Brrrr...

We've had a unusually long cold snap here - it's been below freezing every night for a week. I leaned plywood against the open air coop for some insulation, and finally got a heat lamp. After working a 9hr day, I went to the hardware store on the way home, and began setting it up in the dark. When I finially turned it on, I discovered a gruesome bloody  mess in the coop.

The girls (mostly Henrietta I think), picked on little whitie while they were going up to roost- she was covered in blood - her entire head and neck. I brought her inside, wrapped her in a towel, and put her int he shower stall. I went back outside to finish setting up the heat lamp. When I came back in, I washed her off. It looked like she'd been pecked pretty badly around the comb. I dressed her wounds with neosporin, made up homemade electrolytes, and syringed them to her (she was in shock). She perked up after the electrolytes.  I left her inside for the night. The next morning made her eat/drink some. She was acting much better overall, even making normal chicken noises. Later that afternoon, I gave her another bath, as she was still covered in blood, and I couldn't put her in w/the others so bloody.  Here are her injuries after the 2nd bath. 

After she dried, I put her out w/the others and monitored them carefully - I even stayed outside for roosting time. No one picked on her going up to roost.  There are usually some scuffles for "prime" roost spots, but never resulting it injuries like this. 

Winterized the bees

Today (sadly) was my last hive check of the season. It was nice and warm with some sun, so I took the chance to get in the hive and winterize them. Today I.... 1) again took inventory of their resources (3 boxes of honey), 2) got a feel for how many bees (way more than I expected, bottom 2.5 boxes full), 3) treated for mites and 4) tilted the hive forward, so any condensation they produce will run forward (away from the winter cluster).  I feel like they are looking really good heading into winter - they have everything they need to make it through. Though with bees, it's never a sure thing. 

Updates...

A few changes around here.  I added 3 new birds to the flock (2 White Leghorns, and a Cuckoo Maran).  Sadly, the Cuckoo Maran turned out to be a Roo, so he was destined for the soup pot. I had really wanted some of their dark "chocolate" colored eggs, but fate had other plans. The good news is, I found someone who wanted to breed Cuckoo Maran's, so he went to live on a farm in Olympia.  So I'm down to 7 chickens (8 being the limit of what I am allowed). *Sigh* I guess I wasn't mean to have 8. Also someone posted an add recently for a breed I like/want, so am considering....

We also installed an automatic door on the chicken coop. It is the best $200 I've ever spent. It runs on batteries, and has a light sensor, so it opens/closes on its own at dawn and dusk. 

I also tried my hand at making pickles.  The fridge dill pickles turned out wonderfully.  I also tried lactofermenting some, which didn't turn out so well - there wasn't enough liquid to cover the pickles, and they grew mold. I also tried hot canning some - I did 4 pint jars, one of which cracked while processing. The other three sealed right away (but I haven't tried them yet).

New coop pics

Finially, pics of the new coop. It's our first ever attempt to build something ourselves. We managed without killing each other. :)

Sides put together

Sides attached to each other

Door in, roof on, partially screened

Nest box from old kitchen drawer

New coop

We are in the process of building a new, open air coop. We are using this design: http://myoutdoorplans.com/animals/simple-chicken-coop-plans/ but without anything on the inside (except a perch).  They will just roost there at night, with access to their run during the day.  I plan on building a freestanding nest box in their large run. I also purchase an electronic door opener, that will open and close with sunrise/sunset.

I will post pics soon of the progress!

A tribute to Buffy & Zippy....

You have nourished myself, my friends, and family well. Thank You.  I hope you have had the best possible chickeny life- able to run, dust bath, chase bugs, and scratch around in the dirt, as chickens should.

Zippy was smart, and an escape artist. Buffy was a kind leader, she never picked on the others.

I am honoring your life and death the best way I know how.  I spent a few minutes holding each of you, thanking you for your life and nourishment before I did deed quickly, quietly, and humanely.  I will continue to honor you by using all of your parts -you will continue to nourish us through rich, flavorful broth that we will enjoy in the months to come.

Bees arrive today!

Today I'm picking up a package of bees.  Im quite nervous, I did a few installs last year with my mentor, but it was over a year ago, and I had guidance. This is all on my own. Im nervous because it's also supposed to be kind of crappy out today and dont want to have to decide what is "too crappy" to install them into their new home.

The installation process is fairly easy. You take out the queen, set her aside, inspect her, hang her between frames in the new hive, and literally dump and pour the bees over her and into their new home. Then quickly close up the hive, and put some food on them to nourish them while the settle in, and are able to bring in food of their own. Im going to ask hubby to take a video of the install.

Ok, so here are pics hubby took during install.

 The package

Prepping the hive for install

Dumping the bees into their new home

Shaking the last few from the box (video)

Puttin' the girls to work....

I hate weeding. And have neglected the flower beds out front all winter long.  Weeding garden beds is one thing, but flower beds is another. They don't feed me, and are just to look pretty, so I don't usually want to weed them.  So, we built a 'grazing pen' out of PVC so we can move it across the flower beds, and the hens will eat the weeds for us.  I just have to put a couple of the hens in it, and take them out when they're done.  In the winter, it can also double as a cloche over the vegetable beds if we put plastic over it.

The RIR's are hard at work!

Shades of Green

My newest and largest creation. It measures about 50 inches across, and 35 inches deep.

Getting better at making rugs

I'm getting getter at making the rag rug with the toothbrush method.  I'm figuring out what works and what doesn't work for me.  Below is a picture of my 2nd attempt at rug making, measuring  35in x 22in.

And my 3rd attempt, my first try at doing a round one, pictured below. It is 28 inches across. I wanted to make this one bigger, but sadly ran out of yellow material. Note to self: don't by twin sheets, they are too small! Which is a shame, because I really love the buttery yellow color of this one.

Eggs again

Well, I'm finally getting eggs again.  The hens stopped laying in November because of the low # of hours of daylight, and due to molting.  The days are finally long enough (in combination with finishing their molt) which means I got my first egg of the year last week. Right now, just one of the Rhode Island Reds (RIR's) is laying.  One of the Black Star's looks like she is about to start laying (her comb is brighter, more red than pink). I could make them lay better/longer throughout the winter by providing an hour or two  of artificial light daily, but my coop doesn't have electricity. Some people do this, but I feel like if nature intended them to take a break for the winter, so be it.

First rug

 Today I finished my first "rag rug".  It's made from upcycled bedsheets torn into strips, then knotted together. There are several different methods to make them, but I used the "toothbrush" method (just google it).  Also, there is a crocheting method, which I'd like to try at some point.  As with all craft projects, the first try comes out "eh".   Here is the progression.

Baby Quilt

I recently finished a baby quilt for my brother and sister in law, so wanted to post pictures of it. I think it is my favorite one that I have done so far. I love the neutral colors, and I finally figured out why my sewing machine kept giving me trouble before.

It is made of cotton (the main print) and flannel squares.  The edges are sewn, the snipped, then washed and dried many times to fray the edges, giving it the fuzziness.  Each time it is washed, the edges will fray more, and the flannel will get even softer. 

This is the front, before the seams are snipped

 The back, before the seams are snipped:

 After the seams are snipped on the front, but before it is washed:

 Finished front!

Hoof trimming

One day we'd really like sheep (yes, leaning away from goats), but I know little about their day to day veterinary care. Which worries me.  Scares me actually.  I'm the type of person who likes to educate myself a lot before jumping into something.  Years before getting chickens, I read tons of books (some I reread multiple times) to study up on them so I'd be familar/comfortable when the time came. Yes, all that for chickens.  Which are really about as much work as a housecat.

The veterinary care scares me, because reading it is one thing, seeing it and doing it is something else altogether. And it's a mammal - way more complicated. So, in preparation for wanting sheep, I put up an ad on the local farm co-op, and found a local person with goats who needed assistance trimming her goats hooves.   I'd help her out with the chore, in exchange for learning how to do the task.  Last week was my first 'lesson'. I watched her do it, and have confidence to try it myself next time.  I am definitely feeling motivated to learn new skills!

Goals for the year

I don't usually make 'goals' for myself as part of new years, but am feeling pressured to do so for some reason.

 I was reflecting on this past year and feel like we accomplished so much last year.  I learned how to (and did) to cull a hen, I complete a first year beekeeping apprenticeship,  and we built 2 garden beds.  Also I made friends and connections. 

This year I feel so limited. I can't get any new animals (other than ducks, hubby still isn't a fan of that idea).  I could do a batch of meat chickens.  I am going to do another year of beekeeping apprenticeship, and get my own hive (as well as the hives of my mentor to manage). I definetly need to continue making friends/connections here.  I'd also love to build a new chicken coop. 

I also feel like I need to develop my skill set more. Eventually, we'd like to move further into the country with more land.  Unfortunately, that means less people to learn from. So I need to learn other useful skills while we live closer to the city.