Supervised Free Range Chickens

After talking to some knowledgeable friends, I have decided to try letting the girls out on supervised free range expeditions. I hope this cuts down on my feed bill. Even if it doesn't, I bet the chickens will be happier and healthier.

Let me tell you, they love it! At first they just milled about the coop entrance, but as soon as the first adventurous hen decided to to try out her wings, they were all over the yard in minutes. When it was time to go up for the night 14 of 16 went straight to the coop and put themselves up. We only had to corral 2 of them. They probably would have figured it out eventually.

I am a little worried about the dog chasing them and some of them flying over the 4 foot fence. I had the puppy on the tie out for this trial run. They came right up to him and he just looked at them. But, when they run from him, his instincts to herd take over and he chases. It may be a while before I trust him around them off the tie out.

Our whole back yard is fenced with two large oaks and a few evergreens to give them shade and hiding spots. My other concern is hawks. I will only let them out when I can be in the back yard to watch over them. Supposedly the peahen is a good guardian. If she see hawks she will fluff up her feathers and dance around to ward them away. I have not witnessed this behavior yet, lets hope it is true.

 

Chicken Update

The chickens are pretty much full grown now. They are all healthy, happy ladies.

For some reason they always peck at my water boots when I go in the chicken tractor. Speaking of which, it is taking me much longer than I thought to write my blog post on building the chicken tractor. Look for it soon.

They don't seem to mind the puppy. He is more interested in eating their poop when I move the tractor than the birds.

The chickens love the dust bath I made for them. I have to keep filling it back up because they throw out the sand and peat every time they go in it.

Here is a sneak peek of the chicken tractor. I have a very detailed post coming soon on how you build one and how I really messed up!

Low Maintenance Perennials

I really wish I had more time to work around the homestead. There are so many things I need to get done and not enough hours in the day. Here are a few things I have planted that don't take a lot of maintenance.

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is so easy to grow. I mean it is almost effortless. The only catch is you have to let it establish a good root system before you can harvest from it. Most recommendations are to let it grow for 2-3 seasons before you harvest. I let ours go for three springs before I harvested. This plot has 10 crowns that I planted 4 years ago. I have 20 more crowns I just got in the mail. I need to find two more good spots, away from this one, so pests have a harder time moving around. Asparagus will produce for 30 years or so. Make sure you get yours in this year.

This is a Chicago Fig (Ficus carica). It is supposedly hardy to zone 5. I had another "cold hardy" fig that I lost over the harsh winter we just went through. I am pretty sure we just had a zone 5 winter. I hope this fig will do better than the one I lost.

Another plant and forget perennial is the Filbert (Corylus americana) or American Hazelnut. Pictured behind our puppy who was behaving in a rare moment of calm. I have 12 planted in the back yard and another hedge of 10 planted in the front yard. The trick is to get to the nuts before the critters do.

People tell me it is hard to grow blueberries (Vaccinium Cyanococcus) in a backyard setting. I say, look at this. Now, I do have a couple blueberries that are not producing as prolifically as this one, I just think it is a matter of finding the right variety that works well in your climate. Again the trick is to get to the fruit before the critters do.

Cutest Post Ever!

After a long search and a ton of back and forth with shelters and rescues, we finally found the puppy we were looking for. We ended up getting him from a friend of a friend of a friend. He is a Border Collie / Australian Shepherd mix. 

Say hello to the newest addition to the homestead, Higgs B Hallene. Named after the theoretical physicist Peter Higgs.Why you ask? Because this little guy gives mass to all the cuteness in the universe...

I am glad we finally found the right dog for our homestead. I will let Dara blog about the ridiculous ignorance we ran into at almost ever turn with the rescues and shelters we talked to. Let me just say, a dog should have a purpose, like taking care of and protecting livestock. One of the main reasons dogs are on anti-depressants, yes I know it sounds ridiculous but some are, is the fact that they have been divorced from their evolutionary instincts. No dog is an "inside" dog exclusively. I will leave it there and let Dara go off on the real tangent.

Here are two of my favorite things in the world. Swings and properly framed photographs. ;)