Chickens 1 - Squirrel 0

I guess it was quite exciting inside the chicken pen yesterday. A squirrel that had been up in the tree over the pen decided to drop down into the pen with the girls. As Keith described it:

- The chickens chased the squirrel out of the pen
- The dogs were barking at the squirrel.
- No moose in sight.

They keep us laughing. I only wish we had video of their antics.

Elvis has died - Sad Day at Windy Acres

Today we lost one of the last two chickens from 2009's original flock. Elvis was my special bird. She was the runt of the litter - yet the first to "fly the coop". She was always the friendliest and would let me pick her up and pet her. She was the last to start laying eggs. In December 2010, she had to go into the chicken hospital after surviving some fairly significant pecking from the larger birds. She made it through and worked her way up the pecking order. After losing Mama Cass, Elvis was strutting her stuff as one of the elder birds - actually getting to sleep on the top roost.

Yesterday morning, I found her huddled in one of the nest boxes with alot of blood on her rump and around her vent. I hadn't seen any issues in the days prior or signs that she might have been egg bound. The other chickens had been pecking at her and she looked pretty bad. I knew in my heart that the chance of saving her was probably very slim. We moved her out of the coop thinking that maybe some time away from the girls and some quiet might give her a chance to heal. Last night she was standing up and Keith said she had been clucking. But something wasn't really right with her and she was standing too still with her back to me when I went to check on her later. When I went out this morning, she was gone.

At least I know that she died peacefully. Thank you for your eggs that provided nourishment for our family and friends. Elvis, we will miss you.

Baby its cold outside

Sometimes I feel that we may have done ourselves a disservice by naming our home Windy Acres. Maybe things would be different if we had named it Sunshine and Rainbows. The wind seems to blow cold and strong all day long. It's cold (really really cold), it's snowing, it's windy and did I mention that it's cold? Heading out to the chicken coop for the morning routine takes more time with all the bundling up that is required. I feel like Ralphy's little brother in A Christmas Story whose mom bundles him up to the point of immobility. The walk seems longer and longer with each degree below freezing. The chickens take a quick peak through their door and decide that inside the coop is much a better place. With all the snowing and blowing, there isn't really anything of interest outside for them.

January is always a little sad for me. The hustle and bustls of the holidays is over. The Christmas decorations and lights are packed away. Family and friends are back to their normal routines. Ventures outside are only if necessary and as quick as possible. Everything is gray (the sky, cars from the salt). All you really want to do is build a fire in the fireplace, hunker down with a good book and drink some hot chocolate. Spring seems soooo far away (and here in Indiana, it is at least another 2 months). The one bright spot is that the seed catalogs start arriving in the mail. I can start dreaming of the things I want to plant and changes that I want to make to the garden this year.

Egg Production Updates
Once the roosters were disposed of, peace and harmony (for the most part) returned to Little Deuce Coop. One of our Buff Orpingtons did get pecked a bit on her comb. but we caught it early, administered some anti-biotic ointment and she seems to be back in good graces with the rest of the girls.

Egg production has been up despite the cold weather. The week before last, we had a record week with 60 eggs. Generally, we seem to be getting 4 to 5 dozen eggs per week. We're on the lookout for a small fridge to put inside the shed as eggs are taking over my refrigerator. As you can see, it's quite the production line in our kitchen getting all the eggs ready for packaging and sale.

Tall Man Red Beans & Rice

Keith and I recently graduated from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Although we have a long way to go to implement all that he has taught us, we definitely look at our personal financials in a whole new light. Those that have gone through the class know that there is much discussion around beans and rice. When times are tough, you can eat for a long time on beans and rice. So for our graduation pitch-in dinner, Keith decided it was fitting to add this to the meal. Here's his recipe, created to reflect the spirit of the dish, as well as the flavor. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup dry rice
1-2 tbs oil
2 tbs minced garlic (dried garlic powder can be substituted)
3-5 slices of some smoky meat, (ham, sausage, bacon, turkey)
1 small/medium onion minced
2 stalks celery chopped
1 16oz can Red Beans
1 8oz can tomato sauce
3-5 tbs of Italian herbs or oregano & thyme
salt
pepper
Cayenne pepper
hot pepper sauce

Prepare all items ahead of time. Dice and measure onions, celery, garlic, herbs. Open cans.
Step 1 - 1 cup dry rice - cook (my wife used a rice steamer)
Step 2 - In large fry pan: in heat 1-2 tbs oil to medium hot, lightly fry 2 tbs minced garlic (dried garlic powder can be substituted), 3-5 slices of some smoky meat, (ham, sausage, bacon, turkey,) diced. Drain grease if excessive.
Step 3 - Add 1 small/medium onion minced, 2 stalks celery chopped. Stir until translucent.
Step 4 - Add 1 16oz can Red Beans, stir. Add 3/4 can of tomato sauce, stir. Stir in 3-5 tbs of Italian herbs or oregano & thyme, salt, and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 5 - Taste. Add Cayenne pepper, and hot pepper sauce to taste. Stir well. Keep warm till rice is done.
Step 6 - Add in cooked rice, stir well. Keep warm until served.

Happy Chickens and Baby Eggs

There is no good excuse for the lack of updates other than time flies really really fast. Lots has been happening around Windy Acres (especially the wind...always the wind).

A crazy wind storm came through a few weeks back. Everything got tossed around. The pen was pulled away from the coop. We lots some trim, a trash can and a cushion. Poof! Off into never never land. The trim ended up at the top of our biggest tree in the backyard - wrapped around some limbs. It took a tree guy climbing up into the tree to get it down.

We lost Mama Cass two weeks ago. Remember the roosters that the hatchery had sent along for warmth? Well, they got big and were starting to get aggressive - causing all kinds of daily drama in the coop. Chickens running and squawking. I kept saying "we have got to get rid of those roosters". We came home from being gone all day on Saturday, only for Keith to find Mama hiding in a corner of the coop all torn up. She was still alive but her wing had been badly torn and you could see muscle - there was no saving her. Keith had to put her out of her pain. It broke my heart. I know I shouldn't be so attached to my chickens - but I am. Mama ruled the roost and I am sure that a fight happened that day. So Keith killed the roosters. The coyotes had some extra meals courtesy of Windy Acres that night.

The one good thing that has come out of this is that harmony has been returned to the coop. The rest of the girls seem much happier. No more feathers flying every which way, so more squawking and girls fleeing in every direction. The new chicks are about 21 weeks old now and I think there are at least three new layers - judging by the color and size of the eggs (itty bitty baby eggs).

Sandy is getting bigger and bigger - she's 61 lbs. and only 7 months old. We're hoping she's nearing the end of the growth spurt. The general craziness seems to lesson a wee bit with each passing week. Although she did leap clean over the end of the couch onto Keith the other night. I only saw a flash of fur out of the corner of my eye and heard Keith yelling "SANDY...NOOOOO". I turned to see our oh so giant dog sitting on top of Keith with a proud look in her eye - "look what I just did". Puppies - you gotta love 'em.

End of Summer Updates

It's been a little while since our last post and we have much to catch up on.

The new chickens are growing and now integrated with the big birds. They are about 12 weeks old and we figure we might see some eggs by mid-November. The big girls rule the roost (literally and figuratively). They run the smaller ones out whenever they want to eat. They have been allowing a couple more of the adventurous young ones sleep on the roost at night. For the most part they all seem to get along. With the lack of rain, we are going through tons of chicken feed for 17 birds. There are at-least three roosters and soon they will be going away to a meat market.

The vegetable garden was mildly successful this year, definitely better than last year. We harvested plenty of cucumbers, habaneros, sweet peppers, tomatoes and squash. The season started out rainy and ended in a drought. I was able to do some canning this year - five pints of salsa, five pints of tomatoes, and seven jars of pickles. The funny thing is - I really don't like pickles. But, what else was I going to do with all of those cucumbers? I also did some dehyrating for the first time that seemed to work very well - squash, zucchini, red pepers (1/3 jar) and habaneros (1/5 jar). I'm eager to see if the rehydrated squash will make a good casserole.

We fought bugs all summer. I don't like to use pesticides but the Japanese beetles seemed to think the natural bug repellent was merely a yummy candy coating for the pole and long beans. They completely covered the beans. Then something else all together ate every leaf of the broccoli. So we had to resort to some of the stronger stuff if we wanted any chance of eating from our own garden. One of these days I will be successful at growing something other than tomatoes and peppers. We have definitely decided to go back to raised beds next year. It is just too much to try and keep grasses and weeds out while at the same time attacking the bugs. I really don't mind the thought of doing it all over again next year. It's like wiping the slate clean.

Last but not least, meet Sandy our new dog. We picked her up on August 28th from a family in Nashville, Indiana. Their dog had 12 puppies and they thought they would keep one - soon realizing that they really didn't need two huge dogs. Sandy (formerly known as Nannerl - Mozart's sister's nickname) is a Great Pyranese/Flat Coated Retriever mix. She is 5 months old and already 51 lbs. Sandy (renamed for Sandy from Grease) is a super sweet dog. The problem is that she is all puppy in dog size. She does all the normal puppy things - chewing, stealing, jumping, etc. in a really really big size. How big will she get? Great Pyranese get anywhere from 85 - 100 lbs and Flat-coated retrievers anywhere from 55 to 75 lbs. So probably pretty big.

So far, Sandy's antics include:
- destroyed five rolls of toilet paper and one roll of paper towels
- stole and ate a bag of potato chips
- attempted to eat english muffins (don't think she likes them)
- stole and devoured various hotdog and hamburger buns (an entire bag of 8 hamburger buns disappeared two days ago)
- ate a brand new roll of bread opened yesterday
- stole a spatula out of the sink
- stole socks, t-shirts and underwear out of the clothes hamper
- ran away with my stuffed animals in her mouth
- destroyed a favorite hat
- chewed a hole in a pashmina shawl
- ate a packet of Swiss Miss hot chocolate
- stole two potatoes out of the potato bin
- ate a packet of instant chocolate pudding

You get the picture. our days and nights are filled with "No Sandy", "Give that back Sandy", "Drop that Sandy", "what is in your mouth Sandy", "Sandy, come back here", "No Sandy, that;s gross" "Sandy No", "Sandy No", "Sandy noooo". In the end, she is just so darn cute that we don't stay mad very long. She rolls over on her back, showing her tummy and wagging her tail with the "I'm soo cute" look. We just need to get better at puppy proofing everything.

6 weeks old and getting Big!

Too big for the brooder but not big enough yet for the coop! It was time to get the girls out of the garage and out into the open. They were sneaking out of the brooder anyway as there were telltale signs (i.e. chicken poop) around the brooder. We had been told that the the chicks need to be at least 1/2 the size of the other chickens before introducing them to the flock (although technically the chicks are the "flock"...there are more of them than the grown-up hens). So the weekend before last we bought an exercise pen and a dog crate as temporary housing. Of course it was one of the hottest days of the year...trying to catch the chicks and move them outside. I am pretty sure we got the worst of the experience.

The New Chicks on the Block

So, I had to stop by the post office today to pick up some chicks. No, I'm not dating again, we have new arrivals here at Windy Acres.

Since we were down to 3 hens, we wanted to increase the flock size. We're also branching out with two other breeds (3 other if you include the spare chicks sent for warmth.) We should have 4 Buff Orps, 4 New Hampshire Red, and 3 Dominique. The hatchery wrote that it included Rhode Island Red males in for warmth. So, we'll be getting rid of those when we have them identified.

New Chicks are on the Way

We've been searching Craig's list for anyone selling chickens locally. Last week we found a woman in Mooresville selling some Buff Orpingtons. Her only requirement was that we had to buy two roosters as well. She had way too many chickens and needed to get rid of some birds. I did some calling around and found a local meat market that would trade the roosters for a couple of cut-up chickens.

We agreed on a price and day/time that we would pick up the chickens. As you can imagine, we were pretty excited at the thought of finally building our flock back-up. The night before we were set to pick-up the chickens, she emailed to say that someone stopped by that day and took all of the "buffs". Arrrgh!!! We had an agreement and she goes and sells the chickens to someone else. Why? I was livid and wanted to report her to Craig's list, but "being a jerk" wasn't an option for flagging the post.

So we decided to go ahead and bite the pullet (like the pun), and get more chicks. This time we're ordering from a hatchery in Cameron, Texas - Ideal Poultry. They do not require a minimum number of chicks, just a minimum order of $25. We're ordering Buff Orpingtons (4), New Hampshire Reds (4) and Dominques (3). They will ship on July 7th and should be here the next day. The Reds and Dominques should start laying eggs faster than the Buffs. Since Dirty Harry (our cat) is living in the east wing, we plan on setting up the brooder in the garage/workshop. It will be fun to have chicks again.

First Blood

We drew first blood tonight. It was around 10:30 or so, when we returned home from a night on the town. Had a nice Italian dinner, and saw Jersey Boys. Excellent show. Not your typical musical, more a concert with narration.

Anyway, I let Abby out to do her business and go to close up the chicken coop. I hear her barking, but I collect the eggs, and check on the girls first. Everything looked fine in there. So I close up the door, and swing the light over to where Abby is barking. I can see she is barking at something, but I couldn't tell what it was, or which side of the fence it was.

I swing around our shed and see that she is barking at a rather large possum. I scream and yell at her, INSIDE, INSIDE, IN, IN. She does her normal, I hear ya, but I want to bark at this thing. When the possum bared it's teeth, I hit the fence with our Maglite. That got Abby's attention off the possum and onto me. She reluctantly followed me inside. I ran to my office and got my wife's Ruger 10/22. I had just loaded some magazines yesterday in hopes of getting the rabbit that's been hanging around our tender, tasty garden.

So, I roll onto the deck, pop the magazine into the rifle, and, holding the maglite with the fore-end of the rifle line my shot up. The first crack didn't seem to effect it. I lined up carefully then, let my breath out, and CRACK. The possum went skidding end over end, landing under the sheds door. I put another one into it, just to be sure.

Shelly came out and held the light as we made our way over to the shed. I poked it with the end of the rifle and it seemed to squirm. I backed up, and put two more shots into it. It was dead now, and muscle contractions caused it to do a little dance on the ground. Gloves, a shovel and a rake later, and it was deposited into the corn field. I'm sure something will complete the cycle of life.

So, here is the scene of the crime:


And the nasty intruder:


One less critter to worry about getting the chickens, or causing problems for Abby. My first thought upon seeing those nasty teeth was, I hope it doesn't have rabbies. We've washed down the shed and shovel with bleached water. Hopefully, that will keep Abby from sniffing and licking the crime scene.

It's 11:23 PM now, almost an hour since the shots rang out. No knocks on the door, no sirens, no signs of the county sheriff, yet. I love living in the country.

What a way to end a date night with my wife. Dinner, a show, and first blood.