Monthly Archives: June 2012

Edible Flowers

Goats are browsers, not grazers. They prefer plants that are twining, thorny, and bushy. Once those are gone they eat grass. I use a moveable electric netted fence in the goat pasture, which is just a small hillside to the back of the house. To create browsing that the goats like, I give them access to only part of it, which they eat down. Meanwhile, the brambles and weeds grow on the other side of the fence. Every couple of weeks the fence gets moved, and the goats wag their tails and hurry with delight onto the regrown pasture.

Pip stops to smell the flowers.

And then he eats them.

So, if you’ve noticed that the goaties have especially large bellies recently and have been spending even more time chewing their cuds, you now know why. Flowers and thorns are keeping them fat and happy.

 

Three Friends. Maybe.

Years ago, it was rare for dogs and cats to spend their days inside. They lived in the yard and roamed freely about the farm, and if there were other animals on the property, they all knew each other. Although the denizens of the barn and fields didn’t come inside the house, there were some that attained status close to that of their furred companions. Perhaps they were not best friends, but they knew each other well enough to tolerate being photographed together for their person.

Any ideas for what that cat is thinking? Perhaps, “If I don’t look, they don’t exist” or “The dull, the loud, and me.”  What would you write in a thought bubble above that cat’s head?

Sunday Blooms

It’s one of those days in June that is so perfect that it would be a cliche. Except cliches are boring and overdone, and the sort of day that comes along like today is so special, so lovely, so beautiful, that you couldn’t possibly get blasé about it.

Look at what is in bloom.

Basil.

Peonies.

Nasturtium.

Water lily.

Lupine.

Lily is enjoying the meadow flowers. Actually, she’s enjoying what lives under them. Mouse hunting in the sun! It set her tail wagging. She emerged smiling, even though nothing was caught this time. But it’s a beautiful, long day, I’m sure she’ll try again later.

Position is Everything

Position in Life is Everything might not be your (or my) motto to live by, but it does apply to eggs.

This thermometer was a promotional and educational giveaway provided by the Institute of American Poultry Industries in the 1950s. Egg farms would have their names printed on the item, and they’d nail them to the wall of their barns.

I checked online, and Weaver Bros. remain in business. I’m sure that they still pack their eggs pointy end down, although I doubt that they still collect the eggs in baskets (it appears to be a caged operation.) While your eggs might be found in nest boxes or hidden in a pile of hay, it’s still good advice to collect them frequently and chill immediately. Cooling eggs and keeping them in your refrigerator remains the best way to keep them fresh. Read my FAQ for more about handling and storing eggs. That “pointy end down” advice is good too, as it’ll keep the yolk centered. I keep eggs in my refrigerator, in cartons, small end down. That is, when I can figure out which end is which. Tina lays an egg equally pointy on both ends, and Opal lays a huge round egg without a point at either end!

Treats for Hens

We all love to give our hens treats. Unlike so many others in our lives, chickens are raucously grateful for the smallest offerings. But, I’ve seen a disturbing trend to over-indulgence in the feeding of backyard hens. You can make your chicken sick – or even kill her – with too many of the wrong treats.

Optimally, a chicken’s diet should be around 16% protein., which is what you get in laying hen pellets. A hen, cranking out an egg day after day, depletes her system of protein and minerals. If you feed her too many carbohydrates you’ll make her fat and weaken what goes on in the reproductive tract. So, as much as your girls are gleeful about cracked corn, don’t feed it. There’s absolutely no reason to. One of the bonuses of keeping chickens is that they turn kitchen scraps and waste into compost. You don’t have to give up on feeding stale bread and leftover spaghetti, but keep it a small portion of their diet.

On the other end of the spectrum, I am especially concerned about all of the people feeding their hens mealworms. A small amount, like a tablespoon a day, is a fine treat. But, people are feeding handfuls. They’re practically feeding their hens pure protein (mealworms are up around 50%) The chicken expert at my local feedstore just told me about hens dying from kidney failure due to being fed mealworms as the main part of their diet. Besides the health dangers, mealworms are very expensive. Yes, it’s good for chickens to eat bugs, bugs they have worked for and found themselves. Bugs that are part of an active life, and one in which the insects are part of other things that the chickens are sorting through and ingesting.

Hulled sunflower seeds are a nice treat – in moderation. They have that extra bit of protein, and also contain good essential fats. My retired girls get about a teaspoon per bird per day. Plenty! Don’t feed the seeds with the shells on, as too many can cause an impacted crop. The sunflower seeds are what I use to call my hens. If you’ve seen my YouTube video, you know how fast my hens come when called. Since they rarely get such treats, when they hear that can shake, they know something very, very special is waiting for them.

But all of this doesn’t mean that you can’t spoil your hens. For chickens like mine that spend the good part of their days in runs, the best thing that you can do is to provide greens. You can simply put weeds and things in their compost pile (I have mine in the run.) Or, to make the greens last and keep them up off of the ground, use a bird suet feeder.

This one is nailed to the roost in the Little Barn. I also have a larger one, than hangs from a chain. It’s big enough to put apple halves and cucumbers in.

Hanging treats like this keeps the greens fresh and clean and keeps the hens busy. It’s the right way to indulge your birds.