Poultry Order #1 Arrived

Our first order of chicks arrived today. These chicks were ordered from Murray McMurray Hatchery and arrived very quickly. We were notified that they shipped at 17:00 yesterday, and this morning they were at our post office. The Postman made a special trip to deliver them to the house. This order was our Blue Laced Red Wyandottes and Blue Silkie Bantams. When my wife opened the box one of the bantams had expired. The Hatchery included an extra of each though, so we are still up one. The little guy was buried in a peaceful spot in the forest. Everyone else seems to be doing extremely well and are very active. All have taken to the water and are pecking at feed in their new warm homes. We are keeping the two in separate  containers, as they will serve different purposes and not be part of the same flock. Included with our order was the option to have a free rare exotic chick included with the order. Of course we opted to do so. It will be a quite interesting experience attempting to identify the wee one! We have already made a guess, but will have to wait and see what he/she grows into as no one honestly knows which rare chick is included.

Blue Laced Red Wyandottes:

 Blue Silkie Bantams

The Rare Exotic Chick is the one on the right with the Gold face mask.

Lazy day Pics

Cukes growing on jute trellis.

Bunnies enjoying some Swiss Chard!

Moss, our hound dog.

Bee on a sunflower.

Dying Indian Pipes - notice how they turn completely black.

Blackberries ripening!

Hens on patrol.

They love resting underneath the new porch.

Old Boy on watch...

Garden Disaster

Early this morning as we pulled down the driveway, we pass one of our garden plots. Instead of gazing upon lush heads of cabbage and rows of bush beans, a strange sight appeared. The plants were all gone - I take that back there were still stubs sticking out of the ground as proof that the plants had once been there. 30 head of cabbage and six rows of beans completely gone! Of course we will have rabbits peruse the garden, a woodchuck or some turkeys will nibble, a deer or two in the corn - but that is part of living in the country. In three years we have never had a problem with deer - UNTIL NOW. It seems that in one night they were able to gorge themselves and completely wipe out the lower garden plot. An utter flippin' catastrophe. This puts a serious spin on our food supply and a goodbye to a majority of our canning efforts from our harvest for the season, because now the harvest won't be coming. This is a major disappointment as we are already having a strange growing season here. I am going to see if we can try to get another planting into the ground in hopes of a fall harvest.

Scythes, Stoneware, Cannons & Morning Bacon

It has been a busy weekend. Had several plans for what was going to happen but had to adapt accordingly. Part of the roof is leaking on the exterior, so the plan was to remove the shingles and reshingle the area. Well when we got up it was raining, so that shot the plans to the wind. Couldn't quite start on the new porch either, since I didn't really think it was a good idea to work with wet timbers...so then I remembered that there was a festival going on at the local steam grounds. So after I took my wife to work, and cooked up a nice breakfast, the wee one took a nap, and then we loaded up and off we went. Seems like the rain was definitely a sign that I was supposed to take the kids out. At the festival there was a flea market, steam show, parade, tractors galore, the old farm buildings [cabin, barn, trading post, wood shop, print shop, and metal shop], civil war re-enactors, and food galore.

The first table we walked to after unloading the caravan [dad + 6 kids], had something that we have been looking to acquire for awhile. Stoneware shoulder jugs! I found three in very nice condition and with minimal chipping. After haggling a bit of a deal, I quickly took them to the truck.

At the old trading post, the gentleman had another item I have been seeking. I wasn't sure that the items he had were for sale or if they were just for show, but hanging in the rafters were a couple of scythes. I went in to ask him if they were available, but he was busy talking with another couple and the kids were ready to move so I determined to go back after a bit and see what I could find out. We stopped in the old cabin and let the kids look around. It is a one room original homestead cabin that they exhibit. I got into a bit of a tiff with the gentlemen inside though. My son made a comment that he wanted to live in a cabin like this when he was older and the man inside [in his late 40s early 50s] proceeded to tell him what a horrible life it was to live in a cabin like so. He was very discouraging in his attitude and while we walked away I made it a point to discuss the possible reasons for his attitude and told the children that he surely had no right to say what he said. After wandering through an enormous amount of tractors from the 1930's to present day, we came to the Civil War Encampment. The unit was a light artillery unit who had three cannons with them. After spending some time checking out the artifacts, they actually let the kids play with them...which gave me tremors watching them opening the old spy glass or rolling around the cannon shot, playing with the black powder revolvers - it showed that old time craftsmanship was made to last for sure. We spent a good hour and a half there, watching the cannons fire and exploring. Even had a nice trail lunch of pickles, peanuts, jerky and blueberry bread with sarsaparilla soda to wash it down. We walked around a bit more and then it was back to the trading post. After talking with the owner [a gentlemen in at least his 70's] he told me that no one in his family had figured out how to use the scythes since his grandfather. I explained what I want to use it for and he said since he had 4 he could part with one...for $5.00! I quickly scooped up the sturdiest one I could find and thanked him for his help.

Then it was off to the steam train, more shops, more tractors, then it was time to go home and feed the critters.

Sunday morning was a nice wake-up call! When I went outside there just happened to be four pigs wandering about the property, clearly not where they were supposed to be. Wish I would have took a picture though, because I sure felt like an old swineherder when I walked the piggie parade back to the hole they made in the fence. After repairing that and taking care of the rest of the critters we had breakfast and went right to work on the new porch [which you can see in the background of the pics]. We all worked all day on it till we ran out of timbers. It was a nice surprise though for mama when she got home! I can't wait to finish it. It is a 12' x 16' form, which is enormous compared to our old 3' by 3' porch. It should be the backdrop for a lot of good times to come. Once we got everything cleaned up and done for the day, we waited for mom to come home and finished off the rest of the homemade root beer. It was a great weekend!

Poultry decisions!

Ever since we have started our flock, we have added more chicks every spring so as to keep revitalizing the flock and to keep a steady supply of eggs available. This year we were not financially able to follow our normal plan, and though our little one was sad as we usually always get chicks near her birthday, we explained the situation to her and decided we would have to wait. We had hoped that having four hens go broody [3 Black Australorpes and 1 Barred Rock] would have remedied that situation, but for some reason they just can't seem to hatch any eggs. I am sure there are several reasons for that, but we have not solved the problem yet. We tried isolating the hens as they went broody, but they would get so upset in isolation that they would break all their eggs in their attempts to remove themselves from the isolation pen. We tried to isolate them in the hen house where they originally went broody, but they would spend time escaping and stop brooding. So we decided to let them go naturally and see what happened. Well the answer was nothing...they have brooded eggs for three months now and not hatched a single egg. I believe that part of it is human error and part of it is that the other hens will not leave them alone. They literally will lay eggs on top of the other hens and those will fall into the clutch. We added numerous more egg boxes, but to no avail. We removed the nests completely in an attempt to break the broodies, but they gather another clutch and sit again. It would be great if they would hatch a set, but it does not seem to be in the cards. We know the eggs are fertilized so we can't blame it on Old Boy [our rooster]. I am simply perplexed. So once again we have cleared out the nests and the process is beginning again...

Having saved up a bit of money, we have decided to purchase some more chicks to continue with our revitalization process. We like to stick with heritage breeds. So we placed our order with several of our old faithfuls and a few new breeds in order to see how they adapt to life on the homestead. I ordered more Black Australorpes [ who have done outstanding living here, are calm, and adapted great to the winter and to free ranging]. In addition we are trialing  Silver-laced Wyandottes, Welsummers, and Spotted Sussex. In other attempts we have been trying to find a rooster that will fit in better at the homestead. So far we have had several roosters that have not passed the test. Our Black Australorpe roosters were aggressive to one another and to humans. The Buff Orpington roosters were very aggressive to the hens, so we did not attempt letting them into the flock. The best success we have had is with the Barred Rock roosters, of which we had two lead the flock. The first did well, but was aggressive with the children and my wife. He finally crossed the line and made a trip to the stew pot. Our second has been doing well, but once again is becoming too aggressive with the children and my wife. He is well on his way to the stew pot. Through research, I have heard good things about Blue Laced Red Wyandotte roosters. So we have ordered a few of them in an attempt to see if my research is true. Come next spring we will have a new rooster leading the girls, one I hope that develops a great relationship with the family. In an attempt to solve our broody issue, my wife has heard great things about using surrogate brooders, specifically silkies. We are looking to establish a small broody flock of Blue Silkies. She has made plans and so a few of them are on their way as well.

In an attempt to solve another issue, we are also going to be experimenting with a completely new type of poultry! We are very excited about these fellows, hearing great things about their ability to remove TICKS. One of our daughters seems to be a tick magnet. We can't figure out the reason why, but for some reason she attracts them like no one else in the family [including the critters!]. Recommendation: Guineas! They should prove to add some interesting aspects to the homestead for sure.

In my ongoing desire to raise heritage breed turkeys and bring back the turkey farm - once again it is just not viable. The minimum limit I have been able to find is 15 - 20 poults. That is just not a feasible number in my opinion, so once again I will hope for a better opportunity next year. But anyone who has raised turkey can say, their is nothing like a home raised turkey! When we had our first experience with raising our own turkey for the fall feasts, it was the best tasting turkey I ever had in my life. It was nothing like the ones we had purchased over the years. The taste was enchanting, so juicy and enjoyable. The only option I could find at this time was to go with the broad-breasted white. If you are unfamiliar with turkeys, you should know that the broad-breasted breeds have been bred for table-fare and nothing more. To the point that they are unable to reproduce naturally. Hence, they will not meet our desire to be able to breed them. So instead, I purchased them knowing at least that they would be cared for and raised humanely and completely organically by our own hands.

So the next month will be quite exciting as the new chicks, poults, and keets arrive. I am already thinking of how to create a brooding complex to handle the different needs of each group as they arrive. It shall be exciting!

Future Hunters Arise!

Great news! Everyone passed their test and are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to go afield and enter the chase. Our oldest will be able to get her license immediately, while the other two will have to wait for their 12th birthdays. She is quite excited that she will be able to go deer hunting this year. They have all been out in the blind with me, but never with a chance at taking a shot. Their next project is earning enough money to obtain a bow, rifle, and shotgun suitable for their use.  We shall see what the future holds!

Homestead Root Beer!

The kids have been asking about doing some brewing, as they seem quite interested in the subject. When I learned that root beer could be brewed at home and was actually a pretty simple process, I figured that this was the perfect opportunity. So we proceeded to begin the process with everyone giving a hand to finish the process. The boys started it all off by sterilizing a cereal bowl, measuring spoons and cups, the brewing bottles, mixing bowl, thermometer, funnel, and mixing spoon. Once they were fresh and clean, the girls stepped in and started the process. They warmed up a gallon of water to 95 F [check with thermometer] and then poured a cup of it into the cereal bowl. To which they added a 1/4 teaspoon of brewer's yeast and then set it aside. The rest of the water was poured into the mixing bowl and then everyone took a turn adding 1 cup of packed dark brown sugar, 2 cups of white sugar, and 2 2/3 tablespoons of root beer extract [ 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons] and mixed it up until everything was dissolved. Once dissolved, the cereal bowl of yeast was added to the mixing bowl and then all mixed together. The 'mixture' was then poured through the funnel into the brewing bottles. Be sure to leave a nice gap between the top of the bottle and the lid as to allow the excess gases to escape and not cause the bottles to explode. [ Plastic brewing bottles can be obtained that have caps with a hole in them and a latex fitting which will allow gas to escape. We had some available from another brewing kit. If you are not using such bottles, you can leave the bottle uncapped and instead place a balloon over the lid and secure it in place. It will allow the mixture to breath. ] Then place the bottles in a dark, warm place for about three days - or until the bottles are firm when given a squeeze. We stuck ours on the top shelf of the pantry. The kids were sure to check on it each day. On the third day they were ready and so we placed them in the fridge and let them chill for 24 hours. The next day we broke them open to try. Consensus was 6 to 2 that it was great! I think the fact that it didn't taste like the root beer that they are used to made a difference. It was rich, creamy, and foamy -you could definitely taste the dark brown sugar in the mix. We are going to brew another gallon and see if it tastes any different. May substitute dark brown sugar with light brown sugar. I also found an original recipe for root beer. If we can get ahold of all the herbs it calls for, I think we will give it a shot as well.