Ordering Chicks

Picture of a few of my favorite breeds:
Ameraucana, Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock, and Golden Comet

I especially like the Golden Comet, a cross between a Rhode Island Red and a Leghorn

I generally order my chicks in the fall of the year.  Late September when they arrive I put them in the smaller of my two coops.  As they grow through the winter they are kept cozy and warm in the small coop with a heat lamp hanging from the ceiling.  In the early spring  (when they have grown sufficiently enough not to be eaten by the cats) they are let loose to roam in the gardens and begin the tilling process.  As they scratch the ground, eating the weed seeds, finding the grubs that have wintered over and sometimes a mouse or two, I enjoy watching their antics as they enjoy their freedom.  However, once the gardens are planted in late June I begin penning them in the Large coop where they will spend the summer laying beautiful, nutrient rich eggs. The older hens that were living in the large coop have been sold as 2 year old layers, or put into the freezer.  I rotate the hens out every two years.  This keeps egg production high, and allows me to try new breeds.

If you are ordering chicks for the first time, research which breeds will do well in your area. I like the dual breeds best for my area.  The long cold winters are hard on the lighter breeds, frozen combs and  feet are common with the light breeds even though their egg production is better.  For the past 30 years we have raised chickens.  Sometimes up to several hundred at a time.  I raised the Golden Comet, along with my other favorite breeds, the past 5 years.  I personally really like this hen.  They handle the winter weather fine and  begin laying earlier than the other breeds (about 18-20 weeks old)  .   Their egg production is good, but the light brown eggs are a little smaller than the dual-purpose, heavier breeds.

If I were to list my favorite breeds, they would go in this order:

1. AMERACANA, because they lay gorgeous, green eggs, and I think the eggs taste better!  This breed is not real productive as a laying hen, but I love the variety of colors the hens come in!

2. RHODE ISLAND RED, a good layer, sensible, and seem to be more hardy than the other breeds.

3. GOLDEN COMETS, great egg production and are quick to mature and begin laying.

4. BARRED ROCKS, I think they are beautiful and produce eggs fairly well.  Very Hardy. Dual-purpose.

5. AUSTRALOP, lays well, but is also a good dual-purpose breed.  The beautiful dark black feathers glisten with green and purple in the sun.

6. BUFF ORPTINGTON, very friendly, docile breed, does not lay as well as the other breeds, but tastes great for Sunday Dinner.

I have ordered from several companies over the years and have found Cackle Hatchery to be the best company to order from.  Quick, friendly service, and if there has ever been a problem they are more than willing to make it right.

gathering the eggs from the straw filled laying boxes attached to the outside of the coop

What is your favorite breed of chicken to raise?

Cattle Panels make a sturdy Chicken Run/ Hoop Coop

As the growing season comes to an end, it is time to put projects around the farm at the top of the priority list.  One of the fall chores is putting the old hens in the freezer (keeping enough laying hens until the new chicks start laying), or selling them.   I like to order my chicks in the fall.   They will begin to lay around March or April, just in time for the new CSA season.  For over 30 years I have had beautiful chickens running around the yard regardless of where we lived.  Sometimes the coops and runs were simple structures, but years ago when we bought the farm we put in more permanent  and sturdy facilities.

This run has protected my hens for many years.  It is made from cattle panels arched and staked with T posts.  Chicken wire was placed over, and wired securely to the panels.  This keeps the hens in and the hawks, eagles, skunks, coyotes and dogs out.  If you have predators trying to dig under the panels line the edges with large flat rocks.  We graze animals alongside the run and wanted to be able to attach fencing to the T posts as a barrier to keep the grazing goats or sheep from climbing on the run.   

This is our fancy "RED NECK"  door latch

Our large hen house hotel is home to about 100 hens.  I wanted a larger run and so we used the cattle panels length wise, stabilizing them through the middle with 2x4's.  

   

I do not like this run as well.  It is not tall enough to stand up in, however the square footage is much  greater than arching the panels.  We also graze animals along side this run without any additional fencing.

These beautiful red comet hens have given me wonderful light brown eggs for the past 2 years.  I especially like this breed.  They are hardy, good layers ,fairly calm, but they are not as meaty as the other breeds of brown egg layers.  I usually sell these hens after a couple of years and put the heavier, dual purpose breeds in the freezer. 

from the outside of the coop we gather the eggs several times a day

straw in the bottom of the boxes help keep the eggs clean and unbroken

add the egg shells to the compost pile, sprinkle around the bottom of tomatoes

to help prevent blossom end rot

or crush them and feed them back to the hens to ensure

hard shells in future egg production

original art work of a rooster we had several years ago

Thanks for stopping by!

A couple of earlier post about my experiences and thoughts about raising chickens

The $2600.00 Stew Hen

MOLTING

Here are a few photos of our beautiful, organic, vegetable farm.

Our Booth at Market

Just picked radishes.

Turks Turban Squash

Heirloom Beets

One of the Green Houses at Cricket Song Farm

Check out all the information you can find about raising vegetables and animals on this blog by using the search box located in the right hand column.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Chicken Run made from Cattle Panels

I adore chickens

A painting of one of our  past roosters who ended up in the freezer because he was so mean and kept
 attacking my 3 year old daughter.  She requested that we put him in the "stew pot".
He was gorgeous, a game bird/aracauna cross.

they make me smile

and they give us the perfect food

 all wrapped up in colorful packaging

extra high in omega 3

Over the past (well dare I say 30 years) I have had chickens

usually they run free range, but as soon as the gardens go in, at the first of June

I confine them to the hen house hotel with the walk out terrace.

We have had many coops and runs--er hotels and walk out terraces-- over the years

we move often and have rebuilt a place for the girls every time.

This is my favorite run thus far.

It is simply 16 foot galvanized cattle panels, arched and staked,

 and covered with chicken wire

our fancy "RED NECK" door latch

We used the tall 6 foot posts as stakes because we rotate grazing animals and wanted to be able to attach fencing along the sides of the run.

This is another example of using the cattle panels for a run.  The roof panels are supported through the middle using 2x4's.  I do not like this as well.  It is more difficult to maneuver in the run because you cannot stand up.  However square footage is more for the same amount of panels used as compared with the arched run.  This method does not require any additional fencing when we are grazing animals next to it.

If you have a problem with predators line the outside of the run with large flat stones.

More of my thoughts or experiences about raising chickens:

the $2,600 stew hen

MOLTING

We have also used the panels for mini green houses and have bent the panels in half the long way for low tunnels to extend the season for vegetable crops

Drying Celery

 

Made egg salad sandwiches for breakfast the other day 

everything was home made or home grown

celery from the garden (we grow it in the green house)

  is tastier  than store bought

 

 

 Try drying the celery stocks to use in soups, and stews 

 slice celery into 1/4 inch slices

place in a food dehydrator

dry until brittle

store in a dark, air-tight container

 

 

 

 

  the leaves I just chop up and put out on a tray lined with paper towels

when completely dry store in a dark, air-tight container

I add the leaves to course sea salt along with other dried vegetables and herbs

 (tomatoes, eggplant, carrots, oregano, tarragon, etc.) from the garden

 and put in a salt grinder

 

 

 

 

Try using the fresh leaves in salad or an omelet

 

 

 

SQUASH CURRENCY

 

How many squash do I have to grow to pay for that?  How many squash do I have to grow to pay for this?  I live my life in terms of "HOW MANY SQUASH".  I count squash, they are easy to pick and fill a bin quickly.  If I loose track of the count it's easy to dump them out and start over.  You needn't be a math whiz to  count squash.  How many squash will it take to pay for my gas to market this week, and how many to purchase the new greenhouse I am hankering for?  I'm sure every farmer figures their spending by the commodities they grow.

"How many tons of hay to make the swather payment?",  wonders farmer Green.

"How many calves to sell to buy the hay from farmer Green to feed my cows through the winter", ponders farmer Brown.


"How much extra grain do I grow to hire the combines to harvest the wheat," farmer Golden asks his wife.     (now that is a smart man)

"How many dozen eggs do I have to sell to buy the wheat from farmer Golden to feed my chicks until they are laying, and through the winter while production is down,"  frets farmer Hen-rettia.



On and on it goes, round and round.  It is the same for everyone reguardless of what you count.

loading squash on my 53 Ford Delivery Truck

 Here is an example of how many squash I need to grow and sell in ONE week:

GAS TO MARKET---------------------------------------  144- 175 with gas prices as they are

bale of HAY I feed out daily so I will have
beautiful compost in two years--------------------------   252  

POWER TO PUMP THE WATER
to feed the thirsty squash vines--------------------------   48


SEEDS/SHOVELS/EQUIPMENT
divided by 22 weeks of CSA deliveries----------------  181




Grand total for just one week ---------------------  525 SQUASH-ER-ROOS
                                                                                         now that's a boat load!

So a few years back I was behind on my tilling.  I use a walk-behind, rear-tined tiller and wasn't getting my 2 acre SQUASH patch tilled fast enough so I called someone with a tractor and tiller.  He said he could do 2 to 3 acres in an hour for $75.00.  O.K. sounds good to me-----let's see, $75.00 equals about 225 squash.  Yes, I can do that.  Well by the time he tilled through my hard-pan clay soil several hours had gone by.   $200.00 = 500-600 squash!!!!!!

Needless to say I won't do that again.  I'll just plood along behind my tiller eating dust and if I don't get my squash patch tilled I'll settle for a smaller area and just plant PEAS.  "How many peas to buy a bale of hay and how many to get me to market?"

MY HEAD HURTS!!!!

Squash come in all shapes and sizes

                                             Guess how many squash I had to grow for this.

      

Farm Fresh Eggs

There have been many studies preformed on the value of farm eggs verses "factory" eggs.  There is an interesting article written in Mother Earth News about the proven  extra  nutritional benifets of farm eggs.  Yes I'm all about eating the most nutritious eggs you can, but my criteria is TASTE.  As many of you have stopped by my booth at market and questioned why my eggs cost more than the other guys (or sister's) , the answer is,  they simply TASTE better. 

(Shelly, I know you are my sister and all and I do love you dearly, but my eggs ARE better than yours:) 

I know you are wondering how my farm eggs can taste better than other farm eggs well the answer is simple. 

Sprouted organic wheat berries, raw goats milk, greens from the green-house and protein in the form of slugs and bugs-yum!   

I raised my kids on farm-fresh eggs.  Sometimes in January the egg production would not quite feed our family so I would buy eggs from the store. 

I called them "fake eggs" .  One day my oldest daughter who was twelve was making a cake.  She  at the time thought they really were fake because they weren't at all like the ones we gathered from our hens.  Picking an egg up she examined it very closly and asked "Where do the make these, in a factory or something.?"  

This year I am raising more hens and should have plenty of eggs available at market.  Get there early because they sell fast.  Egg shares are available at a reduced price with a CSA vegetable share.