Blue Poo

Lisanne and I participate in a CSA (community supported agriculture) run by Drumlin Farm. The vegetables have been great, but sometimes we get things that go right to the chickens.

This week it was a purple cabbage. I don't like cooked cabbage, and it's too cold for a slaw these days. But the chickens love cabbage!

Unfortunately, the resulting poop was... blue. Remarkably blue. Can you believe it?

Red Bird Farm

The second half of the Monument Street Coop is released in their coop! We are calling our chicken adventure something a little less sassy, Red Bird Farm.

When we bought the house it was a snowy day, and strangely there were 12 cardinals (TWELVE!) on the crabapple outside the kitchen window. I insisted on Rhode Island Red as part of our flocks (which should not be complicated, but was) so that we could really claim a farm full of red birds.

The glee of wood shavings...






The inside of our coop...



Stay tuned for photos of the almost-finished coop (more siding, paint, sigh...).

AND a post on...

OUR ROOSTER.

A little tight...

In a panic the other day I separated my flock of 12 into two cages. I was really worried that they were becoming lethargic from so little space. Not ideal to have them separate but a necessary solution as we race to finish the coop.



As you can see, things are getting a little tight...

The First Foray in the Run

Thanks to our dedicated, former Navy pilot neighbor, our run is finished! One afternoon he brought over the door because "he needed an indoor project." It was so unbelievably nice of him to help us with this part of the construction. And I think this was the worst part (see my Grave Digger post...).

Just for your information, our run is 10' x 20', allowing 10 square feet per bird outside. We have hardware cloth sunk in the ground, 1' down and 2' in. On top of that is dirt, and then play sand. And then about 35 bags of pea gravel (courtesy of Home Depot) to cover the area. We also have a large plastic tub for dirt baths that I intend to sink.

The chickens, which are growing faster than we can build, LOVED being outside. I tote them in a large plastic storage container from the garage to the run and then release them. August is thrilled to be able to run after them and pick them up on his own. (Note: He did drop one of the Orpingtons and injure her foot... perhaps a bit more supervision on my part would have been better).



The dog is also thrilled (as you can see). He is exhausted running after them.



You can start to see the personalities of the hens as they interact with you. The Orpingtons are so curious and almost like dogs - they'll come right up and climb on you.



The Rhode Island Red are also very brave and inquisitive... and they're a week younger.



I can't wait until they're outside for good!

The Great Outdoors, Part 2

Since our chicken flocks parted ways, many of our poultry experiences are now separate. That's sad, but fortunately Lisanne and I have each other to call and chat with when we try new things, or the chickens don't seem to be doing well.

After Lisanne's chicken release, I decided to let our chickens out in our fenced raised beds (hopefully avoiding newly planted lettuce). The chickens were thrilled to be outdoors and promptly got down n' dirty with dirt baths.



They do look like they're about to keel over when they're taking baths... and they have no qualms about stepping on each other (particularly each other's heads) to get to the prime dirt. Ah... chickens.

Our Chicks are Here!!!!!!!

We are beyond excited. I went up to Dodge Grain again with August today to pick up our chicks. I had lots of things planned... but I had to cancel them. I couldn't wait until Friday. Many many thanks to Jim for all the help in planning for our chicks' arrival, and for holding the breeds that we wanted.

I loved hearing them chirp from their box on the drive home. Cheep cheep cheep - they made me SO happy.



Someone "stole" two of our Ameracaunas last night, so we had a little bit of a switcheroo. Our final count was:
(5) Buff Orpington
(5) Crested Polish - White Crested Black (you can see the black birds with the hysterical white pom pom on their heads)
(4) Rhode Island Red
(3) Ameracauna

Lisanne is taking 5 and I will have 12...



Lisanne transports the chicks from their box to the brooder, and shows Izzie and August how to care for them gently.



This is a terrible photo, but here are the chicks in their new home! You can see the Crested Polish in the middle - ridiculously cute.

The Chicken and the Egg

Did everyone see this blurb in Boston Magazine? I like the idea that Chef Bond is supporting a Concord business, Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds, but this is a little creepy. Read on for the text...

Mmmmmm...

Beak-to-Tail Dining by J. Kenji Alt

Beacon Hill Bistro's self-styled farmboy turned chef, Jason Bond, is cooking up a curious take on classic chicken and noodles. It starts with a monthly trip to Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds, a small meat and poultry operation in Concord, where he helps slaughter pasture-raised heirloom egg hens. He then braises these lean but flavorful birds overnight in a rich broth made from the wings, feet, and bones, resulting in meat as tender as that of a pampered young chicken and with the flavor that only three years of a happy-go-clucky outdoor life can lend. Bond serves the meat atop hand-rolled pasta and garnishes it with the hen's unlaid eggs, gently poached. These diminutive Day-Glo-orange orbs—enriched by the bird's free-range diet—remind us of the way eggs should taste, and also answer the proverbial question: They come to your table at exactly the same time.

Beacon Hill Hotel, 25 Charles St., Boston, 617-723-7575, beaconhillhotel.com.

White House chickens?

My blog friend Sara sent me this great blurb from The Atlantic, How About a White House Chicken Flock?

After seeing Alice Waters on 60 Minutes urging the Obamas to plant a vegetable garden, and then seeing Michelle Obama on the cover of the NY Times hoeing away in city-chic black, chickens COULD be a possibility chez White House. What do you think?