Graduation Day! (For our Chickens that is...)

Our rent-a-chicks have been growing like weeds and have been eager to explore the farm. Only thing is we are in prime hawk territory. Since they are still too small to go in the Eggmobile with the hens, we had to think of another structure for them to graduate to - a sort of "middle school" if you will - to protect them from the hawks.

Research always begins with a Joel Salatin book and this time was no exception. We found the perfect solution, a mobile pen that can be pulled along the ground to fresh grass everyday but it has a roof top to prevent hawk attacks! (we tried before using pvc pipe and bird netting. that was a no go! Not strong enough)

The project begins...

Chris building the roof framework to protect from the rain, sun and hawks.

All ready to go with a removable triangle top with handles.

Green grass on the way! Best part is there is no litter to clean out, t

Take what most chicken farmers see as a liability (poop) and turn it into an asset (fertilizer)

No clay chicken yard here!

Girls happily and safely exploring their new territory.

Graduation day and already working the soil doing what they were born to do. Hunting, pecking, scratching, pooping, and de-bugging.

This structure is light enough for me to move daily by hand, but strong enough for the critters to stay out.

Happy Hens!

P.s> momma hen is still doing her job! Baby chick pics to come first week of july.. :)

Flowers Are Here!

Spent the morning out front taking pics of the new developments. Ready to start filling the buckets already!

Almost ready for my bucket!

I title this photo - "Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch"!

Trying this broody hen thing again. Another Australorp of ours has gone broody this week. Ordered more fertilized chocolate eggs off e-bay ($45 for half dozen - yikes - overnight shipping!) As you can see they look so dark next to our current hen fruits... hope they all hatch so we can get more of these! We have borrowed a neighbors incubator for back up this time... Last attempt she decided to stop sitting on them she was only 2 days into it. Takes about 20-21 days to hatching.

Ready for Summer! Heating Up...

Temps are expected to be in the 90's and beyond for the rest of the week. So here are some snapshots around the farm to get geared up for the toasty temps - petals are due shortly!

Dusting off the tractor...but this ole' girl doesn't sit still around much.

Glad for Glads. Supposed to be planting these bulbs every two weeks. Not sure if I'll be able to be that religious about it but certainly will be testing out a few rows.

(maybe some green ones!)

Nothing beats the first Zinnia bloom. The most heat loving flower I've ever met. They are a keeper!Daylily season is short...if you blink you might miss them.
The Mimosa tree is covered with delicate little pink pom-poms. Looks like a party waiting to happen if you ask me. A favorite of the hummingbirds. Not to mention a great brunch drink too...
Classic old time favorite, Hydrangeas surround the farm house. Luckily for me, mom planted these back when they first moved to the property...maybe 15 years ago. Thanks Mom!Not exactly sure how old the Hydrangeas are but wish she would have planted a few (hundred) more for me. :) Yum. Basils and mints are all filling out nicely. Ready to garnish the delish side dish...As long as these gals keep their beaks off my 'maters!

(I am still recovering from the little sweet pea incident)At least they make up for it by noshing on the bugs...which there is no shortage of. Btw, loving the detail with the new camera setup. Feels practically National Geographic compared to the cell phone camera I've been blogging with. Close up of the caterpillar crossing zone. Monarch Butterfly in the making coming through! Plucked off a milkweed plant for a shot and it crawled right back to its host. This caterpillar only eats the leaves of the milkweed plant. Every year I grow extra just for them. Heard there were a few events this winter that wiped out alot of Monarchs overwintering in Mexico so more host plants and backyard butterfly gardening is needed. The sap of the milkweed plant is white, hence the name and is super toxic, which makes the caterpillar taste yuck-y to birds. Their bright color is a warning sign to birds that they are inedible.

And for the final picture,

I title this -

"what happens when boys visit the farm"

They hand deliver us new friends!

Rent-A-Chicks Return to the Farm!

The Rent-A-Chicks all returned home safe and sound to the farm...Yes - all 35 of them. Every single one!

Nice to have the pitter patter and chirps of little peeps again. We are excited to watch the colors of this flock develop since we have added some rare heritage varieties to the bunch. Chocolate eggers (Welsummer), Easter eggers (Americana), and two different types of Brown Eggers - the gorgeous Silverlaced Wyndottes and our standby favorite New Hampshire Reds.

Judging from the feedback and smiles, All of the rent-a--chick participants had a great time. The chicks were happy and healthy too. Most were already testing their wings at the end of the two weeks and were trying to graduate out of the playpen by the end of it! Two weeks seemed to be the ideal time before they became ready to explore their big coop.

Lots of great stories were heard of kids being entertained for hours at a time by the chicks and a few peeps even got to visit school class rooms for show and tell.

We determined there were only a few things we needed to tweek about the rent-a-chick program - we will be doubling the shavings in the take home kit and adding a block of wood to lift the water and food off the floor to prevent shavings from getting in. The book really seemed to help give instructions and the parents were quick to mention - little to no pasty-bum issues!

Over the next few weeks the chicks will be growing out of their cute fluff and into their awkward teenage stage. They look more like little hawks than chickens at the moment. The momma hens are looking quite healthy and plump this spring and are enjoying their lush green pastures and spend their days hunting for bugs in the grass.

Soon the chicks will be developing into full feathered ladies like the big hens on the farm.

It takes 5 months from hatching to egg production so we are about 4 months away now.

That is great because the egg demand has gone up so much we have back orders accumulating!

Those girls better get crackin'!

I leave you with a view of the sun setting on the farm stand on a warm June evening.The next blog post will be showing off all the flowers that are on the verge of blooming. It's been really pretty weather and with some much needed rain, nice to see everything greening up again on the farm. A big thanks to all the Rent-A-Chick families. The chicks are all doing great!