Can you have too much of a good thing?

Apparently so when it comes to rich compost.

Green beans are the only green vegetable that both of my sons like to eat. Yes, there are books and articles and advice swirling around the web that if you garden with your children, that they will grow up to love a multitude of vegetables. That’s not been the case here. (And don’t get me started on my son who doesn’t like the taste of eggs!)

In any event, I always set aside a good portion of the garden for the beans. Some years I grow a bush variety, and some years I plant climbing vines. I always have a good crop.

This year, the beans looked ever so promising.

It’s a jungle. Sadly, this lush plant hasn’t produced a single bean.

I’m told that the beautiful dark compost that I added to the raised bed was too rich, and was too high in nitrogen, so that the plant put all of it’s energy into being suitable for Jack to climb, but not to make any beans.

The good thing about keeping goats is that they turn a gardening disaster into an enthusiastic eating party. Goats love, love, love green bean leaves.

There’s plenty for both, but Pip never willingly shares.

I’ll be doling the bean vines out over the next week. Watch for expanding goat bellies.

(On a side-note, the black turtle beans did very well this year and I’ll be harvesting a good crop. I’ve no idea why one type of bean produced and another didn’t. What do you think?)

One disaster in the garden doesn’t mean that all is a loss. I rarely have success with brussels sprouts, but this year they are tall and sturdy. I guess that cabbage does well in rich compost.

Usually my crucifers are spindly things and then the cabbage worms do them in. There are worms this year, but I’m keeping them in check by picking them off. (See it right in the center? Talk about camouflage!)

LIke the goats, the chickens make almost anything that happens in the garden seem like a success. A tomato half-eaten by a slug? Delicious! Wilted chard leaves? Divine! When they see me go to the vegetable patch, then head to their pen, they know that something good is coming their way. They love, love, love cabbage worms and hurry over to the fence in anticipation.

I have some very good garden helpers.

This is a post about why not to keep a rooster. First of all, hens lay eggs whether there is a rooster living with them or not. You do not need a rooster to get eggs. A backyard flock of laying hens gets along perfectly nicely without a rooster. In fact, they do better without a male in their midst. In almost twenty years of chicken keeping I’ve never kept a roo. Yes, like everyone who purchases supposedly sexed chicks, a boy has found it’s way into the mix. The male chick is always the most out-going, the most charming, the one that you get attached to. I’ve sent them all away. Luckily for those boys, I know people, and have been able to find them homes that needed roosters. That’s not usually the case.

In the past, and this is not the recent past, but more like eighty to a hundred years ago, chickens were kept for both meat and eggs, and so the male birds were useful. They were what you had for Sunday chicken dinners. The only roosters that remained with the hens were the very best of the best.

Before the advent of mail order hatcheries (which really got going in the 1920s), you’d have to breed your own stock. Prize roosters were highly valued.

Since half of all eggs develop into males, there were a lot of roosters to choose from. For a breeding program, one rooster covers about eight hens. Only the ones with the best temperaments were kept to maturity.

Mean roosters went into the stew pot. Even those used for breeding were rarely kept for more than a year.

Some people keep a rooster to keep peace among the hens, and believe that the pecking order is minimized with a rooster to quell spats. Although roosters can change the flock dynamic, I don’t find a rooster necessary. I’ve never had a rooster, and my girls get along peacefully with each other. If you do have a rooster, your relationship with your hens will change. My hens are very friendly and hurry over to see me when I go out to their pens. But, a rooster will keep the girls focused on him.

It is true that roosters will stay on the alert for danger. The boys will keep an eye on wandering hens, and another eye on the sky looking for hawks. For a flock that free-ranges, this can add a level of protection. However, it’s not fail-safe. I’ve heard of plenty of roosters eaten by foxes.

Most backyard flocks are not free-ranging. Being let out for forage in a small yard is not the same thing as being able to wander in fields. Backyard flocks are kept in a confined space, and that’s not suitable for keeping a rooster. Roosters mate the hens, and they do this by pinning the hen down with a beak on the neck, and treading the hen – stepping on her and flattening her down to the ground. A rooster will do this many times a day. He’ll often have a favorite hen that he bothers incessantly. Some hens will lose all of the feathers off of their backs, and some will get scratched from the rooster’s spurs. In a truly free-range situation, the hens can avoid the roo, not so in a backyard. Experienced breeders recognize this. They’ll put a mating trio together for only a short week, and then the rooster is removed from the pen. If you do keep a rooster with your hens, the ratio is one rooster per eight to ten females. Fewer hens than that, and the rooster will abuse the flock.

A rooster protects his flock, and that often means that he will chase people. An attacking rooster is a scary thing. The beak is sharp, and the spurs are dangerous. This aggressive behavior doesn’t turn on until the rooster hits maturity, so it can come as a surprise. That said, some roosters remain gentle, even as they age. The more handling they have, the better they are.

However, some are never safe to have around. Sadly, I heard from one mother whose daughter needed reconstructive surgery after the pet cockerel tore into her daughter’s face. It used to be that chickens were expected to live amiably with others in the farmyard, and breeding stock was selected for temperament. Only the nicest roosters were bred. But, that is not the case today – hatcheries select solely for looks or egg production. If you end up with an aggressive bird, please don’t keep him.

The main objection to roosters is that they crow. Although children’s books tell stories about roosters that crow to wake up the farmyard, which seems rather sweet and useful, in actuality, the rooster begins crowing at daybreak and doesn’t stop until nightfall. Some roosters even crow after dark. Crowing is deeply ingrained in roosters. I’ve recently seen a product that purportedly stops the rooster from crowing by restricting the neck. I believe that, contrary to the manufacturer’s claims, that it is cruel.

You might not mind the sound of a rooster crowing, but it’s likely that someone will. In my small town we’ve had a dispute between neighbors. It escalated into a terrible situation of animal poisoning. That can never be condoned. (I’ve written about that in a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe.) However, what’s clear is that a rooster’s crow is often not welcome. Since your laying hens are productive without a rooster, be considerate if your neighbors are within earshot.

Some people keep roosters because they want to breed their own chicks. This is wonderful if you are a responsible breeder. Remember that half the chicks will be boys. You will not be able to find homes for them, and you can’t keep them as pets. Are you prepared to raise them for your own table? Will you send them to the livestock dealer so that someone else can harvest them? If not, then you shouldn’t hatch out eggs.

I love going to poultry shows and seeing 4-H kids carrying their pet roosters around. I very much appreciate the people dedicated to perpetuating historic breeds by hatching eggs and raising chicks. But, just like I love dogs, but don’t breed them, so too, I love my chickens but rely on responsible breeders to supply me with stock. I hope that you do, too.

This is what the dogs do when I am out of the house.

When I come home, they tell me that they’ve been bored, bored BORED, but I know the truth. They’ve simply slept through my absence.

It doesn’t matter if others are home. This is the family joke – that as soon as I step out the door, the dogs fall asleep. Photo taken by my son.

The blueberry bushes at the front of the house had a hard year. The invasive winter moths stripped them of foliage and weakened the branches. The late spring frost killed the blossoms. They needed some TLC, so I weeded, aerated the soil, and put down a new layer of chopped straw mulch.

It’s good to get down on the ground. There are things to see.

I spy a little….

…tiny amphibian.

What could it be? A spring peeper?

Nope. Look closely, the warts give it away.

I spy a baby toad!

Now that I’ve seen one, I’m seeing lots. They’re hopping in the lawn, they’re hiding in the potted flowers, they’re in the dirt by the barn. These slug and beetle eating animals are welcome to stay! I wonder if they eat winter moth larvae?

This is a cautionary tale. The outcome could have been much different. However, this is a story of but, thankfully.

For five years, the goat pasture was enclosed with an electric mesh fence, specifically designed for goats and chickens. It kept them in and it kept predators out. It was movable, so that sections of the pasture were grazed while others were left to grow the sort of browse that the goats love. Also, rotating pasture reduces the parasite load. But, there were downsides. When the ground was hard, the stakes were impossible to stomp into the earth. In the winter, it had to be taken up. So, last fall, I splurged on a permanent woven wire fence around the perimeter of the pasture.  But, I still wanted to manage the forage so I used the net fence to block off areas. The electricity didn’t reach out to that part of the pasture, but no matter, if the goats knocked the fence down, they’d just get a bit extra to eat. This worked perfectly for several months.

The other day, after lunch, I went out to the yard to take some photographs of flowers. I noticed that Caper was near the barn, but not Pip. They’re always together. This is the first but, thankfully. Here’s the thing – no matter how busy or distracted you are, always, ALWAYS pay attention to your animals. Know them so well, that even if it is a peaceful and beautiful afternoon, that if something, even a little something, seems off, go and see what is up. Drop everything.

I put down my camera and I looked around the barn. Pip had his foot stuck in the netting. Thankfully, it was a gorgeous day and the kitchen door was open. Thankfully both of my sons were home. Thankfully, one was eating lunch just inside of that kitchen door. I yelled for help. It wasn’t an emergency, but it always helps to have a second pair of hands when a hundred pound goat has a foot tangled in a fence.

To get to Pip, I had to go into the barn, open and close a stall door, and go down a small hill. It took forty seconds to reach him, and in that short span of time, the situation had changed. He was down and five strands of wire-reinforced nylon fencing were wrapped around his neck. His tongue was sticking out. He couldn’t breathe.

Goats are like this. If they can get into a trouble, and then multiply that trouble by a factor of ten, they will.

I yelled Get the scissors! I yelled that from the hill, out of sight of the house. But, thankfully, the boys heard me. Thankfully, they knew where the scissors were. Thankfully, I have very, very good scissors in the kitchen knife drawer. Thankfully, my boys ran.

Meanwhile, I was doing my best to pull the fence away from Pip’s neck so that he could breathe. I was handed the scissors and I cut him free.

Pip stood up. Looked at me. Looked at the boys. Stepped over the fence (as if the fence wasn’t a danger to him at all) and started grazing on the long grass that he’d been trying to get to in the first place. Goats are like that.

I checked him all over. Not a laceration, or a bruise, or a lump.

My sons helped me take down the mesh fence. I won’t be using it anymore.

My goat mentor tells me that she’s had goats strung up in any number of ways. Some of her stories include broken bones, and worse. Goats are ridiculously fun to have around, but that fun comes with a flip side – if they can get into a predicament, they will.

I’m often asked, about the chickens and the goats, Can you leave them for a weekend? The answer is no. Sure, you could set them up with enough food and water. but, someone has to check in on them. The water could tip over. A predator could come by. A goat could get a hoof tangled in a fence. You never know.

I still get a pit in my stomach when I think about what could have been. But, thankfully, I was in the right place at exactly the right time, and I was paying attention. This story, this time, ended up okay.