Category Archives: Chickens

The Sap Is Flowing and The Hens Are Laying

February 15, 2017Bees, Chickens, Maple Syrup, spring, Tapping Maple Trees, The Farmruthsoaper

Over the weekend, as we looked ahead at the 10 day weather forecast and saw that 8 out of 10 days were predicted to have high temperatures above freezing, we decided it was time to tap maple trees. Here is the link to my past from last year about tapping maple trees. https://donteatitsoap.com/2016/02/20/tapping-maple-trees/?iframe=true&theme_preview=true

So yesterday, (Monday, February 13) we set a total of 18 taps (and buckets) in 8 maple trees at our farm. It seems early to be tapping the trees, but the sap began flowing as soon as the taps were in place. I guess, like many things farming related, weather conditions mean more than the date on the calendar. We also set up a fire pit where the sap will be boiled down.

Today, after lunch, we went to the farm to collect the sap. When all 18 buckets were emptied we had collected 10 gallons of sap. Our plan is to collect the sap for the next couple of days before we begin boiling it down. Our intention is to leave the taps in place, and continue to collect sap and make syrup, as long as the sap runs clear. When the sap turns cloudy maple syrup season is finished.

Throughout the month of December the chickens’ egg production gradually slowed, and through the month of January we only collected one or two eggs per day. Last week we began getting 5 or 6 eggs daily and now we are up to 8 or 9. As the days grow longer, and the chickens enjoy more sunny days, egg production will continue to increase. This makes feeding the hens all winter worth while.

The bees were out today when the afternoon temperature climbed to around 50 degrees. I don’t think there was anything for them to forage, but at least they could take a cleansing flight. Later this week when temps get back into the 50’s we will check their food supplies and feed them if necessary. We do have honey and wax reserved for them so we do not have to feed them sugar water. We did lose one hive earlier this winter. We could not determine the reason for the loss, as the hive was not full of dead bees. At this point it seems as if the three remaining hives are okay, and we plan to start two new hives in May. We will also capture swarms to if the opportunity arises.

Regardless of the date on the calendar, or the groundhog’s prediction, all signs on the farm are pointing to an early spring.

Chicken Fun

July 3, 2016Buff Orpingtons, Chickens, Uncategorizedruthsoaper

We often find our chickens providing us with great entertainment. Sometimes in the evening, before they are all inside, we will even sit down near the coop and watch, what we call, chicken TV.

This is Honey. She is one of our oldest hens and has always loved my husband. This particular evening she was curious about what he had in his hand.

She then decided she wanted to sit on his lap. When she pays attention to me she is usually pecking at my ring, my buttons, or my jeans. Honey has and will always have a special place in our hearts.

This young buff decided my lap was a good place to sit. The Buff Orpingtons are definitely the most friendly breed we have.

We have a group of Silver Wyandotte’s that like to visit the campsite around dinner time. They like to check out what is on the grill, and despite my warnings that someday that could be them, they keep showing up and begging for food.

They are also interested in what the dogs are eating. If they get too close Trooper will pounce at them to scare them away. He doesn’t hurt them though and they just keep coming back. They have learned that they will often end up with some kind of “treats”.

Anytime we do landscaping the chickens are sure to show up especially if it involves fresh topsoil. They love to peck and scratch and most of all dust themselves in the newly placed dirt.

Yesterday evening as my husband and I were filling in this trench at least a dozen hens showed up to add the finishing touches. My husband would shovel the soil into the trench, pack it down, put another layer on top and rake it so it was even with the ground on either side. The chickens would then peck, scratch, and then nestle their little bodies down into the loose soil leaving nest shapes holes in the soil.

While we may not have the prettiest landscaping we do have happy chickens 🙂

Chickens, Chickens and More Chickens

April 26, 2016Barred Rock, Buff Orpingtons, Chickens, The Farm, Uncategorizedruthsoaper

I thought I would do a quick chicken update since when I talk to family or friends I often get asked how the chickens are doing.

The Barred Rock chicks, otherwise known as “The Six Pack”, made the move to the farm last week.

They started off in a small penned in area. They loved being on the ground where they could scratch and peck. Some of the older chicks were curious.

Scout loved being able to watch them. They were only in the penned in area for the first two days. On day three they ran out of the coop in the morning before we could round them up and get them in the pen. They are now free to forage the farm as they please, but they do stick pretty close to the coop.

Meanwhile the young Buff Orpingtons, A.K.A. “The Gang of Eight”, are doing well. They tend to stick together.

They are getting bigger.

And they are very friendly. While sitting in a lawn chair near the coop we often end up with one or two or three of them sitting on our lap or perched on our shoulder. They are a lot of fun.

Sadly we lost one of our old Buffs to a hawk a couple weeks ago. She was from the first batch of chicks we bought. We had her since 2013. Her name was Super Chick. She got her name when she was young because she would stand in front of the gate when it was closed and fly up to the top. The way she flew up reminded me of Superman. She continued to live up to her name as she got older. When we would leave the gate closed to keep the chickens penned in we would always arrive back at the farm to find Super Chick out of the pen. She usually didn’t stick with the flock, but wandered on her own a lot. When our younger rooster, Autumn, grew up he took a liking to her and he seemed to follow her everywhere. Autumn seems lost without her.

Loosing an occasional chicken to a predator is one of the risks involved in allowing chickens to free range. However, the rewards of having happy, healthy chickens, reduced feed costs and fabulous eggs, have far outweighed the occasional loss of a hen.

The rest of the flock are enjoying spring time. The photo above is Autumn with a group of our Silver Laced Wyandotte’s.

There is lots of scratching and pecking to do this time of year.

This is Honey. She too is from our first batch of chicks. Honey won a special place in our hearts early on, as she would jump up on my husbands lap, peck at us if she wanted our attention, or squat down in front of us if she wanted to be picked up. Honey is also one of our two hens that have brooded chicks.

Our chickens are allowed to free range during the daylight hours and spend their nights roosting in the coop. As the daylight hours increase so does the amount of time the chickens spend outside. In the dead of winter the coop is opened up around 8 A.M. and closed around 5 P.M., but today they were ready to exit the coop by 7 A.M. and we probably won’t be able to close up the coop until 8:30 P.M. or so. The chickens naturally return to the coop at night, but some of the young ones are still requiring a little coaching.

This time of year we too are ready to retire to our “coop” when darkness falls, but as the weather warms I am certain we will spend many evening sitting around a campfire long after the chickens have gone to bed.

Coloring Eggs and Chicken Update

March 27, 2016Barred Rock, Buff Orpingtons, Chickens, Chicksruthsoaper

Last year we were curious about coloring brown eggs, so we decided to try it. This year, since I decided to make deviled eggs for today, I thought I would color them first and share my results, in case anyone else is curious.

I used regular food coloring, something I vaguely remember doing as a child, before Paas came out with the egg coloring kits.

The eggs I colored were varying degrees of brown. I follow the directions on the food coloring package – 1 tps. of white vinegar, 20 drops of food coloring and 1/2 cup of boiling water. Since I didn’t have 20 drops of red food coloring I mixed 15 drops of red and 5 drops of blue, which gave me the maroon color. The two on the top left are blue, the two on the top right are green, the two on the bottom left are maroon and the two on the bottom right are yellow. The eggs that were darker brown going into the dye came out in darker shades than the ones that were lighter going in. The answer is: while brown eggs don’t make pretty, pastel Easter eggs, they indeed can be dyed.

I’ll also add a quick chicken update.

This past Monday as our Buff Orpington chicks turned 4 weeks old, and are now feathered out, we moved them to the farm. They seemed to be getting bored in the hutch on the deck and needed room to roam.

They rode in this crate to the farm.

The Chicken yard was busy when we got there, but when the big birds realized that we did not bring them treats, most of them went off to find their own goodies.

My husband had added new roost space inside the coop, enough to accommodate 30 chickens. Before bringing out the young ones today he also penned in an area around the small chicken door to keep the young ones close to the coop.

The big birds will use the big (people) door for now.

Some of the big birds were curious.

Some even came and visited. The big hens gave the little ones an occasional, intimidating, peck, but it was mostly if they got too close to the food (treats). We had to move the big hens out of the penned area because they could not find the way out on their own. At night my husband put “the group of 8”, as he is fondly calling the young buffs, into the coop where they huddled together in one of the nest boxes. “The Group of 8” spent their fist couple of days mostly inside the coop, and my husband found it necessary to open up the penned in area because the big birds would get in and be trapped there.

Yesterday “The Group of 8” spent the day out on their own. They mostly stayed together and sometimes with the rest of the flock. There has been no signs of aggression from the big birds, but I wouldn’t think there would be from a group who will share their living quarters (food and all) with 20 or more starlings during the winter. “The Group of 8” is now in training for their nighttime routine which includes returning to the coop at night and using the ramp to get inside. I’m sure they will catch on quickly.

After Monday’s move, we decided to make it a full house (coop). Since we only had 24 birds we went to the farm store for 6 more. Again they did not have the breed we were looking for (Buff Orpington) so we decided this time on Barred Rocks.

Upon adding this “six pack” we comment that our flock is becoming very diverse.

And with that I wish you all a Beautiful and Blessed Easter. Until next time 🙂

Welcoming New Arrivals

February 27, 2016Buff Orpingtons, Chickens, Chicks, springruthsoaper

We have several neighbors and family members who, like us, have a great appreciation for farm fresh, free range eggs. A couple weeks back, the hens started laying more so my husband put the word out to some neighbors that we had some eggs for available. Immediately we had requests for more eggs than we had on hand. At that point we decided that we should add some laying hens to our flock this year.

I wanted to get an early start with the chicks, so when we found last week that the local farm store had chicks we decided it was time to get ready. Over the weekend my husband brought the brooder (stock tank) inside and took the chick water and feed dishes out of storage. Tuesday morning, before we went to the farm store, he brought out the heat lamp and put wood chips in the brooder for bedding.

Scout and Trooper Welcoming Our New Arrivals

Scout and Trooper have been through this with us a couple times before, and Scout especially loves baby chicks. We have taught him that those are “his babies”. When we got home from the farm store the boys were eager to see the chicks.

You might think it is risky letting the dogs get so close to the chicks, and yes to some degree it is, but the boys have learned that they have to “be nice” to their “babies”. Sometimes the chicks get nosed around a little or even get doggie (tongue) bath, but we have yet to lose a chick because of the boys.

We planned on getting more Silver Laced Wyandotte’s and we compromised on getting nine pullets. When we got to the farm store we discovered that the Wyandotte’s both silver and gold laced were completely sold out. So we decided to get Buff Orpingtons.

Although Buff Orpingtons were not our first choice they really are a nice breed. Of our adult chickens I think they are the friendliest, they lay consistently large or extra large eggs, and of the three breeds we have (including Rhode Island Red and Silver Laced Wyandotte) the Buffs are the only ones that have gone broody and raised chicks. They do make good mothers. I am not sorry we got the buffs.

For the first couple weeks or at least until they get their feathers, their brooder will be indoors and Scout and Trooper will come running whenever we tend to the chicks. We put a step stool next to the brooder so Scout can put his feet up and look over the side. Trooper is tall enough to just look over the side.

After they get all of their feathers and the weather is good enough we will move them to a hutch on the deck where they can still have the heat lamp for warmth, but they will have more space.

It didn’t surprise me, on day two of having the chicks here, when my husband took this empty “Silk” carton and made them a play house. In fact I’m more surprised that he hasn’t made them a jungle gym with a tire swing and a seesaw… Yet. He’s such a good chicken daddy.

As for me I am enjoying hearing “peep peep peep” and “peck peck peck”. It makes me think spring 🙂

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