December 3, 2013

chickens love squash….

My chickens are growing, and happy. I’m checking for eggs, none yet. Their favorite foods seem to be: cooked squash, sweet potatoes and garlic mashed potatoes! Yummy. They’ve done a great job with our Thanksgiving leftovers. Other favorites: honeydew melon, corn-on-the-cob, kale, lettuce, cream cheese and cottage cheese. Today I went out to check on the girls, but unfortunately didn’t have time to spend with them. They clucked with pleasure to see me. Guess they’re getting the idea that I bring them good food. I’ve also been letting them out…

November 28, 2013

pumpkin vases for the Thanksgiving table

These are a couple of pumpkins from my garden. I don’t think they’re good eating pumpkins, so I used then for vases on my Thanksgiving table. It was a wild Day as we had 16 of us for dinner – 14 staying overnight with us. We had such fun cooking, visiting and eating. Anyway, the pumpkin vases worked well. I cut off the tops them stuck the flower stems into the seeds and fiber, then added water. The seeds and fibers did a good job of holding the stems in…

November 25, 2013

spoiled chickens

I think I am going to spoil my chickens. Why not. They’ve just been shipped across the country (from Iowa) as young, barely feathered hens, they have nice coop, but we’re having a bitter November cold snap here in New England. Its 25*F and windy as can be. I know experienced chicken keepers tell me they don’t need extra heat, but it seems a bit of spoiling may be OK for their transition. I’m running an incandecsant bulb (40 watt) for the chickens so they have about 15 hours of…

November 24, 2013

egg watch

No eggs yet today, but I’m keeping my eyes out….

November 24, 2013

it’s snowing!

… our first snow flurries! …

November 23, 2013

my new chickens

This is Ginger, my Araucana chicken. She will lay blue/green eggs! And this is Penny, a Black Australorp. She is supposed to be very easygoing, a very good layer of dark brown eggs, and will have black feathers with green highlights. And last, but not least, Bertha, a Light Brahma. She will be BIG and hardy, and beautiful and will lay a few light brown eggs now and then. All three are between 18 and 22 weeks old. Pullets. Right now all are the same size, about as big as…

November 21, 2013

the chickens are home

Today I picked up my 3 new chickens from the local post office. They all came in one small box. They were clucking away on the bench at the Post Office. They are pullets (females, hens 18-22 weeks old). All are about the size of a large pigeon. I think they’ll grow quite a bit more. One of the breeds I got grows to 10 lbs and I can’t imagine she’s much more than 3 or 4 lbs right now. They are supposed to start laying in a week or…

November 19, 2013

the chickens are in the mail …..

I got my delivery confirmation this afternoon. I hope the mailman takes good care of them.

November 19, 2013

storing dahlia tubers

Our new house doesn’t have a basement or attic. Or a garage. It has a beautiful view and great location. After I dug my dahlia tubers I realized I had no place to store them for the winter. Dahlias need to be at about 50*F and low humidity to overwinter. After almost a month of sitting in our house at almost 70*F, my dahlia tubers were starting to sprout. So, today I brought them up to my parents’ house. My dad will put them in his basement with his dahlia…

November 17, 2013

getting ready for the chickens

My 3 chickens ship tomorrow! They should arrive here on Wednesday. I’ll have to go down to the post office and pick them up. Today I read that chicken food should be inside the coop to keep it dry. I’m working on getting a hook inside to hang the feeder. Also read I’ll need a light to extend daylight time, and a heat lamp. Someone recommended a ceramic heater instead of a heat lamp. Seems like its going to get cold next week, so I’ll get these installed soon. I’m…

weeks and counting until my last spring frost