Beautiful Life of Zig Zag Zoom

Yesterday I was out in the barn with my neighbor and we were trying to determine what was roosters in my batch of chicks this year. All of a sudden one of the chicks let me know that he was a rooster. He let out the cutest little crowing.

The surprise part of the whole thing was that it was one that I would have pegged for a hen. It was one that looked like a barred rock and everything I read, the hens have shorter combs as a pullet and black streaks on their legs. Well this little rooster had a little comb and black streaks on his leg. No I am more confused than every on how to sex them. I thought I had all the roosters picked out but I was wrong.

I am heading to the feed store today to try and get some leg bands to mark out the roosters when I find them. I will be getting rid of all the roosters in the fall. We plan to fill our freezer.

Another bit of news from  the old homestead is that thanks to my neighbor, we discovered we already have a nice patch of Rhubarb growing on our property. We got some roots from Karen’s cousins this year and planted them for next year. The neighbor came over yesterday and thought the old owners planted some Rhubarb several years back. She showed me where she thought it was and sure enough, we have three big bunches. YUM YUM.

That’s all the news for now. If you have news to share, feel free to drop me a comment or two.

We have had a few problems with our rooster getting mean and attacking. I learned to deal with him but when I was down with my back, Karen had to take care of the chickens and the rooster attacked her and did a number on her leg.

We already had all the eggs that we needed for the season fertilized so there was no real need to have a rooster anymore. We did our first cull. I took him to our cousin Kenny’s house and he showed me how to do a clean kill and pluck the feathers. I though it would be much worse but it did not bother me. I made Karen stand there with us so we can start doing our own when needed.

I thought the rooster would be hard to catch but I did it pretty quickly. The problem was, he stirred up the hens and one of the hens fell between an opening in the walls and got stuck. I thought she was dead or broke her neck and I tried to get her out but she fell too far. I ended up going to the outside of the barn and breaking through the wall. By time I did this, she flew up half way and I went back in and rescued her. I still thought she might be hurt but as soon as I lifted her out she flew off with the rest of her flock. Silly hen!

All the baby chicks but one is doing good. That poor little thing was attacked by the rest and pecked hard. I am not sure if she is going to make it but we are all crossing our fingers. They are growing fast and since I do not have electrical power in the barn, Kenny is still keeping them until they can come home without need for additional heat.

This week we are building a room inside the coop to keep the new chicks when they come home away from the older hens. This will be just fenced in so they can get use to each other before mixing them.

We have another batch of eggs scheduled to hatch next week so I will have more pictures to share. I will also be putting up some updated chick pictures as soon as I get time.

That is the update from the old homestead right now. Stay tuned for some cool pictures and video links of the chickens.

I just got together my plans for my new project for the Spring. Right now I have my chickens in a 14ft X 14ft shed that is built on to my big barn. It use to be my goat barn but when I got rid of my goats, I moved the chickens in. I am going to do a little remodeling to make it a little better and make room for the new chicks when they arrive.

I will be building a 6ft x 8ft fenced room inside of the shed for the new chicks and a 8ft X 8 ft completely enclosed fenced room on the outside for a run. Right now I have a 100ft x 58ft outdoor pen and the chickens free range. The new enclosed area will keep the new chicks safe while they mature. I will then put them all together with the older chickens.

Right now I have two nesting boxes in the chicken house but I am adding a two tier unit with six nesting boxes in the hope that I will have around 16 hens when we are all done hatching the eggs this Spring. Knowing my luck, the majority will be cocks and not hens.

I am looking forward to all the snow going away so I can get started on working around the old homestead and getting all my projects done. Besides the chicken house updating, I am planning a large garden and a pumpkin patch. Hopefully, if everything goes smoothly, I will have everything done early so the Summer will be a breeze.

I will be keeping all of you updated as the projects get done. Wish me luck!

What kind of Spring projects do you have planned?

Last week I collected my chicken eggs as usual. Of course this time, they were not for eating, I gave them to my wife’s cousin to hatch out for me. I am excited to get new chicks in a few weeks. I have a rooster who is a Plymouth Rock and the hens are the Araucana breed. I am excited to see what the cross will look like.

I was given all my chickens last year and I got the rooster and my five Plymouth Rock hens from my wife’s cousin and one of the hens was the rooster’s mother so we decided not to mix those for hatching. My two Araucana hens are no relation so that is why we used those to breed for new chicks. I gave my wife’s cousin ten eggs last week and I am hoping for at least five new chicks. He also said he will do another batch from his eggs, all Plymouth Rocks, for me in April so I have more chicks. I am hoping for about 12-15 hens this year when I am all done.

I would like enough to supply my house with a dozen eggs, my wife’s parents with a dozen, and my wife’s brother’s family with a dozen each week and have a couple dozen eggs to sell to offset feed cost. My goal in the future would be to raise enough to have a supplemental income for our farm.

Right now my five Plymouth Rock hens have not laid any eggs for a few weeks and I am not sure why. They went through moult and started to lay but now have quit. The two Araucana hens lay eggs just about everyday and one egg is white and one is bluish green. If the others do not start laying, they may be stew meat in the fall.

I will write more here when the chicks are born and I am hoping to be able to sex them early so I do not have a yard full of roosters. Wish me luck and stay tuned for more news on the baby chicks.

I have to say life in an old farmhouse is never boring. There are so many openings in the foundation that you never know what creatures you may see. Our area is very rural so we expect a lot of things. We have mice, spiders, and an occasionally bat. This can be expected in any old farm house in the country but two days ago, I got the shock of my life.

I was coming into the dining room and seen these two long black things running around. They were mink. I tried to get the dog after them but he is old and they are quick. We watched one go outside and climb a tree and catch a squirrel and drag it under the porch. I was not a happy camper.

I spent some time looking up what the creatures were and it was confirmed that they were minks. I read as much as I could find and it seems the only way to get rid of them was using a live trap or shooting them. I decided to wait and see if I see them again then I would decide how to handle them. It seems that mink sleep during the night and roam during the day but my wife wanted me to keep the downstairs light on all night anyway.

After that first day, I did not see any tracks in the snow or any signs of them in the house.  I am hoping that my screaming at the dog to get them and the dog chasing them has scared them away. All information I have read says they are travelers and do not often stay in one place long. I hope our house was a one day adventure for them and they never come back. I do not mind any creature unless it decides to become a house guest, than they are fair game for the old 22. Oh well, I just said That Blozzz and can hope not to see them again.

Have any of you had some weird stuff in your house? Please share you experience by leaving a comment.

Well my hens have finally finished their long moult and they have started laying again. I have 7 hens and I was getting one egg a day but I am now up to between two and three a day.

It has been cold and since i have no electricity in the barn, I do not have a light for them so I am happy with the amount I am getting.

I am hoping to add another dozen hens in the spring to up my production. I am thinking of starting to sell fresh eggs once the production is up.

It has been in the 30s for a week or so and it has made it easier to take care of the chickens. Last night it hit below zero so i had to go back to thawing the water everyday.

Well that is all the news from the hen house for now.

Take care and if you are dealt a poor hand, say “That Blozzz” and move on!

Ok, if you were mislead by the title and thought you were coming here for another reason, you should be ashamed!

click on the picture for full view

I just wanted to post the king of the chicken coop. Here is a picture of my rooster “Melvin”. He lives a dream life of having 7 ladies to do his bidding.

He was born in the spring and was friendly as can be when I got him in July but now I can not trust him. Me and him have a good understanding though. If he behaves, I will not play baseball with him and a 2×4 board.

Enjoy the picture and when you step in dog poop, just say “That Blozzz” and move on.