Monthly Archives: May 2012

A Short Blogging Break

I have a houseguest from England. We’ve been very busy. So far, we’ve seen the Paper Zoo Exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts (Picasso drew a huge, crazy, frog!) the delicate, moving Ganson sculptures at the MIT Museum, eaten dumplings, gone shopping for wool, perused a bookstore and a paper store, spent a day at a vintage textile show, drank sangria, and watched me vote in town elections. I’ve baked cookies, given her a tour of the property, and watched television. Wendy pet Candy (briefly, until Candy made it clear that that was enough!) and took the goats out on their leashes for a graze. We did all of that in the first two days of her visit, as Wendy arrived on Sunday night. Today, we are off to Brimfield, a huge flea market. Later in the week, there’s the circus to go to, a friend’s 80th birthday to celebrate, and some crocheting to learn (me – Wendy is teaching.)

Somehow, I can’t fit blogging in! So, I’m going to take a short break and enjoy Wendy’s visit. I’ll try to post some photos on my FaceBook page – although I haven’t taken any yet. I’ve been too busy!

Introduction to Chicken Keeping

Hens are bossy, demanding, endlessly curious and easily gratified. They are comical to watch, make great friends to your children, provide amusement for you, and supply eggs for the table. I’ve enjoyed keeping chickens for more than fifteen years. Currently, I have nineteen hens, divided into two flocks, that live in separate coops and fenced yards. The hens in the Big Barn are young and in the prime of their egg laying years. The chickens in the Little Barn are old and no longer lay eggs. I’m not a real farmer and can afford to keep hens that are not laying daily, and so my chickens are dual-purpose – egg layers and pets. My hens live in my backyard, which is also where I have flower, vegetable and herb gardens for pleasure and for use in my kitchen. I manage my flock so that I can enjoy the company of the hens, but also have a beautiful and serene yard. What I’ve learned over the years about a life with chickens, I share here on the HenCam. You can find detailed information in the FAQs; what follows is a quick overview to get you started.

You don’t need a big flock to get eggs for your table (many breeds lay 5 eggs a week), but it is best to have a minimum of three hens, as they are sociable creatures who like the companionship of others of their kind. In the winter they fluff up next to their friends, and in the summer they’ll dust bathe in groups. If the idea of a rooster keeps you from having chickens, don’t worry. You don’t need to have a rooster around for the hens to lay eggs, in fact, “the girls” appear quite content to not have a male in their midst, constantly trying to mount them. I don’t keep roosters as I’ve no desire to deal with the crowing or aggression. My hens do fine without a roo, and I have no problem with bullying in my flock despite not having the male “leader.” Some people do like having a rooster, with his big personality and voice, around. It is possible to find a nice (though not quiet) rooster, so never settle on one that attacks people!

You’ll need to provide your chickens with a henhouse to give them shelter from inclement weather, a place to lay eggs, and a safe haven to spend the night. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or huge, although a fanciful coop can be a feature of your garden design. It is essential that the coop is large enough. Too many of the prefab coops currently being marketed are way too small, with no windows or adequate ventilation. Plan on a minimum of 4 square feet per chicken of interior floor space, and another minimum of 8 square feet outside. For details about coop design see my FAQ.

The more space your chickens have, the healthier and happier they’ll be. The term pecking order definitely originated with poultry. Chickens peck at each other for all sorts of reasons, but mostly to keep the other girls away from their treasures, be it a glistening drop of rain or a juicy bug. Given enough space, these little spats are harmless, but when chickens are crowded they become ruthless and might even peck each other to death. (I have more about pecking and aggression in a FAQ.) Hens can also become aggressive when bored. A bare dirt pen, or long stretches indoors in cramped quarters, will bring out the worst in them (no different than us!) That’s why I have a compost pile in the chicken run, (see this FAQ) and recommend treats like pumpkins and cabbage to keep them busy.

Inside the henhouse you’ll need roosts, which chickens sleep on. They should not sleep on the floor or in nesting boxes! You can see the angled ladders that my hens use, on the cams. Nesting boxes should be low and located out of direct sunlight if possible. I like the metal boxes, as they are easy to clean and don’t harbor mites. However, wooden ones will do. I keep my hens bedded with pine shavings which are absorbent and easy to keep tidy with a fine-tined pitchfork and a kitty litter scoop. Feed and water needs to be kept dry and clean. I prefer both to be indoors. Use a gravity flow water dispenser designed for chickens. You’ll also need a hanging feeder for the food. The majority of the hen’s diet should come from laying hen pellets. Although chickens go crazy for scratch corn, it is fattening and can upset their calcium balance. Instead, make sure that they have greens and other vegetables. Hulled sunflower seeds are a welcome occasional treat.

During the day the chickens need access to sunshine and an outdoor run. They need a place to dust bathe (FAQ here) and protection from predators. Chickens enjoy free-ranging, and it’s the best life for them. However, it’s not always practical or safe. Chickens tear up plants, eat everything from flowers to tomatoes, and will quickly turn a small lawn into packed dirt. Where I live, there are hawks nesting in the trees in the woods behind my house, foxes that hunt day and night, and other predators. My hens stay in their spacious pens, except under my close supervision.

When you have chickens you have losses. Predators and disease will thin your flock. I detail what to do in case of illness, and how to protect against predators in my FAQs. Even healthy hens have comparatively short lifespans, although a few sturdy chickens will live to be 8 or even 12 years of age. By the time they’re five they rarely, if ever, lay eggs, but they’ll be familiar faces in your backyard, and, I think, nice to have around. As you begin your chicken keeping life, think through how you’ll incorporate these animals into your day, even when they no longer provide eggs for the basket that you carry to the kitchen. Plan the coop and pen so that you get the full benefit of keeping hens – companionship as well as eggs. Don’t tuck the coop away out of sight, or make it so small that you can’t interact with the girls. Lastly, a word of caution – once you get a few hens, you’ll likely want more. Have fun!

Greens

It was drizzly and rainy all of the last week. The grass greened up. The goats ate. And ate. Look at Caper’s bulging belly.

The boys would have eaten these,

but these greens were safe from hungry goats in the fenced vegetable garden. These beautiful leaves are a braising mix, designed to be eaten young or mature, but always cooked. The other night I clipped enough leaves for myself. I always wash greens in a couple of immersions and swirls in clean water, and then spin off the excess water.

There are two ways to cook greens. Either sauté them quickly and eat at the just wilted stage, or cook at length in a cook broth with a flavor booster, like a ham hock. Young greens like these are best sautéed; tougher greens are best done in the long simmer. For both methods, the leaves shrink to a fraction of their raw volume, so always pick more than you think you can eat. To prepare the first greens from my garden, I heated a large sauté pan, tipped in a touch of fragrant olive oil, and tossed in the greens. (They were so young and tender that I left the stalks on, older greens would have had the ribs stripped off.) I stirred and turned, and within two minutes the greens wilted.

Next, I sprinkled on about a quarter of a teaspoon of exceptionally good balsamic vinegar (the type that is aged until it  has the consistency of molasses and is so sweet that you’re tempted to drink it), gave them one more quick toss in the heat, and then brought them right to the table, where I used a quick turn of the salt and pepper mills.

Dinner was pan-fried sole, a baked potato and greens.

Unlike Caper, I don’t eat until bursting. In fact, after this light and healthy meal, there was still room for homemade chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.

Sign Up for a Chicken Keeping Workshop!

I’ve added another date to my Chicken Keeping Workshop calendar – Sunday, June 10. From 1 to 3 pm you are invited here at Little Pond Farm, in Carlisle, MA, to learn what you need to know to have a happy, healthy flock of your own.

You will get to tour the property and go into the barns.

We’ll look at chicken bottoms.

You’ll get to pet the chickens, and hold one if you’d like!

We’ll sit on the porch while I talk about everything from chicken behavior to coop design.

And there will be iced tea and cookies (homemade, of course.)

While here you can wave hello to Queen Candy, and you can pet the goats. The boys are eager to have visitors.

The cost is $25 per person. Email me to reserve a spot. Classes fill quickly, so don’t wait.

Also on the calendar – on May 16 I will be at the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown, NY, with a Chicken Keeping talk and slide show. I am so excited about this opportunity to see a beautiful part of the country that I’ve never been to, and to tour a great living history museum! Do any of you live out that way? Please come!

Empress Candy’s Day

In the winter, Candy is the first animal cared for in the morning. But now that the weather has warmed up, I go outside and feed the fish first.

Candy is peeved. She’s the Empress Rabbit and should be attended to before all others. Candy lets me know her displeasure by ringing her bell and gnawing at her door.

I let her out and she gallops down the ramp,

and then she checks to see if her royal subjects, the hens, have been let out yet,

and then she goes and pees.

It takes a long time to pee.

The rest of the day is spent visiting with the chickens, all the while maintaining the proper royal attitude.

She confers with the goats.

At the end of the day, as night falls, I go out to close up the barns. As I check on the hens, Candy watches me, and when I step into her pen, she runs a big loop around her hutch royal abode, charges up the ramp, and turns and waits for her due. Two banana chips.

All hers. You don’t have to share when you are the Queen.