Dealing with Chickens

I don't often write about "a city girl's perspective on living in the country" which was the original slant on my blog when I started it before Felicity died. Well, some of you have made comments about the chickens and so I thought I'd do an in depth look at owning chickens. And by in-depth I mean, sharing the little I know about chickens. If you're friends with me on Facebook, you know that our chicken ownership has not been trouble-free.

We got our chickens in early May of this year. They were full-grown, hand-me-downs from my brother-in-law who had too many to feed keep track of. We originally were given one rooster and three hens, if my pregnant memory serves me correctly. Our goal was that they would be "free-range," eating bugs and such during the day and then roosting in the coop my hubby and BIL constructed at night. We, I mean Paul, would lock them up every night to keep them from being eaten by coyotes, foxes, etc. Because we wanted to have the healthiest eggs possible, we bought them organic feed. (They need their free-range diet supplemented with feed to ensure their health, and thus their egg laying ability.)

To accomplish their returning to the coop each night, we had to start out by keeping them
in the coop for a few days so their little chicken brains would associate the coop with home sweet home.

This worked for awhile until one night Paul reported that our rooster, Peter Drumstick, was not in the coop when he locked them in. We made the safe assumption that he had been eaten though we couldn't find any evidence of this. Then the following night, guess who was back in the coop? This continued for awhile, with Peter home for a night, then gone for two, then home again. We didn't know what to make of it, until we noticed him at our neighbor's place. They also have chickens. Finally Peter chose to defect to the neighbors permanently. We figure their hens must be cuter or nag less.

After a few weeks of owning the chickens, we had quickly learn their quirks and by quirks, I mean all the annoying things they do. First of all, they poop EVERYWHERE! We could no longer leave the garage doors open for any period of time because sure enough, every time we did, they'd leave a messy surprise for us. And let me tell you, chicken poop is not little! It's like owning multiple cats that never make it to the litter box and who've eaten something that didn't agree with their digestive system. Is that too descriptive? They even poop on our front step!!!

Secondly, they dig EVERYWHERE!!! We have 10 acres, but they like to dig in our new landscaping the most! I can't tell you how many times I've waddled down the steps and out the front door because I've spotted them digging up the mulch all around the edges of the landscaping. When we first found them doing this, Paul moved their coop into the garden as our veggies had since froze been harvested. We thought the chicken wire fencing around the garden (originally meant to keep them out) would keep them in. But no! We soon learned that the rooster (our replacement rooster) can fly out and then crows at the hens until they fly over too. So Paul electrified the landscaped area with some 6 inch tall fencing and they still get in there and dig it up. Nothing like having your front entryway covered with ankle high electric fencing (and chicken poo). Sure makes for a humorous blog post though!

I'll even admit to chasing them with a hoe one time and throwing tomatoes at them after they'd pecked holes in ones I'd just picked. And no, it wasn't pretty. Originally we told the boys "not to chase the chickens." Now they have free reign to terrorize the chickens. In fact when the boys and I harvested all the pumpkins and acorn squash left in the garden after a night of freezing temps, one boy helped carry them to the garage, while the other chased the chickens so they couldn't peck the squash we had just picked.

Thirdly, we learned immediately that roosters crow ALL THE TIME! While Peter Drumstick only graced us with his presence for a short time, we have since received another rooster from my BIL. (We didn't bother to give him a nice name, he's known only as "Stupid," "Dumb Chicken" or "Gimpy" because he walks funny.) The hens can be pretty noisy too. They go under our deck and made bizarre noises like they're being strangled.

On the 4th of July, I actually saw a couple of coyotes take one of our hens. My BIL brought us more and then we lost another to the elements. We currently have 1 rooster and 4 hens.

Originally our hens were each laying an egg a day. This production rate was pleasing to us and Paul was even able to take some of our extra "organic/free-range eggs" to work and sell them for $3/dozen. This helped cover the cost of some of the organic feed. (A 50lb. bag costs about $17 which last maybe 6 weeks.) Now we're only getting 1-2 eggs per day. Paul even rigged up a heat lamp and extra lights for them, as light and heat determine their egg production. But we're not seeing much improvement. We don't know what's going to happen next but Paul's thinking, "Off with their heads!" I'm okay with that, as long as I don't have to help in any way. Sorry Babe!

We would love to have chickens again next year, but have no clue what our plan of action will be. As you've noticed, I've done very little to no work when it comes to the chickens and I don't think I'm going to have much free time next year to dedicate to raising chicks. So we'll see. It's nice to start off with ones that are already laying. We had three cows in '08 and while I didn't do any of the work there either, it was WAY less work (for Paul) and money than the chickens have been. You just don't get the daily benefit of eggs from beef cows.

I'll keep you all posted on the developing chicken saga. And Paul, thanks for all you do around here. I don't thank you often enough for how hard you work, at work and at home! I'm dedicating this post to you, Babe!

"Ben Fwankwin!"

Ethan's my little bookworm. Yes, that's him reading during breakfast. (I wonder who he learned that from?!) A couple months back, Ethan received this book:
Well, Elijah discovered it a little while ago and he has become quite fixated on "Ben Fwankwin." And not necessarily in a good way. He's terrified of this picture of Ben Franklin! He doesn't like to see it or be near it.

I went to get him off the potty the other day. (He can handle the "mount" but needs assistance with his "dismount.") When I opened the door, Elijah held his hand up in front of me and yelled, "BEN FWANKWIN!" I guess that was his two year old way of telling me he wasn't done with his business yet. I laughed so hard that both boys have started holding out their hands and saying it for just about any reason.

So then the other day Elijah and Ethan were playing downstairs and Elijah in all of his two year old enthusiasm had started chasing Ethan around with the end of the vacuum attachment.

Ethan recognized Elijah was getting pretty wild and he started to get a little concerned that Elijah was going to actually hit him.

It wouldn't be the first time.

So Ethan ran over to the bookshelf and pulled out the Ben Franklin book. He held the cover up as Elijah was running towards him and yelled, "Ben Franklin!" Elijah saw the picture, screamed, and quickly ran in the other direction.

Boys!

Addiction

I have an addiction. Okay, I have a few addictions, but this one has been consuming me lately.

It's not necessarily a bad addiction, but it's there nonetheless. This is my addiction:
Yep, these nasty old sandals are my addiction. (Sorry for the vertical photo - blogger won't let me fix it.) They are OLD and being that they were so cheap to begin with, they have not aged well. I bought them while pregnant with Elijah and have happily worn them for the past three years and through two pregnancies. I LOVE THEM!

I'm not a shoe person. I have probably 10 -12 pairs but that's for all seasons. So for the summer season, I have about 3 pairs that I wear regularly, if you don't count exercise shoes and my nasty garden shoes. Anyway, this pair is worn the most. They're black (albeit faded) so they go with everything. They have a stretchy band which provides for utmost comfort (whether pregnant or not) and they make that oh so annoying "FWAP, FWAP" sound when I walk. But I just can't throw them out. We're going to a museum tomorrow and will be doing a lot of walking and I already know these beauties will be making my feet happy the whole day.

I'd happily buy another pair or three and I've searched just about every store and online extensively, but cannot find them anywhere. They were purchased at Wal-Mart and every time I'm there, I drag the kids back to the shoe section in the hopes that they will have them again. But I'm always disappointed.

As you can see they no longer have any tread left. I thought a few strips of those things you can put in your bathtub to avoid slipping would help, but even those are starting to wear off.

I'm sad.

I think after the summer is over, I will have to send these sandals off to the shoe cemetery (aka the dump). I will miss my addiction.

Please leave a comment if you've seen these sandals for sale anywhere. You could buy them for me, charge me triple the cost and then we'd both be happy.

Countrified

My original slant when I started this blog a couple of months before Felicity died was, "a city girl's perspective on life in the country". I realize I've not written much about my perspective on life in the country, but am resolving now to begin doing so. And it was all inspired by the gift I received on Saturday from my sister-in-law, Annette. Yup, that's the gift on my head - a bonafide gardening hat.

And if the above picture fails to give a good view of this hat, here's another photo from the side. (That's a frog on the side. And don't worry he's not lonely. There's a bee, ladybug, flower and sun to keep him company, not to mention all those sunflowers.) If I wore this hat in the city, I'd get some looks, but out here in the country, it's actually quite the fashion. With our lack of trees and major wind here, this large of a hat could make me airborne. But, hey, the boys would love it. For once I'd be a fun mom. And if all else fails, this hat could certainly be hung on the wall for decoration.

Along with the hat delivery, my brother-in-law brought us four new family members. We've named the hens Feathers, Omelet, and Henny Penny. In my opinion, naming our animals is half the fun of owning them. Of course, I may regret doing so if we butcher them later in the year and my children have bonding issues later in life.


And this handsome guy is Peter Drumstick. Peter is in honor of my bro-in-law.

With the rising food costs, we're going to put them to work right away. So far we've received one egg (unfortunately brown, not golden). They are free-ranging it for the first time today. Hopefully after two days of being cooped up (literally) they'll willingly return to the coop at the end of the day. I'm also hoping they'll lay their eggs in the nest boxes rather than under our pick-up truck, though I doubt Elijah would have any problems crawling under the pick-up to retrieve eggs. I'm just not sure the eggs would survive.

So, as a former city girl I'm learning about caring for chickens. The advantages are the eggs and the experience for the boys. The drawback would definitely be the poo. I didn't realize chicken poo is so large.

And lastly, while it doesn't have anything to do with chickens, I thought I'd further embarrass my stud of a husband in this photo taken at our AWANA carnival last week. My women's group always does a theme game and this year we all dressed up as Egyptians. It was A LOT of work, but also a lot of fun (for about an hour :)

Stay tuned for another country living post sometime in the next week. Topic: Septic tanks. Seriously.

100th Post - Part C

Here is the third and final installment in my "100th post series." I found that my life didn't add up to 100 bullet points so the rest are just random and useless facts about me.

67. Feb. ‘07 – We move from city to country and our first home together. We go from a little over 700 square feet to 2500+, but don't worry no one ever got lost and we filled the space rather quickly.
68. We begin our homeschooling journey in Sept. 2007.
69. Feb. ‘08 Find out I’m not a hypochondriac, but am indeed pregnant.
70. We all suffer through another pregnancy and anxiously await the birth of our third baby.
71. On Oct. 6, 2008, our lives are irrevocably changed when our daughter, Felicity Faith, is born into Jesus' arms instead of ours.
72. We buried Felicity on Oct. 11, 2008.
73. We begin the long process of finding our new normal - still working on that one!
74. On Jan. 29, 2009, we find out we have another baby on the way - Praise God!
75. On Feb. 22 that baby goes to heaven too. At the prompting of a new friend, also a grieving mommy, I pray and ask God to tell me whether that baby was a boy or a girl (I was only 7+ weeks along.) God answers that prayer in a card from my mother-in-law. Inside is the verse Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
76. We name our baby boy, Jeremiah Daniel. (Daniel is for the dr. who tried to save Felicity.)
77. I learn a lot about myself through grief
78. I learn a lot about others through their reactions to my grief.
79. Many people say that when you lose someone close to you, you are never the same person again. I'm struggling with this. I want to be the same person - happy, hopeful, loving and in many ways I am. I am happy, but not as much as I used to be. I am hopeful, but cautiously so and with a more eternal perspective. And I'm still loving, but deeper and with some emptiness because I can't physically love everyone I'd like to.
80. I struggle sometimes hourly or daily with grief, but know that even when I'm down, God's lifting me up.

And now for those random facts:

81. I'm a clean freak.

82. When I'm stressed out, I clean. Weird, I know, but it helps me feel like I have some control in my life.

83. I LOVE to read.

84. Some of my favorite books/stories include Jane Eyre, A Ring of Endless Light, Pride and Prejudice, Anne of Green Gables, Thorn in My Heart (and sequels), and many, many more.

85. I rarely use the words “hate” and “sucks”, but being a grieving mom sucks and I hate that my babies aren't here.

86. I love the feeling of clean sheets, especially when it’s warm enough to not wear socks to bed.

87. I'm married to an "older man" and other than my fear of him dying before me, I love our age difference.

88. I love to cook, dislike cleaning up afterward, and moderately like to bake.

89. I love trying to be all-around healthy but know it can be an obsession if I allow it to.

90. I am currently trying to grow my bangs out. I'm not sure I have the patience for it. . . or the forehead.

91. If I were to ever have to go back to school, I think I'd want to be a midwife.

92. I need to work on holding my tongue.

93. I wear long skirts as often as I can. I first began doing so because I felt like I needed to be different than the culture. I liked the idea of looking feminine. I learned to like the feel of wearing skirts. I feel feminine when I wear them. I do wear pants though and am not legalistic about it. But if I had more skirts that fit me while I'm pregnant and afterward, I'd wear them all the time.

94. I LOVE coffee with cream and flavored stevia in it! Yum!

95. I love music and movies.

96. I'm looking forward to watching the following movies in the coming weeks: Faith like Potatoes (at redboxes now!), The Widow's Might (started watching it last night and it's very entertaining!), and Inherit the Land.

97. We are trying to break into Christian movie making as a family. We can recommend many God-honoring films if you'd like some suggestions.

98. I'd love to write a book and I'm currently working on something though it may not pan out.

99. I currently have a raging case of Rearrangeitis. Unfortunately my lack of upper body strength has curbed some of my symptoms.

100. I don't mind personal questions - I'd rather have people ask, then sit back and wonder.

If you enjoyed these three posts, please do your own. I'd love to read them!

Yet Again. . .

I've changed my blog layout. I hope this isn't distressing to anyone. Remember I said that my husband would continue to support my blogging habit as long as I never changed the picture of Elijah and the cows as my header picture. Well, he never said anything about the layout.

I feel like a new layout is as good as a new outfit. Only there's no shopping with whiny children, no horridly distorted changing room mirrors, and no price tag. It's BETTER than a new outfit!

And unlike a new outfit, which can't be returned easily, I can change my blog layout again tomorrow if I choose. But I won't. Going through all the available layout options is almost as annoying as. . . shopping for a new outfit.

If you remember, my last layout had a bunch of grey circles near the post and even when you scrolled down as you read, the circles went with you. I thought they were making my thighs look wider than they already are. So. . . I picked this layout instead. I'm thinking two daisies are better than a whole bunch of circles. I know it's a little off center, just like my shirt when I've got a 25 lb. toddler in one arm. And being off center, it helps to hide one of the daisies. Let me know what you think of my new look.

Does it make me look fat?

Elijah and a Winner!

I can't believe I'm giving top billing to the person who woke me up at 5:45 am today. He's just so cute, I can't help myself. Elijah is not quite 2.5 and he is constantly making us laugh or grin uncontrollably at his 2 year old-isms. Two is the age where they become quite verbal and will say whatever comes to mind. I thought it'd be fun to share some of the things that have come out of his mouth lately.

During school time, Ethan and I have been trying to pray for persecuted believers in other parts of the world. Yesterday Elijah was playing nearby when I told Ethan we were going to pray for Algeria. Elijah turned to look at me and said, "Ohhh, is Aldearya dick (sick)?"

One day last week, Elijah walked into the living room and announced out of the blue, "I not frustated."

We are still in the throws of potty training and Elijah does not like to stop what he's doing to go to the bathroom. Once I get him into the bathroom, he offers all kinds of reasons why he doesn't need to go:

"I doe potty at Gamma's yeterday." (translation: I go potty at Gramma's yesterday.)

"I doo dired." (translation: I too tired.)

"I doking." (translation: I choking. He also uses this one when he's supposed to be eating.)

"I need peep." (translation: I need sleep.)

While eating the other day, Elijah looked at me and said something. "Mama, do da ding of deese." I didn't understand him even after he repeated himself. So I turned to our resident interpreter (aka Ethan) who informed me that Elijah said, "Mama, you're the king of cheese." (I guess they've watched "Flywheel" one too many times.)

As for my kitchen contest, I have to say I was a little disappointed with the overall lack of humor. Who knew so many of you cut onions all day and actually knew what this kitchen gadget was. I applaud those of you who tried to use some humor. While I don't have a poodle to comb with this object, I hope I never have to use it to pick lice out of my children's hair. Using it as a meat tenderizer is not a bad idea. And as for my husband . . . he thought it was used to separate spaghetti noodles after cooking. He actually looked perplexed when I told him that wasn't the real usage.

So the winner is. . . . Jennifer! She had both the lice extractor and meat tenderizer ideas. Congrats Jennifer! Please email me (or call me) and let me know your address and what colors you'd like for the washcloths.

What a Crock!

It's my 75th post and I'm not writing about grief or sadness or even my family for that matter. Rather this post is a tribute to my kitchen crock! Odd. . . yes, but it is what it is, so go along with me here. Below is a picture of my crock, and what a crock it is. You see, when Paul and I got married I had a small crock, big enough to hold a couple of spatulas, a small ladle, and maybe a few wooden spoons. I quickly realized that this crock would not suffice if I was going to cook in my galley style kitchen that had only TWO small drawers. I needed big. . . so off I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond (with a 20% off coupon, mind you) and purchased this beauty. Just so you know, it was the biggest they had. (I haven't checked to see if there is now a bigger size crock, for I fear that if there is, I will get a bad case of crock-envy. Ignorance is bliss in my world.)

I like to cook and I find much satisfaction in finding the cooking implement I need just an arm's reach away, and as you can see I've stuffed my crock full. I still have that pesky drawer full of kitchen tools that I sometimes use or never use, but fear I may need someday if I get rid of them. Here is a picture of an item I use almost everyday from that drawer. It's a piece of that anti-slide stuff you can buy at Wal-mart cut into a circle. I use it to open jars (works every time) and I put it under bowls and pans when I'm mixing something so that the bowl doesn't slide around on the counter. Now, get this, Ethan gave it to me. He found it when he was geo-caching with his dad. When you find a cache, you're supposed to take an item and leave something else. Well, MY SON took this for me, knowing I'd like it. While I can't even begin to imagine why it was put in a geo-cache, I'm happy it's now mine (after thoroughly sanitizing it, of course). It's since been stained, burned, and torn, but it's a keeper.

Anyway, I don't know about you out there in bloggyland, but the kitchen is my favorite room in our house. It is the kitchen of my dreams! After having a galley style kitchen in a small apartment for the first part of our marriage, I felt like I was given the moon when we purchased this house. So, in honor of my 75th post, I'm having a "kitchen contest"

Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think this kitchen gadget is used for (humor is so going to help you win!) I can't remember the last time I used it and because of the sharp points on the end, it sits in the back of my drawer. When we installed our new cabinet knobs and pulls, I found it and it took me awhile to remember what it was for.

I haven't decided when this contest will end. Probably after I write my next post so I'm sure you'll have at least a few days. The lucky winner will get this gem. . .

Okay, I know it appears to be used and not the greatest prize in the world, but I had to stick with the whole kitchen theme thing (and crocks are not easy to mail). This can opener is the BEST and I have two. The reason I have two is because I gave one to my mom for a gift and she gave it back! (Even though she reads my blog, I'm not afraid to say she's in a can-opener rut!)This can opener cuts off the top of the can without leaving a sharp edge on which I'm sure you've cut yourself or ruined a perfectly nice rubber spatula on.

To increase the competition I'll throw in three hand knit dishcloths. You can even pick the colors! (This is about as crafty as I get!) Gals, I'm sure you've got husbands out there that can come up with a humorous use for this mysterious kitchen gadget as well. In fact, I think I'd rather hear what they think it's for. Come to think of it, I'm wondering what my engineer husband would come up with.