More Chickens

Miss Friendly's second batch of chicks this year. This is my first hen that has hatched two sets in one year and yikes is she protective! You don't want to mess with her babies! It's encouraging to see hens that still have the mothering instinct.

Aren't they adorable? A Barred Rock and Orpington/Americauna just hatched today.

Blue Andalusian pullet

Blue Andalusian cock (3 1/2 months old)

Silver Spangled Hamburg pullet

 When Nick was fly-fishing and tying flies, he and I came up with the idea to cross Barred Rocks with Phoenix for a super hackle bird. The cross is sex-linked, meaning that from day one you can tell a hen from a rooster by its color. A male Silver Phoenix and female Barred Rock make barred males and black females. It took us two years to finally get the cross we wanted and we (I?) ended up with the stunning young rooster below.

 

In the meantime, I practiced harvesting hackle from purebred Phoenix and figured out how to preserve a nice skin. Alas, Nick now only fishes with lures and no longer ties flies.

 

My handy dandy pluckers (Josh and Nick) said that they had had enough after we finished butchering last year. The told me that they would not pluck one more bird, so we bought a chicken plucker from a friend.

Garden Volunteers and July Harvesting

Our last frost was in early May, a month earlier than last year, which has given the garden a much better start. We are enjoying fresh lettuce, kale, snow and snap peas, baby beets, broccoli, string beans, garlic, new potatoes and a variety of herbs. My strawberry plants have finally started producing and the apple trees are both looking promising. The first of the zucchini are almost ready! We've been drying big baskets and boxes of herbs - peppermint, catnip, oregano, plantain, dandelion root, red clover, yarrow and wormwood.

 

I've discovered that saving my own seeds leads to quite a few volunteers! Parsnips, garlic, potatoes, lettuce, catnip, orach, kale and radishes are some that have gone wild. They grow in the paths and mixed in with the other crops I plant, making for a messy looking but productive garden.

 



The wormwood I planted seems to be keeping the deer out of the garden. This is the third year that they have left it alone as long as the wormwood is green.

 

 



Catnip




Yarrow

Chickens!

Besides the heavy breeds I've been working with, I am experimenting with some lighter Mediterranean breeds this year. At the moment my flock is up to about 70 birds.

 Barred Rock Rooster                                                          


Barred Rock Hen



Phoenix/Barred Rock - male is barred, female is black





Buff Orpington Rooster



Americauna Rooster
 

 



Phoenix and Phoenix/Barred Rock Chicks
 



                                       Egyptian Fayoumis

 Blue Andalusians

Lakenvelders                                  

 

                Silver Spangled Hamburgs

 

And Snickers coming to help

Poultry and the Corriente

Daddy and I are butchering a few chickens and turkeys at a time. The oldest birds are six months old and barely ready. Most will need a few weeks to put on more meat. The Barred Rocks seem to grow faster than the Orpingtons. So far it is taking us about 45 minutes a bird. With 30 chickens and six turkeys, I hope we can improve our time! Last month I dusted them all in diatomaceous earth to kill bugs. We aren't seeing bugs hopping around like we did with the first butchering, which makes the job much easier. I kept some of the pullets hatched by my hens last spring and they started laying about a month ago. The Phoenix chicks we bought last spring have turned out gorgeous, friendly birds. Although they are only half the weight of the other breeds, they are holding their own just fine, the two roosters even chasing the other chickens a bit. The three pullets are laying tiny white eggs. They all hop in and out of the 4 1/2' fence as they please. 

Our favorite beef is from the Corriente, a small breed descended from cattle brought to North America from Spain in the 15th century. Thought to be related to the larger Texas Longhorn, Corrientes come in every imaginable color. Today they are commonly used for rodeo events, particularly roping. In our area cattle used for rodeo practice at a private ranch typically get too tame to use at two to three years old, when the heifers are retired for breeding and the steers are butchered. From what I have seen steers average 600 or so pounds at this point. The market for Corrientes is strong, and this time it took me several weeks to locate some, but finally I found two steers at a great price. I know they haven't had antibiotics or shots, but the hay they were eating likely had chemicals in it, so I am keeping them around for a couple weeks giving them organic hay, as well as diatomaceous earth as a natural wormer before they go to the freezer. They are cute little guys and will even eat out of my hand.