Monday, May 31, 2010

Chicken Relocation

A few months ago we added some young chicks to our flock.  The new additions were to "replace" our three, two-year old layers.  We built the new addition to the chicken house to raise the lil' ones.  About the same time we started letting the big hens out in the yard.  As the little ones grew, we were faced with what to do with the three adult hens, keep them or find a new home. 

We knew we were not going to have enough space for 6 new chickens and the three older ones, so we decided the three older ones would have to go.  However, after a few weeks of watching the three older hens interact with the other "livestock" (i.e. Kyra and Waylon), we realized the chickens and the dogs have formed an interesting bond.  The three hens hang out with the dogs all day and Kyra seems to enjoy their company...go figure.  So we decided to keep the three adult chickens. 

Since they get along so well with the dogs, we have decided to make Bandit, Legs, and Rhodie free-range chickens.  So this lead us to our most recent project here at the homestead.  The six little chickens are being transitioned to the big house and have been given total range of the chicken pen.  Hubby and I built a chicken tractor and used one of our old dog houses to make comfy little chicken enclosure. 

The tractor is simply a way to keep the big chickens under wraps when we need them to be and to give them a safe place to go at night.  Otherwise, almost all of their time will be spent outside of their pen, with free-range of the entire yard.  We also designed the tractor so that it can be removed from the dog house and used as a stand alone chicken tractor for the six young girls when they are due for some "outside of the chicken pen" time!


Here are some pictures of the new chickens tractor.  We have locked the girls in it for a few days until they know this is their new home!



Ol' Girls checking out their new digs

The pen part is removable 

Kyra seems happy when the chickens are happy :-) 

Lil' Girls checking out their newly expanded roaming room (the green poles mark where their pen used to end!)


Seems like a lot of work just for a few chickens...but we love these girls, they have been good to us and they are still producing eggs on a regular basis.  Besides, who am I to take away Kyra's new friends?

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Friday, May 14, 2010

Mary, Mary quite contrary...

How does your garden grow?

Here are some pictures of our garden.  So far, so good.  Things seem to be growing well and off to a great start.  The big question is whether or not we will make it to harvest!

Corner bed with dill and sage

Bush beans in rows, pole beans along back fence, pickiling cukes along side fence

9 tomato plants, 8 bell peppers, cantaloupe and watermelon along back fence

What's left of our lettuce crop, hot peppers in the grow bags (cayenne, ancho, jalepeno, Thai Chili, Carribean Red)

Pickling Cukes
Front of garden

(can't really see them in this picture but along the right side, outside the garden there are blackberry bushes)
Cherry tomatoes, salad cukes, and more hot peppers on the porch
Also have a herb garden in pots along the side patio!
Zucchini

Kyra and the big chickens

"Little" girls are not so little anymore!


So, now that you've seen mine....I wanna hear what you have growing in your garden, whether it is 2 acres or one pot!