by Susan | Sep 10, 2011 | Chickens
At long last my mudroom is empty of all livestock! Today we finished the bantam chicken coop we started last weekend. Clover, Pepper, Salt, and Shadow have checked into the Banty B & B (click here to see the coop going together). I imagine they’re a little...
by Susan | Sep 3, 2011 | Garden
Garlic is a staple in our kitchen – even Hannah likes it. That’s why I increased our crop planting to 100 cloves last fall – up from 60 the year before. I spent an enjoyable afternoon sitting in the dooryard cleaning garlic. For the past few weeks...
by Susan | Aug 30, 2011 | Chickens
I didn’t set out to be a chicken farmer. My husband sneakily lured me into the world of chickens with visions of farm fresh eggs and happy hens clucking about in the yard. When he attended the Chicken 101 class at Darthia Farm and learned how to harvest a meat...
by Susan | Aug 29, 2011 | Turkeys
They're still too cute to think about serving up at Thanksgiving!
by Susan | Aug 29, 2011 | Ducks
With Hurricane Irene we planned for the worst and ended up with the best. We were on the far eastern edge of the storm and had a short spell of steady rain followed by a very windy night. The power went on and off repeatedly (maybe 25 times?) for hours – the...
by Susan | Aug 27, 2011 | Chickens
With the news of hurricane Irene racing up the coast and headed for New England, Paul and I did some storm preparation today. By the time hurricanes get to Downeast Maine they’ve typically lost a lot of strength with the cold waters up here. Still, we can expect...
by Susan | Aug 23, 2011 | Chickens
I had a little fun with The Girls today. I took a few cauliflower plants that were not flourishing and I strung them up in the chicken run. Just a little out of their direct reach. The chickens studied it for a while, giving it a peck here and a poke there before...
by Susan | Aug 21, 2011 | Chickens
It was a pretty low key weekend here. I spent the bulk of the weekend working on a deadline with little breaks puttering outside. Here are a few weekend highlights.
by Susan | Aug 19, 2011 | Chickens
Hannah discovered that the chickens LOVE the black raspberries that grow wild around the house. Today I visited with The Girls and fed them some myself. Here are the...
by Susan | Aug 16, 2011 | Chickens
A rainy day gave Paul the chance to finish “fine-tuning” his plans for the chicken coop. We’re happy to offer these plans to you for free. Click here to view and download the free chicken coop plans. You can also right-click on the link and choose...
by Susan | Aug 14, 2011 | Chickens, Turkeys
by Susan | Aug 11, 2011 | Ducks
Dilly, affectionately known as “Silly Dilly,” arrived as a new hatchling five weeks ago. It wasn’t until I took her out of the brooder and let her run around outside in the garden for the first time that I noticed her legs have not developed properly. Dilly’s legs do...
by Susan | Aug 10, 2011 | Turkeys
Thanksgiving dinner is here! These three-day-old baby turkeys arrived at the local feed and seed today. When I brought them home, Hannah insisted on naming them. A family “no-no” for things that will grace the dinner table. She’s calling...
by Susan | Aug 9, 2011 | Chickens
Last night we enjoyed our first roasted chicken from a Cornish Rock chicken we raised ourselves! Cornish Rock Chick Cornish Rock One Month Cornish Rock 7 Weeks Roasted Cornish Rock Roasted with thyme, rosemary and lemon it was very tasty, tender and moist. This was a...
by Susan | Aug 8, 2011 | Ducks
The ducks have finally moved out of the garage brooder and into their permanent digs. One month old and they’ve left home. This little structure was the house and run for our first batch of meat chickens. We came to the realization that the meat chickens did not...
by Susan | Aug 4, 2011 | Chickens
I gave the girls an outdoor roost to break the monotony of life in their chicken run. A couple of cinder blocks with a branch draped across did the trick. They like to hop up here when they see me heading down to the coop area. I think it gives them a better view so...
by Susan | Jul 31, 2011 | Ducks
Oscar got his quack! Quackers is close and the other two have a little catching up to do. Exciting stuff. I harvested the rest of my garlic today so I was able to expand their temporary play area in my garden. This gave us room to set up a bigger swimming pool for...
by Susan | Jul 30, 2011 | Chickens
We went to town today for a roll of 6′ x 50′ chicken wire and came home with four bantam chicks and no chicken wire. How did that happen? It had to be Chicken Math. These little cuties were $1 each – end of the season left-over chick sale. Who can...
by Susan | Jul 25, 2011 | Chickens
I love these afternoons when I finish work early enough to putter in the garden before dinner. This afternoon I did some weeding and deadheading and just enjoyed being outdoors – ducks looking on from their garden plot. Weed and feed at my house has a different...
by Susan | Jul 24, 2011 | Ducks
One moment I’m refilling their bathing pool. The next I look up and see the ducks sitting in my garden – on the other side of the fence! Thankfully they seem to like traveling together so it wasn’t too tough for the three of us to herd them back...
