Unseasonally warm homestead

We have had the craziest warm week of weather. April weather in January to be precise. The kids, the animals, and I, have been making the most of it. We trimmed goat hooves, cleaned out a chicken coop, let the goats out every day for walks. The geese got out and perched on the front porch for a day, leaving lots of green presents behind; frozen goose poo, lovely. Surprisingly the rain gear was easily accessible. Yesterday Avery came running up and exclaimed that she had found the first green sign of spring on the ground. Maybe I shouldn't have, but as gently as I could I pointed out that the Usnea that grows on the Birch, stays green all winter and that it must have fallen to the ground. She brought it inside and we put it on our nature table along with the dried plant bouquet she collected earlier in the week.

 We enjoyed rolling snowballs, making a snowman and having snowball fights, as usually it is too cold and dry here for snowballs. So we only get a few chances each winter to roll snowballs, and usually that is in April when the excitement of the snow and winter play is long expired.

This year we have more chickens than usual, mid thirties instead of the low twenties we usually keep. As a result we noticed the eggs looking much more yellow and less orange than most winters. As their grain mix was the same if not better than past winters we concluded that the only change was that the chickens were getting about half as many scraps as usual, give the larger numbers. I've also been reading about milk, eggs and meat from animals eating fast growing grass has significant levels of fat soluble vitamin A and D. Well, we are never going to have winter pasture here but I thought I could at least grow some wheat grass indoors. So I've been keep three trays of wheat grass growing on the floor by one of the French Doors. It grows well without any artificial light. I could use a couple more trays going, but it has been enough that more days than not I have wheat grass to take to the chickens. They love it. As a result we've noticed the egg color deepening. I hard boiled some eggs for a salad the other night and they were the lovely sunset dark orange with dark salmon rings at the yolk edge; beautiful.

Yesterday while mixing a batch of chicken feed, we let the girls and the roo out for an adventure.

 Always a good job for the kids.

This was an impromptu batch of feed. I hauled up a twenty pound bag of split peas on one shoulder, carrying something else in my other hand. I was too lazy to walk back down and take off my boots to go inside for the organic whole corn I usually add and the wheat berries that were on the porch. So this is a fifty pound bag each of whole barley and whole oats, 10-ish pounds of BOSS, 10 lb. of lentils, 15 lb. of split peas, a half pound of salt or so, 4 lb of Alaska fish meal, 1-2 lb each kelp and nutritional yeast. If you ask me why the particular quantities, my answer would be that it looked right. I use to follow a recipe and at one point I did some research. The chickens will go through this batch of feed in about 10 -14 days. Maybe I'll be motivated one day to carry up some corn one day for a bonus. I don't usually leave the corn or wheat out. The chickens waste the oats and barley if I put too much in as I did yesterday. There was way more grain on the floor of the coop today than usual. So I'll let their feeder stay empty to encourage them to clean most of it up. They love the lentils, peas and BOSS. As our egg color indicated this winter, this feed will be enough to keep the chickens looking good through the winter, but is not enough for beautiful orange eggs without the addition of something living. In the summer they get this feed but they also forage, making for the best eggs of the year.

The hens enjoyed cleaning up the grain the kids had spilled while mixing the feed.

A February day, and a walk with the Does

It is shaping up to be a productive day around here. We started off the morning with a friend stopping by before work to breed their fourth and final doe to Zanzibar. I was able to get morning chores done early and out of the way before D headed off to work. The kids and I had oat pancakes with warm homemade applesauce and honey (which was given to us recently by a friend, light and mild, very nice). Now I've got bread dough in the mixer, chicken stock simmering on the stove, and the wood fire burning pleasantly.  To top it off the kids are in good spirits and playing independently. Noah is dressed up in a dragon and a knight costume,  body of a dragon with knight cape, helmet, shield and sword. Avery never wears one thing for long but she has been alternating between a purple tutu, pink fairy wings and pastel silk scarves. I love hearty breakfasts that stick with us through the morning. Nothing like needing another meal by the time I've cleaned up from the previous one. 

No great ambitions today. The temperature has been warmer, in the twenties. So I'll get the kids out after lunch, clear some snow, fill the bird feeders and take a few does for a walk. I pulled out a chunk of beef to thaw. I've had a serious beef jerky craving. We need to invest in a side of cow. We haven't had much beef lately as it is pretty expensive, especially since we've been buying it at the local meat market, (not feeling up for a big investment in a beef box).

I've also been in the mood for Indian food. Last night I made a green chicken korma, chicken simmered in a fresh cilantro, mint, nut/coconut sauce. If I'm feeling adventurous this afternoon I think I might make some potato samosas and a mint cilantro chutney. I've been buying one bunch of fresh cilantro every shopping tree. I have a productive pot of mint with the houseplants. I think I miss fresh green herbs more than anything in the winter. Which is one reason why I'll be starting herbs from seed in the next week or so. Some herbs like lavender, rosemary, thyme and oregano take forever to get going. Others like cilantro, parsley and basil are quicker growing. I like to succession plant these later herbs. Start some now with the plan to transplant them and snip at them through the spring. Then I'll start another batch closer to summer. I sow cilantro direct in the greenhouse as well.

It is looking pretty gray and dreary around here. I'm ready for some green, even if it is just in the kitchen, or under lights indoors. The light is coming back though, and busy days are right around the corner. Here are some pictures from our walk yesterday:

 I'm holding Rose on my left and her daughter Zinnia on my right. Both are due in early March.

 Healthy looking chickens for all they've not seen the sun since November. Blue Ameraucana Rooster in the center, Honey our Cochin on left, Welsummer hen, black Sexlinks, red Sexlinks, black Ameraucana hens, and a couple Rhode island reds. We are getting four to eight eggs a day. Our Welsummer hen that lays
 the darkest eggs is not laying eggs presently.

Advertisement ; Chickens for Sale

 Layers and one Cock for sale, $10 each

We've got eight one and a half year old layers for sale and a couple two year olds. They are black and red sexlinks and still laying fairly well. The pullets have started laying and we don't have room for them all. Ten dollars each. We've also have a nice Brahma Rooster who needs a good home, he'd love to accompany the hens. We will go ahead and eat the birds if we don't sell them, but it seems a shame to since the layers are still doing well. The rooster is very gentle and well behaved, but we don't have any Brahma hens any more and the Ameraucana rooster picks on him. So...if you live in the area and want some nice layers email me or leave a comment. emilycstahl@gmail.com

Avery on a warm August Evening

We finally had a little July weather in August, five eighty degree days in a row - the warmest days of the summer I think. The last couple days are feeling more like August, sixties with scattered showers, but then our fair has begun so that explains the fair weather. It is starting to get dark late night- early morning. I've been heading to bed around midnight and I can still see, but I would grab a headlamp if I headed out to check on the animals. During our warm spell Avery and I took a walk with the camera. It was about nine p.m., about as warm and balmy as an evening gets around here.

Avery trying without success to catch a chicken.

Stopping at one of our wild raspberry patches.

Our warm days are so precious. I never get my fill. Here's to savoring the last of our bare legged, tank-top and sandal wearing days

More of the kids and sick chicken

Here are a few more pictures from the last couple days. Here Noah and Avery are eating homemade fruit leather (their favorite snack, sugar sugar). They just finished drinking some carrot juice, but Avery dumped most of hers on her lap and got cleaned up. Noah's mustache is hiding behind his snack, but you can see it in the picture below. Dustin recently brought home a couple pop up tents, the kids love them. They stay up better than blankets draped over chairs. 

 

We had dinner out at my folks this past weekend. Here are the kids with their new and first cousin Aidan, three months old. I took a ton of pictures and someone was always a moving blur. But here they are, the first of many cousin pictures to come.

We got outside to play today. It was pretty chilly, about zero, but the sun was shining. We checked on the chickens, gathered eggs, sled down the hill and cleared snow off the back porch before heading inside to pull bread out of the oven and eat some warm cinnamon rolls.

Healthy and happy chickens in the sun. They were in most of the day. I waited till the afternoon sun was full strength before letting them outdoors for some sprouts and kombucha tea.

And here is sick chicken. She has been more active over the last twenty four hours than all week, and yet it feels kinda like her last hurrah and not like she is truly better. She hasn't been touching any food for days so I've got wheat grass sprouts and molasses in her water. I've been feeding her with a dropper to get nutrients in her. After talking to a friend last night, we moved the chicken to behind the wood-stove so she would be warmer. She got real active and wanted out of her box so she has been hanging out around the wood-stove all day, making noises when the kids get too rowdy or close.

Still kicken it

 

 Here is my Welsummer pullet that hasn't been feeling quite right. She hasn't died, but she is still not well. I put her back in with the chickens after she perked up inside. I thought she'd jump out of her box at night and start wandering around so I brought a kennel in for the night. When she was moving around the next day I put her back in with the other birds. I've been dipping her beak in water with garlic and herbs and she has been getting some of it down. When I enter the coop she has been resting in the nesting boxes. Once I start paying attention to her she runs outside and mingles, but there are a couple hens picking on her. I've seen her eating. She is obviously uncomfortable, all hunched up with she isn't moving, and I've seen her falter while walking. She feels light. Does not have the runs. Hasn't laid an egg. Egg bound??? Not broody I don't think. If she was she would put up more of a fuss when I went to pick her up or touch her, and she doesn't have that broody attitude. Something is wrong. Still alive is a good sign.

"What do you want now?"

Chicken Feed Pictures

 

I just downloaded pictures from mixing feed this weekend, so here they are, mostly self explanatory.

 

 Sun on coop and my shadow

  

 Grain storage/ green house. Works very well, although in this photo it is rather disorganized

  

 Tubs for mixing and ingredients.

  

  

 A beautiful finished product and some rather content chickens. They pick the whole grains out.

  

Chicken Feed

A year ago we started mixing our own chicken feed using mostly whole grains. We have fed the same mix to our layers, starters (I ground it up for the new chicks), meat birds and ducks. I thought that I would continue to research this topic and after observing our birds, make slow changes to their feed recipe. The birds have been thriving so I hadn't ever revisited the feed recipe or done any further research, until now.

Recently I started trying to figure out exactly how much our chicken feed recipe was costing, the post is here. You can see my original chicken feed recipe and the sources I used to come up with it here. I've been wanting to get a better idea of the nutritional content of the different ingredients and how they work together. Conclusions that I have come to are that our current recipe is too expensive, too high in corn and not diverse enough.

Here is the recipe that I have been using for the most part of this last year, if you check out the original recipe I began with, you'll notice it has changed a bit. This totals to about 80-85 Ib and lasts us about two weeks. I often make a double batch, one batch per tub side by side. If I don't have to move bags of feed, the process of dumping, mixing and moving the feed into lidded garbage cans takes less than a half hour. I usually mix it on a weekend so I can crack a beer and mix in peace (without assistance from the kids who would double the time) which makes for an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

1. 30 Ib cracked corn
2. 20Ib whole wheat berries, white or red, winter or spring, or a mix
3. 10 Ib whole barley (local)
4. 10Ib whole oats (local I think)
5. 4-5 Ib alaskan salmon meal
6. 3 -4 Ib flax seed
7. 2-3 Ib kelp meal
8. 1 Ib salt
9. 1/4 - 1/2 Ib herbal vitamin supplement

Changes I made this week are that I added 5 Ib sunflower seeds and 5 Ib split peas.


Other things we feed the chickens regularly:

1. kitchen scraps: veggie, bread, dairy and meat scraps that are not spoiled
2. kombucha tea ( provides beneficial yeasts and acids, immune boosting, detoxifying)
3. kefired raw goat milk (when in season, most the year, not now- beneficial yeast and bacteria in a symbiotic relationship - takes the place of dried yeast and probiotics)
4. grit and oyster shell  provided at all times
5. wormer and anti parasitic herbal formulas as needed
6. Brome and occasionally alfalfa hay
7. As of this past week I've started sprouting various grains and legumes and have been feeding the chickens several cups of sprouts a day. I hope to continue this practice at least through the winter until the chickens can get out and forage.

I still don't know as much as I'd like to about the ingredients we are using, so my current investigation is far from over. Here is a link to Lionsgrip, a site that offers chicken feed recipes and nutritional information. This particular entry is titled Is your feed to corny? The following are a few things I've learned about chicken feed lately:


A high protein diet is important. From chick starter to broiler grower protein levels range from seventeen to twenty two percent. Most processed chicken feeds have a large amount of ground soy meal to the feed, in addition to fish meal. I have declined to use soy in our chicken feed for a number of reasons, partly because eighty five percent of soy in our country is from genetically engineered sources, in addition to containing large amounts of pesticides. There are a number of other health concerns associated with soy products which you can easily look up if you are so inclined.


In the Lionsgrip nutrition article I just linked to, I read about the importance of B vitamins in the chicken's diet. Too much or too little of any of the various B vitamins can lead to deficiency related health problems. The source suggested that most feeds use synthetic B vitamins which are quickly depleted and not as helpful as those directly from legume and grain seeds.The following is a list of the ingredients we are using and what little I know about them:

• Corn: provides energy and fat. Feed more in the winter, less in summer. Often makes up a large percentage of processed chicken feed. Downside is that a large percentage of corn comes from genetically engineered sources. It often contains high levels of pesticides which build up in animal fat and are transferred to the consumer. 9% protein. Low levels of B vitamins and most vitamins and minerals.
• Wheat Berries: There are spring and winter wheat berries, hard and soft. Depending on the variety protein content varies from 11 to 15 percent. Supplies moderate amounts of other vitamins and minerals
• Oats and Barley: oats are 14 percent protein, barley 12 percent. One of my original sources said never to have Barley or Oats make up more than fifteen percent of the chicken feed, whether alone or combined. I feed more than this fifteen percent, but I do check myself when it comes to these ingredients despite wanting to use more of them as they are inexpensive and local, nine dollars for a fifty pound bag. I feed them whole. 
• Fish Meal: May be one of the healthiest and most natural protein sources with the exception of living bugs or worms. 60 % protein. Increases Omega 3 fatty acids in the eggs.
• Kelp Meal: dried seaweed, great source of vitamins and minerals
• Flax Seed: Boosts omega three fatty acids in eggs. High in B vitamins and minerals
• Black Oil Sunflower Seeds: high in fat, minerals and B vitamins

A couple ingredients I've been looking at adding to our recipe are whole or split green peas. They are high in protein and cost about seven dollars plus shipping for a twenty five pound bag. I'm also looking at lentils which are also very high in protein. I guess before the soybean revolution farmers fed their livestock a much more varied diet of legumes. Now it is rare to see legumes of any kind in feed recipes except soy beans and alfalfa. 

I noticed that our local feed store is finally carrying organic chicken feeds ranging from twenty two to twenty seven dollars a fifty pound bag. Most of my feed ingredients are not organic, although I wish I had access to more organic whole grains at reasonable prices. Mixing chicken feed is not rocket science. I do see why people are intimidated by coming up with their own recipes. After reading about B vitamins I started worrying about whether I was giving the birds too little or too much of something. Chickens are resilient, as are our own bodies. I eat too many sweets and dairy, too many red meats and not enough fish or organ meats. I don't pull out a nutrition chart for every meal. Everything is a balance. I am trying to feed my chickens a healthy whole grain diet (natural and local when possible). 

Despite not being formulated by scientists,  I think there is a good chance that my chicken feed is healthier than the processed organic feed sold in crumbles and pellets, primarily because I am using whole grain. Organic or not, processed animal feed is generally not quality ingredients to begin with, and then what nutrition is in the grains to begin with is lost once ground, pressed and sprinkled with synthetic vitamins and minerals before being put in a bag for months. As I make changes in the chickens diet I'll be calculating costs and keeping an eye on the birds health. For now I am feeling pretty good about my chicken's diet, and beings that we eat their eggs and will at some time eat them, I'd say that is a good thing.





 

Not Mites; Lice

The good news is that our chickens don't have Northern Fowl Mites after all. The bad news is they have lice. Thankyou to AZ for pointing this out to me. I guess I should have continued my research before jumping on the mite bandwagon. Not sure which pest is more difficult to eradicate, they both seem, well: pesty. 


Using what I had on hand already, I put some diatamaceous earth in their nesting boxes. I put some oregon grape root and licorice powder in their dust bath area, but they began eating it rather than bathing in it. Unfortunately I grew several herbs this summer that were recommended for treating lice and mites. But I failed to harvest them. I started the seeds indoors, transplanted them and watched as the mullein, yarrow and feverfew flowered. By then I had forgotten why I'd grown them and failed to harvest them. Feverfew is the source of pyrethrin and mullein is a natural source for rotenone. I'd feel more comfortable using my own fresh or dried flower mixtures rather than something out of a bottle. I'll be using what I have around the place already, but if all else fails I'll be making a trip to the feed store next week. Keep ya posted.

Northern Fowl Mites

I was inspecting my Brahma hen to see if she was laying yet, and she in not, but what I did see were creepy crawly orange transparent little mites all over near her vent area. Initially I was horrified and could barely bring myself to look at another hen. Turning over a few more hens led to more unfortunate discoveries. My most heavily feathered birds are more infected whereas most the healthy sexlinks and Welsummers have just a few if any that I could see. 

First I got online to diagnose the problem. Bad news, is that I'm pretty sure they are the Northern Fowl Mite. Here is what I know:

1. They are blood suckers
2. Found primarily near vent, under wings, back of head
3. They can bite humans, cause dermatitis, and possibly pester dogs etc.
4. Pigeons and other wild birds may be infected, but most likely transfer is from other chickens.
5. Once you have them, it is difficult to get rid of them completely.
6. Most sources call for heavy regime of alternate pesticide use on all birds and in coop.
7. Sick, old and injured birds are most suceptable
8. They reside in nesting boxes and can live off host for a while, they like wood 
9. They are more prevalent in winter, probably because the birds are cooped up, not getting out as much to dust bathe.
10. They can affect egg production, meat bird growth and overall health if allowed to thrive

As far as pesticide use goes, I would wonder about how they would affect the chickens, build up in the walls of the coop, work their way into their eggs and meat (our food source). I called my chicken expert friend and she was like "welcome to the world of raising chickens". She said she has dealt with them for as long as she's raised chickens. Usually her birds have low numbers of mites, she said if she sees a lot she treats them with diatomacious earth or occasionally Ivermectin wormer for cows. She has used a couple other products including pesticides for immediate results when she thought a chicken was going to die from the infestation.

My first action was to take one of my wormer formulas that I feed the goats and mix it into the chicken feed. The herbs are garlic, wormwood, black walnut and something I'm forgetting. I have another wormer powder with different herbs that I am going to alternate with. My next step is to put some diatamacious earth in their dirt bath area. For my couple birds that are most affected I might sprinkle the powder near their vent area or make an herbal paste to smear around the area. I just started reading one of my more thorough herbal pet books, "Herbs for Pets", and I haven't gotten very far but I think I'll get some more ideas from her. This weekend I am going to clean the coop out completely, let it dry and spray it with some sort of herbal solution. Ingredients that initially come to mind are vinegar, tea tree oil, grapefruit seed extract, garlic and dr Bronners soap, maybe some neem oil. We are going to big up some bags of cedar chips use those instead of hay in their nesting boxes and on the ground. 


I have this dreadful feeling that I'll be battling these pests forever. On the other hand I'm guessing I'll need to change my perspective on parasites so that I am not emotionally tormented by them. I broke my number one rule, brought in adult birds into my flock without any sort of inspection or quarantine. I trusted my source but should not have. Lesson learned. I'll keep you posted on the progress. If you have experience with chicken mites and have had success with alternative remedies, please share. As much as I am disgusted by these parasites, they are a fact of life. Chickens self treat with dust baths. So far, the most infected birds still look great, a far as bright combs and healthy plumage. I can't help but wonder if this was really inevitable...

Poultry plans for 2010

I just realized that more importantly than focusing on seed orders, is getting our chicks ordered. It is fabulous that folks all over the country are raising backyard flocks. The hatcheries, however, seem to be having a hard time keeping up with the surge in demand. Last year our local feed store was buying chicks from Privett Hatchery. They order a large number of chicks for laying and meat, goslings and ducklings, heritage and broad breasted turkeys. That being said, if you want something specific at a certain time, make sure you pick up their delivery sheet of what birds are coming in when, because they go fast. In the past the chicks are available at noon the day after arrival.  Be there on time or early, as there will probably be a line of desperate chick mongers :)

We usually buy breeds locally that we just want a few of,  like sexlinked layers or heritage turkeys. When we want a larger number of birds at a certain time (thirty cornish cross) or when we think we want to raise a specific breed that is rare or we want quality genetics, we have ordered from hatcheries directly. In the last two years we have ordered Heritage Standard Cornish, Dark Brahmas, Welsummers and Ameraucanas with the intention of keeping a rooster and breeding our own. The Standard Cornish were just insanely slow growing and the Welsummer roosters we had were all too aggressive. The Brahmas are a large breed, very gentle, mellow and cold hardy, but not the best layers. We are hoping to hatch some Brahma chicks this spring, as well as some Ameraucana chicks. I am expecting our broody Cochin or the Brahma hen to go broody at some point this spring. Hopefully I'll have some eggs to stick under them.

Last spring we borrowed a monster of an incubator and set well over a hundred eggs and only ended up with about a dozen chicks. The thermostat on the front of the incubator was off and it took us forever to get the thing dialed in. This year we've been planning on buying our own small incubator but the ones I am interested in are pretty expensive. If I get two broody hens, that might just be a start for us, as we are not expanding our chicken flock this year, probably just replacing some of the older layers.

For the exciting news...we have decided to raise more ducks and some Turkeys this year. Our outdoor area is large, but the indoor housing probably won't keep more than ten to a dozen ducks comfortably by mid winter. We love how hardy the ducks are. Our sole hen lays an egg almost daily. We are going to redesign their watering system so that it is not so messy. My only other complaint, is that the eggs are usually soiled and require cleanup. The Khaki Campbells only get to about four and a half pounds. I've been researching other duck breeds. I want a decent layer, and a drake that gets close to the ten pound range.

I recently discovered Holderread Waterfowl Farm out of Corvalis Oregon. They have some beautiful birds and their prices are comparable with the larger hatcheries, who I think wouldn't provide as quality of birds. So I printed out their order form today. I'm planning on ordering ten or twelve Saxony ducks. I love the gals buff coloring. While we are ordering birds, I figured we'd get a couple more Khakis and a few runner ducks as well. 

Below is a picture of our Senior Buck in his old pen which is now the duck area. If you click on the picture you can probably see that there is small pen within a larger fenced area. Raising ducks here should work out well, as the runoff from the hills pools in the flat area, of which we have very few (flat spots).  My horse lived here for a while, then goats. We planted cover crops here for the last two years and let the chickens range here. We are planning on planting some fruit trees here and digging a mini pond for the ducks. Perfect. 

We are going to order thirty Cornish Cross again and possibly ten Jumbo Pekin Ducks from McMurrays. If anyone wants to order ducks from McMurrays and wants to share shipping costs let me know. The ducks will ship separate from the Cornish and I don't think we want more than ten or so. I was going to order some heritage turkeys from McMurrays, but we need to order fifteen, and we only want four to six. So we may be purchasing those locally. We are thinking a couple Broad Breasted Whites and a few Bourbon Reds, Blue Slate or Naragansettes; something heritage, something pretty, a bird that could reproduce on its own should we keep them around for the winter. We will also get a half a dozen or so Red or Black Sexlinked Layers from the feed store. Here is a picture of our Bourbon Reds from two summers ago in their movable hoop house.

We would like to be hatching most of our own chicks and not supporting the large hatcheries but for now, we are taking the easy route with the meat birds and hybrid layers; more bang for our buck. Our first priority is to meet all of our poultry meat needs. We haven't bought any poultry since mid summer, but we've only got around eight roasters left in the freezer. Raising ten plus meat ducks and a handful of turkeys will help our chickens last in addition to providing diversity in our diet. Ideally we'll not only freeze whole birds, but pieces as well, in addition to canning chicken for the first time, making duck confit, grinding turkey and chicken meat for sausage and having fresh Turkey for Thanksgiving. Heres looking forward to chicks, ducklings and baby turkeys, (turklings). How are your poultry goals changing this year? Downsizing? Upsizing? What are your favorite breeds? Happy Poultry Planning Everyone!

Cold weather and Chicken coops

I just came in from night time chores. It is about ten degrees below zero and snowing. It was one of the few nights that I paused and contemplated whether I really needed to go outside. Tempting me, was not only the cold weather and lack of motivation to pile on all my layers, but the time of night and the knowledge that all the animals were probably sleeping. It is almost midnight and these days we usually give everyone dinner and close chicken doors earlier in the evening. When the weather gets this cold we toss extra hay at each feeding, so no one was going to go hungry. I went out mostly to check on everyone and make sure they were warm enough, and toss some more hay (for my conciouncse)  Rarely do I toss fresh hay into the goat stalls, but I did tonight. It can be a waste of hay. On the plus side, it adds a fresh layer of bedding and the goats don't have to stand out in the cold and blowing snow. The chickens and ducks had wanted outside this morning despite the cold. We had closed their doors earlier in the evening so their coops could start building up heat for the night. As of yet we have still not used any heat lamps this year, just regular light bulbs.

In related news, I mixed a hundred and fifty pounds of chicken feed outside today. I managed to stay warm by moving quickly. Noah even helped. Tomorrow we are having hay delivered to an area close to our driveway. We are getting three nine hundred pound bales of brome hay, second cutting. I have never used this source before but I was clear that my goats are very picky. They prefer green leafy hay. The price is less than we've paid for hay yet this year even with the delivery fee, so we'll see. I hope it doesn't snow more than the one inch forcasted, otherwise it is going to be a chore getting the truck all the way up to the bucks pen.

I took some pictures of our chicken coops a few days ago, so here they are:

This is a view of the entire structure from the north side. Before we had dug out the hillside this was a hovel for my quarter horse. After she moved we built a smaller insulated structure within her stall which became the buck stall. We built another well insulated room on the top making it a two story structure. Outside there is a pen within a pen of woven wire fencing with two strands of electric on the inside. It was designed to keep the bucks in and off the fence. They have since moved to the doe's old stall and pen. Now both structures are poultry housing. The lower coop houses three ducks, four pullets and three roosters. We are about to eat a couple of the roosters. 

 

The space is underused, we had four more pullets in the lower coop but they wanted to be in the upper coop and kept escaping. We moved the birds into this area in late fall and didn't have time to build a roof or taller fence so these birds are rather vulnerable. If the top coop wasn't at max capacity I would probably consolidate all the birds into the top coop. We are thinking of just housing ducks in the lower coop next year. In the picture you can see the gate on the right and some random containers I put water in for the ducks. Below is inside the coop. Perch, nesting boxes above, light, heated waterer, duck jug and feeder.

Below is a view from the south. The top coop is larger, about ten by twelve (I think). It also has a much nicer roofed outer fortress. This summer we felt safe at night leaving the chicken door to the coop open as long as they couldn't get out of their outer pen. We have two doors one on the left and one on the right. We are planning on extending their fenced area with a mesh net roofing out to give them more room to roam. The only big regret I have in this structure is that the stairs into the coop are inside their pen.

The top coop currently houses fifteen hens and two roosters. In the milder months we could put more birds in here but when they are cooped up for days at a time it gets crowded and the less dominant pullets get picked on. Starting in March or April the left side will house chicks and all the adults will be confined to the right side for a couple months.

 

This is the view from the door, of the left side of the coop. Heated waterer, broody box and perch. The woven wire door is to my right.

The door is obnoxious. We've been meaning to take it off as we leave it open all the time except in the spring when we have chicks on the left side. You can see the big feeder in the back, and a little feeder in the front which is for all the less dominant birds that hide on the left side of the coop. To the left of the feeder are laying boxes, You can't quite see them but they are on the back wall.

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And here I am standing with my back to the nesting boxes and facing the chicken door and window. The chicken door is too big. We've been meaning to make it smaller so not as much warm air escapes or cold air enters. But we make do.

Hermaphrodite Chicken

Hermaphrodite Welsummer Pullet

It appears as though we have a hermaphrodite chicken. The Welsummer chicks can be sexed at a day old and we were certain this chick was a pullet (female chicken under a year old). As she grew it was obvious that she was definitely a pullet. About a month ago we had a friend over who is our local chicken expert and she noticed immediately. The first sign was the rooster feathers and upon closer inspection she is growing a comb and is getting the head feathers of a rooster as well. I was bummed because we were down to two Welsummer pullets, and I am more excited about the eggs out of this breed than any of the others.

another view

Fortunately, my chicken expert friend has several Welsummer Pullets and I was able to buy two more from her. So, once again I am up to three, and hoping I don't lose any more. I looked up a bit about hermaphrodite chickens. I believe that this one started life as a pullet. In the last couple months she injured one of her ovaries and her body began producing more testosterone. I don't think she will ever lay any eggs. Should be interesting to see how closely she resembles our other Welsummer rooster.

Welsummer cockeral and pullet

I've shared this photo before but here it is again. You can click on the pictures to see a close up. This is a regular Welsummer cockeral and pullet. You can see how the chicken in the top photos looks like the pullet but is beginning to look like the cockeral.