Last year the Gems arrived as three-day old chicks in a box from Meyer Hatchery. I’d ordered all females. But by 5 weeks the Delaware looked suspiciously male.

It was clear a few weeks later that Opal was really Opie.

No one wants roosters. His days were numbered.

But,  Opie was one very lucky boy. My friends at Sweet Autumn farm actually needed a rooster for their flock. I visited him last week. He’s busy.

And occasionally loud.

Opie watches over his flock and never bothers the humans. That’s a perfect rooster.

But, I hadn’t gone to Sweet Autumn Farm just to visit with Opie. There were babies to see.

There are two Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goat does at the farm. Both had kids this summer. These three were from one mama.

Compared to Pip and Caper, their goats were positively svelte and feminine! Here is a photo of Caper for comparison.

Yes, they are the same breed.

Where there are kids, there is milk. Leslie showed me how to squeeze just so. It took me many tries, but finally the milk squirted out!

That was a very patient goat.

I had a taste. It was as sweet as candy. Leslie was hoping that this experience would convert me from wethers to milking does. As much as I enjoyed the milk, and as lovely as her dainty goats were, I’ll stick with my easy to care for goat boys (and my all female flock of hens!)

Everyone has heard of the term pecking order, and we all knew, when starting out, that our own flocks will be party to that most basic of chicken behaviors. Still, the beginning chicken keeper is often taken aback at what goes on. Chest thumping, feather pulling, blood letting! It’s not pretty and it doesn’t look nice. In the worst case scenario, a picked on hen will be killed by the others. This happens. Some people ascribe all sorts of bad intentions to the offending “bullies” but in truth the animals are not at fault, for their behavior is due to how we manage their care. It’s up to us to control the flock dynamics to have the best scenario, that of a peaceful, healthy flock where everyone lives amicably together.

All flocks have a pecking order, and as the term implies, it is established by using their beaks. But, that does not mean that the hens spend their days attacking each other. A group of chickens should quickly reach an agreement, and each hen will know her status. Status determines who gets the best tidbit and who gets to sleep in the prime spot on the roosts. Despite the fact that chickens have no qualms about bossing underlings around, once the pecking order is set the flock should be peaceful with no obvious bullying, and certainly no terrorizing the low status birds into corners or drawing blood!

Chicks that grow up together rarely have issues. They’ve figured out who’s on top from early on. As the pullets mature there might be a few spiffs as a hen gets larger and bolder, but there shouldn’t be anything dramatic or bloody. Because, as much as it’s called “pecking order” the hens have all sorts of body language that they use before they have to resort to stabbing each other with their pointy beaks, and the low-status birds are smart enough to get out of the way.

If you have a flock of hens that know each other well (no new girls coming in) then all should be peaceful. If there are frequent squabbles, or if a hen is getting bloodied, then you have a management issue.

The most common reason for pecking order violence is crowding. Each hen needs a minimum of 4 square feet of floor space inside and another 8 outside. Be aware that there are times when the chickens won’t be spread out evenly. Take a look at your hens’ accomodations during inclement weather. Are they crammed together? If your hens are attacking each other, but have space, then reorganizing the coop can sometimes relieve the pressure. Adding outside roosts can give the lower status hens a place to go, or conversely, a perch from which the high-status hens can survey their realm. It doesn’t matter which, what matters is that the hens can move freely away from each other and have their own places. Chickens are greedy and possessive about food. Hang the feeder so that the hens can circle around it and no one gets trapped in a corner when trying to eat. Add a second waterer outside. When providing treats, set them out in several places.

Chickens get bored, and hens kept in small dirt pens will get in trouble. That’s why I don’t give treats like corn that they quickly gobble up, but instead provide a compost in the run so that they have an interesting place to scratch for hours. That’s also why I give them pumpkins in the fall,

hang a cabbage in the run when they’re closed up due to snow,

and why I’ll toss them clods of dirt and weeds in the summer.

It’s rare (it’s only happened once here in 16 years) that you’ll have a hen who is a bully and despite having everything that she needs, goes after the other hens with an unrelenting viciousness. Remove her from the flock for four days. Put her out of sight. When she is returned she will be at the bottom of the pecking order and she will rarely go back to her aggressive ways. If she does, get rid of her.

There are times when the pecking order gets upset. If a hen becomes ill the others will go after her. Chickens recognize each other by their combs, and a change in it’s color (which can happen at the onset of illness before you notice something is wrong) will set them off. If all of a sudden your flock dynamic has changed, take a look at your hens’ health! If a chicken does become wounded, the red blood will make her a target of the entire flock. If it’s not severe, darken the exposed skin with blu-kote (a purple antiseptic), if it’s open and bloody, remove her from the group until healed.

Pecking order is always disturbed when new chickens are introduced. Even if you have only one hen, and think to add a second as a friend you’ll have aggression – just because you like that new chicken doesn’t mean that your hen will immediately bond with her. During a normal bit of sorting out there will be chest thumping and running at each other. This can go on for days, but things should quiet down. It can be especially difficult adding one young pullet to a flock of hens.  I have tips on how to merge new hens into an established flock here. Sometimes the attacks seem endless and they can be severe. I’ve seen a hen jump on another’s back to pin her down and fiercely peck at the head. Chickens doing that can kill. Roosters don’t allow this sort of hen on hen attack, and stop it by interrupting the behavior. This is something that you can do, too. Sometimes all it takes is for you to pick up the bully and move her away from the hen that she is focused on. Do this a half-dozen times and she usually gets the message.  Don’t you become violent and swat or hit the offending hen. That won’t effectively communicate to her that she needs to cease her attacks. If you aren’t able to stop the bullying, then remove her from the group for a couple of days while the new hens settle in.

A flock of hens that all get along is a pleasure to have in the backyard. However, underneath their cheerful clucking, the pecking order is always simmering. If you pay attention to your hens’ behavior, health and resources, it won’t boil over, and you’ll all be happy.

A loaf of bread that looks like this

can either be an expensive splurge from a bakery (if you can find it, as the “artisan” loaves at the supermarket are usually pale knock-offs) or you can make it for under a dollar a home. All you need is five basic ingredients and fearlessness. Yes, sometimes baking takes bravery, and this bread requires handling heavy and dangerously hot cast iron. It also requires a quick, surety in handling. That said, once you get the feel for the technique, you’ll find it fun and rewarding to make.

Back in 2006, Mark Bittman, the New York Times food writer, posted baker Jim Lahey’s No Knead Bread recipe and it went viral. Since then there have been many variations. What follows is mine.

2 cups                      bread flour (this has a higher protein then all-purpose, but all-purpose will do if that’s all that’s available)
1 cup                        whole wheat flour (or you can use all white)
1/2 teaspoon           instant yeast (this is different than the regular yeast. I use saf-instant)
1 1/2 teaspoons     salt (I use bread salt from King Arthur)
2 cups                      water

Stir the dry ingredients to evenly disperse the salt and yeast, and then pour in the water. Stir until well combined. It will be wet and has more in common with a sourdough starter than a regular homemade bread dough.

I do the mixing and the raising in a plastic bucket with a lid and marked measurements. The lid keeps the dough moist and I can clearly see when the dough is “doubled in bulk” (one of those admonishments you never know if you have right!)

It starts out looking like this:

Let it rise. Many of these no-knead recipes say to let rise for a full twenty-four hours, and yes, you’ll get more of a sourdough flavor. But on a warm day I start it in the morning and bake it off for dinner. But, don’t rush it. The first rise needs to be at least four hours.

It’s ready for the next step when it doubles,

and looks like this:

Generously flour a board or your countertop. Using a dough scraper, turn the sticky mass onto the work surface. Handle as lightly as possible, dusting with flour now and again to keep it from sticking to the board and your hands, while folding it over until it has some semblance of a round.

Dust with flour and cover with a linen towel that has also been dusted with flour (nothing worse than uncovering it later and having half of it stuck to the towel.)

Let rise an hour or two, until it looks more like a typical dough. It will be springy and still wet, but should have some shape.

Meanwhile, get out your heavy, lidded pot. I use a vintage, cast iron one. The reason that this bread ends up so beautifully chewy and crusty is because for the first half of the cooking it steams while it bakes at a high temp. Cast iron is ideal for this. The pot shouldn’t be more than 10 inches in diameter; too much width and the bread will flatten like a focaccia. Put the pot into a 450 degree F oven and preheat the pot for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven VERY CAREFULLY. It’s heavy, awkward and dangerously hot.

Once again, dust the towel generously. Using the dough scraper, lift the dough onto the linen, and then roll it off and into the pot. Although the bread shouldn’t stick, once in awhile it will, so I use non-stick baking liner that I cut into a strip to fit the bottom of the pot. This also works as a convenient tab when removing the bread from the pot.

It will look rough with some dustings of dry flour. That’s good.

Cover and bake for 25 minutes.

Then, reduce the oven temperature to 350 and remove the lid WITH CAUTION as it is very, very hot. Set the lid down somewhere safe, like your cooktop. Continue to bake for about 30 minutes until the bread develops a browned crust. Remove from the oven with two sets of oven mitts.

Turn out the bread and let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

It’s hot and humid. Record breaking temperatures are expected this afternoon. This stresses the hens. The girls pant and hold their wings out and off of their bodies.

I know they’re okay because they’re eating, drinking,  moving around, and even laying eggs. But, still, I’d like to make them more comfortable, and I know just the treat.

Watermelon!

Hydration and electrolytes in one easily-consumed package.

It didn’t take long for Topaz to look refreshed.

Thanks, Chicken Maid!

For more hints about how to keep your hens comfortable in severe heat, check my FAQ.

The large melons at the market cost only a little more than the “individual sized.” Although I can’t eat a whole melon, it goes quickly when I share it with the hens. I saved enough for myself to make a feta, mint and watermelon salad. (No recipe! Just toss together with a little lemon juice and olive oil.)

If my son and husband were home, we could easily go through a whole watermelon and I’d buy a second for the hens. But the boys are off at Boy Scout camp this week. Whenever Steve is away something happens. So far, the first night, the septic pump alarm went off. The next day I had two crews here fixing the system. Today the web sites went down. Tomorrow a severe thunderstorm and hail is in the forecast. It’s shaping up to be an interesting week.