Adventures in Backyard Homesteading - Raising Chickens

The time has finally come! I've wanted chickens for so many years and finally they are here!  I did a lot of research and chose very carefully.  We have eight baby chicks that we ordered from mypetchicken.com along with a beautiful chicken coop that was expensive but will really keep them warm and dry during our very cold winters and is set up with electricity.

It is amazing to me that these babies come to you straight in a box that you pick up from the post office!

Here is the coop. I just love the color and design.  It is Amish made.

We had to put it on wheels to get it to the back garden. What a job that was!... 

We are putting the coop and building the run behind the playset and next to our garden. We also moved Jellybean's hutch into the garden itself. I sometimes let her hop around the garden when I am there. She has, however, gotten away on me twice when I wasn't looking so I am extra careful now and will also be adding another layer of fencing. Building the run and setting up the coop is going to be another huge job. We have to level the land and put hardware cloth under the run so predators don't dig up and get the chickens.

I tried to do a lot of research and choose breeds that are cold hardy for our freezing winters and also lay well. I also chose chickens that tended to make good pets and had more relaxed temperaments. 

We chose two Australorps which we have named Laverne and Shirley thanks to a friend's suggestion on Facebook.  Australorps are excellent layers and produce light brown eggs on an average of 5 eggs per week. They are usually calm and sweet.

Laverne

Shirley

These two are Rhode Island Reds.  They lay an average of 5 eggs per week and are great in the cold. We named these Freckles and Sunshine. My cat when I was a little girl was named Sunshine. It was nice that my daughters just so happened to choose that name.

Freckles

Sunshine

I also chose two Buff Orpingtons which do not lay as well (average 3 eggs per week) but make excellent chicken pets as they are usually very friendly and calm.  They are also good in the winters.  We named these two Pocahontas and Coconut. 

Pocahontas

Coconut

This pretty chick is a White Leghorn that has been named Snowball.  They lay very large white eggs and will be the only chicken we have that will give white eggs.  They are sometimes known to be a little nervous and active but we will see because this one right now seems to be the most shy of our babies. 

Snowball

And this... is Noodle.  Maia picked this one out online and named it herself. It is a Dominique chicken and because they are not often chosen they are called to be endangered. It lays about 3 eggs per week and is really beautiful when it gets bigger with black and white specks.

Noodle

I have tried to explain to the girls that they must try their best not to get too attached to the chickens because it is a reality that we could lose a few to sickness or predators no matter how careful we are. 

I even considered not naming them to help with this but that idea didn't last long.  And, both Maia and Bree have grown very fond of "their" chicken.

Maia with Noodle

Bree with Coconut

The girls just love them so much.  They come running in the door after school begging to go play with the chickens. I'm glad they are showing such an interest as it will help the chickens to get used to being handled.  We have even slowly introduced Caicos to them...

While Caicos is not very good with strange humans that come to our house, she is more tolerant than I've ever expected when it comes to bunnies and chickens. I will not trust her alone with them and I did notice she was licking her lips :) but my hope is that while the chickens are safe in their run, she will be able to calmly lay nearby and protect them.

Oh and I've found another great use for the chicken coop!  It's a great place to put wild children in when you need a break ;)

Full Worm Moon Today - Build a Wormery with Your Children!

Today we welcome the Full Worm Moon. Go outside with your children tonight and look for the beautiful moon together!

It is hard to imagine the ground softening any time soon here in Connecticut. Today my girls are enjoying a snow day!  

 After seeing my youngest daughter's artwork today, I guess I'm not the only one dreaming of SPRING!  

But, while I am really getting tired of the cold weather here, I do love making a warm fire and having everyone home with a clear schedule and nothing to do but play and go sledding with friends.

For those of you in warmer climates, I have shared a FREE tutorial on how to make your own wormery with your children in our new Little Acorn Learning Group Discussion Page on Facebook. 

Just request to join and I will let you in the group.  Please no promoting of your businesses or products.  This group is a support place for our  members and followers.  I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to share it with your Facebook friends!

From the Farmer's Almanac "At the time of this spring Moon, the ground begins to soften and earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of robins. In some regions, this is also known as the Sap Moon, as it marks the time when maple sap begins to flow and the annual tapping of maple trees begins."

Garden in Bloom and More

I can finally share some garden photos.  The ground really wasn't even ready for planting until early June this year so I feel like things are moving slow for us.  We expanded the garden by three more square foot boxes and planted all different types of vegetables this year including:  romaine lettuce, eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, peppers, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, kale, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, leeks, potatoes, radishes, onions, celery, asparagus, peas, green beans, snap peas, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, oregano, rosemary, sage, spearmint, peppermint, thyme and basil. 

Whew that was a mouthful!

I've already been dealing with my share of pests.  Flea beetles, cabbage worms (were SUCH a nightmare last year and I'm having anxiety that they are coming back), beetles and more.  So far, I've managed ok just picking them off but it's tedious.  I'm committed to keeping everything organic but it sure isn't easy.  In addition to veggies, we have a few beautiful flowers coming up too. 

In other news, I was unsuccessful in convincing my husband to allow me to get chickens but he did agree to rabbits.  We named our first bunny Jellybean and fell in love with her right away.  We didn't want her to be lonely so I educated myself about how to identify the sex of bunnies and found another beautiful female bunny for her.  Things were going wonderfully at first and they were truly bonded.  Then, one day, I went to pick them up out of the cage and they were snuggling but I noticed blood.  Then I noticed the new bunny's ear was bitten off!  I'm not kidding you.  Bitten off!  I was prepared to spay them as I know females can get territorial but they were still very young.  Look no further if you are squeamish... 

Needless to say, they now are in separate hutches.  Something leads me to believe that chickens would have been a lot easier but what do I know!

Moving forward... many cool things are taking place around our yard.  My daughter Maia was surprised to see that her Softball Helmet was occupied by a Mama Wren who wanted a safe nest for her babies!  How cool is this?  

Can you see her?  We now have five baby eggs on our front porch that we can wait and watch until they hatch!  

Dee is not coming home this summer.  It's hard because I miss her so much.  But she has been provided with a wonderful opportunity working with her Dean on an amazing internship.  We've set her up in a summer dorm.  She did come up for a long weekend last week and the girls (and me!) were so happy to have her here.  You are never really ready for them to fly the nest and then after they do there are all of these other "letting go" moments you didn't expect.  I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it.  

School is out and we celebrated by going to the beach with friends.  The last few days we've done hardly anything... just hanging around reading, doing puzzles, swimming and relaxing.  It feels good but the girls do get bored easily.  Luckily, I know that boredom breeds creativity so I'm hanging tough.  I look forward to a really great, old fashioned type of summer with the girls.

And finally, I wanted to host this little spider as my next Identification Contest but I CAN'T FIGURE OUT what type he is!!!! Does anyone know?  I've found some photos that are close but just not it.

Life Moves...

It moves fast sometimes... bringing you here, there and everywhere in a blink.  That's often what I feel... like my life is flashing by.  So many beautiful moments but hardly time to keep up with them all, never mind document.

If you are still here in my space reading.  Thank you.  I know my posts can have long pauses in between...

This month has been a busy one... it's also awakened me to many things.  First things first... my wonderful, sweet daughters... we've had celebrations that I have not had time to post...

My oldest daughter has turned 20 years old.  Is that possible?  I must seem very old to you... I swear I'm not, I'm not!

But somehow - some way... I raised an adult human being.  Here she is:

She is beautiful and wonderful... so brilliant and deep.  She is loving and sensitive and wants to save the world just like me. I believe she will.

I also have a child entering teenagehood.  Such a confusing and emotional time but this beautiful, sweet girl has strength and a knowing that is guiding her.

Keira had a "backwards" party with all of her friends and we did EVERYTHING backwards... hair, clothing, decorations, cupcakes, you name it.  It was SO much fun.  I am very lucky that she allows me to know her so deeply and that she lets me into her world and to get to know her friends so well.

Besides many fun games, we went outside and enjoyed making S'Mores by the fire.  The girls played flashlight tag and it reminded me so much of my own childhood when I was a little older and I moved to Connecticut.  I am so grateful that my girls have the ability to make these beautiful memories with their girlfriends.  I am even MORE grateful that my daughters have such wonderful and kind friends. 

In the meantime, we've been waiting and waiting for Spring but it just doesn't totally come.  We started our seeds and plotted out an amazing garden this year. 

Indoors Spring has gone very very well...

Outdoors... well... not so much:

But eventually the snow melted and once in awhile the weather warmed up and we kept on with our gardening... we recently planted a bunch of fruit trees - cherry, peach and three apple trees.  

And, I begged for chickens but my husband would not agree.. so I got myself a sweet little bunny instead.

And she will be an indoor bunny but will have time during the Spring and Summer months to spend in fresh air outside.

These types of "catch-up" posts seem rushed to me as each topic could have been a post of it's own but I'm glad I can at least document these moments, even briefly.  

I've spent a lot of time these last few months putting my energy toward places that I really felt I was making a difference.  And while I was, I was neglecting many parts of my life that took decades for me to find and embrace like writing, gardening, crafting and creating.  After a few new experiences, I am going to once again try to find where my energy is best served and refocus a bit.  I hope to be back here more as a result.

Happy Spring!