Clever Goat

Two days ago, I looked out of the upstairs window and took a double take. There was a goat on the lawn.

lawn goat

 

Notice that the barn door is closed. The paddock gate is closed. And yet, Caper is on the lawn. His brother, Pip, is relaxing on his bench inside of the goat pasture. Did Caper dematerialize from one side of the fence and materialize on the other? Did he say Beam me up, Scotty! and get transported to the side of the fence with the green grass?

Steve investigated. The gate has two chains to keep it shut. The bottom one was off the hook.

Yep, Pip figured out how to unlatch the chain and squeeze through the gate. (Notice that the chain on the top is still on. Notice the size of Caper’s belly. He must have defied some law of physics to do this.)

latch

 

Recently a study made a big splash in the news. It announced that goats are intelligent! Those of us with goats read the study and shook our heads. The test that the researchers presented the goats was easy-peasy. It was like asking an MIT mathematician to recite the times tables. Obviously, the researchers hadn’t ever kept goats.

Steve got Caper back in. I secured the gate with what I had on hand. You have a lot of extra clips and carabiners when you keep goats.

gate

There! I said, Caper can’t get into trouble now!

Never, ever say that about goats.

That night, Caper discovered that if he bangs on the stall door, that a loose wire will fall off of the wall. Nice toy.

Caper and wire

 

 

Good to chew.

wire

 

Luckily, it was not high voltage.

Notice that all of these stories are about Caper.

Pip is the gentleman.

innocent Pip

He says that he deserves some peanuts for being so good. He does. I also think that Caper deserves peanuts for being so clever. Those researchers could learn a thing or two from him.

A Thorough Coop Cleaning

I’ve cared for numerous animals, and so I can tell you that it is the modest chicken that makes a mess of every inch and nook and cranny in your barn. These birds scratch and shred anything that is underfoot. They produce copious amounts of manure, which gets turned into dust by their scratching. They shed keratin from their feather shafts which is also minced to bits by their feet. Mix this powdered manure/bedding/feather material together (as they do, what with their dinosaur feet grinding everything into bits) and what you have is a fine, sticky dust that coats everything.

For the sake of my bird’s health, and my own, and also to simply enjoy being around my flock, I keep the coop tidied up. I skip out manure twice a week. Every weekend I do a more thorough job (to read about manure management read this post.) I sweep down cobwebs with a broom. My barns are very well ventilated with fresh air, and sunlight streams in. Still, at the end of the winter, dust has accumulated.

dirty coop

 

It piles up in the windowsills.

dusty windowsill

 

The dust is so thick that it almost obscures the labels on the storage cans.

dusty label

 

Cobwebs drip down.

cob webs

 

This is not just unsightly. Cobwebs and dust hold viruses and bacteria. The dust itself impairs breathing. It all contributes to respiratory disease. So, at the end of the winter, which is finally now, I do a thorough coop cleaning.

All of the bedding is shoveled out.

shoveling

Notice that I wear a dust mask. As well maintained as my coop is, that protection is necessary.

The old bedding is dumped into the manure pile at the side of the pumpkin patch.

compost

 

I sweep every last bit up. See all of the dust that was under the bedding?

broom

 

Next, I get out the shop vac. I even get on a stool to reach the cobwebs that have been blocking the cupola and the soffit vents in the eaves.

vacuum

 

I wipe down all surfaces, and wash the windows to let the sun in. The storage area is tidied up, and forgotten bits and bobs that  accumulated when it was too cold to bother with them, are stored properly or thrown out.

clean storage

 

I don’t wash the walls. This is not a disinfecting cleaning like a commercial barn does between selling off old, and bringing in new stock. Not only is it still too cold, but I need to get the hens back into the barn. A washed barn remains damp for days, and that’s not good for the chickens.

Lastly, I put down fresh bedding. I used pine shavings for years, and it’s excellent. Recently, I’ve switched to Koop Clean, which is chopped hay and straw with a desiccant mixed in. The chickens stay active looking for tidbits in the hay, and it keeps the coop very dry and sweet-smelling.

clean coop bedding

 

It’s a lot of work to do this sort of thorough end-of-winter coop cleaning, but it is ever so satisfying. The air in the barns feels fresher, and it’s wonderful not tot kick up a puff of dust when feeding the hens.

The animals always come first. Now that their home is readied for springtime, I can get into the garden. I’ve already begun raking the leaves out from the perennial beds. I surprised a toad! Springtime is definitely here. The last bit of snow will be gone by the end of this week.  I have a good deal of satisfaction knowing that my coops are ready for the warm months to come.

coop

Yes!

What do I see? Springtime color in the leaves?

leaves and crocus

 

Yes! Even the white croci are cheerfully colorful. Look at those yellow centers. Harbingers of the hot summer sun that will get here soon enough.

white crocus

 

Yesterday morning the ground was covered by a hard frost. Croci don’t care.

purple crocus

 

Lovely.

crocus closeup

New Workshop Scheduled!

Over the last few years, I’ve taught numerous introduction to chicken keeping workshops. I’ve also written about how to get started with backyard hens in The Farmstead Egg Guide and Cookbook.

What I haven’t done is teach an in-depth class focusing on chicken health, the issues that arise with aging hens, and problematic chicken behavior. But, I’ve been working on it, and the first Advanced Chicken Care Workshop is being offered on May 17. Sign up through my Upcoming Events page.

Meanwhile, I have a number of programs coming up that I’d love to see you at! Yesterday’s Boston Globe book section had a wonderful write-up about what I do by Kate Tuttle. Tomorrow night I’ll be expanding on that conversation at Porter Square Books. I’ll bring a hen! There will be time for Q & A, so bring your chicken keeping questions.

Also, looking ahead to June, I’ll be at one of my favorite places, Tower Hill Botanic Garden, for a short talk and book signing, at 7 pm on June 11. Tower Hill has a lovely cafe, and I’ve reserved a table for 12 for dinner before the event. If you’d like to join me, let me know via email.

FEGC cover

The Beast Emerges

The Beast and her minions survived the winter.

beast

 

Despite the state of suspended animation that the fish were in all winter, somehow they managed to double in size! I will have to find homes for some of them.

Meanwhile, although patches of snow remain, the sun came out and I have begun the springtime yard cleanup. I raked and deadheaded the perennial herb bed. Those brown leaves on the ground? Frozen solid. I’ll have to do another quick raking in a week or so.

herbs

 

Yesterday, I cleaned up around the raspberries and lopped off old canes. Luckily, the bushes are on the right side of the fence. Three feet of snow remains piled up on the left, a reminder of the snow plow that we saw so frequently this past winter.

raspberry

 

There’s so much to do! The butterfly garden needs attention.

flower bed

 

The Gems have offered their assistance and have been loosening packed down leaves and destroying all lurking larvae.

hens help

 

Yesterday I was in a store looking at gardening tools and noticed the seed display. There was a two for one sale! Despite the fact that I have not yet taken stock of the seeds leftover from last year, I couldn’t help myself. I bought 18 packets. Even those of us who are frugal and careful shoppers suffer lapses and go on seed buying sprees this time of year. Kale will be sowed today.

Spring is here.