A Little Fresh Air

This past Sunday was gorgeous here.

Sun was shining

and the temps were in the 70's.

I took the new pullets over to spend some time outside

since they'll be moving outside once we get the coop upgraded.

Of course, I end up discovering that my favorite new pullet 

is actually a rooster.

And since no roosters are allowed at the Wannabe Farm 

(because the neighbor's Roo is loud enough without one in the backyard)

He needs to find a home. 

Luckily, I found him one and also found another pullet to replace him- same breed and everything.

Hopefully I won't have to worry about raising new chicks for a while.

Prepping the Garden

The husband was hard at work Sunday and Monday

getting the veggie garden ready for planting.

This past fall we dumped quite a bit of composted manure

onto the garden- something we neglected to do the year before

and we paid for it in lack of production.

So Big E went to work tilling in the compost.

He also went to work making the edges perfectly straight.

Finally, he limed the garden good.

We have one more bag of lime we need to finish up one corner

but for the most part, it's done.

 I spent my evening making a to scale drawing of the garden

so I could get an idea of where I wanted things to go.

We wanted to make sure we rotated the various veggies

in the hopes that it would help with squash bug issues

and that rotation and added compost would boost our crops.

I paid special attention to companion planting 

and spacing (something I never really paid much attention to).

I ended up having a little extra room for a small herb garden-

on paper at least.

We'll see how well I planned once it's time to get the seeds and plants in the ground.

 

Renovations

Yesterday was a beautiful day in our neck of the world
and since an injury has me sidelined from the gym and from my usual hike training,
I figured it was time to lay out a plan for the coop renovations.

Because I brought home 1 chick more than I was supposed to intended,

and 2 of the new chicks are Jersey Giants- the largest breed of chicken,

it was evident that we needed to make the coop a little larger 

to accommodate all the girls comfortably.

I had already planned to redo the run of the coop by making it the same height as the coop itself.

This would let me enter the run to clean it

and allow me to hang a waterer

and add some perches.

The plan has morphed into adding  1 1/2 feet to the existing coop

(which requires cutting large openings in the existing wall), 

adding 1-2 windows 

(which may require the need to relocate a support beam

and/or the existing perch)

adding 2 feet to the run

making the run the same height as the coop

and replacing the small door with a door big enough

for me to enter the run.

My husband is thrilled.

Bertha was interested in the goings-on 

and came to check it out.

Truthfully, I'm pretty sure she was looking for me to give her food.

Over the weekend they got some strawberry pieces

and that means (to them) that I might have strawberry pieces each time I come to the coop.

She and I had a talk about being nice to the new arrivals when they move in

as she is the boss of the coop.

She might have a run for her money 

as one of the new Speckled Sussex pullets is asserting her authority in the brooder.

We might end up with 2 rival chicken gangs like 

the Sharks and the Jets.

If I see any of them snapping their fingers

and singing I'll let you know.

Child Labor

My grandson came to visit for the holiday weekend, 

so I put him to work.

You've got to start them when they're young!

A Dose of Cute

New Chicks On The Block

Going into a farm store in the spring when you have a chicken fetish is a dangerous thing.
But I was fairly confident I could resist those cute little fluffs of feathers
because I made the decision I was done raising chicks.
My chickens live at my parents' house on 6.5 acres
while I live 10 minutes away in a small town
in a one  bedroom apartment.
I found a place that will raise your chicks for you from their flock
and once they are ready to be in the coop, you pick them up.
But after some thought,
I didn't know if I wanted to spend the extra money on chickens
when I already had all the items I needed to raise them myself.
So, while looking at the cute fuzzy little chicks,
I decided to get some and raise them myself.
(all it took to convince the husband was the sign that said Jersey Giants lay extra large eggs).
I did have to figure out what to put them in since using a water trough won't work in a one bedroom apartment.
Later that night,
I remembered the large rabbit hutch I had in the attic,
and the next day I went and picked up the chicks.

I was supposed to get 3.
I ended up with 4 because there were only 4 left
and I couldn't leave one left behind.
I have 2 black Jersey Giant chicks and
2 Speckled Sussex chicks.
Jersey Giants are a Heritage breed from America
(they originated in New Jersey in 1870-1890)
They are the largest purebred chicken breed
and very docile.

This one is named Black Betty
(like the song, which I sing in my head constantly now)

This one we call The Jersey Devil
named for the monster in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

The Speckled Sussex breed is from England that originated
in about 43 A.D.
They are friendly and docile and have a curiosity
that has them exploring and following you around.

This one is Amelia Peabody

(after a favorite character in a novel)

And this one is most likely going to be called
Royal Farms
as in Royal Farms fried chicken.
My 8 year old named her,
I was thinking Margaret Thatcher or Queen Victoria

They're all set up in their brooder

in my small bathroom-

temporarily.

They'll be moved to another area today.

So far this gals are a riot.

While I was getting the brooder ready, 

they all jumped up and perched on the edge of the bottom portion of the cage

while I was putting together the wire parts.  

Then one would jump off onto the floor

and while I was catching that one and putting it back

another would jump off 

and it continued on and on like some sort of 

I Love Lucy episode.

This is going to be fun!

Spring is Springing

Despite the 12 inches of snow we received this past Thursday, signs of Spring are springing up.

Daffodils are pushing through the soil.

Birds are singing every morning.

Chicks are in the farm store.

And woodpeckers are knocking in the trees.

I can't wait for warmer weather!