The only pretty ring time

We've been seeing signs of spring around here for the past couple of weeks now and it's been pretty glorious. The weather hasn't exactly been consistently pleasant, we've definitely been getting our March winds and some rain to boot, but we've been getting ourselves outside at every opportunity. Silas loves to be out, digging and dumping sand, gathering rocks, letting the chickens out, turning the water on and off, watering the garden, soaking himself, and generally having a good time.

Our earliest plants have started blooming and all of the fruit trees have buds. Tres started the first trays of seeds for the garden two weeks ago and he and Silas planted the first seeds in the ground yesterday. 

forsythia

lilac buds

The chickens are back up to nearly maximum output, laying 4-6 eggs per day. The jackrabbits are out and quickly multiplying. I've started hanging the wash outside again. One of our beehives is busily buzzing (the other didn't make it through the winter, more on that in a separate post). Our sweet spring baby is growing steadily and (despite photographic evidence to the contrary) spending more time awake and alert. Don't you love the promise that spring brings?

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

HAPPY WEEKEND!

After some very cold nights and blustery days, we've been having some beautiful sun these past few days and it's been feeling gloriously as though winter is officially over. I'd hate to jinx it, so I'll just acknowledge that it's felt pretty wonderful.

We've inadvertently gained a new rooster - I didn't

get a picture in time, but this* looks a lot like him

Something delicious: This is currently in the kitchen rising (in my first attempt), so I can't vouch for this particular recipe, but I can tell you that tsoureki is super delicious and that I'm excited to try baking the whole eggs into it.

Something neat: Something about spring in particular makes me nostalgic for John Denver (maybe it's because I have "The Garden Song" on my mind?). This has some really nice covers on it (and some that aren't great, I won't lie), but it mostly makes me want to put on one of our John Denver albums.

Something to read:  Warm weather always puts me in the mood for some Jeeves and Wooster. There's just something about Wooster's frivolities and the hijinks that ensue that make these stories perfect for warm weather reading. I think I may need to get my hands on this for the summer.

Something to make: I love Kata Golda and this is pretty much the cutest. I made one for Silas for tomorrow.

Another from the egg hunt, he was so excited!

*Rooster photo is from here.

You're the Easter bunny when you smile

In their natural state

Now that we have a steady supply of eggs coming in and March is moving right along, I’ve had egg dyeing on my mind. I’ve been really excited about trying out natural egg dyeing for a few years now and decided that this was the perfect opportunity to do some testing. For this attempt, I wanted to use items that I already had on hand, so that gave me four different materials - beets, turmeric, yellow onion skins, and red onion skins (I had the onion skins around from onions we’d formerly peeled,  but if you needed to peel fresh onions,  you could always caramelize them and freeze them for later). First up is making the dye bath. I would suggest using at least a quart of water, even if you’re only dyeing an egg or two in that color, as some water will evaporate and you will need enough to fully cover your egg(s). Bring water, salt*, vinegar, and dyeing agent to a boil in a large pot. Lower to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until it reaches your desired color (you can test this by spooning some into a white bowl). Below are the "recipes" I used.

desired color	dyeing material	amount of material per quart of water	added to the mix
yellow	turmeric	6 tablespoons	2 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons salt
pink	beets	4 cups	2 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons salt
brown	onion skins	4 cups (about 12 onions worth)	2 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons salt
maroon	red onion skins	4 cups	2 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons salt

*I'm not entirely sold on the salt - it didn't seem to have much impact on the depth of the color and I wonder if it contributed to some of the thinning that happened to my egg shells that soaked overnight.

After I made the dyes, I tried a couple of different techniques. I put half of the eggs into the dye baths raw and simmered them for 15 minutes, then poured the dye into a jar and soaked the eggs in the dye in the fridge overnight. The other half, I hardboiled, cooled, and then put into the cooled dye bath and into the fridge overnight.

Here’s what they looked like when I’d finished:

The eggs that went straight into the fridge were very subtle. The eggs cooked in the dye were more vibrant (except for the turmeric, not sure what happened there), but not as exciting as I'd hoped. Overall, I think that they are interesting and pretty in their way, but I’m not totally satisfied. There are a few things I’d do differently next time. I would make the dyes stronger (probably both increase the ratio of dyeing matter to water and cook the dye a little longer). I would dye them as we did when we were kids, periodically turning one egg at a time in a bowl, so that the kiddo can help and so I can get the color more even (probably have to leave them to soak for a bit and come back - wonder how long hardboiled eggs can sit out?). I do also acknowledge that starting out with brown eggs means that the colors won't look as vibrant as they would on white eggs. Still, I'm happy with my first attempt, and he really liked the hunt!

This face cracks me up

Here are some of the resources that I used, as well as some that I found after the fact:

• Two Men and a  Little Farm
• theKitchn
• serious eats
• Martha Stewart
• Design*Sponge
• radmegan

I'm as restless as a willow in a windstorm

February is a month of anticipation around here, as the weather starts to get a little warmer and we start looking forward to spring. I know that stores have had the bathing suits out since New Year's, but I really don't think that I'm jumping the gun here when I say that we're getting close now. 

This gives you a good idea of their variation - the lady

on the right is the most mature and the left is the least

The chickens are fully grown (or nearly) and at varying stages of maturity, some have fairly substantial combs and have become quite red around the face. Eggs shouldn't be too long off now! Scratch that, we got our first egg yesterday!

Tiny first egg

The trees and shrubs are full of buds.

This forsythia is going to go off any day now

The seeds are organized and ready.

The garden is tilled and the drip line is laid.

Yep, it's definitely starting to look like (nearly) spring around here.

I'm putting all my eggs in one basket

Raising our own hens means that our egg supply is not always consistent. Depending on their maturity, the time of year, etc., we can find ourselves lucky to get a few eggs a week at times and then, at others, can be hard pressed to find enough takers for our surplus. Our hens were not as prolific this summer as they had been the year before, but we were able to build up a stockpile of about 40 eggs in the fridge by the time we got our new chickens a few months ago.* While I ended up  being pretty happy with the eggs that I froze last year, I was curious if there were any other suggestions or techniques out there for hanging onto your eggs. I came upon this article, which quite thoroughly investigated this question and determined (*spoiler alert*): put 'em in a carton in the fridge. So, that's what we did and it turned out to be an excellent strategy. I just used the last two last night and not a one had spoiled. I was pretty cautious each time that I used them (it is suggested that you break them into a bowl to check for spoiling before adding them to whatever you're working on), giving them a good sniff prior to adding them to my concoctions, but they all passed. Now, to make them last this long, I've pretty much kept myself to using them as an ingredient, rather than the main dish, so I can't speak to how well they have kept their texture or flavor over this time, but they have performed appropriately in baked dishes. So, hooray for the surprisingly long-lived egg!

Silas and the new hens keep an eye on each other

*I meant to write an entire post regarding this and didn't quite get there, but getting new chicks meant it was time for a changing of the guard. It is not prudent for us to continue caring for and feeding birds that do not produce eggs, but that, of course, does not make it any easier. It was with heavy hearts, grateful for their hard work (not only providing us with eggs, but also eating up our bugs and fertilizing the yard), that we quickly and humanely ended their lives. We will use them to make stock throughout the winter, as we continue to feel grateful for their contributions to our health and lives here.

Sauerkraut is bully*

Well, it's official: I just put the last jar of sauerkraut into the canner, thus completing this year's food preservation. Admittedly, I should be using the remainder of naptime to clean the kitchen, but instead, I thought I'd write a little update on what we've been doing this past month.

This guy's busier than ever, walking over to investigate
and explore everything he comes across

While I went down to help my parents with a painting project, Tres and Silas bought 100 pounds of apples. The following weekend, we (S-L-O-W-L-Y) made them into 31 quarts of applesauce. We went with McIntoshes again, as we were really happy with the sauce we made from them last year. As usual, our handy dandy slicer/peeler was worth its weight in gold (even if we have use a clamp to attach it to the table) and I discovered that, since the Macs are so soft, we could grind them without an initial cooking. Despite our time saving, it still took us the better half of the day to get through them all. I'm excited for a winter's worth of delicious applesauce, though. 

75 of our 100 pounds

That same weekend, Tres shredded enough cabbages to fill his birthday crock with this year's batch of sauerkraut. It fermented for about three weeks before today's aforementioned canning.

Don't mind the small photo bomber on the left

There are some new babies around here these days too. A few weeks ago, we received 25 Plymouth Barred Rock chicks from the hatchery. They've been hanging out in a cozy box in the shop, Tres has sold 11 thus far, and we're hoping to end up with a flock of 8 (9 on the outside) hens ourselves. Silas has been very excited about the new arrivals and likes to watch them, while hooting loudly - they might not be quite as excited about him . . .

These are photos I took a few days after they arrived - 

they're in full on gangly awkward mode these days

They have plenty of room, they're just not huge fans of the camera

* Found this while googling Sauerkraut - oh, you Nova Scotians.

Well, probably in retribution for my righteous blogging on the welfare of chickens yesterday, the neighbor's dog came over and killed 3 of our hens this afternoon. I'd still say that their short lives were of higher quality than those of the battery hens.

Had a little hen, she had a wooden leg; best old hen that ever laid an egg...

I read in the Capitol Press agriculture news last week that people are collecting signatures in Washington for an initiative to ban the use of battery cages for laying hens. For those who are not familiar, the battery cage is the means by which the majority of eggs are produced in this country (6 million laying hens in Washington state). Each cage is about the size of a filing drawer and contains 8 birds. That's right; each bird gets an 8" x 8" space, in which it lives it's whole life. The floor is slanted so that eggs roll onto one conveyor, and droppings fall onto another conveyor. In the Capitol Press article, two arguments were presented for the maintenance of the current system: 

1. "How do they know what the hens think?" asked Duane Olsen, a veterinarian for egg producer Briarwood Farms of Rochester, Wash. "I do not believe those chickens are unhappy or they would not be laying at the rate they do."

2. Eggs will become more expensive.

I find it hard to believe that Duane Olsen received a DVM, given that he is unable to distinguish between a physiological process like egg-laying, and psychological process like 'happiness'. The truth is, I don't think my hens enjoy laying eggs. My evidence for this is that their "I've just laid an egg" vocalization is remarkably similar to their "I'm pissed off and I want others to know it" vocalization. 

For those who may not be in touch with what makes chickens happy, I'll break it down. 

Chickens have several instinctual behaviors that they will engage in if it is possible:

1. They will find a high place to roost at night

2. They will lay eggs in a concealed location. 

3. They will dust bathe and sun bath

4. They will scratch and peck

5. They seem to have some social needs, but I haven't figured out exactly what they are yet. 

Of these behaviors, the need to scratch and peck is probably the most powerful. If you keep birds that are used to ranging and hunting, they will get frustrated if you keep them inside and may peck at each other. This also happens if you keep birds that have never been outside in tight quarters without anything to sate their instinctual need to hunt and peck. This is why most birds that are kept in high density operations (caged and cage-free) have their beaks cut off when they are young. Cannibalism is not a 'normal' chicken behavior. 

Since we can't know how a chicken feels, their is a lot of room here for philosophical argument and, shall we say, 'moral flexibility'.

 - Can a hen that has never known anything else, be unhappy in a cage? I'd answer yes, because their instinctual needs are not being met.

- My backyard flock is exposed to temperature extremes, predators, potential diseases, while the battery hens are kept in a climate controlled environment, with constant access to fresh food and water. Doesn't their physiological well being make up for their psychological deficit? Again, no. While I'm not advocating physiological neglect for any domesticated animal, I think most people can look to their own lives, or observe the animals close to them (dogs, for example) to see that in many cases physiological stress is easier to endure than psychological stress.

- Are cage-free egg production systems any better than caged ones? This is a tough one. Cage free birds have more room to move, but are still kept at very high density and have to be debeaked. Birds in cage-free systems may be more prone to disease, because they mix with each other more. There is also something to be said for the fact that chickens don't really like being forced to be around a lot of other birds they don't know, and this is one point for which there is an advantage to cages.  

- Chickens do not have feelings/are not conscious. We were given dominion by god over the birds of the air. I like cheap eggs. There is no good counter arguments for these. I think you'd have to be willfully ignorant to believe that animals do not feel pain. I don't believe in a mandate for cruelty from the almighty.  

I have to think that anyone who believes that keeping 8 birds in a 2'x2' space is acceptable, just hasn't thought about what that means for the 6 million birds kept this way. The proposed law would decrease the density at which birds can be legally kept. I'm in support of anything that does that. Environmental enrichment would also be a huge help. We're not talking much here... perches, eggs laying boxes, stuff to peck at, dust baths.  

My bottom line is this: any system that requires debeaking is not a humane system; not because of the debeaking itself, but because chickens that resort to cannibalism are obviously not psychologically healthy. 

As to the problem of eggs getting more expensive if battery cages are banned; I make no argument against this, but I'd make a couple of notes:

1. Backyard hens are recession-proof

2. There are cheap sources of vegetable protein available for those who can't afford eggs and don't have a backyard.  

When I hear that robin sing, well I know it's coming on spring

We've been having our first spring-like weather around here this weekend and the animals seem to responding right on cue. First, this from our chickens:

It's hard to get a full sense of scale, but it's super tiny, maybe half the size of a large egg you would buy at the grocery store. Suffice to say, we're super excited and hope this means we'll be starting to get a regular supply soon. Next, the neighbors' first pregnant goat (of 3) had twins on Saturday and we got to see them when they were about an hour old. Unfortunately, I did not think to bring my camera, but you have my word, they were the tiniest, cutest goats I have ever seen.


Tres and I planted the first plants in the garden on Saturday - garlic we had started up by the pump house. He also put up an electric "fence," to keep out the jackrabbits and next weekend we will get serious and plant our first seeds. We should also get our building permit this week, which means we can start pouring the foundation in the next week or two.

I won't lie, a small part of me wanted to title this post after a certain

"Ren and Stimpy" song, for those of you who came of age at that time

Hooray for new beginnings!

There ain't nobody here but us chickens

The chickens have been moved into their new digs for about two weeks now.  There was, as one might expect, a bit of a kerfuffle over being moved, but they seem quite happy in their bigger space and to be enjoying their roosts.  Infuriatingly, I lost the photos of Tres' construction (just one of what I'm sure will be many digital goof ups on my part), but you can still see the finished product.  

Unfortunately, their move coincided with about a week and a half of very wintry weather, so despite having access to the outside for the first time, they haven't been very inclined to get out there.  Luckily, the snow finally melted and we had a beautiful sunny day yesterday, which encouraged the first exploring we've seen.  Considering that they've only seen the inside of a box and two small buildings thus far, it must blow their little minds (to be fair, I have serious doubts about the existence of much mind in there at all, but that's another matter . . .).

the one on the left looks weird and

contorted,but she's just taking a dust bath

I know this has been pretty chicken-heavy lately.  There should be news to report on the home-front soon and, after Christmas, I'll post about what I've been up to around here lately.

Girl, you'll be a woman soon

It's crazy how quickly the chickens are growing and changing.  Here are two photos I was going to post on the 7th:

And here's what they look like today:

Pretty soon, they'll be ready to move outside.  We also downsized our flock a bit (it was surprisingly hard to let them go, even though 26 was WAY too many birds for us).  We sold 16, leaving 10 for us.  Just right.

In just seven days. . .

Well, they're not fully into awkward pullet stage yet, but they're definitely on their way.  Their feathers are starting to come in and they must be about twice as big as they were when they arrived.  They're also getting more accustomed to us, often coming over to explore of their own accord when we put our hands close.  Who knows, we just might have socialized hens yet.

Sing a new song, chiquitita

Last week, Tres set up the pump house with a heating light, thermometer (so we could track the temperature, based on the light's height), feeder, and water dispenser.  

Our chicks arrived at the post office at 6:30 on Wednesday morning - twenty-six balls peeping balls of fluff (twenty-five barred rock and one free "mystery fancy breed").  It is a very strange thing to ride with a (relatively small - maybe 12" x 12") box full of peeping baby chickens on your lap.  They are ridiculously cute and pretty funny right now, curious about everything and noisy.

giant water dish and
(more diminuative) feeding tray

sly eyes

I did not, regrettably, catch any of them jumping in this video, but you do get to hear them peeping, which is about my favorite thing right now.  Stay tuned for the awkward phase!

Guess what we ordered today?