Ever Evolving

It seems like it has been forever and a day since I last posted.  We've had some major projects happening here so I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger lately.  If I've said it once, I've said it one thousand times.  I am always looking for ways to make my space more efficient.  Therefore, I am always assessing whether a project done in the past works for me today, especially as I expand, and how a project on my to-do list will make things run a little more smoothly.  Late winter to early spring seems to be our time for big projects.  I don't have too much going in the garden and it's not 100 degrees outside.

So, here is a run-down of this year's projects.

The GA Henitentiary came down.  The run portion was in prime growing territory, and since I made the decision a few years ago to move all of the animals to the back half of the yard, having animal housing here just didn't make sense anymore.  Plus the termites were having a field day with it, and it was only a matter of time before it came down on its own. 

In its place went a new 10x12 greenhouse.  Doing this opened up the bed where the run used to be and also freed up my smaller greenhouse, which is actually in the animal yard, for feed storage.  This greenhouse was almost grounds for divorce at our house!  Ha, ha!  It will have to last forever because Nate will NEVER construct one for me again. 

And, as if the greenhouse wasn't a big enough chore, it was followed by another whopper.  What was originally my rabbitry and then storage was converted to a four stall barn.  This was my major expansion project for this year giving me greater versatility in animal housing.  The raccoons had figured out that the lattice was easily ripped off and they were helping themselves to the feed, removing the lids from the containers, and making a huge mess in the process. I was limited by the henitentiary because I could only grow-out one rabbit litter at a time.  Now I can breed more than one rabbit at once and not worry about grow-out space.  Plus, it gives me the option for separating animals when needed.  The really fun part of this was digging out all of the stalls to a foot depth, in the Georgia clay mud I might add, laying down chicken wire and stapling it around the perimeter and then back filling with mulch.  The mulch has been wonderful for providing drainage.  Because of the density of the clay and the high water table of this area, it was always muddy.  I've noticed a huge difference now after a big rain storm.  The chicken wire serves two purposes, to keep predators from digging in and baby bunnies from digging out.  By the way, a stackable organizer from the Dollar Tree flipped sideways and screwed to the wall makes an excellent hay feeder.

Since I lost my feed storage area, my old 6x8 greenhouse became my feed storage shed.  Nate finished the shelving for it, and it is perfect.  It sits in deep shade during the summer so with the ventilation windows and the door open during the day, I'm not too concerned about the feed getting too hot.

And, here are a few photos of the animal yard as it is today.  The rabbits are to the right.  My feed storage is above that.  The chicken coop is just behind the barn.  I'm digging it!

Happy homesteading,


Candace 

The Difference Between Ducks and Chickens

What is the difference between ducks and chickens in an ice storm?

The ducks are in the stream having a blast.  "Sleet, ice, schmice!  This water feels great!"

 

 

The chickens are in the coop demanding to see their labor representative.  "We told you during the last storm that this weather would not be tolerated!"

 

 

So, before I lose electricity, which is bound to happen when we get ice, I'll sign off.

 

Happy homesteading,

 

 

Candace

 



Street Value

In Georgia today, pigs are flying and Hell has frozen over because, yes folks, we have snow.  Monday was a high of 68 and two days later, this.

The chickens and ducks were like, "WTF?  We live in Georgia, not Rhode Island.  This was not part of our labor contract.  Please remove whatever this is immediately, or we're contacting our union reps!"

But, have you any idea what the street value is?  It's pure snow! 



Oh, and did I mention the best part?  Two paid days off from work!

Hey, Mama Pea, this snow thing, you might be on to something!

Happy homesteading,

Candace

 
 
 



They're Just Ducky!

Now that the ducks are out of quarantine and in the animal yard, they have access to the stream that runs across the back of my lot.  I've enjoyed watching them work their way up and down, sticking their bills and sometimes their heads deep into the water looking for good stuff.

Since the stream is not that deep, I wanted to give them a way to submerge themselves if they have the need, so Nate rigged up this fabulous duck pond off the back of the chicken coop  The pond will be fed with water from a rain barrel.  I designed it so the overflow from the rain barrel will fill the pond and then I can save the collected water for periods when it doesn't rain.

Before:

 

 

 

After:



 

We had some rain a few days ago, but not enough to fill the pond itself or the rain barrel, so I'm still waiting on the opportunity to dunk the ducks and let them know it's there.  Hopefully they will take to it like a duck to water.  Ha, ha!  I couldn't resist.

I'm looking forward to spring and the first clutch of duck eggs and potential ducklings.

Happy homesteading,

Candace   

Chirp Chirp, not Quack Quack

Be afraid!  Be very afraid!  I'm burning up the blog world with two posts in a month!  Ha, ha!

We've introduced Muscovy ducks to the homestead.  I first learned about this breed of duck at a friend's farm a month or so ago, and then crossed paths with them again at another friend's farm.  Both of these experiences put a nugget of interest in my brain, and as luck would have it, I came across some for sale this weekend at a local livestock event in the colorings I wanted.

Here and here are a few articles on the breed that touch on all the reasons I find them suitable for my backyard homestead.

They are considered quackless.  They do make a chirp-type noise that is very quiet.  Sometimes it sounds to me like water dripping into a pool.  My chickens are loud enough, so I didn't want to add more noise coming from my backyard.

They don't need a pond to flourish.  I have some ideas to incorporate some type of landscaping pond in the glorified ditch/creek bed that runs at the back of my lot.  In the meantime I'm going to rustle up a kiddie pool to keep them happy. 

They tend to be very broody and are good at hatching their own eggs.  I like for nature to takes its own course, and less involvement required of me is just peachy!

Their meat is said to be very much like beef, very lean and non-greasy.  They are not the breed to have for rendering duck fat, but I have read you can render a small amount of fat from them.  I love adding another meat dimension to the homestead. 

They are good foragers and excellent at bug control, particularly mosquitoes, which is also hunky dory by me.  We have a terrible time with mosquitoes, so I hope they can help control our mosquito population next year.          

They don't require care much different than a chicken, so I feel like I can incorporate them into the flow of things without too many changes to our routine.  Though in my observations this weekend they are unlike chickens in that I notice they move as one.  Whenever I would approach the run they would move away from me in one unit, very unlike chickens who would have scattered, every chicken for itself.

One of the features that attracted me to these particular ducks at the event was the coloring.  I love the fawn and chocolate colors!

  













Anyone out there have experiences with this breed that you would like to share?

Happy homesteading,

Candace

Operation Chicken Feed

I would love to say everything I eat is whole and unprocessed, but working full-time causes me to live in the real world.  So, I'm a label reader.  These days you have to be.  There are many hidden gmo-derived "natural" ingredients out there, citric acid, xantham gum and even Vitamin C, to name a few.  So, if I'm reading the labels of my food so thoroughly, why shouldn't I read the labels of my animal feed?  As my concern over GMOs has grown, so has my concern over the corn I was feeding my chickens and the alfalfa I was feeding my rabbits.  After all, we eat the eggs from the chickens and sometimes the chickens themselves, and we definitely eat the rabbits.  If I will put a package back on the shelf because it has soy lecithin in it, how can I justify feeding my animals feed laced with GMO products?

In my research I found this website, which is a fabulous resource for formulating your own chicken feed.  However, the problem for me is finding all of the different ingredients used in a particular recipe and at a reasonable price.  When you can't find all of the ingredients, you start to mess with the protein content and you then need to know how to formulate your protein based on the ingredients to which you have access.  Using the list of grains I could get locally and this website as a general source of protein content, I turned to one of the best homesteading blogs around, Five Acres and a Dream, for Leigh's explanation of the Pearson's Square Protein Calculator.  Right now I have access to whole oats, barley, wheat, flax seeds, black oil sunflower seeds and millet.  With all of these ingredients, how did I use the Pearson's Square, which only calculates the protein for two ingredients?  Well, I actually did not use the square itself.  I basically used Leigh's Step 2 to formulate my feed.  My formulation is totally an experiment and would not be appropriate for every flock.  They've been eating it for almost two months now, and so far so good.   

I was shooting for 16% protein in whole parts to make it easy to measure and mix.

Step 2 from Leigh's post:

     % of ingredient x its % protein
  + % of ingredient x its % protein
     % crude protein in grain mix  

My formulation:

Wheat       .30 x 13% = 3.9
Oats          .30 x 14% = 4.2
Barley       .15 x 12% = 1.8
Millet        .10 x 11% = 1.1
BOSS        .10 x 16% = 1.6
Flax Seed  .10 x 36% = 3.6
Total % of crude protein:  16.2

I do add mineralized salt and DE to the mix but I really just eyeball these two ingredients.  They also have free access to oyster shells and I know they pick up plenty of grit while they are out foraging.  I have plans to add brewer's yeast and kelp to my mix soon,  and once I add the brewer's yeast and kelp, I will reformulate based on this method. 

I really like to think of the feed as a supplement to the other ways in which the flock gets fed.  I depend on them being able to forage for some of their food, both for economy and for their overall health.  Even living in a neighborhood, my chickens have a pretty good free-range area.  In addition to a large area in my back yard, they have access to the back side of my neighbor's yard, which is approximately 1/4 acre of jungle.  He doesn't care that they are back there, and they love it because there is plenty of overhead coverage to protect them from hawks and it's a treasure trove of bugs and other goodies.  I recently started raising meal worms, but because I'm building up my population, they only get meal worms as a treat.  They also spend time scratching through the compost beneath my rabbit cages.  They get plenty of garden cast-offs, and they pick through the throw-away organic produce I get from my nearby natural grocery store.  In the garden this year, I experimented with growing field peas, which the chickens love and are an excellent protein source.  They did well so I'm hoping to expand and grow more next year. 

I know the combination of all of these feed sources contribute to happy healthy chickens.

Foraging Jungle Birds

Happy homesteading,


Candace                            

Falling in Love Again

I've fallen in love with my farm again.  It's the "get excited when you first meet" kind of love, giddy with excitement and potential.  I always feel the "this is my farm and I'm so proud of it" comfort love, but like all relationships, sometimes you need a jump start to get the giddy love going again, and we have had such a dreary rainy summer that the giddy was running on empty.

I was born to be outside, and I haven't gotten much outside time this summer.  I know this about myself, and I'm happiest when I'm outside whether it's being productive or just sitting on my deck watching chicken TV.  Add to my lack of sufficient outside time a dismal garden because of lack of sunshine and torrential rain, 3 inches of mud in the animal yard for three months straight, the chicken run flooding from one massive rain storm with a mama and 4 chicks in the thick of it trying not to drown.  Things like this can test your commitment to your passion but it can't break it.  Do you know why? 

Because here comes fall with her crisp mosquito-less lower-humidity air.  I've been working to get the summer garden cleaned up and doing some planning for my fall garden.  I'm craving some greens:  kale, collards, mustard, cabbage, lettuces, all of them.  Bring them on.  Bring on the fall/winter projects too, more beds, a better irrigation system that utilizes rain barrels, expanded fencing.

I've renewed my vows; my commitment is solid; my love is giddy.

Happy homesteading,

Candace