Feathered Friday (Fuzzy Butts)

I was all set to post pictures of my 3-week old chicks today, but then we got some fluffy girls in the mail.  Now all the chicks I ordered--and those I just picked up out of inability to resist--are here.  

It's so much fun watching them grow.  And they grow so fast!

Black Australorp chicks at arrival

These little girls are so cute!  Look how she's smiling.  I love the yellow tips on their black beaks.

And don't forget those fluffy white bums!  

Once the new littles had a chance to get a drink and find the food, I put the big littles back in with them.  I read (somewhere) that at this age they can be integrated safely, without worry of hierarchy issues.  (If I had the other tank available I would have put a divider between them to start, so the little littles would be too overwhelmed.)

However, the big girls, and even little roo James, were very accepting of them.  Within minutes, they were displaying mothering behavior like huddling in front of the new girls under the EcoGlow and guiding them to the food and water.

The new chicks are so much smaller than the others, even though only 3 weeks apart in age.

My Buff Orpingtons have me a bit perplexed in that Pumpkin is almost twice the size of Toot and Buffy.  Still, she is feathering out at the same rate as the two smaller girls.  The pictures below show the difference between them.

Pumpkin, Toot, & Buffy
Buff Orpington Hens

Pumpkin, Toot, & Buffy
Buff Orpington Hens

 Grow babies!

Playing the Waiting Game

My garden isn't tilled because it's been too wet, and now we're waiting for some estimates from landscapers.  My chickens still need a coop, which is again waiting for the estimates.  

Oh, and the broccoli I bought turns out to be brussels sprouts.  I have never had them, and I'm not too sure about them because, let's be honest, movies and TV make them out to be one of the torturous vegetables parents use against their children.  

However, if they are as undesirable as the the masses would have me believe, they should still be great green treats for the chickens.  But, I will give them a fair shot.  Try them in recipes and maybe just cooked or whatever.  I really know nothing about them.  It should be an adventure.

On the plus side of things, I do have a shed picked out for the coop.  The best part is that it's already built, so not waiting for construction.  And the color matches the garage it'll be parked near.  Gotta love consistency.

Il est bon, n'est pas?  Maybe I should give it a French name and my chickens will feel fancy.  

This week my pink tea roses have started blooming, too.  They are beautiful flowers--I think they would be considered "double"--but I can't stand the smell.  It gives me a headache, so I can't bring my beautiful roses inside.  Still, I can enjoy them from the deck.  Unfortunately, the peach tea rose seems to have died since last year.  It was my favorite, but the pink one is making up for the lack of roses form the other bush.  

Pink Tea Rose Bud

Peach Tea Rose

I much prefer the aroma of a "regular" rose.  Several people have told me they thought all roses smelled the same, but my nose can scent the difference.  A "regular" rose smells sweet, like the drop of nectar from a honeysuckle flower as it touches your tongue.  Tea roses have a much more perfumey scent, like the crystal victorian bottle with the lilac-colored atomizer sitting on my mother's bathroom sink.  

Yellow Climber

I shall keep you posted on how the land management is going, but trust that I will have the garden in within two weeks regardless.  Otherwise, what's the point?  

Looking to brighter days.

Mindful Memorial Day

Most of us know this day is not about barbecues, three-day weekends, and the start of summer.  It's about remembering those men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice for this country.  Those who died protecting our freedom, so that we may continue to have our barbecues and three-day weekends. 

When I started writing this post, I had intended to give you a brief history of Memorial Day.  However, I found so many different versions--from sites like History.com, VA.gov, and USMemeorialDay.org, and others--that I lost count of the cities and towns purported to be the originators of the holiday, along with the numerous dates given for which event.  (USMemorialDay.org does state that the exact date and location is unclear.)  With all the different information, I became frustrated.  Suffice it to say that the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead (since every soldier that died in the war was a US citizen, no matter what side they fought for) is the reason for the birth of Memorial Day, initially called Decoration Day because they would decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.

I have several family members and friends who served this country.  While my (biological) father passed away while on active duty, he was not killed in action, so I'm sure if he falls in with those buried at Arlington.  But that doesn't matter to me.  And that's not what this is about.

Flag presented for James E. Behrmann, Airman 1st class

Today, take the time to remember those who gave their lives so that we, as American citizens, may live free.  Thank a soldier, airman, marine, sailor, or national guardsman for his or her service.  They may still be with us, but they may know others who no longer are.  They may be survivors baring the burden of loss.  If you know people who have lost a family member honored by Memorial Day, take the time to comfort them, thank them for their sacrifice.  They will live with the loss for the rest of their lives.

Reflections
by Lee Teter, c.1988

To put it in perspective. . .


 

I'll leave you with a few quotes:

"Heroes never die.  They live forever in the hearts and minds of those who would follow in their footsteps."                                                                                                                                                                                          ~Emily Potter

 "Their devotion, their valor and their sacrifice will live forever in the hearts of their grateful countrymen."                                                                                                                                                                                         ~General John J. Pershing

 

 "Words are even more feeble on this Memorial Day, for the sight before us is that of a strong and good nation that stands in silence and remembers those who were loved and who, in return, loved their countrymen enough to die for them."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   ~Ronald Reagan

 "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.  Rather we should thank God that such men lived."                                                                                                                                                                                               ~General George S. Patton

Thank you to the souls now watching over us from above, who gave their lives so that we may live free.

Mindful Monday: 2 Easy Alternatives for Paper Coffee Filters

This weekend I ran out of coffee filters.  This is a dire situation in my house as my husband and I are both coffee addicts.  (I have him to thank for that since I never drank coffee before he introduced me to coffee with sugar and cream.)  It has become not only my morning ritual, but also the drink I need beside me when I'm writing, or if it's rainy, or when I'm curled up with a good book.

But, I didn't freak out and run to the store.  Oh no.  I got creative and thrifty.  I looked in my pantry to see what other materials might work as a filter.  I found paper napkins, paper towels, and cheese cloth.  I also have a nice selection of fabric with my sewing supplies.  

I immediately nixed the napkins because they were Disco birthday party napkins, and therefore covered in bright colored dyes.  The fabrics didn't even come into play since I can't get to them right now.  So, since I had two days to make coffee without filters, I chose to try the paper towels and cheese cloth as alternate filters.

This is my testimonial.

I started with the paper towel.  I have the smaller select-a-size type, so I used two still attached, but one regular paper towel would work the same.  It stuck out over the top of the basket, of course.

Paper towel sticking over the top.

An easy enough problem to solve with a pair of good scissors.

Cut paper towel 

I put the basket in the coffee maker and filled it with coffee grinds.

Fresh grinds added

Then I brewed it with typical coffee filter results.  One great thing about this method is that the paper towels can be tossed into the compost with the grinds.

Used paper towel filter

The next day I used the cheese cloth.  

Cheese cloth weave

My cheese cloth is a bit thin, so I cut it big and folded the corners down to double the thickness.  (It doesn't matter with my coffee maker because it filters the coffee before it goes in the cup, but for "normal" coffee makers the thread-bare quality of the thinner cheese cloth might allow grinds into the pot.)

Cheese cloth over top of basket

Corners folded down to double the thickness

Because my filter ended up a bit small, I only brewed a half pot.

Grinds in cheese cloth filter

This method was very tidy when it brewed.  However, I won't be putting the cheese cloth in the compost, so the grinds will have to be dumped out in the pail and the cloth thrown in the trash.  Technically, since the cloth is 100% cotton, it could be composted, but it would take much longer than everything else in my bin.

Used cheese cloth filter

Both filters produced fine-tasting coffee.

In looking this up on the internet, I found several other options that I wasn't able to try.  Apparently you can buy reusable metal filters, although this is more money than I want to spend on filtering my coffee regardless of how reusable it is.  

One sight mentioned using muslin, which is a fabric more loosely woven than most, but tighter than the cheese cloth.  I do have muslin stashed away with all the other cottons in my sewing box, but I couldn't get to it to try it.  One advantage I can see to using muslin, or other cotton materials, is the re-usability.  After using it, the grinds could be dumped in the compost pail and the filter washed and reused.

 Happy coffee drinking!

Feathered Friday: Crushed Egg Shells for Calcium Supplement

From the wee little anole skittering around in the bushes, to the two-hundred-pound English mastiff down the street, to your kids playing in your back yard. . . We all need calcium.  Chickens are no different.  And just like a pregnant woman, it's extra important for laying hens to have the appropriate amounts.  

A laying hen needs access to supplemental calcium.  The shells of her eggs are 94-97% calcium carbonate.  If she doesn't get enough in her diet, she will take it from her own body in order to make sure her eggs are strong.  (She will do this with other nutrients, too, but I'm focusing on calcium.)

Boo-boo pecking egg shells.

Now, you can go out and buy calcium supplements, usually in the form of crushed oyster shells.  (We certainly have more than our share here in the Chesapeake Watershed area.)  In fact, this is recommended even if you are giving egg shells.  I mix my egg shells in with the oyster shells.  

It's important to note that calcium supplements should always be offered free-choice.  This way the hens can take as much or as little as they need, when they need it.  Hypercalcemia--too much calcium--can be just as harmful as hypocalcemia--too little calcium.  Beyond that, calcium cannot be utilized by the body without vitamin D3, which can be produced by simple exposure to direct sunlight.  (It would be fascinating to go into the scientific details about calcium, V-D3, and hypo/hyper symptoms, but I'll save that for later.)

Here is how I prepare my egg shells to provide as a free-choice calcium supplement. . .

I do my best to crack the eggs so I get two nice halves I can get my fingers into.  All eggs have a membrane on the inside of the shell, and my experience has taught me it's easier to crush the shells if this membrane is removed.  

Membrane pull away from shell

I have tried rinsing, drying, and then soaking to remove the membrane.  It works, but it's much easier to do it while the membrane is still in its own gelatinous state.

Membrane stripped from shell.

I put the membranes in my compost pail, along with any tiny fragments of shell I can't get off.

Then I rinse the shells and sit them on a paper towel to dry.  

Larger pieces broken by hand

Once they are dry, I break them into large pieces by hand.  This is a preference thing, as the shells can be sharp.  But I like the sound and the feel of the breaking shells.  Like breaking glass, it gives a strange sense of release. . . but without the level of damage and mess.

To get the smaller pieces, you could use a zip-lock bag and rolling pin.  But here in Maryland, we have crab mallets.  Everything's more fun with a mallet, right?  Maybe, but I use the round part and roll it over the shells until they're the size I'm looking for.

This is the size I'm looking for.  It's good to have a variety in the pieces, with some larger and some powder in the container.

I put it in a bowl and the hens eat as they wish.


Happy egg crushing!

The Un-Joyful Things of Spring

Yes, I'm talking allergies.  And colds.  Definitely colds.  And allergies.

I know I skipped Mindful Monday this week, and I apologize, but this lady nursed a sick boy all last week.  Saturday, he appeared better, only to turn ghostly white and vomit while waiting for a table at the Cheesecake Factory.  (At least we weren't eating, right?)  

Mother's Day morning woke me with a truck parked on my face.  The cold had hit with the force of the Polar Vortex" from january.  I'm still suffering, although OTC meds do help me function a little better.  But I just haven't been up to getting this writing thing done.

But it's been beautiful weather here in the Land of Queen Mary.  I put the screens in our new windows.  (Yet another trying experience that goes with hiring people you know to work on your house.)  It's too warm for the heat.  Too cool for the air conditioner.  So the answer to the issue of stagnant air in the house is to open the windows.

And I did just that.  

The breeze pulling through our house was fantastic.  It was so strong, I had to close some of the windows to just a crack while others were shut completely.  But I loved the Spring air freshening our home.  

Until that evening when everyone was miserable with allergy symptoms.  We had watery eyes, runny noses, sneezing, dry throats.  The whole gambit.  Benadryl was handed to the worst cases, and Zyrtec measured out for the kids in the morning.

Monday I was going to post about preventing the spread of colds, because I learned that one student in Bug's Pre-K class was sent in coughing all over every one.  The following week, Bug and at two other students missed classes because of the cold.  (A couple even had fevers.)  So, I was going to talk about not sending your kids to school when they're sick, teaching them to "cover your cough," washing hands, not breathing in people's faces, you know, but I just didn't have the energy.  

I must apologize for this not-much-of-a-post, too.  It's more of a vent, but my brain isn't working well with this truck still parked on my face.   (That reminds me, I plan on making something that I hope to be able to share with you soon.  I'm just working out how I want to set it up.)  Once the truck decides to move along, I should be up and running like my abnormal self again. 

Until Friday. . .

Cover your cough!

(Fluffy) Feathered Friday: Arrival of Our First Chick Order

Oh boy!  Yesterday 5 of our new chicks from Meyer's Hatchery arrived!  Bug and I were so excited to get them.  Here is a pictorial of our new adventure.

Arrival at the Post Office!

Anticipation!

Checking them out in the Post Office.
5 Bright Little Chicks!

Buckled up to go home!

At Home!

Meet James, our rooster.

Already napping in Bug's hands.

Meyer's "Meal Maker" chick
We think she's a Barred Rock, so Bug named her Rocky. 

Buff Orpington

Happily drinking and eating.

Proud Boy with his chicks.

Snuggled under the Brinsea EcoGlow20

Bug with 2 Buffs

Bug & James

Gentle Pets

He is in love with his new rooster.

I will go into detail about our new additions next week, with fun facts about the breeds, the brooder, and updates on how they are doing.  Until then. . . 

Happy Mother's Day!