New Chicks Have Arrived

A little over a year ago, we picked up 16 teeny baby chicks from a hatchery a few towns away. We had intentions of keeping half for laying and half as meat birds. Well, that didn't happen and we kept them all as layers. We might have had an attachment issue. 

A year later, we've lost half of our flock. One was a rooster, a couple died of natural causes, a big nasty neighbor tomcat got one and a stinking fat raccoon took another couple. 

Our egg supply was dwindling.

So we decided to put in another order. This time, we ordered 24 chicks. Twelve for laying and twelve for meat birds. Except they sent us 25, which is fine with me - bonus bird ;)

We're gonna do it this time. When they're big and fat, we are going to butcher them.

Not we. Ick. I could never. Maybe if I was on a deserted island... Probably not even then.

But we will be getting them butchered. Promise.

I almost ordered a turkey for Thanksgiving. I was this close. I think I will next year. 
Here they are, our new peepers:

That's the box they were shipped in. We would've like to have picked them up, like we did last year, but because of the avian flu they no longer allow pick-ups. 

We got back from vacation on Monday and I thought, shoot, I still need to order the chicks. So Tuesday morning I got online and placed an order - an hour later I received an email that a shipping label was created, an hour after that I received notice that they'd shipped! I couldn't believe it. So miss Adalynn, her aunt Keeks and I had to take a quick trip to the store for some food supplies.

Wednesday morning at 7:30am I received a phone call from the post office that our chicks were there to pick up. I could not believe it. Less than twenty four hours. It was amazing. 

They were all super healthy when they got here, we put them in their tank and they started running all over the place. When we sprinkled some food on the ground, they immediately started eating and shortly thereafter found their water. 

Now we've got a whole crazy coop set up that I'll save for another post. 

Another One Bites the Dust

Okay, really, this was the first one to bite the dust and it happened a couple of weeks ago. 

It was a rainy, dreary day and we were going out to dinner for our anniversary. We left around 6 to head over to the lakeshore, all the dogs were tucked in and the chickens were still running around the yard...they head into the coop for the night a little before dusk. 

When we got home, I ran inside while Kelly went out to shut the coop up for the night. He came back in to tell me that there were only a few chickens in the coop - two were on top of their outdoor cage and the rest were huddled by the garage, shivering in the rain. He went back outside and put them, one by one, back into the coop. When he came back inside, he told me that we only had 14 in the coop, but he couldn't tell what kind was missing. 

In the morning, I went outside with one of the dogs, but didn't see anything strange. Pretty soon, I looked over at Crue and he was sniffing over by the woods. I went over and followed him and, sure enough, he found the poor little hen's remains. A pile of feathers, two feet and an egg. 

It was pretty stinking sad, not only that we lost one but the fact that it was one of the black chickens. See, they are the most friendly and will let you pick them up. Whenever one of us gets home during the day, they are the first to come running over and greet you and will follow you all over the yard, so it was extra sad that it was one of them. 

After knowing what we were looking for, I was able to follow the feather trail back to the coop door. It looked like something had come up and grabbed one as they were making their way back into the coop for the night, so the rest of them scattered fast. 

Since then, we haven't lost another. We've been very diligent about taking all four dogs out around the coop every day to have their scent everywhere and scare the animal away, we've also been trying be outside at dusk to close the coop right after the hens all go back in.  

We'll see how it goes as the weather gets colder and it gets closer to winter. 

Have you lost any of your feathered friends? What happened? What kind of animal was it? How did you fix the problem? 

How To Train Your Dragons

Remember these little girls? Well, they've grown. They moved from their little metal horse trough, to a giant plastic stock tank and have finally been relocated outside to their forever (forever until they are food...mwuahahaha) home.

Voila! It's like we fed them miracle grow or something. They're huge! That black & white one is so pretty, but she scares me. Like I totally did a girly scream when she ran/flew towards me the other day. Embarrassing. She kind of reminds me of that witchy lady from Disney's The Sword in the Stone. You know...Madame Mim...

They've been in their coop for a little over two weeks now, so we decided that it was time to do a little free-range practice run. We let them out at about 7:30, the sun is setting at about 9:15 right now so it was a short practice run. It takes chickens just a little while to learn where their home is and as soon as dusk hits, they high-tail it back to the coop for the night.

As soon as we opened the doors, our brave little Barred Rock babes led the way.

You know how when you open a door, it goes almost all the way to the back wall and makes a 'V'?There was one...let's just say not so smart...chicken (yes, one of the blonde ones) who tried to exit by going into that 'V'. It proceeded to squawk and squawk and stick its head through the chain link door until finally Kelly went in there to pick it up and carry it out. Those blondes, I tell ya.

Then came the fun part! Teaching our dogs that the little ladies are friends, not food. We started with my perfect, sweet, angelic peach of a dog, Crue (I don't have favorites, really:)). Mainly because he is the best listener of the bunch.

I'm going to go off on a small tangent here - I love his electric collar. It is a waterproof collar with strength settings ranging from 1-8, but my favorite part is that there's a little button on the side that just gives two small 'beeps'. In the four years that I've had this collar, I've only had to use the shock park one single time. The few rare times that I have to use the remote at all, I only use the beep and it brings him right back to attention. If you ever decide to invest in an electric collar, I 100% recommend one with a beep.

Alright, back to dragon training. Since my big man is such an exemplary listener, we introduced him first. He heeled out to the chickens and I had him sit about 20 feet away so he could watch as they ran and flew around for a bit. Then he came into the middle of the brood and I had him lay down next to me while I pet him.

We did this for about ten minutes, then he was free to walk around and check things out. I had the remote at the ready because if any of these dogs go after our ladies, they were going to become electric chickens really fast.

And there he is more interested in munching on the long grass then playing with chickens.

We did the same thing with each of the dogs, one at a time. Our young lab was pretty good about them and only tasted one or two shocking feathers. The beagle went after quite a few of them and tasted a few more electric feathers, she's a very sneaky one who we'll have to watch closely. The last one, our older lab, could have cared less. In fact, she might think she's a chicken. She went right into the middle of them and started eating grass right along with them. Sweet old lady.

So that's the story of how to train your dragons. Our plan is to just have two of them outside at a time for the next few weeks until we are comfortable that they'll leave the birds alone. Keep your fingers crossed!

And since I know you haven't seen the chicken coop yet, here it is in all its half-finished glory! 

Kelly & I completed the base and the frame, then when busy season came along his stepdad came over and put the roof and shell on. Thank goodness for him because otherwise we still wouldn't have it finished and the chickens would probably still be living in the pole barn! It needs a coat of paint until it can be sided, we need to put the door on and add some steps on the front, in addition to adding the nesting boxes next month. That cute egg sign is from his mother and we found the horseshoe in the pile of old barn rubble near the coop. 

While they were out, we weeded and hoed the garden, then went inside for a late dinner. By the time we went outside to check on them a little after dusk, they were all happy as clams back inside their coop, all huddled in the corner where they like to sleep.

Now we wait until September for eggs! 

They're Here!

After two months of waiting, our little chicks have finally arrived! Here they are...

Guess Who Is Coming To Live With Us...

Here are a couple hints: they're two-legged and come in all different colors, shapes and sizes. 

 

They have feathers.

 

They chirp.

 

Have you guessed it yet?

National Agriculture Day

It was brought to my attention that National Agriculture Day was celebrated yesterday. Oops! One would think that a farmer's wife would know an important fact like that. Shame.
But, this whole farm world is new to me. Everything about it. I grew up completely ignorant of the farm world. I mean, I never even noticed the giant tractors sitting in the fields until my husband and I started dating. I couldn't have told you what a soybean plant looked like. And I certainly couldn't have told you what words like 'combine', 'commodity', 'cover crop' or 'bees wing' referenced.

It's been such an amazing journey learning everything that I have in the past couple of years. Whether its tilling, planting, harvesting, hauling or one of the bajillion things that need to be done in the meantime, I get to learn firsthand from my husband what it means to be a farmer. It certainly takes a special kind of person.

One day last year, his grandma bought this print for him. She said it reminded her of him, and I think she nailed it. 

Here's what it says...

Environmentally Friendly Kitchen Compost Bags

Time for another com'post'. 

Get it... com 'post', because it's a blog post. And it's about compost....com 'post' ing. HA. Good thing I think I'm so funny :) 

Alright, onward to the topic. 

So we've been on this composting kick at our house. We had a plan for outside, but bringing the composting inside was a whole different topic. 

Part of the point of us composting is to reduce garbage in the form of food scraps. That means we need to either purchase or make a small indoor compost bin that's attractive enough to sit on the kitchen counter, or small enough to move from the counter to under the sink. Inside would go all of our potato peels, chopped carrot ends, banana peels..etc. That was the easy part.

The harder part was deciding what kind of bags to use. Do we purchase small garbage bags? Or maybe even use the old plastic grocery bags that we save after shopping?

What if we just leave it empty of a bag and throw the scraps directly into the bin? In that scenario, the scraps would sit in the bin for a couple of days because, let's be honest, who has time to empty it every day? So day three of your food scraps melding together in the kitchen bin rolls around and you finally decide to take it outside to your compost tumbler. When you empty the small container, you notice it's gotten nasty in there. 

Now what? Now you have to scrub out the gunk, clean it with hot soapy water, then let it dry before you're able to use it again.

That program wasn't appealing to me and my poor husband would probably be the one left cleaning the bin every couple of days.

So I started researching compostable bags. I wanted to find something that would biodegrade fast, and also that wouldn't harm our compost pile by containing any toxins. After quite a bit of research, this is what I came up with;

       
Below are some of the reasons that I chose to go with BioBag.

1. They are 100% biodegradable & 100% compostable. 
2. Made from non-GMO starches, vegetable oils and cellulose. 
3. The majority of the bags are made in the USA. One of their main production plants is located in California.  
4. High Water Vapor Transmission Rate (WVTR), which means, in Allison terms, less mold, fungus and stink because the bag can breathe.
5. USDA Certified biobased product. 
6. ASTM D6400 Certified, meaning it passed the test for it's ability to decompose in ideal composting conditions. Also, that the product will not have adverse impacts on the ability of the compost to support plant growth, which is a very important factor here. 

The bags will completely disintegrate in the compost pile without releasing any toxins, and the decomposed matter that's left in the compost will not hinder any plant growth, which is very important to us because we'll be using it for our vegetable garden.

The size is also perfect, they're 3 gallon bags, which just right for a small container that can be moved from under the sink onto the counter when it's being used.

They don't just manufacture kitchen compost bags, here are just a few of the other products they offer;

• Pet Waste Bags - perfect for taking to the dog parks or on walks around the city.
• Lawn, Leaf & Garden Waste Bags - to bag up your clippings for the compost pile. 
• Sandwich Bags
• Kitchen Cling Wrap - like the other products, made with zero plasticizers.
• Produce Bags - great for bagging produce at the farmer's market. 

                                        


As always, I purchased mine through Amazon. In addition to doing my own research, I love being able to see the reviews from real people before I make the purchase. Because all products are compostable, they need to be stored in a cool, dry area and used within one year.

Have you tried these before? If not, what do you use for your compostable bags?

*PS.
In case you missed it, check here for a 'how-to' on composting and check out our DIY compost bin.

How To Compost

Photo by Diana House, modified

Browns + Greens + Moisture + Turning + Time = Compost

Simple, right? The actual formula would combine the perfectly exact amount of carbon, nitrogen, a little high quality H20, air, and heat, but I'm breaking it down to Allison terms. Easy.

Researchers  John A. Biernbaum & Andy Fogiel from the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University describe composting like this; 'Making compost is managing a microbe farm.  All it takes is food, air, and water, just like for any other farm animal.  The food does require a certain degree of a balanced diet as for any other living creature.' 

Remember the good old-fashioned food pyramid? It was stamped on every box of food to let us know the right number of servings for a healthy, balanced diet. Your compost needs a balanced diet as well.

Below is a list of foods to feed your pile - it's not all inclusive, but gives an idea. I like to think of the 'Browns' being dry and dead, and the 'Greens' wet and living.

Browns (Carbon):  

Dry Leaves 

Dry Hay 

Dry Grass Clippings 

Dry Corn Stalks 

Straw

Sawdust (from untreated wood)

Nut Shells

Shredded Paper (watch for toxic ink)

Shredded Cardboard

Paper Tubes

Greens (Nitrogen):

Vegetable Scraps

Fruit Scraps

Coffee Grounds w/ Filter

Tea Leaves w/ Bag

Fresh Grass Clippings

Plant Trimmings

Garden Weeds

House Plants

Chicken Manure

Eggs Shells (neutral)

Some Things NOT to Compost:

Large Wood Scraps (long break down time) 

Treated Wood

Colored Paper (be careful for metallic or toxic ink)

Weeds Gone to Seed (Like Gloria Gaynor - they will survive)

Meat Scraps 

Fish Scraps

Bones

Dairy Scraps 

Baked Goods
Pasta

Cooking Oil

Greasy Foods

Heavily Coated Paper 

Aluminum Foil

Dog or Cat Waste (if garden is for human consumption - USDA Study)

Plastics - Recycle!

Now, there are two different kinds of compost. 'Hot' compost takes a little bit of manual labor and the process of decomposition is complete in about two months. 'Cold' compost can take up to two years to decompose, but takes minimal effort- basically throwing everything in a pile and leaving it. Today we're talking 'Hot' compost.

Per scientific studies, your compost pile should be fed a ratio of 25-30:1 Carbon/Nitrogen. Breaking it down to Allison terms; 2 buckets of Browns for every 1 bucket of Greens. 

Excessive Browns will cause your pile to dry out and decomposition to slow down. At the same time, excessive Greens will cause the pile to become too wet and result in ammonia gas releasing- stinky. No one one likes a stinky pile. I don't even like to say stinky pile. Stinky pile. Eww.

Monitoring the moisture will help prevent the stink and keep the composting process speeding along. If you notice your pile becoming too wet, add some Browns. If you notice it becoming too dry, add some Greens or simply sprinkle it with a little water.  

Alright, we've covered food and water, now let's talk about air. Bacteria is going to break down your pile of scraps, and that bacteria needs air to survive.  You don't want to have a smooshed, flat pile and think that just because it's surrounded by air, that will be sufficient. A 'Hot' pile needs air on the inside too. The pile should be nice and fluffy. This can be done by mixing and fluffing your pile with a pitchfork, or by using a fancy compost tumbler.

The last thing the pile needs is heat- after all, it's called 'Hot' compost for a reason. The internal temperature of the pile should be about 140 to 160 degrees F. You can purchase a compost thermometer for around $20.00. It takes about 2 weeks to generate a good amount of heat, and during those weeks you'll need to turn the pile at least five times in order to distribute the heat through all of the materials and keep it at the correct temperature.

I'm going to add scary factor in here. If it gets too hot, it can combust. Yea, apparently that happens in real life. All I can picture is walking outside to a magic fire like I'm Khaleesi in Dragon Land or something. You must turn the pile. 

When the pile is no longer generating heat, the process is almost complete (and now I'm Dr. Seuss), it just need to sit for a couple of weeks to cure.

Which leads me to the final ingredient; time. I like to quote Jim Morrison... 'If you book them, they will come.'

Tips to speed decomposition process:

Mass: Pile size should be 3x3 minimum
Material Size: Keep Browns & Greens shredded and chopped to small pieces 

Temperature: Keep it 140 to 160 F

Breathability: Shake, rattle & roll - aerate that thing!

Mix it Up: This isn't a layer cake, it's a tossed salad

Moisture: Not too dry, definitely not too slimy

Lastly, how do we determine when we have the final, completed product? The process is completed is when none of the materials are recognizable. No leftover carrot chunks or pieces of straw, and definitely no sprouted weeds or plants.

Another suggestion is to scoop up some compost into a mason jar, add water until it's soggy, twist on the lid and let it sit for a week. When you open the jar, it should smell earthy. If it smells icky, it's not finished.

So, now that we've got the 'how' to compost taken care of, where does this process take place? A homemade wooden box? A wire mesh bin? A store-bought composter? There are tons of options, so check back tomorrow and I'll show you how I made our cheap, easy DIY compost bin.