Yearly Archives: 2013

Phoebe’s Choice

The rabbit hutch was old, and this past week of high humidity and heat finally did it in. Ants were using it as a highway, and earwigs moved into the hay. Everyday I replaced the hay and everyday the insects returned. Phoebe let me know that she had no intention of going into the hutch unless forced. I didn’t blame her.

The old rabbit house was thrown out and replaced with a clean, dry and comfy (or so I thought) newer hutch. The chickens checked it out and declared it excellent.

owly

 

Ancient Twinkydink said that it was about time that she was given a ramp into a nesting box. She’s now laying an egg in there every three days. Not bad for an 8-year old hen!

Twinkydink

 

Phoebe said, The chickens are welcome to it! She saw no reason to go into the hutch during the day. Rabbit pellets are uninteresting to her compared to what else can be found. There’s usually greens and woody things to chew on in the compost pile.

compost

 

Inside are more greens in the treat holder.

suet feeder

 

There’s room to run, which gets the goats going, too.

play

 

Like Candy did, Phoebe uses the corner of the pen as a litter box. Bunnies are tidy. (The goats and chickens could learn something from her!)

litter box

 

It’s been hot and humid, and the concrete floor of the coop is cooling. Phoebe found the perfect spot underneath the nesting boxes. She convinced Buffy to vacate the premises, and none of the other hens think to bother her there. There’s plenty of room to sit up and groom.

grooming

 

She’s moved the shavings to the side so that she can stretch out and stay cool.

screen shot

 

Letting Phoebe making use of the full coop and run during the day is fine with me, but I wanted her to sleep in the hutch at night. I didn’t want her on the floor with the chicken manure. I worried that in the morning, when all of the chickens came off of the roosts, that it would be too crowded and that she’d be subject to pecking. I wanted her in her hutch, where she’d have hay to eat at night (rabbits stay busy in the dark.) But, those are all of my worries and wants. Phoebe didn’t share them. She wants to sleep on the concrete floor. She likes the company of the hens. She likes the hubbub in the coop in the morning. I listened to her arguments (for a silent rabbit, she’s quite clear in her communication) but was still not entirely convinced. Then my son pointed out that the mosquitos were bothering her at night in the hutch, but that they weren’t in the coop (the hens eat them.) Phoebe had made her choice, and finally I was fine with it. She can sleep in the coop. I’ll leave the hutch in the run. It’s a good place for her food and hay. Who knows, maybe she’ll decide that in the winter the concrete floor is too cold and she’ll move in. I’ll be listening to her. She’s a smart rabbit.

Roasted Hakurei Turnips

This is the first year that I’ve grown Hakurei Turnips.

growing

They’re nothing like the cold-weather crop turnips that I’m familiar with. This is a Japanese variety that has the moisture and crunch of an Asian apple, and in fact is so mild that it can be eaten raw. It’s reminiscent of a radish without the tang.

I harvested a bowlful, and also pulled a few young carrots that needed to be thinned. Although the turnip greens are edible, I’m awash in chard, lettuce and kale, and so fed the tops to the chickens. Phoebe and the goats got the carrot tops, which made them all quite happy.

harvest

I sliced the turnips in half, tossed them with one tablespoon of olive oil and dusted with salt and freshly ground pepper. I put them onto a baking sheet in a single layer and placed in a 425 degree F oven for 8 minutes. Then, I turned them over and baked for another 10 minutes. Because they contain so much water, you want to roast them quickly, at high heat. If cooked more slowly, they’d turn to mush. When done, they look like this:

roasted

 

I could have done a fancier preparation, and roasted them in a dressing of maple syrup, mustard and soy. But, at the beginning of the summer bounty, I crave simple recipes in which the vegetables themselves are the stars, and so just simply roasted them. Serve at room temperature with a drizzle of the best balsamic vinegar that you can afford.

bowled

 

For lunch today, I’ll have a salad with lettuce and these vegetables, tossed with feta cheese. But, as much as I like these Hakurei turnips, I think that I prefer the regular purple tops. I’m going to buy a packet of seeds today and plant them. They should be ready to pull by October.

 

Bluebirds

After my experience with the American Robins and the mites, you might think that I’d wish all of the wild birds would leave my yard, but that’s not how I feel at all. I just don’t want them on my porch or in my barns. Yes, there’s an inherent risk that my hens will be in contact with their wild feathered cousins and contract a disease or parasites. But, prudent management (without going overboard and locking the hens up) minimizes the likelihood that my flock will be endangered. I’m happy to provide homes for bluebirds.

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I’m delighted to see them reducing the insect population to feed their babies.

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Those little ones are voracious and demanding!

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I love seeing flashes of blue in the backyard.

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I’m looking forward to watching the local bird population from my nest and mite-free porch.

(note: photographs taken by Steve)

Robins, Day 14, Good-bye!

By the end of day 13, all of the robins had left the nest. Not that there was much of a nest left. What was there was flattened and looked like a trampled, packed patch of dirt and dead grasses.

empty nest

The black specks on the window box are mites, and so the old dog beds got sealed up in garbage bags and tossed off of the porch – I didn’t want to even walk them through the house! The flowers and tomatoes in the window box, and all of the dirt that it contained, also got thrown out.

dog beds

 

I scrubbed with soapy water.

scrubbing

 

Once dry, the porch got sprayed with permethrin. I’ll be keeping Lily off of there for a week, as any remaining mites will be hungry and looking for a host.

Good-bye robins! And good riddance!

Robins, Day 13, Two Remain

I am not stepping onto the porch until the robins are gone and I can scrub it clean. I opened the bathroom window to get a photo of the parent,

robin box

 

 

and a fledgling leapt out of the box, landed on the deck, squirted poop, and flew off into the smokebush (that gorgeous plant below the porch.) I was so surprised that I was only able to get this one photo. Obviously, even without the mite problem,  I’d be out there with a scrub brush once all of the birds leave.

on porch

 

 

As it is, two remain. I’m hoping that they’ll be gone by tomorrow!

two left