Doris is a Very Broody Bird

I finally get my turn at dealing with a broody bird, and I can tell you that it has not been any fun. I am losing the battle with Doris Day, one of my Buff Orpingtons. She started going broody last week. At first I was worried that she was egg bound as she was lethargic and didn't want to move from the nest box. Then I went back to THE book, my chicken-raising bible, "A Guide to Raising Chickens" by Gail Damerow. This book has been my go-to resource in my now two-year adventure in raising chickens.

Doris has been showing all the signs of a broody bird: staying put in the nest, puffing up when someone comes near, pecking when we try to touch/move her, and not eating or drinking much. When a chicken goes broody, she also stops laying eggs. As the book suggests, I have been forcibly removing her from the nest and removing any eggs from under her that she has been attempting to incubate. But she keeps going back. I can't really try the trick with the ice cubes as all the chickens use the same nest (that's a whole different issue).

We may just have to move her to a different location until she finally lays an egg again. They say that for every day a chickens is broody, it takes the same amount of time to get back to laying eggs. At this point it will be another week to two weeks before Doris starts contributing.

And then there were 10

Something got into the chicken coop and killed one of the Dominques last night. They are the smaller black & white birds. When I went out this morning to let the chickens out, I noticed that some of the girls were already outside. Their small door was closed but the big door was open. My heart skipped a beat. Keith yelled for me to check to see if all chickens were present and accounted for. Sure enough, one of the chickens was killed and ripped apart lying under the roost. Oddly, there were several birds still sitting on the roost - the sun wasn't quite up yet. They did seem stressed and didn't want to move. I wanted to make sure everyone was ok so I shooed them out to make sure all their wings and legs were functioning.

I don't know what happened. I was sure that I locked the door when I put the girls up for the night, but maybe I didn't. The wind was blowing pretty hard so if I didn't have it latched all the way, perhaps it blew open and the something got in. It could be that something got in through the chickens' door as there is a gap big enough for a weasel or weasel-sized rodent. Keith is going to try and get that fixed today. I wouldn't be surprized if egg production goes back down. They tend to lay fewer eggs after a tramatic experience.

Ugh...I really don't know how anyone raises animals for a living. Every time I lose one, my heart just breaks. I question what I could have done to prevent something like this from happening. I just feel awful. They are my responsibility and when something liek this happens I feel as though I have failed them.

Mud & Dogs Round 2

Last night Keith and I went Round 2 in our battle of the mud vs. dogs. I came home and walked into the living room only to see Sandy in the crate with that "I'm sorry mommy" look on her sweet face. I asked the obvious "what happened?", to which Keith responded "what do you think happened?" The trail of muddy paw prints from the back door to the front of her crate told the story. Keith had made the mistake of leaving the dogs to their own devices for a mere 5 minutes in the backyard. It is truly amazing what a dog can do in such a short span of time. Don't think she was the only one, Abby was muddy too - just not quite as bad (or as visible on a black dog).

So there we were after dinner prepping the bathtub for eight doggy pedicures (two dogs x four paws). First up was Sandy who had no intention of getting into the tub voluntarily. Keith had to pick all 70 lbs. of her up and place her into the water. He held her still while I scrubbed. The water turned almost black from the amount of mud that has somehow wedged itself between every hair and every toe on her paws. Luckily this time I had thought to pickup all of the mats and rugs before our little round of puppy bath time. Once all cleaned and dried, we opened the door to let Sandy out and Abby in who happened to be sitting against the door wondering why she was left out of all the fun. She didn't think it was really all that much fun once she realized what she was in for. Once the dogs were done, then the mopping began. On days like this I really am thankful for the hardwood floors. Just the thought of all that mud on a carpet gives me the willies - yuck.

We can thank the weird and wacky Indiana weather for the mud. This week we went from sunny and 70 degrees on Wednesday - to wind, thunderstorms, tornado warnings and hail by Wednesday night - to snow flurries by Thursday morning.

Of course, we can thank the dogs for the mud holes in the yard.

When Dog Meets Mud

What was once a beautiful blond and tan fluffy dog, is now a wet muddy, smelly muddy mess. Oh Sandy, what will we do with you?

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.