Why I'm Grateful for Goats

I had a fantastic spring, summer, and fall this year. Because I decided to turn my front yard into a garden, and learn how to raise chickens in spite of our small amount of land, I felt more alive and more myself than ever. I learned that it's possible to cultivate a small outdoor space into a fruitful, fertile, farmish one.  Fresh veggies, fresh eggs, and fun with chickens. The kids loved it! What's not to be grateful for?

In my quest to be happy and productive with what I had, I learned a lot and overcame some mental obstacles that have been keeping me from growing as a gardener, and farmer (wannabe). Then, something happened.

It began to get colder. And darker. This white stuff started falling from the sky and sticking to the ground, and my chickens were not impressed. They sought refuge in any spot of bare grass or dirt they could find, and their options became less, and less. They began to stay inside the coop in protest.

It wasn't even winter yet, and my chickens had a bad case of winter doldrums... the egg production slowed to a near halt. Even the neighbor chickens stopped visiting.

Following in my chickens' snow tracks, I began to feel the same. More time indoors, and less productivity was making me feel depressed, and wanting for more. Cabin fever was setting in, and our small, quaint little house began to feel TOO small. Once again, I started longingly gazing at the vast acres of land surrounding me that weren't mine, and feeling defeated. We need more land, I thought. Maybe I should just give up. What kind of weirdo thinks they can be a farmer on less than a quarter acre? These thoughts were keeping me down, and uninspired.

Then, things started to slowly turn around. My two young pullets finally started laying, so eggs began appearing in the nesting boxes, once again! The chickens stopped protesting, and started venturing out of the coop again, especially when I served them their hot molasses and acv tea!

Even the neighbor chickens started coming around again! The chickens and I began to face the fact that the winter doldrums will not go away on their own. We had to join forces and stop cooping ourselves up and face the cold and snow. And that we did!

Feeling more and more exhilarated from the cold and sun, I willed my inspiration to return, and battled those self-defeating, exasperating negative thoughts I was having about not having enough. Not being enough.

As I gazed at the spot where my once fecund garden lived, I stopped seeing a patch of straw and snow covered ground, and started seeing potential, and an opportunity to plan for next spring. I also saw mole tracks and burrows in the snow, and got this adorable little guy to help fend them off.

Meet Milo, the Microfarm Mouser. He doesn't really know that he has a job to do yet.

As I gazed at our side yard under the leafless willow tree, I visualized NOT a boring empty yard, but a space that needed to be utilized and filled with life.

So I proceeded to do what any sane person crazy homesteader would do in my situation, and found some new livestock to fill it up! Meet Violet and Snowdrop, my Nigerian Dwarf Goats.

Violet is a 3 yr old bred doe, who is due to kid in March. Yay for baby goats! And goat's milk! And learning to milk a goat, and make goat's milk soap!

This is Snowdrop, an 8 month old doeling. She likes to stand directly on top of the hay when she eats it, evidently. She is adorable. 

So far I've found them to be extremely calm and friendly. They tolerated riding in the trunk of my station wagon incredibly well, and seem to be adjusting to their new space amazingly. The perfect beginner goats with their sweet dispositions. I feel so grateful and blessed. The human kids are happy too!

 

And check out our awesome, top of the line, diy pallet fence! Didn't Nick do a nice job? I'm sure having goats will present us with new joys, as well as new challenges, and I'm up for both.

So, I think I'm set for a happy winter. Nothing gets you out of the house like having to care for livestock, right? I think I've found the cure for my Winter blues, just in time for the winter solstice to actually arrive. I'm settling into our "too small" house on our "too small" land, and It's going to be just enough for now.

Yogurt for Chickens

A tasty and beneficial treat!

Many of us "chicken people" find joy in treating our feathered friends.  Some of us *ahem* even go so far as to prepare special chicken salads for their appreciative pets  livestock.  

I'm slightly new to the art job of chicken-keeping, so I tend to get overly enthusiastic about feeding treats to the chickens.  What can I say, it makes me feel important when they all come running to me the second I step outside.  I know they're really just using me for my food, but I choose to be delusional and think that they love me.  They really love me!

Can you see the love?

Perhaps this look of adoration could be interpreted as a look of, "put the darn camera down and feed me," but whatever.

The more these chicks (and rooster) appreciatively hungrily gobble up the special treats that I give them, the more fun I have obsessing over finding new foods to give them that are fun and healthy.  

I swear I will stop putting lines through my words now.  Moving on...

My newest treat obsession= Yogurt!  They love it.  And so do I.  I eat the plain, whole milk kind, so that's what they are getting as well.  

Sometimes they like it mixed with oatmeal.  And sometimes they indulge in a fancy, gourmet salad comprised of strawberry tops, yogurt, and flax.  

I would even eat it, if it weren't for the green stuff.  Check it out!  

I think the flock felt special, eating this.  And I felt like a gourmet chicken chef. 

 Just let me be delusional.  Simple pleasures, my friends.  

Why feed yogurt to your flock?

1.  They like it

2.  Digestion-improving, health-boosting, probiotics (they're good for chickens, too!)

3.  Calcium (you know, the stuff their shells are made of?)

Do your chickens indulge in yogurt treats?

Why did the Chickens Cross the Road?

*Warning*  This post may contain severely anthropomorphic interpretations of chickens

We've encountered some uninvited guests lately.  At first I welcomed them, but that's before I learned what they were capable of.

 Yes, I was flattered when the chickens from across the road started coming over to my little yard to visit.  They just invited themselves into the coop, but I was okay with that.  The kids were excited about the "visitor chickens."

It was actually quite rude, now that I think of it.  They barged on in when my chickens weren't even home, and had the nerve to start scratching around, as chickens often do.

Eventually some of my chickens needed to utilize their coop, so they entered as well.  They were kind enough not to kick these visitors out, as some chickens would when presented with coop invaders.

One of my poor black hens was forced to lay an egg without any privacy at all. Perhaps I should put up some nesting box curtains, in case this happens in the future.  I mean, really.... she should have been more prepared, right?

  Maybe she should have laid her egg sooner in the day.  No, that's victim-blaming.  These chickens had no right to do what they did.

Still don't think they were over-stepping their farm boundaries?  Neither did I.  But now I see how they really were... their true colors may appear a rusty red, but their souls are black, I tell you.  I'm being overly dramatic, you say?  Think they're just a bunch of dumb chickens?  Looking back, I realize that they had an evil plan.  

 That harmless scratching at the ground, just doing what chickens do?  They had ulterior motives all along.  Our coop has a dirt floor.  I bet they found some good bugs in there.  Bugs that were rightfully MY chickens'.

See that lower nesting box there?  It has no straw left in it.  That is the ONLY nesting box my chickens like to use, and these rude visitor chickens kicked ALL the straw out of it, time and time again.

My children were forced to donate a plastic egg from their play kitchen, in order to place it in the upper nesting box, to convince our chickens that they should use it, instead of the straw-less lower nesting box.  My chickens were holding in their eggs, people!

I suppose these visitor chickens may not have recognized that a repurposed plant pot turned on its side is a perfectly acceptable nesting box.  Snobs.  They come from acres and acres of land, and have a beautifully crafted chicken coop complete with built- in nesting boxes that are accessible from the outside.  They must think they're better than my chickens.

Know what else they did?  They ate my chickens' layer pellets.  Lots of 'em.  And they didn't even have the common courtesy to lay me an egg.  Freeloaders!

Thankfully, our persistence in the face of adversity paid off.  My 4 year old daughter, Bayleigh, had a good feeling and decided to check the coop for eggs.  She came back to me, and excitedly reported that she saw this:

Poor thing lost some feathers from all the stress, but she saw the fake egg, and finally recognized the upper nesting box as an acceptable place to lay.

 Our plan worked!  A real egg, once again!

I haven't spotted any visitor chickens in the coop since the real egg was laid.  I see them foraging around the yard sometimes, and scratching around in the dirt road behind out house.  But they have backed off since they learned that they can deface our nesting box, and eat our chickens' food, but they can never break our spirit.  

Just kidding, I love seeing the neighbor's chickens.  The more the merrier.  It's a chicken party up in here.

The Beauty Around Us

Fall is upon us. It's a bittersweet time for those who garden in regions where the winters are too cold to grow anything.  I look forward to Winter as a time of reflection of what I have learned from my gardening experiences this year, and planning for the growing season to come. 

 I took some photos to say goodbye to some of my plants.  I'm no photographer, but it doesn't take one to capture the natural beauty that comes out of a garden.

This little baby lettuce was confused by the warm fall we've been having up until recently, and took the opportunity to grow, since some of the space hogs were done for the season and cleared out.  It's a variety of Romaine called 'Crisp Mint,' and it's actually survived several frosts.  Sadly, it will never grow large enough for me to enjoy more than a single salad, but the chickens decided they like it! 

 I plan on planting it again next season- this year it was kind of an afterthought, planted too late with not enough space to grow.  But it's pretty!

I've been in love with my Swiss Chard all Summer and Fall...  It's such a hardy plant, and almost too lovely to eat.  Almost.

Just look at the beautiful texture and shine of those leaves... gorgeous!

And I know I already mentioned my appreciation for Nasturtiums, but how could I not include this  garden photo?

Beautiful and Purposeful, they are.

I attribute the success of my very first Red Cabbage to those Nasturtiums.  Remember my accidental companion planting that resulted in my cabbage no longer getting eaten by whatever was eating it?  This is the result!

Sure, it's not perfect.  There are plenty of holes in the outer leaves, but I think of them as battle scars.  This cabbage is a survivor!  Is there any vegetable more cool looking than the inside of a Red Cabbage?  This Cabbage represents a lesson for me, that I will always remember.  This Cabbage made me a better gardener.  Am I getting too sentimental over Cabbage?  Should I be capitalizing the word, "Cabbage?" It's pretty important to me, so I say YES!

Now HERE is something Beautiful.  Thank you feathered friends!

Don't mind the bacon grease- I know I don't!

Benefits of Cucumbers for Chickens

I've recently discovered that my chickens absolutely go crazy for cucumbers!  Over the past couple of weeks, I had some over-ripe cucumbers that were not so palatable for human consumption.  I opted to slice them in half lengthwise and feed them to the flock.  This was a quick and easy way to feed them cucumbers, and they pecked the heck out of them, right down to the skin.  They especially seem to like the seeds, but gobbled up the gelatinous and fleshy parts of the cukes as well.

Or of course, you could be eccentric and make them a parsley and cucumber seed salad.  Remember this? 

No?  Remember when I questioned my sanity over creating Chicken Salads?  I've since embraced it entirely. 

Knowing that chickens tend to only eat what they need, and crave (and of course, like the taste of), I was curious as to what was so healthy and special about cucumbers in regards to chicken health.  A google search yielded no results, so I simply googled,  "Health benefits of cucumbers," and found THIS site that listed 10 benefits of cucumbers for people.  

Among the listed benefits were the usual B vitamins, and cancer fighting antioxidants, as well as digestion improving, and hydrating qualities.  If cucumbers relay these health benefits to people, wouldn't chickens benefit from them as well?  

What really interested me though, was mention that cucumbers contain silica, which is known to promote joint health by strengthening connective tissues.  For some reason, this inspired me to search for  the effects of silica on chickens, and egg production.  I didn't find much information, but a couple of tidbits led me to believe that these chickens know what they are doing when they mow down on cucumbers.

THIS source had some good info on the importance of silica on collagen formation, and calcium absorption.  Hmmmm.... what are egg shells mostly comprised of?  That's right, Calcium!  Here's a quote from that article:

"Within bone, silica is the essential component making up the collagen matrix upon which calcium is deposited.  This relationship is so fundamental that it is truly impossible to form bone without both calcium and silica.  In fact, researchers are exploring the possibility that supplementation of silica, rather than calcium may be what is needed for maintaining strong bones."

Another article that I found suggested that Silica is actually a more vital and effective supplement than mineral calcium in the formation of strong bones.  Could it be that the silica in cucumbers contributes to strong eggshells?  Here's a quote that suggests that it does:

"Chickens totally deprived of calcium and silica, produced soft-shelled eggs.  When "mica" was added to their diets, the hens' ability to lay calcium rich, hard-shelled eggs was restored.  Mica contains no calcium; but, it does contain potassium and silica, both of which can be biologically transmutated into calcium."

Interesting!

What do you think?  I think I'll keep feeding cucumber to my fortunate flock.  If nothing else, they love it as a treat- but I'm thinking they just have an innate idea of what they need to consume to be healthy!

Flowers in the coop

My Nasturtiums 

I love nasturtiums very much.  They are SO easy to grow, they're edible, kids love 'em, and they make great companion plants.  A lovely addition to a garden of any size, to add some color and interest.  Mine started blooming early in the season, and were one of the last crops to remain prolific in my garden.  I took this photo just a few days before the frost killed them last week.

Being aware of their pest deterring powers, and edible flower powers (which can entrance even the most unruly children when they realize they can actually pick and eat a flower), I was curious about what they could do for my chickens, and if chickens would even eat them.  

I was so excited to read that Nasturtiums are a healthy supplement for chickens, which can act as a natural laying stimulant (we HAVE been getting more eggs from the new girls), antiseptic, antibiotic, insecticide, and wormer.  SCORE!  

Placing fresh herbs in the coop, and nesting boxes can potentially result in a cleaner, more fragrant, and healthier coop.  It makes sense to me- if the chickens are rubbing up against those essential oils in the herbs, they will not only release their scent, but their healing and antiseptic properties as well.  Not only that, but the chickens will eat what they wish, and reap the benefits of herbs that are laying stimulants, natural wormers, and good for their health in a plethora of ways.  Being a believer in the healing power of herbs, I'm sold that they are good for chickens, too!  

Knowing that the frost would kill the flowers soon, the girls and I gathered as many blooms as we could, and tossed them into the coop.  It was a romantic concept, and the girls were delighted to do it.

 It sort of felt like a symbolic ritual, as I fantasized about all the herbs I would be growing in future seasons, and integrating into my chicken keeping.  Plus, the flowers just looked pretty.  And I'm pretty sure the chickens ate most of them, which may explain the recent egg increase.  I'm a believer!  

So what kind of herbs and flowers do YOU incorporate into your coop, or chicken feed?  I'm looking forward to delving deeper into the possibilities of becoming a chicken herbalist (I'm pretty sure I just made that term up).

Happy Accidents

My Surprise Harvest

The Potato.

My intent was not to grow any this year, in my tiny little garden.  Even with the intensive gardening methods I employed in order to grow more crops in a small space, I still had little faith that planting a potato would yield results.  Now that I think about it, I realize that I could have planted in containers, or reserved a "square" of my garden for potato purposes, but at the time of planting, I was overwhelmed.  "Potatoes will be for next year," I thought, "when I expand my garden and have more experience."

We'll get back to the potato.  First I want to make a bit of a confession.  You see, I wasn't planning on sharing my gardening blunder on this blog, as it might just discredit me as a gardener.  However, after having a heartfelt conversation with my lovely sister, Ceriese, I came to the realization that telling my story may just prevent others from making the same mistake.  So being the selfless person that I am, I will risk my reputation for the greater good.

It was a bright, cheery fall afternoon as I was pulling out the old squash plants, thanking them for being so fruitful and fantasizing about butternut squashes and what I would do to them in the kitchen... I digress... I was clearing out the old, dead squash plants.  Later on in the season, they had developed a mild case of powdery mildew (which I stomped out by spraying neem oil), so I wanted to be sure to get them out of the ground, so as not to harbor any diseases over the winter.  

As I cleared away the last of the crunchy leaves and stems, I saw something that confused me greatly.  It was red and tuber-like.  WHY was something red and tuber-like poking halfway out of the soil where the squashes lived?  I reluctantly placed my hand on this strange abomination, still in denial that it could possibly be what it looked like- a red potato.  It was, in fact a red potato.  HOW did it get there?  How on Earth does one plant potatoes without realizing it?  

I dug deep, in the soil, and harvested about 5 more.  Then, I dug deep into my brain, to figure out what the heck was going on.  I finally broke out of my flabbergasted state, and recalled a simple potted plant, that Nick, my other half, had brought home one day from the hardware store where he works.  When one sees a plant in a hanging basket, one does not automatically think, "Potato."  What I did think was, "hmm, I wonder what this mystery plant is...  I think I'll just plant it in the garden near these marigolds and see what kind of flowers it has... I better be quick, because the baby will be waking up soon."  So I proceeded to stick the plant haphazardly into the soil- without noticing the roots, of course.  Because WHO looks at the roots when they are transplanting?  Okay, a lot of gardeners do.  But in my defense, I was in a hurry.

As the spring turned into summer, I kept an eye on the mystery plant, which was planted in one of the front squares of the garden.  It produced flowers, eventually, but they were unimpressive.  The plant looked like this:

Cute, but not showy enough to earn this mystery plant protection from the ever-creeping butternut squash plants that I was nurturing.  I love butternut squash, so I allowed it to take over, and the mystery plant seemingly disappeared from the garden, and my mind.

So that, my friends, is how one accidentally plants potatoes.  

I'd like to think of myself as an avid gardener, with a green thumb.  But you see, I'm clearly lacking in the experience department.  And we all know that real life experience is what truly makes you good at something.  Sure, I may have studied horticulture for a few years in college, but they didn't teach us how to plant potatoes.  I can assure you, that I will never again fail to recognize a potato in any form.  Those leaves, flowers, and tubers are now firmly implanted in my brain.  

One quote comes to mind when I recall my biggest gardening mishap this year.  In the words of the late artist, Bob Ross, "We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents."  

Wise words to remember.