Suburban Homestead Store
Archive for the ‘In the Barn’ Category
Keeping Roosters – Quietly and Responsibly
Backyard poultry keeping has surged in the past year or so. Many families are taking advantage of the easy keeping and productive nature of chickens. But when you find yourself with an adolescent rooster, just learning to crow, many of us ask how do we keep him quiet.
Many cities around the country ban roosters to prevent nuisance complaints, even though there are several ways to keep roosters in populated areas quietly and responsibly. There are really only two reasons to have roosters in your backyard flock – to protect and to fertilize eggs. If your flock is well confined and safe from predators, whether they be furry or feathered, there’s really no need for a rooster’s protection. If you do not plan to breed your hens and hatch their eggs, or do not wish to have fertilized eggs, you also have no need for a rooster.
If you keep a small backyard flock without a rooster, one hen will generally take the rooster’s role. She will keep an eye out for predators, alert the flock if danger is near, maintain the pecking order and, in rare cases, may even crow.
But, if you see cute, fuzzy baby chicks in your future then you definitely need a rooster.
So – how do you keep the father of your flock with out disturbing your neighbors?
Most roosters begin to crow at daybreak. Even the slightest glimmer of light starts my guys off in a rousing cacophony. The trick is – well – to trick them. Trick them into thinking its still dark out.
Roosters can be moved into the garage at night, into their own cage where they cannot tell when the sun comes up. They can also be placed in a cage inside the coop or a spare rabbit hutch or even a plastic dog crate and covered with a tarp or thick blanket. Again, so they can’t see when the sun comes up. If they do happen to crow, the noise is muffled enough that most people won’t be able to hear it.
I like keeping roosters and think they’ve gotten a bad rap. I love the way they strut around the yard looking after their girls, their beautiful feathers spread out in a rainbow of colors. I love the way they perch themselves on top of fence posts or wheelbarrows, smug and indignant, showing everyone they’re the boss. And, most of all I love the chicks we raise to replenish our flock or give away to friends so they can know the joy of having their own backyard flock.
I understand that roosters are not for everyone and I understand that most people did not bargain for neighbors that crow so early in the morning. Roosters are beautiful and they do serve a purpose. Not having them may be a necessary compromise suburban chicken keepers have to make in order to take one step closer to self-sufficiency.
photo credit: 826 PARANORMAL
The Practice of Keeping Chickens
Keeping chickens isn’t just a hobby, it’s a practice. There’s a ritual you fall into when you take care of them every day, or at least we do. Each morning, after the sheep are fed, before breakfast or getting ready for school or work, Brianne bundles up, throws on her mud boots and trudges out to the barn near the garden. Once inside she pours fresh lay mash and scratch into the hanging feeder, and makes sure the water trough is topped off. Sometimes the hens get a stroke or two and hear about the world outside and the news about the day’s activities. She checks for overall health of the birds, and leaves with an egg or two, warm in her hands.
But, night watch with the birds is my favorite time. I love to let them out of the coop and watch them run around the barn, eventually making their way out into the yard. The routine is the same; the clothes are the same – mud boots, sweatshirts and jeans, only it’s after a long day’s work, after a walk with the dogs and a healthy meal. I’m tired, but content with a warm coat and full stomach. I stay past dark and even in my semi-rural area it’s black and dark without the distraction of streetlights or porch lights. My eyes dart around looking for owls or rats in the brush. Sometimes I see one (rat) and shake a feed bucket to make a ruckus, fending them off.
Needing to bed down the coop means I get to breathe in fresh dark air, see the stars, stare at the moon and smell a mix of wet leaves and burning fireplaces from other chimney’s on the street. These are things I’m grateful to do, and those birds make sure I do it every night.
Besides being outside with a purpose, keeping chicken’s means taking care of something, knowing that they rely on you for protection and food and their general well being. It feels really nice to provide all that. It really does. And it’s not all giving either - the ability to collect fresh eggs, a source of protein that doesn’t require taking their lives, is unique and special to the hens. I don’t know many other bi-species relationships that can offer feelings of responsibility, enjoyment, and a killer morning omelet. Well maybe ducks, but we all know ducks are assholes. And, the spring chicks ain’t bad either.
So thank you chickens, thank you.
Sometimes it really does take a village.
Meet Blue, a standard blue Cochin; senior rooster and king of the coop. Blue and his girlfriend, a black Cochin hen came to us quite by accident a few years ago. Brianne and I were at a poultry show, where she had entered some of her birds. These shows often hold raffles for all kinds of fowl and poultry supplies, and this one was no different. Brianne had seen a black hen she wanted. But, I thought we had too many chickens already so I told her no. The more I thought about it though the more I started to change my mind. So, on the sly I bought $5 worth of raffle tickets and put them all in the bag in front of the little black hens coop.
Now, poultry shows are interesting events, unlike any other type of livestock show because the show barn is closed while the judges evaluate each entry. There’s no need for the exhibitor to stick around. We usually take this opportunity to tour the town or visit friends in the area. This time we drove over the hills to the ocean to check out some of our favorite garden shops in a little seaside village. On the way back to the fairgrounds we got a call from the show organizer congratulating us on winning the PAIR of Cochins. I gasped and said there was just one – a black hen – to whit she replied, “No, it was a pair. The person who cooped in the chickens made a mistake and penned them separately.” I swallowed hard; we didn’t need another rooster, especially not a standard. Back at the fairgrounds we headed straight for the raffle birds and sure enough they had fixed the mistake and penned together was the little black hen and a giant blue Cochin rooster standing almost 2-feet tall!
I took a deep breath and resigned myself to the fact that we were adding two more birds to our coop. We scoured local markets for a box big enough to transport the rooster, but small enough to fit in the back of the Suburban. Once home we settled them into their new home and let everyone get acquainted.
Want to know what feels great? Seeing productive animals bedded down and eating a meal in a house you built for them.
We were happy girls. Well – at least one of us was.
Raising Meat Rabbits
In our county, 4-H members can start showing livestock at age 5, primarily chickens and rabbits. By age nine they’re usually well seasoned livestock caretakers, ready to move onto showing and selling market animals at the county fair.
When Brianne was ready to take her first pen of meat rabbits we were stumped on where to buy quality breeding stock. So, we called a local gourmet market that sold rabbit meat. Really. I explained to the meat department manager what we were doing and he was pleased to give me the name and number of their fancy meat broker. Through a series of phone calls we worked our way backwards through the broker, to the feeder and finally to the source – the breeder. After a few more calls with the breeder we were on our way to her rabbitry to buy our breeding stock.
But, not just any rabbitry, the largest in more than a hundred mile radius, with 1,000 does under cover. We had never seen anything like. This wasn’t a place for agritourism or a still shot of a Walton’s set. The neighbor’s may not have liked the stacks of cages outside or the tarpped canopies that made up the overflow area; this was a working production farm not a New England country home. It was scrappy. I loved the place, it was growing healthy food for families and gourmet markets alike. And, it was providing Brianne with her first foundation stock.
Everywhere we looked were cages filled with does and their babies (called kits). The breeder gave us the grand tour of the well thought out and efficient operation, then took us to a special area where she kept her sale rabbits. Since Brianne was in 4-H and a first time exhibitor the breeder selected two seasoned does that had kindled several times. Kindling is the term used for giving birth. They were New Zealand whites and they were big – almost 12-pounds each! More importantly, they were bred, so we didn’t need to worry about a buck, and would kindle in time to raise for our county fair.
When all was done outside we loaded our rabbits into their cages in the back of the truck and made our way inside to talk. The breeder had prepared an information sheet on how to care for our new additions and a timetable of what to do to prepare for their kindling. With the confidence that we would have a mentor we felt even more excited about becoming rabbit breeders.
The hutches at home had already been set up and stocked with food and water, ready for their new occupants to arrive. When everyone was settled in we waited for the big event – BABIES! For weeks we watched for the telltale signs, checked out the “to-do” list and readied ourselves. Then one day, out of the blue, we noticed one of the does had a pile of fur in the nesting box; a good sign that her time was near. Nearer than we thought, for the next day we found 10 wriggling babies buried deep in the warmth of their mamas fur. A day later the other doe kindled with 12 kits. Our first time out and our combined litters consisted of 22 kits!!
It had begun. We were rabbit breeders now.
Whether you’re in a city apartment, on a suburban lot or a rural farm, raising your own inexpensive (and even organic) food is within your reach. In just one year, a 10-pound doe can produce 320 pounds of meat in less than 15 cubic feet. To learn more about starting your own rabbitry check out these useful sites.
http://www.raisingrabbitsformeat.com/
http://www.raisingmeatrabbits.com/
Also check these two great book resources:
http://www.storey.com/author.php?ID=501109
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-Fashioned-Recipe/dp/0912365951
Chickens - A Homesteader’s Right of Passage
Barring apartment living, dorm dwelling and the odd job change, I’ve raised chickens, off and on, for most of my life. While I liked raising them I never really became attached to them.
It wasn’t until my daughter raised her first batch of chicks that I discovered how much I truly love having chickens around, and how attached you can get to them. It’s not like I had any reservations about making friends with poultry, it’s just that I always viewed them as utilitarian animals. Unlike my dogs and sheep that had deep, individual personalities that were easier to get close to. The chickens seemed to live as just a group of feathers and eggs. The birds, like the rabbits, were always…the birds and the rabbits. That was the way it was, until Liddle Bit came along.
Liddle Bit was a feisty little bantam Mille Fleur that barely weighed two pounds. She won me over. She showed me that a chicken could not only hang with a farm girl, but also become her sidekick. Liddle Bit has probably been my favorite hen because she came to me for protection. She was the smallest bird, by far, in the coop. When we bought her as a chick, she was supposed to be a standard, but that was not to be.
As the lowest ranking bird in the coop, my presence meant safety. No one could peck on her if she was in my arms, so my arms were where she liked to be. It is a splendid thing to hold a laying chicken you raised from a hatchling, that actually liked being held. You can’t help but think, “Hey, I pretty good at this chicken thing. She trusts me.” A homesteader’s right of passage perhaps.
Her place at the bottom of the chicken social scene was proven by her back, which was nearly naked of feathers most of the time. Chickens peck at each other, and if you’re the outcast of the clan, you get picked on a lot. So maybe it was her underdog status, or maybe I was just making too much out of a pathetic little bird. But I couldn’t help it. She was such a sweetheart.
When I’d go into the coop for morning feeding or egg collecting—Liddle Bit was right there at my feet. She’d look right up at me, and walk between my legs hoping to get a lift onto my hand or on my shoulder. When I’d pet her head she’d stomp around my shoulders looking for the right place to put her little dinosaur feet. When I let the chickens out in the yard she’d follow behind me.
I’d see her standing, looking through the wire pen that separated the chickens from the outside world, hoping I’d come and let her out. When I came into the coop she’d fly right at me, literally. I such a chuckle out of her, I’d grab a handful of lay mash and feed her right from my hand. What a gal.
Liddle Bit has been gone from us for many years, but I still think of her when I walk into the coop. No other chicken we’ve owned over the years has been as friendly. So – thank you – my chicken friend.
photo credit: kathrynvjones
The Final Tally Is…
In my Backyard Chickens post I told you all about our little surprise when we returned home from last weekends sheep show – CHICKS!!! – 3 at first, then another five by the next morning. Well, it’s been a few days with no new hatches. I think we are finished. Or should I say the hen is finished.
The final tally…drum roll if you please…14!!!
Little Frizzle hen still has 5 eggs under her, but I don’t think they are viable. Or maybe it’s hoping, praying actually they’re not. That would make 29 chickens total in a coop that’s built for 12 to 15. A tight squeeze to say the least.
All the chicks are nestled in their (enlarged) brooder box in the corner of the kitchen where they are out of the way, but can still be checked often. And, as fate would have it, or dumb luck, my neighbor came calling the other day to ask me about raising chickens. She wanted to get a few from the feed store and had no idea what to do or how to do it, so she stopped by for my help. “Well”, says I, “have I got a deal for you”. When she heard the peeps coming from the kitchen her eyes lit up and she ran over to see them. Needless to say I closed the deal and Fran will be taking 4 of our little darlings as soon as they are old enough to live in a coop. She even offered to buy the next bag of Chick Starter because I’m keeping them so long. What a deal.
I must have been on a roll that day. Either that or the chicken God’s were watching over me because I ran into another friend and she was talking about getting more chicks, but the feed store won’t have any until the beginning of April (last year they ordered too early and most of them dies from the cold). I told her about our population explosion and Amy is going to split the remaining 10 with us. Now all I have to do is get Brianne to decide which one’s she wants to keep. That will be a challenge.
But, for now we are enjoying our little peepers, watching them scratch and peck and run around the brooder is a sight. Definitely happy birds.
photo credit: jennifertomaloff
Backyard Chickens
When I was about 8 or 9-years old my family bought their first batch of day old chicks. They were delivered by parcel post and lived in a cardboard box brooder in our family room for the first month. Before they arrived we had built the coop, fenced in an outside pen area, set the water fonts, made feeders from scrap lumber and bought enough chicken feed to last a month.
Over the years I have raised hundreds of chickens in dozens of breeds and enjoyed every one of them. I am always amazed at how much information is out there about raising this docile, versatile, homestead mainstay. When my daughter first started raising poultry in her 4-H project, we once again, combed the internet for resources that were up-to-date as well as kid friendly. And we weren’t disappointed.
Sites like BackyardChickens.com and Feathersite.com are great resources for anyone thinking about getting a few hens. It has free information, a downloadable care guide, images, a forum, questions and more. It’s for new chicken people, poultry lovers and gawkers alike.
Most towns and cities now allow backyard chickens as long as they are hens and are in a confined area. Chickens are easy to raise and as long as they are given a place to nest at night they are quite content. They don’t require fancy digs that cost a lot of money. A friend of mine houses her hens in an old outhouse and lets them out during the day. The coop at my first house was an old wooden tool shed with an outside fenced area. Today, things haven’t changed much. My coop is still simple, well-built, has enough room for a growing flock (which we need given our current hatch) and gives the girls plenty of room to roam.
Check them out, you won’t be disappointed. Click here for the link http://www.backyardchickens.com/ or http://www.feathersite.com/
As for our surprise! We have 8 chicks hatched, with more on the way. They are all snuggly warm, nestled in our brooder box in the corner of the kitchen. Man, this is fun!!
Turkey Trots
That sunny day I was wishing for turned out to be just a pipe dream. I woke up yesterday morning to rain. Not a huge storm, mind you, but enough to throw me off my outdoor schedule and dampen my spirits. It was a slap in the face. A wake up call that winter, even in California, is not over yet. Welcome to March!
I was outside assessing the storm damage (thankfully none) and checking on the chickens when I got a call from my friend and fellow 4-H leader. One of our club members had ordered their batch of turkey pullets for our county fair in August. The family didn’t want all 25 birds and was polling other club members to see if we could take some off their hands. While Sandy and I chatted for a while I could see, in my minds eye, turkey tracks across freshly tilled garden soil, a parade of them as they scoured the garden for grubs and bugs and treats of spent lettuce. I was surprised how nostalgic it made me for raising turkeys, something I never thought I’d miss. But, raising poultry here on the farm and seeing them through to dinner tables or holiday gatherings is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had as a small suburban farmer.
I haven’t raised turkeys in a while, but I want a small flock of them again. I think Midget Whites this time. Or maybe even the Broad-Breasted White raised up to 12 or 15 pounds. If my family won’t dine on them there are plenty of folks around looking for a naturally raised, free-range bird come holiday time. It’s something to think about for small suburban farmers. Compact, easy to care for, with manageable space requirements. Unlike sheep or gardens, birds don’t need the capital and fences up front like a flock of ewes would. Ten turkeys could be raised for the price of one registered sheep and the cash from selling the birds at Thanksgiving could be put toward improvements or other homestead operations. It’s time to start planning for the future, folks; of a working homestead and not just a personal supermarket.
To read more about raising turkeys on your suburban homestead check out these helpful resources.
Books Links
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/poultry/poultry/e1259/e1259.pdf
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/representation/Resource000475_Rep497.pdf
photo credit: bgblogging
Predator Protection on a Suburban Homestead
When you think of a suburban homestead you do not immediately think of predators killing your livestock. But you should, because your perimeter fencing, whether it be chain link, block wall or wood fencing, may not be sufficient to ward off animal attacks. Suburban homesteads are just as vulnerable as any other homestead or farm, maybe even more so because of the proximity of domestic dogs and feral cats.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, predator losses can be prevented. But, it’s the homesteaders’ responsibility, obligation even to be cognizant of the area in which you live and what critters live around you. Do not mistake the cute cartoon characterizations of raccoons, skunks, weasels or foxes as harmless. They all have the potential to wreck havoc on your small livestock. A raccoon can literally pull a chicken right through a wire fence and weasels can kill a nest full of chicks or kits (baby rabbits) in just a few minutes. Even foxes will kill, given the chance. Then there are the airborne predators – like eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls that can swoop down and pick off rabbits and chickens.
Free-ranging chickens will look good to stray cats, while the smell and noise of your livestock can be an attractant to wandering dogs. (Personally, I think domestic dogs are the worst most indiscriminant predators. A wild animal killing for food is heartbreaking, but somewhat understandable. But, a domestic dog that runs an animal to death or grabs at legs and flesh just for play, with no intention of consuming it is intolerable.)
With information about local wildlife and domestic animals in hand, you can plan and build structures and pens that will keep out what you don’t want in.
Barns, Sheds and Outdoor Pens
Structures and fencing do not have to be extravagant or expensive to provide proper protection, but they should be solid and secure if they are going to be successful in protecting your animals. Read the rest of the story »