Dehydrating Basil

Fresh herbs are a delight.  We picked some basil, rosemary and some sage.  Washed the dust off and put on the dehydrator.  Wow!  The scent coming out of the dehydrator as the leaves were drying was so good! We packaged some of it, gave some to friends too. Looking forward to the next batch now.…

July 2016 Egg Production

We added chickens to the place March 11th.  Five each, Barred Rocks, Black Laced Wyandottes, and Easter Eggers.  After culling the cockerels in early July, we were left with five Barred Rocks, four Wyanodottes, and one Easter Egger.  The Barred Rocks started laying first, beginning July 18th, at about 18 weeks and a few days…

Roosters – Not Hens

When we purchased our chicks from the local farm supply this past Spring, the chicks were advertised as pullets.  Down in the fine print somewhere I am sure was a disclaimer about the actual sex of the chicks.  As the chicks grew, some had some real personality.  One of the Ameraucanas we named Clover, because…

New Chickens

A trip to the local Orshelns farm supply today and the pick a chick fest had begun. A total of 15 chicks were selected. 5 Black Laced Silver Wyandottes 5 Plymouth Barred Rocks 5 Ameracaunas Our original thought was to order from Cackle Hatchery, but we did not appreciate how far in advance we should…

Build A Brooder

Build A Brooder! So I started with pressure treated pine fence pickets. Cedar would have been my choice, but cedar is harmful to chickens.  I cut these to 38 inches in length.  You might want them a different length depending on how tall  you want the top of the brooder to be.  If you use…