What's with the snow?!?

Close to a foot in my front yard, and more coming this evening!!!

Our 2nd batch of eggs was a 100% BUST!  Not one hatched.  We have upgraded to a new incubator, and are trying again this week with some Silver-laced Wyandot eggs, as well as about a dozen from our own flock.  This 3rd batch will double as a science fair project for our 8yo, so I'm hoping we have better luck!

The sale on the house we had under contract has fallen through, but we have a backup home that we're working on getting under contract.  It's on an acre, and would still be a big upgrade over our current 1/5 acre.  *fingers crossed*

Big changes ahead - update`

So much has been going on, there's been no time to blog!

For starters, our 1st hatch was a bit of a bust.  We ended up having 3 hatch, and 2 of the 3 died :-(.  We did get one healthy buff orp. pullet.  She's doing well, and is about 5 weeks old now.

Last week, we introduced 2 Jersey Giants, 1 Cuckoo Maran, and our "Heinz 57" Rooster into the main flock.  So far, no one has killed anyone else, which we will call a "success."  The big chickens keep picking on the Cuckoo, and the 4 little ones hide in the corner all day.

We have our 2nd batch of hatching eggs in the incubator. Today is day 14, and about 1/2 of them are looking pretty good at this point (there are 25 eggs in this batch).  We'll see what hatches next week.

But the big news is: WE'RE UPGRADING!  We have a new house under-contract, and it's on an acre and a half.  A big upgrade over our 1/5 acre lot that we're currently on.  We're very excited to start this new "upgraded" farming adventure.  Unfortunately, we're moving the 1st week of June, and that means no garden this year :-/, but we'll have the summer to plan out the garden area for next year.

Sorry for the lack uf updates.  I hope everyone is having a great spring, so far!

Not much to report

I haven't written a post in a while.  Lots has been going on in my personal life, not so much in the backyard.

Currently, the backyard is covered by 7" of snow :-/.  This weekend, it's supposed to be in the 60's, so I'm hoping we can get some backyard projects done: Primarily, building the new chicken run, and putting a vinyl door on the chicken coop, so the chickens can come and go as they please.

Those darn eggs haven't hatched, yet!  They're scheduled to hatch tomorrow, and at this point, if only ONE hatches I'll be thrilled.  Incubating eggs is A LOT of work!

Boston...the chicken killa.... is still here.  The guy from TN bailed, so Boston's supposed to be going to a hound rescue this weekend.  It's been a lot of work keeping the 3 chickens we have left safe in the backyard until Boston gets relocated.

The veggies I planted indoors have sprouted...well, some of them have. The cauliflower and broccoli are growing nicely, no sign of the peppers or tomatoes yet.

I guess that's all for now.  I'll take videos & pics of those chicks hatching tomorrow *fingers crossed*!

Saw this on http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Badger-Farms-llc-Natural-Chicks-and-Pullets/132013146967751  and HAD to share!

Quick update:
We got a few new chickens this week.  "Della" a Delaware hen that I found for free on Craigslist needed some rescuing.  She was being picked on by the other birds in her backyard flock, and went blind in one eye. :-(  She seems to be adjusting nicely with the other 2 hens, that were spared when Boston (a.k.a. "Chicken Killa) feasted on chicken last weekend.

So right now, we have 3 hens (1 Delaware, 1 Sexlink, and 1 Bantam Cochin).  Our Broody bird decided to give up on sitting on her nest, so I grabbed the eggs and stuck them in the incubator, but I'm pretty sure they're a lost cause.  Hopefully the other 36+ eggs hatch on 2/28 or 3/1.

Yesterday, we got 3 new chicks.  They are all about 2 weeks old.  2 Black Jersey Giants (my FAV!!) and 1 Cuckoo Maren.  I'll post pics, soon.

Also, seeds have been started inside for our yet to be started garden.  Waiting on tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and cauliflower to sprout.

Have a Happy Valentine's day, everyone :-)

The chicken killer strikes again :'-(

Unfortunately, I didn't knock hard enough on wood when I wrote that we seemed to have fixed the problem of the dog getting into the coop :-/.

Well actually, we did manage to keep the dogs out of the coop; Boston, the bloodhound, and Abby, our basset hound, combined forces and poked a hole through the chicken-wire. Then they waited for the chickens to come though the hole, and killed 4 of our 6 chickens, including our new rooster.

We have decided to make the difficult decision to re-home the bloodhound to a new family.  Sometimes, you have to put your own feeling aside and do what's best for your animals.

Boston is a great dog, he's loyal, and funny, and great with kids....but he's BAD with chickens, he needs more room, he needs to be on a REAL farm....one without chickens!

Luckily, we seemed to have found the perfect fit for our "Boss".  A man from Tennessee recently lost his bloodhound of 14 years, and is looking for a new dog in his life.  He's here in CO on business, and wants to adopt Boston, and bring him to his 1 acre property, and home to his disabled son. Since he already knows about the breed of dog, we're confident this will work out well, and that Boston will be much happier  and get more attention from his new family.

We'll miss his playfulness, and funny personality, but in the end, he'll be better off in his new home. As a result, our backyard plants and animals will be better cared for, and be safer.

RIP "Fireball"

RIP: Sexlink, "Tabitha", and Americana

Wellcome Chickins! (spelled like the sign :-))

On Friday, we brought 3 of our chickens to our daughter's 2nd grade class, to show them off, and teach the kids a little about chickens and backyard farming.

The kids LOVED the chickens!  They all wanted a chance to hold them, and pet them, and asked lots of great questions about them.

Below are some pics:

The first "batch"

2/6/13:
Impatiently waiting the obligatory 12 hours before I can put these under my broody chicken's butt! 3 Easter Egger eggs, 2 Maran eggs, 1 Cream Legbar, and 1 Cream Legbar cross.  I also included one egg from our own flock, which is a Speckled sexlink/bantam Cochin cross.  *fingers crossed*

Tomorrow morning, I'll put them under our Bantam Cochin and we'll see what hatches in 22 days!

2/7/13:
Woke up bright and early to get those eggs under the momma chicken!  Here are the 12 not so easy steps to placing eggs under a broody hen, please note, you might find a better method via google...try my method at your own risk ;-)

Step 1: Put garden gloves on, because touching chickens makes me squimish.
Step 2: Recruit 8yr old daughter to carry eggs outside.
Step 3: Go into coop and remove broody hen from the nesting box in the kennel (she's been separated from the other chickens for about 5 days as this point)
Step 4: Pray she doesn't peck you when you grab her out. (My prayers were answered! Hallelujah!)
Step 5: Set the broody chicken down in the coop (this may have been my first mistake... :-/)
Step 6: Scream "oh crap! Rooster! Leave her alone!"
Step 7: Panic and chase the rooster away from your broody chicken while simultaneously yelling at daughter to "Hurry and put the eggs in the damn nest."
Step 8: Climb through very little opening to catch the broody chicken, which is still being attacked/raped by the rooster.
Step 9: Catch the hen.
Step 10: Place the hen back in the kennel and slam the door in her face when she tries to escape.
Step 11: Take a deep breath, walk into garage, remove gloves.
Step 12: Go back out in an hour and make sure everything has settled down, and that the hen is incubating the eggs!  SUCCESS!!!

Momma Chicken :-)

The rapist

After all that, I sure am hoping that we get at least a chick or two by 2/28/13!

Our adventures in "Goating"

We went to the Denver Chicken Swap back in August 2012, and ran into our friends from One Badger Farms.  They were selling lots of different types of animals, including chickens, kittens, and goats.  One goat, in particular caught my eye.  His name was Fred (a stupid name for a goat IMO, but the name stuck).

After some begging and pleading, I convinced my husband that Fred needed to come live in our backyard.  I convinced him by telling him that he'd never have to mow the lawn again.  I quickly became a goat expert...by googling info about goats.

Fred ate all the weeds in the backyard, he ate all the weeds in the side yard, he ate all the weeds in the front yard...he did not eat the grass.... so much for selling the lawn mower....  That was okay though.  Fred was an AWESOME pet!  He would climb in our laps when we went on the patio, he ate out of our hands, he headbutted the chicken-killing dog! He would cry for us when we weren't outside...how cute :-)...until I realized we could hear him while we were in the house.  This was a problem.

You see, goats are not exactly "allowed" where we live.  And Fred was really noisy.  I was worried about the neighbors getting annoyed and calling animal control.  So Fred went back to One Badger Farms.  Since we know the owners, we did get up to visit Fred a few times after we returned him.

I kept trying to figure out a way to get Fred back.  Maybe if we had TWO goats he'd be quieter, or maybe we could make a home for him in the garage...but there really wasn't a solution that would be very fair to Fred.  He belonged on a farm.

Unfortunately, in October, Fred passed away after eating some noxious weeds.  But I'm anxious to try the goat thing again....as soon as I figure out how to shut them up!

RIP Fred the Goat.

The story continues. . .

Snooki, Jwoww, and Fluffy grew like crazy and soon, I realized they were going to need a larger space, then the kennel I had moved them into in the garage.  So, I went into my backyard and looked around.... ah ha! The pool house/shed would be perfect...after a little work....



I painted and hammered, and had the hubby cut some holes for me for ventilation  and after many hours of work...I had a chicken house, and chicken run!

We moved the hens into their new home, and we added an new bird to the flock.  We got our first barred rock, and moved them all in together.  Everything was GREAT!  My chicken-raising-expert skills were paying off! In just a few short months we'd have more eggs then we know what to do with.  UNTIL....

Notice the dog

Boston, the big, stupid, bloodhound killed Snooky!  The big, stupid, dog became chicken OBSESSED! He outsmarted me, the chicken EXPERT, at every turn!  

He looks so innocent!!!

No matter what I did, I couldn't keep that darn dog away from the chickens!  He killed all. of. them!  I bought more...he killed those, too.  I was beginning to think maybe I'd wasted enough money on chickens.  We'd only gotten about a dozen eggs by that time, and that dozen had cost us over $100!  Not exactly a savings.

But, the nice guy at Murdochs's told us we could try putting up some cattle fencing around the run.  It seemed to do the trick.  So far, (knocks on wood), he hasn't been able to get the ones we have now.  

Currently, we have a flock of 5 hens (1 Bantam black Cochin, 2 Speckled Sexlinks, 1 Brahma, and 1 Easter Egger) and 1 rooster (Bantam Cochin).  We are getting about 2-3 eggs a day, but not all of our chickens have matured, yet.

On to the next adventure:

One of our chickens has gone broody, which means she sits on the nest and won't move, because she's waiting for her eggs to hatch.  Well, since we've only had a rooster for about 3 days, her eggs will never hatch, since they're not fertilized.  Hmmmm...what to do?  I just bought some fertile eggs from an online seller, and I'm going to stick them under her broody butt!  We're hoping to get a chick or two out of the nest :-).  Our daughter is very excited by this possibility.

This sparked a new passion: I want to start a small-scale backyard hatchery.  What I've discovered since embarking on the backyard farming adventure, is that I have to drive FOR. EV. ER. to get chicks, and chickens, and forget trying to buy fertilized eggs locally. . . I have to order them online.

So I spent the better part of the last few days building an incubator.  I'm super excited to see it in action!  Here's some pictures:

Outside

Inside

I'll keep you posted....

Also, we're planning a pretty large-scale backyard garden that we're going to be starting on soon.

In the beginning...

Homesteading is not the term we used when we first started our journey.  Actually, it didn't start off as a journey at all, it was more of an adventure; a throw it at the wall and maybe it will stick sort of idea.

I was homeschooling our then 7yr old daughter, and wanted to do a fun science project.  That's how it started....I was doing research for a 1st grade science project.  I wanted to have her hatch some eggs.  So the research started: how much is an incubator? What happens if the eggs don't hatch? What do we do with the chickens after they hatch? How's the kiddo gonna feel if we have to give the chickens away? What happens if one dies?!? 

Since I was sort of a slacker when it came to homeschool teaching, the questions mostly just mulled around in my mind.  I wasn't serious enough to actually find the ANSWERS to any of those questions.  Heaven forbid I google "how to hatch chickens."  So the whole chicken idea was just an idea until I invited a friend from high school to my son's 2nd birthday party.  She happened to live on a farm and had chickens!  (You can learn more about her and her farm at http://www.facebook.com/gettoknowyourfarmer?fref=ts) Soooooo, I did what ANY friend would do in that situation: I asked her 10,000 questions and sucked her dry of information!  What I discovered was that I should start with chicks, I could buy just females, and the town I lived in allowed a small number of hens in backyards.  The next day,I went to the library, checked out Chickens for Dummies (yup, that's a REAL book), and by 5:00 that evening, I was a chicken EXPERT!  I even called my friend and told her everything I learned.  I think by that point, I knew more than she did, LOL!  By 6:00pm, I had convinced my husband to order some Jersey Giant chicks, and the idea became a reality 3 days later when they arrived.

We named them Snooki, Jwoww, and Fluffy.  I made a homemade brooder from an old cooler, and the chicks grew like crazy.  I was chicken OBSESSED!

I figured that would be the end of the story, but it turns out - it was just the beginning...