias's determination to be in every shot!

We have lots more to share with you in this coming week including: a sneak peek at the photo shoot from last weekend, more soap making, and some surprises in our mailbox. But, it is very nearly midnight and this farm chick is tired.

Thanks for stopping in for a visit tonight, friends. I am glad for your company.
Sonja ♥
If you saw a picture you liked, feel free to pin it to your board.

The Birds and The Bees... Chicken-Style

I think it is time we had "The Talk". You've kept chickens for a while. You know that the roosters fertilize the hens. You know that when a hen goes broody, those fertilized eggs might just hatch out into little fluffy chicks if you let her set on them a while. Perhaps, you have even hatched chicks yourself in an incubator environment. But, have you ever wondered how that process takes place? If you were one of my children, this talk would start with, "When a Mommy and a Daddy love each other very much..." but, I think we'll skip that part and begin with some important definitions for you to know. Pay close attention, there might be a quiz later.

Definitions You Should Know:

Ovary: is a cluster of developing yolks. It is fully formed at hatching, but it remains very small until the hen reaches maturity at about 5 months of age. Hens are hatched with all the potential yolks of the eggs she will ever produce during her life time.

Oviduct: is the long tube that is divided into 5 major sections: infundibulum, magnum, isthmus, shell gland, and vagina.

Infundibulum: is the first part of the oviduct. The yolk is enveloped by the muscular infundibulum for about 15 minutes. Fertilization takes place here.

Magnum: is the second part of the oviduct. The yolk stays in the magnum for about 3 hours while the thick white albumen is attached to the yolk.

Isthmus: is the third part of the oviduct. It is here that the inner and outer shell membranes are added to the yolk. This takes about 75 minutes.

Shell Gland (Uterus): is the fourth section of the oviduct. The shell is placed around the egg here and pigment is applied. The egg remains in here for about 20 hours.

Vagina: this last section of the oviduct does not really play a part in creating the egg, but it hosts the muscles responsible for pushing the egg out of the hen's body.

Sperm Host Glands: These are located near the junction of the vagina and the shell gland. Sperm can be held alive for up to 2 weeks in this gland. When an egg is laid, if there is sperm stored, some of it will be squeezed out of the gland into the oviduct. From there, the sperm "swim" towards the infundibulum where fertilization takes place.

Albumen: is the "white of the egg". It's full of protein and provides nutrition for an embryo.

Shell Membranes: a pair of membranes lining the inner surface of an egg shell. They are designed to allow easy entry of oxygen but to prevent evaporation.

All put together, it looks like this:

Image used from http://geauga.osu.edu site.
Original image from John Anderson, Dept. of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University

If you have a rooster in your flock, chances are you have seen them perform their mating dance for the hens. If the hen is willing, she will crouch down and allow the rooster to mate. It is common for roosters to bite a hen's comb or neck feathers to maintain his balance during this momentary balancing act. This does not usually injure a hen, though multiple matings in a short period of time can cause problems. Our rooster, Sebastian, will also fan out his feathers like a cape around the hen he is courting. Sometimes, the hen is not willing. I have seen my hens chase off a rejected rooster, occasionally puffing up and going toe to toe with the lad she has deemed undesirable until he gets the point and retreats. I have also seen roosters unwilling to accept rejection, sneak up on an unsuspecting hen and have his way, regardless of her preference.

University of Kentucky Fact Sheet

However the mating occurs, the rooster's sperm remains in the hen's sperm host gland, alive and viable for up to 2 weeks. If sperm is stored here, any eggs produced will most likely become fertile. When a fertile egg is laid, if it is kept warm, it will begin its development into a chick. If an unfertilized egg is laid, it will never develop into a chick. Hens lay eggs approximately every 26 hours. In this way, a typical hen will lay an egg every day for about 6 consecutive days and then skip a day, laying the eggs later and later in the day, as the cycle progresses. 

 

How does an egg develop inside the hen?



http://www.geochembio.com/

First, a yolk is released from the hen's Ovary. It travels through the Oviduct. The first stop is in the muscular Infundibulum where it is surrounded and any fertilization takes place. Next, the yolk moves on into the Magnum, where the white albumen is attached to it. The inner and outer shell membranes are attached in the Isthmus. This takes about 75 minutes to occur. Then, the egg travels to the Shell Gland (Uterus) where the shell is placed around the egg and any pigment (the coloration of the egg) is applied. The egg remains there for about 20 hours until the Vagina contracts and expels the egg out of the hen's body.

 

I found tons of useful information for writing this post from the University of Kentucky Fact Sheet. It is a very informative 5-page document with excellent pictures. I highly recommend it to chicken- keepers, home-schoolers, and 4-H clubs. You might also be interested in this post: Marvelous Creation, which discusses the process of how fertilized eggs develop into chicks.

Thanks for stopping in for a visit with us today.
Sean and Sonja ♥

Check out the Hops: Home Acre Hop #5 and Farm Girl Farm Fest #19

Winter Feeding and Eggs

I have been asked by a couple of readers in the last month about increasing egg production. I am not a veterinary doctor. I possess no degrees in this field, nor do I pretend to be an expert in this subject. But, I am willing to share what we do here at our homestead with you. This is only based on our experiences. Your mileage may vary. ♥

Most recently, Danetta Cates from Dexter wrote: "please share the secret of getting your hens to lay. We have been crippling along on about 1-2 eggs every other day with 25 plus hens."

Here you are!


Our set up is simple. We have an uninsulated 8ft x 8ft x 8ft hen house and a 3ft x 4ft x 4ft attached duck/goose house. There is a solid glass door. The next boxes run along the outside of the coop 1ft x 1ft x 8ft and is separated into 7 nest boxes, full of hay. We use wood chips as litter on the floor and on really frigid days, we'll spread some hay around, too. We do not use the deep litter method. We "muck" the coop each week and compost the old litter. (Sometimes when we have a cold snap like we've been experiencing, the clean out can't be completed as thoroughly as we'd want it to be, but as soon as it breaks into the 30's you can bet we are out there cleaning.) The coop door is opened enough to let the chickens, geese, and ducks to come and go as they please, but not wide open to avoid the rushing winds. They have a 40 ft long by 60 ft yard to walk about in, protected with a 6 foot high chain link fence, though they haven't moved more than 20 ft from the coop since the snow covered the ground. We do have an regular 40 watt light in the coop. It gives off very minimal heat, but it does provide some. It is on a timer to go on at 3pm and dims to off at 8pm. The flocks get shoo-ed into the houses after dark and the doors are closed in the winter time.

In the morning, we open the doors to let anyone come out as they wish. We feed them a good quality layer crumble. This is available all day long. As is water, which might mean thawing their container several times each day. Chickens will eat snow, but that only serves to lower their body temperature, which is the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. Additionally, on any morning that it is below 30 degrees, we supplement their breakfast with 6 cups of warm oatmeal. If I am out of real oats for them, I heat 6 cups of water and add about 10 cups of layer crumble to it, making it into a very suitable "chicken porridge" (I got that idea recently from my friend Tammy at Our Neck of the Woods.) I add raisins or apple slices if I have it available. Do not feed citrus fruits, though as I have heard that it can actually decrease egg production. (I don't know if that is true, but I am unwilling to test it out for myself.) I also mix in cooked scrambled eggs (made without milk) some days. In the afternoon, I spread a couple of large scoops of scratch for them or I set out some scratch/lard treats for them to pick at. (I made some HERE.) These high caloric foods are not suitable as a main diet, but they help to increase the flock's body temperatures. There is a combination of things at work here. I feel that if our chickens are spending their body's energy to keep themselves warm, to produce and regrow feathers, or to heal from stress or injuries, they have less energy available to put into making eggs. If I can help to keep them warm with food, hay, and activity, it is my experience that they lay more eggs.

That being said, I do not try to force our chickens to lay at peak levels all year round. We keep around 50 hens most of the time. During peak periods, we'll collect about 25 dozen eggs each week. Last week, we collected 8 dozen eggs. The week before that, we collected 4 dozen eggs. When the girls were molting, we collected none for 2 weeks straight. There is a natural cycle to their laying and they naturally lay less frequently in the winter months. We try to keep a balance with our hen's laying. We need them to lay some eggs, if they will- because it helps to offset the higher cost of feed during the winter when we have to supply 100% of their diet for them. Some people also use heat lamps and lighting to their coops. As I mentioned earlier, we have a low watt light bulb that we use most of the winter months. We do not use heating elements because of the great potential for a fire to occur. If you are going to add lighting, add the light to your coop during the morning hours, unless you can attach your lighting to a dimmer. This will avoid your chickens from being suddenly plunged into the dark, risking their not being able to find a safe roost spot. I know many people swear by having 14 hours of daylight in their coops for optimal laying. And, that may work for them. It is just not how we do things here.

I hope that answers the question for you. Thank you for asking! And, if you have a question about homesteading or animal care, post it on our facebook page. If I don't have an answer for you, I'll try to find out.

Sonja ♥

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The Home Acre Hop #5

Miss Orpington's Update: Day One

The house dropped to 40 degrees overnight, but Miss Orpington did not seem to mind. Compared to the forecast of negative 30 degrees with the wind chill outside, I am sure it seemed a bargain to her. She was alert when Sean awoke the girls for school this morning at 5am and stoked the coals back to life. He offered her water and she drank a good amount before she decided that she'd had enough.

After this morning's chore of feeding the animals- as quickly as our frozen fingers would work- was completed, Sean dragged the frozen water containers into the bathroom to begin the hour long process of thawing them. I know it is necessary, but it seems so futile in the light of how quickly they refreeze upon going back outdoors. I spread some extra hay around the inside of the coop and outside along the ground. The silly, impervious ducks still insist on laying outside, despite the frigid air. I suppose if I had a down covering nearly head to toe, I would have minded the temperatures better, myself.

The goats did not budge from snuggling together in the corners of their stalls and even Jasmine decided to stay inside for the morning. The barn is notably warmer than the air outside, but without heat, it cannot be called warm by any stretch of the imagination. We decided to leave the doors to their stalls closed today and fed them their hay inside, instead.

Back inside, while the water containers were thawing, Sean and I offered Miss O. more water and some pieces of apple. She declined to eat, but drank with some appetite. Her eyes were still gummed closed, so we took her back into the bathroom and I dripped drops of warm water over them to help to loosen the dried crust of blood. I do not want to pick it off in the fear that the crust is not simply dried blood from her comb injuries. I don't think that she has damage to her eyes, themselves, but I don't want to take the chance of opening up any wound that has begun healing. After a few minutes of soaking the skin and gentle blotting and wiping, one eye was freed and opened slightly. I worked on the other for a few minutes, but it did not open, yet. We'll repeat wetting the area and wiping gently again this evening. At least, she can see out of one eye. We rinsed the healing cuts on her neck near her ear and her damaged comb with more topical antibiotic solution. Miss O. was not as stoic with our vetting today, but she did not appear to be in pain, either. She clucked at us and moved her head away from my fingers, but she did not thrash about or cry out in alarm. We are trying to be as gentle about helping her as we can. It would be so convenient if she could speak and tell us how she is feeling and where it hurts.

I took some pictures of the injuries when we had finished with this morning's ministrations. And, since so many of you have commented asking about an update on facebook, I took video, too. I will post more pictures as she heals, but probably not every day- only as there are noticeable changes.

 

I took this video this morning... Machias and Tasmanian wanted their 15 seconds of fame, too.

By lunch time, Miss O. had settled in for a nap. I am sure that she is not pleased with her small pen, but we feel that it is best to keep her confined to a small area to avoid lots of moving around on her part. I am not keeping food or water inside the pen, but am offering it to her every few hours. I think that since she is not able to see very well, she'd most likely dump it and make a wasteful mess right now. As she recovers and can see better, I will have dishes of both available. Miss O. won't be returning outside until she heals. Chickens will cannibalize one another, especially when they see bloody bits.

At least, she'll have some company in the form of lazy cats. When we first brought her inside, smelling of blood, all the kitties contemplated whether she'd make a fine meal or not. Now, they have taken to napping beside her. I'd rather think of it as "them keeping her company" instead of "them guarding their dinner". As long as she stays on the inside of the pen and they remain on the outside, I think it will work out just fine.

Despite the temperatures, Sean got an idea while he was carrying the ice pieces freed from inside the water buckets. I thought it was interesting enough to brave going outside again to take a few pictures of it. What do you think?

 

  

I think they look really cool.

Thanks for stopping in for a visit today. I'm glad you did. Sonja ♥

Miss Orpington Falls Victim: WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTOS

It is cold outside. And, it looks like that cold is staying for a little spell. On days like this, I sometimes question our choice to live in Maine. When the snow melts and our rainy mud season begins, I question anew our residency. But, then summer comes and for about 2 weeks, the sun turns its face towards us and I forget all about the cold and mud. Born and bred in Maine, one would think a person would get used to the weather, but somehow I find myself always caught in surprised amazement that it is THAT COLD outside... again.

It is hard to be in a good mood with the wind howling in an arctic fury and worry for the animals facing it's bitterness in their barn stalls, hijacking my thoughts. It is difficult to keep the house warm in this kind of weather, even with the wood stove pumping out heat full tilt. The unheated barns provide some relief for the animals, but not enough to ease my thoughts. And, if dealing with prolonged cold snaps were not enough to contend with, we've had a bit of a terror this morning.

While freeing the chickens from their house and feeding them their warm breakfast, I discovered the huddled mass of a cold and bloody Buff Orpington hen laying, barely breathing, in the corner of the hen house floor. I called Sean to scoop her into his arms and carry her into the kitchen. While he headed that direction, I made a bee-line for an empty metal crate folded and tucked away in the barn. It didn't look good for Miss Orpington. Her head was covered with blood. Her eyes were crusted closed with it and she was having difficulty breathing through the blood in her nostrils and throat. It was hard to tell if she was coughing up blood or trying to clear her nasal passages of blood that had run down her beak and clotted around her nostrils from her mangled comb. I wanted to clean her off to assess the damage, but my first priority was to staunch the flow of blood so she wouldn't bleed to death on us before we could even get her warmed up. Sean went to finish the morning chores, while I held her in my lap and carefully used a clean cloth to put pressure on her comb areas until they clotted and stopped bleeding. With her head and shoulder feathers soaked in blood, I was uncertain that Miss Orpington could live through this and considered for a moment whether we should try. If it wouldn't be the kinder course to end it and be done. But, that thought was fleeting. Miss O. may yet die of her wounds, but it won't be because we didn't, at least, try to save her.

Sean returned from feeding the other animals and we discussed what to do. Topical and oral antibiotics were going to be a MUST- thankfully we had some on hand. But, the immediate needs of getting her body temperature up and assisting her ability to breathe came first. Antibiotics to fight any infection that might start are sorely wasted on a chicken what cannot breathe. I swabbed away the blood from inside her mouth and around her nostrils and Miss O. began breathing more regularly from her nose. She also stopped shaking violently as I held her. We decided to settle her in a nest of hay beside the wood stove to warm up. Now that she was breathing more normally and the bleeding had stopped, we thought it best to allow her some rest before we cleaned her up and attempted to bandage her properly. Miss O. slept a while. Around noon, she stirred, stood and gingerly poked her beak about in the hay some. I offered her some water by dipping just the tip of her beak into a cup of warmed water. She drank a few drops, but not much. She remained standing for some time and was alert to my movements around the kitchen and she slept off and on through the afternoon.

It is 3 o'clock as I write this. Miss O. swallowed a few drops more of water and she walked a few steps around the inside of her pen. I just took her out and held her gently in one arm while I dripped a few drops of water over her eyes and softly blotted the area. I am hoping to soften some of the caked on mess, so she might be able to open her eyes to see. I am leery of prying them apart and won't do that. The drops did clean away some of the dried blood, but not enough for her to open them. Or, at least, she didn't open them- so I assume that she cannot yet. I don't want to stress her more than necessary, so after a few minutes of gentle cleaning around her eyes, I stopped to allow her to rest more. When Sean gets home from work tonight, together, we'll work on cleaning her wounds properly.

So what caused this? I am certain that it was the simultaneous attention of several roosters. It looks as if they ripped her comb open, grabbing it to hold her steady. With 10 randy roosters strutting about, this conclusion seems the most probable. I have been looking for good homes for our lads, but the time has just run short for them. We CANNOT and WILL NOT allow them to reign terror over the hens, injuring our young layers. So, they will be going- one way or another. I hate to see them end up as dinner. Mating with the hens is what roosters instinctively do. But, when you have a young group of them, fighting over mating rights happens more frequently and when they start causing injury, enough is enough.

I did not pause to snap pictures of Miss Orpington when we first found her or while we were working on her for obvious reasons. I did capture a few shots of how she looked at mid-afternoon before I cleaned her up a little and after that, while she was resting. I will update on her progress later tonight and through her hopeful recovery. But, it is now time for afternoon meals and to thaw the water for the chickens, piggies and goats for the 4th time today. Sometimes, I don't think I will ever be truly warm again.

Thanks for stopping in for a visit today, friends.
Sonja ♥