Back to Basic Living

In my earlier post, I showed you the hidden nest that a couple of my hussy hens have taken to laying eggs in by the edge of the woods. I’ve found hidden nests in the past, and I’ve destroyed them, but ended up regretting it. Because then the little hussies just make another hidden nest that takes me forever to find.

So this time, I decided to play it smart. I removed all the eggs from the nest and laid a fake plastic egg in it, with the hopes that they would continue to lay eggs in that hidden nest and I wouldn’t have to find the “new and improved” hidden nest they were sure to construct.

Well, earlier today I went out to collect eggs and decided to check the hidden nest. As I bent over to look in it, I saw something in the nest. And it was most definitely NOT one of my hens. It was a snake! I am not kidding. And the snake had a huge lump about 1 inch down from it’s head that looked very suspiciously like the outline of an egg!

I ran back to the house as quickly as I could and grabbed my camera but, in the short time it took, the snake was gone. And so was the fake plastic egg. I bent down and looked under the brush that covered the hidden nest, and I saw the snake! Well, part of the snake. It was all wrapped up in the brush. But I did get a picture. It’s not a great picture, but you can see it really is a snake - and if you look closely, you may even be able to see one of his eyes:

After I took that picture I poked him gently with a stick in the hopes of getting him to move so I could get a better picture of him - but he zipped down a hole that was right under where he was laying. Smart little bugger to make his home a place where his meals were delivered right on his front door step.

Bernie was in town when all this happened, but when he returned I told him about it and showed him the picture. He said “That’s just a little rat snake.” OK, I’m no snake expert, but I can tell you it was not little. It was a pretty good sized snake. Big enough to eat the fake egg, which is larger than any of the real eggs my hens lay. Needless to say, I destroyed the hens’ hidden nest and will now have to search for their new hidden nest laying grounds.

I googled rat snake and I was not happy to learn that not only do they eat eggs, they will also eat baby chicks! I immediately went outside and told all my baby chicks to be on the look out for rat snakes. And I suggested they steer clear of the woods for a while.

They immediately ran into the woods.

Am I the only one whose chickens refuse to take them seriously?

Bee Free,
Penny

One of these things just doesn’t belong here:

No, it’s not that rusted truck tool box I once used as a brooder and has now been banished to the edge of the woods. Look a little closer. To the left of the box, under that pile of brush:

And look what I found when she got up:

There were nine of those eggs in that little hidden nest. They’ve got another nest or two out there, and I’m going to find them, dammit!

And don’t you look at me like that, you little hussy.

I want to show you a few things in the greenhouse. We’re doing a little experiment and growing a couple of peppers and tomatoes in the greenhouse this year. We’re hoping they do well and have an extended season. So far, so good:

And look at this pretty little Colorado wildflower (thanks, Lilla!):

This little wildflower came from the seeds I brought back from Nebraska:

So did this Morning Glory:

Mom brought me a bunch of flowers and plants when she came to visit last month. I have no idea what this one is, but it really has a beautiful bloom:

And one of the pots she brought me had some little rogue Impatiens in them:

The Basil is starting to grow now.

The Oregano is getting a little crazy.

And the Thyme is doing great. My dear friend from Texas brought me the pot it’s in when he came up to visit a couple of years ago. I love that little pot and it makes me think of him and smile every time I look at it.

Oh, and look at these fig trees my father started rooting for me and brought up last month:

I’m hoping to get them planted next spring. Maybe if I put chicken wire around them and then fill it with leaves and straw in the fall they will make it through the winters up here.

OK, speaking of chickens, I need to go hunt for some hidden nests. I really don’t like doing that. Not only do I rarely have luck finding them, the hens laugh at me while I’m searching.

Little hussies.

Bee Free,
Penny

I let the two broody moms out of their brooder pens with their babies today. I really need to get them out of the brooders so I can put the next two new mamas in them. They are due to hatch their babies out Wednesday.

As usual, these two broody moms just can not get along. They immediately launched into a brawl. I sat out there with them for a while and separated them several times, and eventually Broody1 took her chicks into the chicken run and things seemed to settle. Before too long, Broody2 had her chicks in the run as well. Everyone seems to be getting along just fine now - even if the two broody moms both now have bruised eyes.

Against my wishes, Broody1 has already taken her chicks into the woods, next to the coop. I really worry about them being out there, but they don’t pay any attention to what I want.

They are still all in the woods as I type this. Broody2 has her chicks in the chicken run.

Even though the chicken coop is right next to the woods, the sun shines on it all day long. I normally don’t worry too much about that. In the winter, the sun heats the coop nicely. And in the summer, the chickens spend most of their time in the woods - or under Bernie’s pole barn next to his barn shed. That’s a constant source of annoyance for Bernie, by the way. But it makes the chickens happy, and happy chickens makes me happy, so Bernie doesn’t complain too much. Even if they have scratched out holes the size of the grand canyon under his boat, behind his tractors, and around each support pole to dust bathe in.

At any rate, with broodies living in the coop right now, and new babies staying in there as well, I started getting a little concerned about the sun beating right on the coop all day and raising the temperature inside the chicken coop. I decided to tarp over the shrimp net I have covering the chicken run. Not only would that shade the coop a great deal, but it would keep the chicken run from getting so muddy in the rain. So this morning, Bernie helped me secure the tarp over the shrimp net. It now looks like the Big Top Circus resides in our yard.

I know it looks awful - but the coop and chicken yard are mostly shaded all day long now. The chickens seem to like it. Bernie seems to hate it. And I can overlook it since it makes my chickens more comfortable. We’ll take it down in late fall so that the coop will get sun in colder weather and the weight of the ice and snow doesn’t pull the shrimp net and tarp down.

Something I meant to mention earlier about this last hatch is that four of the eggs I put under the broodies were eggs I had stored in the refrigerator from 1 - 3 days before hand. I had heard that refrigerated, fertile eggs will hatch out just fine, and I wanted to experiment with it myself. So I opened one of the egg cartons in the refrigerator, randomly pulled out four eggs, marked them with a different colored pen than the other eggs I gave the broodies, and then put the refrigerated eggs under those broodies. And guess what? All four of those refrigerated eggs hatched just fine. I share this with you in case you have chickens and happen to lose a favorite hen. If you recognize her eggs and have some in the refrigerator, you can take them from the refrigerator and put them under a broody or in an incubator and hatch out her offspring. Be sure to bring the eggs to room temperature before placing them under a broody or in the bator. Otherwise moisture can collect on the inside of the egg and possibly mess up the hatch.

Bobby Lee is still enjoying his Reign of Terror. He really torments Duke something fierce. In all fairness, Duke used to really torment Bobby Lee though. I guess Bobby Lee figures turn about is fair play. None the less, Duke still participates in keeping the flock in line, much to Bobby Lee’s consternation. Pico regularly tries to get frisky with the older hens, and Duke just will not stand by and watch that happen. Neither will Duke allow the hens to fight. While Bobby Lee does seem to be extremely alert and watchful over the girls, he can not, quite frankly, hold a candle to Duke. Maybe he’ll grow into the role.

Bobby Lee is such a good looking boy.

And Duke still has his rugged handsomeness.

It occurs to me that it is a bit like a circus around here with all these crazy chickens. Maybe naming the tarped over chicken run The Big Top isn’t such a bad idea.

Bee Free

We had quite a bit of excitement here on the homestead yesterday. As you know from my last post, we have two broody moms with five chicks between them. Well, yesterday afternoon I got to thinking that the nest boxes are up about two feet from the ground. It’s not unusual for mama hens to begin taking their babies out of the next within the first three or four days of their lives. I wasn’t concerned about the chicks getting out of the nest, I was concerned that once they did, they would not be able to get back into the nest. So I decided to move both broody moms and their chicks onto the floor of the coop, underneath the nest boxes. And move them, I did.

I sat with the broods for a while and everything went along just fine. Broody1 just sat in a corner with her two little little chicks cheeping happily beneath her. Broody2 brought her three chicks out into the middle of the coop and started teaching them to peck and eat. A couple of hens wandered in and checked out the chicks, and then moved on to the nest boxes. Everything was going better than I had hoped for. I went inside and over the next couple of hours I went back out to the coop about every 15 minutes to check on the situation. So far, so good.

After two hours, however, things changed. Swiftly and dramatically. I opened the front door to walk toward the coop and I immediately knew something was wrong. I could hear baby chicks peeping like crazy, and I could see a huge plume of dust and feathers flying out of the chicken door. I ran to the coop and opened door, and then stood there with my mouth open for a full minute. My two sweet, gentle, lovely little mama hens were in the middle of what looked like a bar room brawl. They were a screeching, screaming, clawing, pecking ball of feathers in the middle of the coop. I could not believe it. I quickly ran in and tried to separate them, and it wasn’t easy. Each time I would get them apart, they would fly back at each other and start fighting all over again. I finally managed to pick one up and as I stood, she had the other in her mouth by the neck. It was awful. I eventually got them apart and put each back in the nests they hatched their broods in. Then I looked around for the biddies. There were two. I grabbed them and put one in each nest box with a mama. I searched all over coop and there was not a sign of another biddy. I began to panic. I ran outside, laid on the ground and looked underneath the coop. The bottom of the coop is covered with chicken wire, but a one day old biddy could very easily fit between the wire. I laid there for a while, desperately searching for a sign of a biddy, but I could see nothing. And I could hear nothing. No peep, chirp, or scurrying. Nothing. I walked all through the woods by the coop searching for them. Nothing. I layed on the ground next to the garden shed and looked underneath it. Nothing.

Bernie was not home during all this. He had gone in to town to run some errands. By the time he returned, I was in the middle of a full blown nervous breakdown. I did my best to explain what had happened, but judging from the confused look on his face, I’m certain I was making no sense at all. I was standing there shaking like a leaf and mumbling something like “It’s hopeless. Hopeless! They’re gone. Gone forever.” when he said “Honey, they couldn’t have just disappeared. Let’s go outside and look together”.

We went into the coop and looked around. Nothing. We went outside and looked under the coop. Nothing. We walked through the woods searching everywhere. Nothing. And just when I began mumbling about the biddies being gone forever again, we heard a cheep. And then another. And it was coming from underneath the coop! I’m going to fore go the details on this. Suffice it to say that 15 minutes and a lot of running around chasing biddies later, we had the three escaped biddies safely tucked in with their mothers.

Two hours later I had built the pen that will house these mamas and babies for the next couple of weeks:

This is actually two pens - separated by more wire between them. Each is about 4′ X 4′. As soon as it was finished, I placed the mamas and their babies in them. And they seem very happy.

Broody1 got the worst damage during the brawl with Broody2. But in Broody1’s defense, she had been sitting on a nest for six weeks and hadn’t been eating for several days. She was very weak. Just look at her poor bruised eye and damaged comb:

Poor little thing. Today is the first day she has accepted food from me and eaten in many days. I’m really hoping she’ll start getting back to her old self soon. It was a little cool today, and she has kept the babies tucked up tightly underneath her.

Broody2 is doing just fine. She eats and drinks and calls the babies out to learn to peck and eat fairly regularly. I had a hard time getting pictures of her babies, but I managed to get this one (there’s one behind her, but you can’t see much of her):

Awwww. That is just adorable. This is one of the two White Faced Black Spanish mixes that hatched. In fact, I’m fairly certain this one is mixed with Bobby Lee, the Phoenix - notice the darker legs. The other is obviously mixed with Duke, a Silver Gray Dorking. She has orange legs and five toes - another trait of the Dorking.

I was not there when the fight between these two mamas started, but I am certain it had something to do with the babies. I have a friend that says mama hens fight like ninjas over their babies. Well, until you see it, you can’t imagine how accurate that description really is. I hope to never see it again.

I’ve written way more about this than I had planned, or probably should have. If you’re still with me at this point, please allow me to offer you some advice. If you plan to have chickens, read everything you can read about raising them and issues that can occur while you’re doing it. Talk to everyone you know that has chickens and ask them what their experiences have been. And then get your chickens and know that you will be able to write your own book when it’s all said and done. No book and no one can prepare you for everything in your future with chickens. Everyone is different. Every flock is different. They will have a lot in common but trust me, those little chickens will throw you a curve ball more than once. And at the end of the day, you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Bee Free,

Penny

We’ve been blessed with a couple of days of beautiful weather this week. It’s actually been in the 70s the past couple of days, and it’s supposed to stay that way through the weekend. Like most of you, the gift of warm weather after such a long, cold winter makes my body and soul begin aching for spring and it turns my thoughts to gardening. It’s much too early to get all excited about gardening, but it’s the perfect time to start working on adding the raised beds we so desperately need for the vegetable garden. It’s also the perfect time to start seeds inside - but I don’t have a place to start seeds here. At least I didn’t……

This week I finally took the plunge and ordered an 8X12 greenhouse. Building a greenhouse has been on “the list” for over a year, and I haven’t seen it inch anywhere closer to the top of that list, so I dipped into my piggy bank and ordered one. It arrived this week - in three boxes. This weekend will be spent digging out a flat spot in the yard with the backhoe, and assembling my new greenhouse. I am hopeful that by next weekend I will be starting seeds inside of it.

Thanks for all the kind notes asking about Bernie’s shoulder and wishing him well. I went with him to the orthopedic specialist Thursday. As it turns out, he apparently damaged his rotator cuff. We’re fairly certain this happened last October, as that was when he began having pain. Because his shoulder was in pain, he favored it for the past several months and it has resulted in a frozen shoulder. The good news is that he does not need surgery and can hopefully “un-freeze” his shoulder on his own,  possibly with the help of physical therapy. The bad news is that “un-freezing” it involves a great deal of pain. He simply has to force himself to move it to the point of pain, and then move it some more. But my man is nothing if not tough. He can handle it. Feel the burn, baby!

For those of you that have written expressing interest in chicken saddles, and no interest in making them on your own, I’ve agreed to make a few and sell them. You can chose from four quite stylish fabrics. Specify the size(s) (medium or large) that you want, send me $5.00 for each, and I’ll make and mail your order. I’ll even pick up the shipping. I’m just nice like that. Imagine your hens strutting around in one of these stunning saddles

Hens are very fashion conscious. Help your girls make their own fashion statement and be the envy of the barnyard.

And speaking of fashion - I decided to make a statement of my own. A few days ago I had 11 inches of hair cut off my head. And I’ve decided to embrace my age and let my gray grow in. I did add a few highlights in the hopes of making the gray look a little more chic.  I’m not sure I was entirely successful, but the chickens seem to like it. So does Bernie. The cats didn’t seem to notice. And the pups were very impressed

Ahhhhhh, puppy breath. Let’s try it again. Smile for the camera

That Dolly has the attention span of a gnat. Oh well, you get the idea. Hey, I just realized, the color in my hair is the perfect blend of Dolly and Diesel’s fur! How cool is that? We are definitely stylin’ on the homestead.

Bee Free,

Penny

It’s been a while since I posted. I’ve been wanting to get pictures of the pups to show how big they are getting, but for some reason the only time I think about the camera is when they are sleeping. I’ll work on that this week. In the meantime, I’ve heard from enough of you to know that I should bring you up to date on what’s been happening on the homestead.

We took the pups to the vet for booster shots this afternoon. Dolly is now 20 pounds, and Diesel is 18! Not bad for a little runt. He’s really catching up with Dolly. These little puppies are a source of constant joy to us. It’s hard to be in a bad mood around them. Diesel and Dolly can make everything all better.

And I really needed Diesel and Dolly last night. I went out to candle the eggs under my second broody and I dropped one and cracked it. And it bled. And I cried. I am so upset with myself. I just can’t tell you how badly I feel. I’m not touching those eggs again. But on an up-note, I do believe the three eggs I candled before that were all fertile and filled with baby chick beginnings. They were mostly dark as I peered through them. I guess we’ll know in about two more weeks…..

Bernie found a nest in the far corner of the garage with fifteen eggs in it. Sneaky little hens. Most of the eggs had frozen and cracked. I’m pretty sure they’ve got another nest somewhere. Ten eggs a day just doesn’t add up when I’ve got 20 hens. I guess I’m going to have to do a little chicken stalking and find their secret hiding place.

Bernie somehow managed to hurt his shoulder. He actually injured it several months ago, but it’s gotten worse over time and it’s now to the point where he can hardly sleep through the night. I believe I can count on one hand the number of times he’s been to the doctor in the past 10 years for any type of illness or injury, but he actually agreed to go to one about his shoulder. And he was referred to an orthopedic specialist. His appointment is next week. In the meantime, he hasn’t really been able to do a whole lot, and he’s actually doing more than he probably should. He’s still chopping, splitting, and stacking wood several times a week. We kind of underestimated how much wood it was going to take to get us through the winter. This is the first winter we’ve had our wood burning stove and heated exclusively with it. The good news is that the wood is free. The bad news is that it takes A LOT of wood to get through a winter! Especially when the weather has been so unusually cold for so incredibly long. But have no fear. My man can handle it. With one arm tied behind his back - or flopping uselessly by his side.

In closing, I’m going to include a recipe for a Chicken Potato Bake that is super fast and super good. I found it one evening when I just could not think of what to fix for supper and I decided to search for something quick and easy. This one fit the bill. The original recipe wasn’t quite creamy enough for us, so I modified it a bit. I’m sure a lot of you I-Always-Make-Everything-from-Scratch people will get the shivers reading this, but hey - sometimes a person just feels a little lazy and wants a calorie laden meal for comfort. This is the meal for that person. And it only takes about ten minutes to assemble.

Chicken Potato Bake

Ingredients:
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

1 egg, beaten

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halved

1/2 package frozen potatoes O’Brian, thawed (about 12 ounces)
10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup grated Pepper Jack cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper on plate.

Place egg in small shallow bowl; beat well.

In a medium sized bowl, combine potatoes, soup, milk, sour cream, and Pepper Jack cheese; mix well. Pour into a 13×9″ glass baking dish or something similar.

One at a time, dip the smooth side of a chicken breast in egg, then in bread crumb mixture to coat. Place, coated side up, on the potato mixture. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.

Bake for 45 - 60 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and potato mixture is bubbling and brown around the edges.

Bee Free,

Penny

About a month ago I noticed a little Phoenix hen spending a lot of time in one of the nest boxes. She would leave for two or three hours at a time, but she slept in the nest box at night and spent a great deal of time there during the day. And then suddenly, a few days later, she stopped leaving the nest at all. Ever. It got to the point that I had to pick her up and put her by food and water, just to make sure she was eating and drinking. She had gone broody.

A broody hen is one that is ready to incubate eggs. Actually, a better description is a hen that is determined to incubate eggs. A broody hen desperately wants to hatch eggs and have little baby chicks to care for. I’ve read about hens that will sit on rocks for weeks at a time while broody. My little Phoenix had no eggs in her nest - thanks to the jerk that collects eggs so many times a day she often grabs them as they are popping out of a hen’s butt. (Note to self: Give the girls a break). She was sitting on one of the fake eggs. So, even though the last thing I need is another chicken in this yard, I decided to put an egg underneath her. It wasn’t her egg, but it was an egg - and she seemed extremely grateful. Doesn’t she look grateful?

OK, maybe she looks a little annoyed at the camera shoved in her face, but the point is she’s been sitting in that nest for over three weeks. And she’s been sitting on that egg for over two weeks. It takes around 21 days for a fertile egg to hatch and since we are going on about 16 days with that egg, I candled it last night. I’m new to this, so I’m just going to give you the about.com definition of candling: “Candling” is a term used to describe a method by which bird breeders check to see if eggs are fertile or not. When an egg is candled, a bright light is held behind it, to illuminate the shape of the contents of the shell. The breeder will then determine whether or not the egg is fertile based on the color, shape, and opacity of the contents.

It seems my little broody is sitting on a dud. When I candled the egg with Bernie’s ultra-blinding mag light, I saw no shape whatsoever. Like I said, I’m new to this, but I’m pretty sure a bouncing baby chick is not in this hen’s immediate future. So now I need to ask Cousin Julie how to get this hen off the nest and back into egg laying. Broody hens do not lay eggs. And egg laying is a big attraction around here for having hens. Besides, this little Phoenix is looking pretty run down. Her comb has withered and is a very pale pink.

It’s time for this girl to get back into the swing of things. Cousin Julie - expect a phone call.

So, just when I was thinking our broody little spell was about over, yet another little Phoenix hen began spending a great deal of time in a nest box. I tried to ignore it, but two days ago she stopped leaving the nest at all. *sigh* And, you guessed it, even though I do not need even one more chicken in our yard, I put six eggs underneath her this morning. I just can’t help myself. And I’m not even going to pretend she’s looking happy in this picture.

But look at that cute little saddle she’s sporting! She’s got it all discombobulated, but you can see it’s quite stylish.

And if you think she looks thrilled in that picture, just look at how happy she is to have me lifting her up so you can see some of the eggs she’s sitting on.

The red X’s on the eggs are how I marked them so I know what she’s supposed to be incubating. Those sneaky little hens will climb right up there and lay other eggs for her to sit on. I collect all the eggs each day, and just leave her the ones that are marked.

I would love for her to hatch some of these eggs, but I have no idea if that’s going to happen. I’ll let y’all know.

Oh, by the way, I added a page that has a couple of dog food and dog treats recipes. I’ll add to it over time.

Bee Free,

Penny

I mentioned in my last post that I was making a chicken saddle for one of my over-mated White Faced Black Spanish hens. This is a picture of her back - I’m holding her on her side so Bernie could get a picture of it:

She not only has a bald spot, but her usually beautiful black feathers are rather battered.

And here she is wearing her new saddle:

She really strutted around, showing it off

Just look how proud and pretty she is in that new saddle

I wrote a little page on how I made the saddle, if you are interested in viewing it. The saddle has stayed on very well for going on 24 hours now. I’m quite pleased. So pleased, in fact, that I am making six more for my other battered hens.

By the way, I cracked the Small Fry egg this morning. It had no yolk. Frugalmom asked if I weighed it. Yes I did! It didn’t even register on the scale at all - and anything that doesn’t register is considered a Pee Wee. But it sure was cute!

Small Fry eggs and Chicken Saddles - they both make me smile.

Bee Free,
Penny

I had a little surprise waiting for me when I went to check for eggs today.

Just look at that cute little thing! I have no idea who laid it. I’ve heard that new layers will sometimes lay itty bitty eggs, but this is the first one I’ve ever found that small. Many people call them wind eggs - and a few other adjectives for passing gas. I think that’s just way too crude for such a cute little thing. I’m just calling it a Small Fry. I understand these tiny eggs typically have no yolk. I’ll let y’all know about that when we crack it open.

We’ve also started getting large eggs.

We don’t get them very often, but it’s always a nice surprise. We usually get small to medium eggs, and I’ve got no complaints about that - it’s just fun to find something different every now and again.

A couple of the hens now have completely bald patches on their backs from Duke’s affections. I’ve read about chicken saddles, but never really gave them much thought. After seeing all the damage Duke is inflicting, I’ve changed my mind and decided to make one and see if it works. A chicken saddle is simply something that fits over the hen’s back to protect it from the rooster’s spurs. To start, I’ve decided to make one for the White Faced Black Spanish that Duke is particularly fond of. Her back is pretty bad. I’m almost finished with it and plan to put it on her tonight. She’s my test case to see if this will really help. If it does, we are going to have a bunch of stylin’ chics around here.

In the next couple of days, I’ll post instructions for making the chicken saddle, pictures of a hen wearing it, and the results. If all goes well, we’ll just have a little Chicken Saddle Fashion Show. Keep your fingers crossed……

Bee Free,
Penny