Lily is on patrol. She is keeping the garden free of vermin that gnaw at the butternut squash.

So far, so good.

Do you have (or had) a good farm dog? Brag about your pup in the comments. There are few things as cheering as a good dog story (and heaven knows, what with what’s on the nightly news we could use some good dog tales.) Don’t hold back on the effusive praise!

It’s just a coincidence that two podcasts they I took part in this month released their episodes the same week. I guess that I have a lot to say about chickens, because there’s almost no overlap in the content of these conversations.

I’ve followed the Root Simple blog for years. Unlike many who promote urban sustainability, the couple behind Root Simple are not didactic. They maintain their ethics, but with a good dose of humor and practicality. Also, they have a few passions that I like hearing about. Erik has delved deeply into bread baking, and Kelly adores cats. (She should never think that there are too many internet cat photos – Kelly, go ahead and post more!) Erik and Kelly keep chickens in urban Los Angeles, and I was delighted to be asked to be a guest on their podcast.

Kelly and Erik have a small urban yard filled with plants appropriate for southern California conditions. I so enjoy reading their blog posts about fruits that I could never grow here (grapefruit!) and their experiments with straw bale vegetable beds. Erik reads my blog and watches the cams to see what rain looks like :) I took this photo this morning, of dew on a brussels sprouts leaf. It’s for you, Erik!

I had the pleasure of chatting with Jen Pitino over at the Urban Chicken Podcast. (Do click on the link and read what she has to say. She writes as well as she interviews!) We had a wide-ranging conversation about chicken keeping and cooking. We also delved into how I got started with hens, why I have those cams in my backyard, and dish about a few things that you might not know about what goes on at HenCam. Tune in!

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.