by Susan | Mar 30, 2013 | Chickens, On the Farm
It was a beautiful day here in Downeast Maine. We enjoyed being outside doing chores from cleaning out chicken and duck coops to a little bit of spring yard cleanup. It was so nice that when we took our lunch break, Hannah made sandwiches and we ate out on the porch....
by Susan | Dec 10, 2012 | Chickens, On the Farm
Each night when we put The Girls in their run we do a head count. There should be 14 chickens: Gilfy and Miri (Miri is always the straggler and has to be coaxed in), The Colonel, six Rocks, five Buffs. I was on chicken duty last night and counted them – twice....
by Susan | Dec 1, 2012 | Chickens, On the Farm
A bitterly cold day found Paul and I outside running fence around the duck pond. Now that the pond is solidly frozen, the ducks don’t have much protection from predators. We tuck them away into their house at night, but they’re used to having the run of...
by Susan | Nov 24, 2012 | Chickens, On the Farm
I can’t imagine what the bantam chickens were thinking as they looked out their window yesterday afternoon. Miri and Gilfy have decided that they like to hang out in the doorway of the banty coop run. They’re too big to go inside the coop!
by Susan | Nov 5, 2012 | Chickens, On the Farm
We tossed the two Jack-o’-lanterns from Halloween out into the yard and let the chickens and ducks nibble away at them. Here are Miri and Gilfy taking a turn. Aren’t they pretty chickens? The next moment, Willow (a Plymouth Barred-Rock hen) walked up and...
by Susan | Nov 3, 2012 | Chickens, On My Mind, On the Farm
The Girls are looking a little rough around the edges lately. At 17 months old, they are going through their first molt. I had no idea they’d look so ragged. We have some bad feather days ahead! Miri and Gilfy, on the other hand, at six months old, are quite...
by Susan | Oct 23, 2012 | Chickens, On My Mind
Miri and Gilfy are the Barred Rock/Buff Orpington chickens we hatched in the incubator earlier this year. Since leaving the brooder, they’ve been sleeping in a little dog kennel set up next to the chicken coop at night and free ranging with the big Girls by...
by Susan | Sep 16, 2012 | On the Farm
It was a gorgeous Sunday in our little corner of Maine today. I tried to spend as much time outside as possible. I helped Paul cut and stack wood, made bean soup, puttered with projects and parked myself by the pond or the porch every spare moment. Here are a few of...
by Susan | Sep 15, 2012 | Chickens, Ducks, On the Farm
Miri and Gilfy are our Buff Orpington and Barred Rock mix chickens, hatched in June. They are now living (temporarily) in a dog crate next to the big girl’s coop where they’ve spent the last few weeks becoming familiar with the Girls, the Banties and the...
by Susan | Aug 2, 2012 | Chickens, On the Farm
Top of the world. To a bantam rooster called Clover. Showing off for the ladies…
by Susan | Jul 23, 2012 | Chickens, On the Farm
We have just finished our third day of harvesting meat chickens. Harvesting. That’s a pleasant way to phrase it, isn’t it? We’ve got 37 out of 49 chickens in freezer camp – about 12 birds a day. A reluctant chicken farmer, this is my second year getting up close...
by Susan | Jul 18, 2012 | On My Mind
We had a situation today. Hannah’s off camping on Matinicus Island this week, so we’re in charge of putting the critters away at night. When Paul went to put The Girls in their run, he came up one Buff short. This little girl was nowhere to be found. This...
by Susan | May 28, 2012 | Chickens, On the Farm
We’ve had the girls for one year. So far they’ve spent their lives in the coop and run. Today, after attempts to make my garden chicken resistant, I let the Colonel and the Girls out of the run to free range. This executive decision was met with dismay...
by Susan | May 16, 2012 | Chickens, On the Farm
The Freedom Rangers just came out of the brooder last Saturday. I get such a kick out of watching Paul feed them – they get so excited to see...
by Susan | Mar 9, 2012 | Bird Patterns, Domestic Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns
I don’t make a very good patient. I’ve been stuck home with bronchitis. In between naps, whining about being sick, and nagged about keeping my behind in bed, I worked on this little rooster. Inspired by our Bantam roosters, Pepper and Clover, you can play...
by Susan | Jan 29, 2012 | Bird Patterns, Domestic Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns
This little felt chicken ornament was inspired by our own Buff Orpington chickens. Often when we check for eggs, there’s a Buff in the Box – that is a Buff in the nesting box getting settling to lay an egg. We have 12 chickens, six nesting boxes, and they...
by Susan | Jan 21, 2012 | Chickens, On the Farm
The Girls are at maximum production! Nine weeks into egg laying we had our first day with one dozen eggs. That’s 12 eggs from 12 hens. Good job, Girls! This is exciting stuff for a first-time farm girl.
by Susan | Jan 13, 2012 | Chickens, Ducks, On the Farm
The first storm of 2012 dropped four inches of slushy snow overnight. The snow was the perfect foil to expose those who lurk in the shadows of the night. Living in the Maine countryside means that you share the land with predators. We’ve seen eagles, hawks, fox,...
by Susan | Jan 6, 2012 | Chickens, On the Farm
Everything! Chickens are very curious little creatures. They love to explore every little change or sound. When I stopped to visit with them today, The Girls all gathered around until they figured out that I was empty-handed. Except for my camera. This little girl...
by Susan | Nov 21, 2011 | On the Farm
We do! When checking The Girls this afternoon I noticed two eggs in one of the nesting boxes. For a half a second I wondered how did they manage to move a second wooden egg into the box? Then it hit me – IT’S A REAL EGG! Wahoo! Our very first egg at...
