I could blame it on the weird weather of this past year. In fact, I think everyone can blame many of our woes on the winter of 2013-2014. I could blame it on the ever increasing requirements of my "day job". I could blame it on my chickens full-on egg-production strike. I could even blame it on the balanced calendar with this current school year starting at the end of last July. I could probably find a few other very seemingly valid reasons as to why I haven't been a very good blogger.
Whatever the reason, the result is the same. I've been a bad blogger. But, never one to give up easily, here I go again.
In some ways last year flew by at lightening speed. I know we had a successful garden. I canned gallons of tomato sauce. But when I look back on the season, it seems like we planted, blinked, and then everything was gone. Before we could take a breath, school was back in session and then winter started. Literally. Winter started at the beginning of November and ended 5 months later. This winter was the coldest, snowiest and longest since moving back to Indiana. Propane was rationed and we relied on our fireplace to help keep our home toasty as the winter winds blew outside.
April is finally here again. The birds are singing, there are buds on the trees, the grass is turning green and there's another chance of snow coming next week. Sigh. Huge SIGH.
The one good thing that has come out of this miserable winter is eggs. For some reason, the chickens have decided to start laying eggs again. The girls had all but completely stopped laying for the entire winter. I had to buy eggs several times during the peak of holiday baking season. As we headed into the half-way point for March, out of nowhere, the girls started laying again. We are getting eggs almost everyday and generally at least 2-3. One day we gathered 8 eggs! That's one from each girl. They must be as excited as we are that Spring is finally at our doorstep. Or they got the memo. We had decided that these chickens were going to be donated to the local soup kitchen. They would be replaced by the new baby chicks scheduled to arrive sometime in May.
We also ordered baby ducks that should be arriving sometime next week, but that's an entirely different story.
More to come as Windy Acres finally emerges from its winter hibernation.
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Friday, April 11, 2014
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Windy Acres 2012 Highlights - The Good, The Bad and the Wonderful
The Garden
The weather had a huge impact on the vegetable garden – and not in a good way. 2012 was the year for extremes – tons of rain and then drought – a very cool start to May (I vividly remember freezing at a baseball game) that moved to a 100-degree blazing hot summer. Probably one of the worst years when it comes to bounty from the garden. Yes, we had an abundance of cucumbers – but that was about it. I canned plenty of jars of relish - and I don't even like the stuff. The tomatoes were almost a complete bust – that’s two years in a row. We need to find some sort of fungicide that will help prevent blight. That will only help one issue - that won’t prevent the weather extremes that tormented tomatoes.
We did try something new this year. We planted a fall crop of garlic and onions. I am eager to see how they fair through this bitter winter so far (over 14" of snow in one week). Hopefully this will kick the spring off with a pungent bang!
The one thing I love about gardening is that next year, I can start all over again. Clean slate - clean beds - renewed hope. I forget the pain of the past and start each spring with a renewed vigor.
The Chickens
Egg production was less than desired – to put it mildly. The entire year I feel I have been in a battle with the chickens. Each day’s walk to the coop has the background music from “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” playing in my head. Will there be an egg? Will there be feelings of elation or deflation? We have had weeks and months where we’re lucky to get one egg every other day out of 9 hens. The reduction started when the girls were molting. Then we had one of the hottest summers on record. Egg production almost stopped. I lost one of the oldest hens due to the extreme heat. The girls are very picky with their egg laying atmosphere. They don’t like it too hot, too cold, too windy, too rainy or too snowy. You get the picture. We had a short window where production picked back up to around 3 eggs per day. But that didn’t last very long. Then winter snuck up on us. As of this writing, I haven’t had an egg in about 6 days and the hens haven't left the coop in 6 days.
I am about at a point where I have to make a decision about these 9 birds. I wanted chickens for eggs. Not just pets. Yes I have named them and am attached to them – but I still wanted chickens for a reason - to provide my family with the kind of eggs you can’t buy in a grocery store. Physically, these hens should still have plenty of ova left by which they can create and lay eggs. This group has been laying for just about two years. I can’t believe that all 9 hens are done at the same time. On the other hand, I can’t keep feeding non egg-producing hens. I had already decided that we would get some new chicks in the spring (get a jump –start on the Easter supply at our local Tractor Supply with mail-order chicks). Then it takes approximately 20 weeks before they start laying eggs. At the earliest, it will be toward the end of July before we see eggs.
Friends and Family
We love it when people venture out to Windy Acres. We had the pleasure of playing host this year with visits from my brother and his wife, my friend Pam and her family, and to Keith’s cousins from New York.
2012 also brought us Justin. He came to live with us on Christmas Day 2011. The year has been filled with school, basketball, baseball, and band. We’ve had ups and downs but all in all a wonderful year getting to know each other and building a family. The adoption was finalized on December 19, 2012 – one day before his 13th birthday. A Christmas gift for which that we are so very thankful.
Here's to 2013 - new adventures, and more consistent updates from yours truly on all that is Windy Acres. Happy New Year!
The weather had a huge impact on the vegetable garden – and not in a good way. 2012 was the year for extremes – tons of rain and then drought – a very cool start to May (I vividly remember freezing at a baseball game) that moved to a 100-degree blazing hot summer. Probably one of the worst years when it comes to bounty from the garden. Yes, we had an abundance of cucumbers – but that was about it. I canned plenty of jars of relish - and I don't even like the stuff. The tomatoes were almost a complete bust – that’s two years in a row. We need to find some sort of fungicide that will help prevent blight. That will only help one issue - that won’t prevent the weather extremes that tormented tomatoes.
We did try something new this year. We planted a fall crop of garlic and onions. I am eager to see how they fair through this bitter winter so far (over 14" of snow in one week). Hopefully this will kick the spring off with a pungent bang!
The one thing I love about gardening is that next year, I can start all over again. Clean slate - clean beds - renewed hope. I forget the pain of the past and start each spring with a renewed vigor.
The Chickens
Egg production was less than desired – to put it mildly. The entire year I feel I have been in a battle with the chickens. Each day’s walk to the coop has the background music from “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” playing in my head. Will there be an egg? Will there be feelings of elation or deflation? We have had weeks and months where we’re lucky to get one egg every other day out of 9 hens. The reduction started when the girls were molting. Then we had one of the hottest summers on record. Egg production almost stopped. I lost one of the oldest hens due to the extreme heat. The girls are very picky with their egg laying atmosphere. They don’t like it too hot, too cold, too windy, too rainy or too snowy. You get the picture. We had a short window where production picked back up to around 3 eggs per day. But that didn’t last very long. Then winter snuck up on us. As of this writing, I haven’t had an egg in about 6 days and the hens haven't left the coop in 6 days.
I am about at a point where I have to make a decision about these 9 birds. I wanted chickens for eggs. Not just pets. Yes I have named them and am attached to them – but I still wanted chickens for a reason - to provide my family with the kind of eggs you can’t buy in a grocery store. Physically, these hens should still have plenty of ova left by which they can create and lay eggs. This group has been laying for just about two years. I can’t believe that all 9 hens are done at the same time. On the other hand, I can’t keep feeding non egg-producing hens. I had already decided that we would get some new chicks in the spring (get a jump –start on the Easter supply at our local Tractor Supply with mail-order chicks). Then it takes approximately 20 weeks before they start laying eggs. At the earliest, it will be toward the end of July before we see eggs.
Friends and Family
We love it when people venture out to Windy Acres. We had the pleasure of playing host this year with visits from my brother and his wife, my friend Pam and her family, and to Keith’s cousins from New York.
2012 also brought us Justin. He came to live with us on Christmas Day 2011. The year has been filled with school, basketball, baseball, and band. We’ve had ups and downs but all in all a wonderful year getting to know each other and building a family. The adoption was finalized on December 19, 2012 – one day before his 13th birthday. A Christmas gift for which that we are so very thankful.
Here's to 2013 - new adventures, and more consistent updates from yours truly on all that is Windy Acres. Happy New Year!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
End of the Chicken Molt Revolt
Editor's Note - If you have ever seem the movie Platoon - read this with Charlie Sheen's voice in your head - has much more impact.
I think I can finally say that the Great Chicken Molt Revolt has ended. Truly, these were dark times.
The chickens were molting and all energy seemed to be spent on new feathers rather than new eggs. There were feathers everywhere. It looked like the girls had been fighting off coyotes with the amount of feathers found flying in and around the coop.
Each evening, there would be the slow sad walk to the nest boxes to search for any signs of eggs. We might get one egg every other day - if we were lucky. Sometimes less. Some days all that was found were broken egg shells - sacrifices and carnage left behind in this great battle. As we approached Easter, I had to hoard whatever eggs we found, just to have enough to color. I would throw down the gauntlet everyday proclaiming "I better see more eggs or you might find yourself as soup!" But they knew that my words were empty and that I could never follow-through on the threat.
Part of the problem is that all but one of the girls are all around the same age, so the molt seemed to hit all of them at the same time. If we were a bigger farm, we would stagger adding new hens to the flock to maximize egg production and to stagger situations like the one we have had for the past couple of months. Add to the mix a totally wacky end to winter/start to spring (cold, hot, cold, hot, rain, cold, hot, rain, etc.) and you have the perfect storm.
I would categorize this batter between the chickens and their need to molt and my need for eggs as a draw with both forces walking off the battle field (aka the Little Deuce Coop) just a little battered and bruised. Egg production seems to be back to a level closer to normal. The girls look better and we are getting 3-4 eggs per day. What will we take back with us as we attempt to live a normal life of peace and harmony? What indeed.
I think I can finally say that the Great Chicken Molt Revolt has ended. Truly, these were dark times.
The chickens were molting and all energy seemed to be spent on new feathers rather than new eggs. There were feathers everywhere. It looked like the girls had been fighting off coyotes with the amount of feathers found flying in and around the coop.
Each evening, there would be the slow sad walk to the nest boxes to search for any signs of eggs. We might get one egg every other day - if we were lucky. Sometimes less. Some days all that was found were broken egg shells - sacrifices and carnage left behind in this great battle. As we approached Easter, I had to hoard whatever eggs we found, just to have enough to color. I would throw down the gauntlet everyday proclaiming "I better see more eggs or you might find yourself as soup!" But they knew that my words were empty and that I could never follow-through on the threat.
Part of the problem is that all but one of the girls are all around the same age, so the molt seemed to hit all of them at the same time. If we were a bigger farm, we would stagger adding new hens to the flock to maximize egg production and to stagger situations like the one we have had for the past couple of months. Add to the mix a totally wacky end to winter/start to spring (cold, hot, cold, hot, rain, cold, hot, rain, etc.) and you have the perfect storm.
I would categorize this batter between the chickens and their need to molt and my need for eggs as a draw with both forces walking off the battle field (aka the Little Deuce Coop) just a little battered and bruised. Egg production seems to be back to a level closer to normal. The girls look better and we are getting 3-4 eggs per day. What will we take back with us as we attempt to live a normal life of peace and harmony? What indeed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
