Rambling Holiday Thoughts

An update of goings on around here will follow at the bottom of this post. Suffice it to say that daily routines have been extremely busy!

Fall is my favorite time of year. I do have some peeves about the season however. I'm all for capitalism, but our world today is so overwhelmed with advertisements that the merchants seem to be bent on sapping the joy out of everything.

We can't get through July 4th before the back-to-school ads begin, harping at us that our children should not be deprived of the latest and best in any and everything from their clothing, backpacks, electronic gadgetry and of course, heat and eat food from the freezer section. All of these things are bent on driving parents to equip their child with nothing but the best - yet published charts explain that despite our personal spending and massive increases in local, state and federal government funding, the children have not significantly altered their academic performance in the last 30 years! (Why More Money Will Not Solve America's Education Crisis: Heritage.org provides examples of such charts, along with their views regarding funding.) Before I digress too far down that bunny trail, suffice it to say that I think too much money is being thrown at anything labeled 'for the children', yet somehow, the children do not benefit.

Then, we can't get the kids on the bus to school before the Halloween ads crank up. Michael Jackson's Thriller is thrown at us in all kinds of versions no matter where you go, accompanied by skeletons, ghosts, witches and a few scarecrows.

Abruptly after October 31, however, an oddity has arisen in our seasonal deluge of media blitzing. Merchants skip right past Thanksgiving to Black Friday. Thanksgiving hardly is mentioned at all, except with the context of PRE-Thanksgiving specials - and we're not talking turkey dinners here. Now I'm all for early shopping to save money and to be prepared to bless family and friends with carefully chosen gifts. I honestly believe that the current generation of children and teens have likely heard much more about Black Friday than the traditional Thanksgiving account of the English settlers' feast.

So, Thanksgiving is basically being erased in favor of the competition for the Christmas shopping dollars. Aisles in the stores are filled to overflowing with every type of merchandise intended to help you create the ideal holiday, complete with indoor/outdoor decor, apparel, and of course gifts in the ideal wrap with the perfectly matched ribbons and bows.

I went out last night in search of candles for our advent wreath and was dismayed to find the carnage in the aisles of the local stores after the ravaging of the fervent shoppers. I also did not find the candles I wanted, but easily settled for an alternate in the desire to escape the chaotic panorama of both the recently plundered and depleted shelves of Black Friday specials and the overflowing bins of cheaply made toys spilling on to the pathways to the checkout counters.

So, in a nutshell, commercialism of holidays seems to effectively drive folks out to mix it up in somewhat of a frenzy to spend money. I think there must be a huge segment of the population that continues to feel deprived and unfulfilled...and in debt!

Time to put the blinders on! Focus on what's most important with each holiday celebration and life in general! We've been working for years to establish traditions for the holidays that have some meaningful purpose for our family. Time will tell whether these things take root within our kids, but I know that for my husband and me, these things help to prevent the distractions from stealing our time, attention and money away.

Enough ranting, the promised update follows:

Chickens: As of yesterday, we put our 23 pullets (or possibly 22 pullets and 1 cockerel) into the coop and run with our 26 laying hens. We were somewhat anxious about this blending, as warnings abound in online resources that advise that re-establishing the pecking order can be brutal and possibly fatal for the younger chickens. We can report that all 49 chickens are alive and well. We will be rehoming a number of the birds so that our remaining flock will not be overcrowded! The laying hens are doing very well and continue to produce an average quantity of 24 eggs per day. We have some loyal customers that purchase our excess, so the hens are paying their way on feed and continue to pay down the mortgage on the coop ;).

Garden: The garden has been reworked to remove as many weeds as possible and lies dormant for winter with nothing but a row of strawberry plants and a few straggling asparagus plants. We're trying a new approach that involves mounds, irrigation, plastic protection and mulch.

Herb Garden: Absolutely nothing happening in this area. Thanksgiving meal preparations stirred my desire to have my own herbs for next year's dinner - planted, harvested and dried. We'll see....I've got a whole year to work on making that happen!

Life in general: School for the kids, meal prep and clean-up, house maintenance (cleaning and repairs), garden tool maintenance, inside/outside chores, church participation and activities, extracurricular kid activities all seem to keep us quite busy!

Thanks for stopping by the blog! Perhaps the coming winter months will afford more opportunity for posting articles of merit!

Bloggers Remorse

I read a blog this morning about blogger burnout The Old Geezer Blog. I enjoy reading that blog and he made some great points. I don't think that's what happened to me. We got really busy and quite honestly, I had a burnout about a lot of things - including the blog. But, the good news is, the burnout has passed its' time and I'm renewed, re-energized and ready to share my little pea brain thoughts again.

Updates:

The chickens are in terrific health, although the rooster had to be quarantined. He's just more aggressive than I care to put up with and the hens certainly don't seem to like his harrassment. Even though I'm a city girl, I do understand some of his behavior is normal for a healthy male bird, but too much is just too much. He's in isolation while we sort out if we're going to keep him. The hens in the meantime are laying machines. We have 26 of them and we get a minimum of 23 eggs every day. The most our family consumes in a week is about 2 dozen, so obviously we have excess! We've made a habit of taking our eggs to a local farmer's market every week and we've had no trouble finding happy customers. We're going to share a few of our busy layers with another family. That will give us room for new chickens with more variety in the breeds. On order are Auracanas, Barred and White Rock, Black Austrolorp, Buff Minorca and Silver Laced Wyandotte. The chicks should arrive later next week and we look forward to the joy of the tiny, fuzzy peepers. We're planning our brooder as I blog, but hopefully with the benefit of our one time experience and warmer weather, they'll thrive just fine with little trouble.

Buttermilk biscuits: Still a work in progress. Since I've lapsed from preparing a hot breakfast except for one or two days a week, my ambitions for that home cooked mastery have not yet been achieved. I'll not give up, though.

Vegetable garden: That one's a dismal status indeed. The wonderful rain with which we were blessed made everything so pretty and green most of the summer. We didn't have a good handle on weed management, however, so the only thing growing well in our garden were a few onions and the weeds. We're working to annihilate them now and hope to plant a fall garden. The trick is to annihilate the weeds without introduce elements into the soil that we don't want to consume! Any tips out there? Our son came up with the idea to burn the weeds off and we're tempted to do so. Then, we could till the remnants back into the soil and begin again with a more proactive weed prevention/management approach.

Of late, the focus in our family has been preparing for another school year. We have had to adjust a bit to Tennessee requirements, but we're on our way now. The public schools started last week and we have made some preparations. We have curriculum in place, have enrolled our older son in an online class and have supplies stashed away. I completed an overhaul that we must do at least once a year to purge out items that either are no longer needed (or never were). We sometimes resell those items, but more often donate to another family. Our philosophy is that we were blessed with it through at least one student and more often, two. We've gotten lots of good of most of our choices and love to pass them along.

Thanks for reading the blog. The next entry will include some photos of our more filled out hens and rooster.

EGGS!

The chickens are now 16 weeks old and we had a big surprise this week - eggs! The hatchery advised that the hens should be laying by week 22. In the photo above, the first eggs are on the right and left, with a store bought (free range) egg in the middle - large, grade A. We were so amazed and pleased with the early production.

Looks like an egg, right? The yolk is a very rich color and when cooked retains the orange coloring. Throughout the week, we've been consistently finding two eggs by noon. Because we had not yet finished the nesting boxes, the first eggs were laid on the floor of the coop and we were pleased to find them before they were stepped on. My husband quickly finished the nesting boxes, we ordered wooden eggs to place in them and we haven't found another egg on the floor since.

The chickens are rather large, and the rooster is being housed separately. He learned a crow a few weeks ago and now crows throughout the day, beginning at 4:40 am every morning. He's segregated due to being a bit rough on the hens. We've no interest in fertilized eggs, so he's getting a bachelor pad extension for the coop.

He is beautiful and seems happy enough living in the playpen until his quarters are complete.

Moving Day! Mission accomplished - chickens in coop, not garage!

Here's the end of the story - 26 chickens that seem much happier in the very roomy coop instead of being literally 'boxed in' the temporary brooder. They are making some adjustments, but mostly seem very content to run, flap their wings, 'chest bump' one another (establishing pecking order?), scratch the pine shavings, try out new perches, etc.
This will be the last time the boys sit down in pine litter - it will never again be that clean!
Here they are moments after being released in the coop - mostly checking out the fresh litter.
Earlier in the day, we worked feverishly to complete the last few chores of predator proofing (we hope!). Note the challenge of the chicken wire and hardware cloth that somehow clings to work gloves by a single strand! Our son was working on attaching hardware cloth to the 'ceiling' of the coop. We decided that the largest vulnerability for weasel/possum/raccoon penetration was via the roof line (corrugated roofing with no sheathing beneath).
After adding some insulation to the ceiling, we attached hardware cloth all over, securing it first with heavy duty staples, then adding boards to prevent prying critters from working their way in.
The last items added were the perches, attached with hinges to facilitate cleaning. Our younger son demonstrates the final sweep out. We know the coop will never be this clean again!
The automatic door is set to 'Night' position, meaning it will stay closed at all times. Our next project - the run! When a secure fence and covering is in place to keep the chickens from wandering off and predators from wandering in, the door will be set to 'automatic'. Using a photo sensor, the door will open about 1/2 hr after dawn and will close about 1/2 hr before sunset. Another feature automatically turns an interior light on 8 hrs after the night closure to tease the chickens into better egg production.

The two perches provide plenty of room for all the chickens to roost at the same height. We hope this minimizes feuding over the best sleeping spot! We still had them hooked up by their chains here so that we could add a layer of pine shavings to the floor.
Here the guys go at it, making a nice landing spot for the chickens to dismount the perches and also provide absorbent litter.

Four 8 cubic feet bags later, the area is all set for the chickens!
We saved an area for people only! This will provide storage space for feed, extra litter and cleaning tools.
Last check to see if everything's ready...
Now you can return to those top pictures to see how the chickens settled in after their transfer from the garage. How did we do that? We used one of our dog travel crates and scooped them out of the brooder, into the dog crate, rolled the dog crate on an old kid's little red wagon to the coop and released them into the coop. Although completely traumatized by the capture and rough ride in the wagon, they seemed to settle down within 30 minutes or so. Fortunately for us, it seems chickens are fairly resilient with inexperienced handlers!

Gardening begins!

First, I must say that I was tremendously disappointed by the seed distributor's seed packaging! BORING! Just look at this!

What happened to those packages with the lovely pictures of the vegetables we hope to have? Sigh....

Well, now you can have a peek at our garden.

Just like the chickens, the garden is getting a head start in the garage with a nice climate controlled setting.

Last week, we started some lettuce seeds and just look at them go...or grow ;)

This week, we add broccoli, cauliflower and peppers...

For those following our chicken tales, this one is most definitely a boy! He's a silver-laced Wyandotte. We've been told that the clues are in his very red comb and early beginnings of wattles below the eye. His legs are also larger and more sturdy than the pullets. Wyandottes are known for excellent large brown eggs - but of course we won't be getting any of those from him! We're watching to see how he gets along with the girls and with us. He has very striking coloring, so hopefully he'll stay a peaceful guy and get to stay!

Spring snow, Name that Chicken and Where's the Beef!

I had heard the predictions earlier in the week for snow, but honestly had dismissed them. Not enough to really cover the ground or stick to pavement, it just reminded us that spring is not quite here yet. Here's some of our poor daffodils with bits of snow weighing the blooms down.
The temperature is already in th 40s so what snow we had is melted.

Here's another perspective of the chickens. I think we should call them pullets now instead of chicks. Still at least 10 weeks away from any egg production, so I believe they would be considered juveniles - just not babies!

About half of the Red Stars are more brown than white, but the plumage is still very spotty.
About half of the chickens will allow us to pick them up with no fuss and some seem to welcome 'petting'.

The dark 'bonus' chicken is not one of the friendliest birds. We have labeled it as a 'him' due to the likely odds of a hatchery shipping a 'free' male rather than a 'free' female. The boys have nomered him 'Bawk Sqwauk', but we're looking for help in identifying the breed and gender. He's beginning to look like a Silver Laced Wyandotte, which is a good egg laying breed - but not roosters, of course!

If anyone out there knows something about the gender or breed of this bird - please let us know! Curiosity is getting the best of us!

On a side note, we just stocked up on beef - a side of beef to be exact. In case you ever wondered how much freezer space is needed, we can tell you that this side of beef completely filled our 9.8 c.f. chest freezer. The butcher told us this particular side was on the larger end of average (between 250 and 300 lbs). Why would we do this? The cost of the beef was between $2 and $2.50 per pound - much less than grocer prices for the various cuts.

Moving day awaits

We're thankful for rain. We look forward to the beautiful spring that is being nurtured as we speak from the rain. The only downside is that rain slows us down! Here are the chicks - still in their cardboard brooder. They no longer need the heat lamp as they are quite comfy in the garage at about 60 F (it's heated). We can't wait to get them into their roomier, but chillier quarters of their own and park the vehicles in the garage again!Remember a mere five weeks ago?
Now look at them! Can you believe these are the same creatures?

They aren't as crowded as it seems - they are curious about the camera - right up until the flash!
We still have a long way to go for the first fresh eggs, but they are looking more grown up! We still don't know if the black one is a pullet or a cockerel, but time will surely tell. In the meantime, the routine is to fill their self-serve feeder each morning. We are now filling their waterer twice a day. The chicks kick some litter into the tray and water is absorbed rather than distributed. We removed some soiled litter each morning and add fresh to help absorb the waste and the odor. For prospective enthusiasts reading about the need for ventilation in the coop, believe it! For the birds and for YOU!

A funny thing happened in the coop the other day...

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, my husband set about attaching doors to the coop. We are working hard to construct the coop carefully due to stories we've heard about predators, so my husband is set to build a predator proof building to house our hens securely. He's doing an amazing job, helped by our sons. Back to the doors...he selected hinges and latches typically used for gates and they worked out beautifully.

See? No way for a coon or weasel to squeeze a prying paw there! Just to check it out, he went inside the coop, allowing the door to latch closed behind him.

Great fit! No openings apparent from this side either....but wait!

Hmm...if you look closely, you might notice that there is nothing on the inside of the door to release the latch. The door only opens from the outside.

OK - well, there's windows, right? These two have plywood still screwed to the wall. Not impossible to deal with...if you have a screwdriver...that is outside the building with the other tools.

Did I mention that I wasn't home? I had taken our youngest to soccer practice and would not return for a couple of hours. Our older son had been helping, but had been released to practice music on his keyboard. He typically does this with headphones on. He was in that building visible through the window that was too small to crawl through. So, my husband yelled...and yelled....and knocked...and waved...and yelled some more. Finally, he was able to get our son's attention and was rescued from his trap.
Since then, he has built and attached two more doors and shutters on the windows, being careful to leave at least one door open until he modifies them for a latch release on the inside!

Coop Update

The coop is really coming together now!
Our oldest son constructed the cupola to add aesthetic appeal and ventilation.
The weather cleared enough for a good day of work on the roof and installing the cupola - looks terrific and the weather vane functions well!The automatic door from Murray McMurray arrived - some assembly required...

YouTube demo of the door in operation: coop controller

Then, the electrician arrived to route power from the garage to the coop. Craig and the boys dug a long trench to bury the wiring.

And it all can't happen any too soon - we've already had to double the cardboard brooder to accommodate the growing chicks:

Remember how tiny and cute they were just 2 1/2 weeks ago?
Now, they are not as cute with their growing feathers, long legs and mottled coloring!

Today is warm and sunny, so hopefully work on the roof will be finished! Next, add the doors and maybe moving day for the chicks to leave the brooder and take up residence in the coop will be within the week!