Potato Starts and Nine Cornish Cross Outside

The nine Cornish Cross have been in their "outdoor" coop for two weeks in the garage. So they are sufficiently acclimated to it and will be easier to herd back to it in the evenings.  Three are pullets and the rest are roos so most are quite large already. They are five weeks of age, and we will process them in about three to four more. With the extra mouths of "over eaters" we have gone through more feed than I anticipated.  Looks like we will be going through over a 100 pounds of feed this spring! 

Today, we moved the coop outside and they are all outside in the day run enjoying the sunshine, lots of bugs and worms and, generally being all chicken like.  I wish we could have moved them out sooner, but our spring, truly, is just now setting in. 

It pushed our potato planting time back by two weeks.  We planted California Whites (12 starts) and Pontiac Reds (24 starts). This is double the amount of potato starts we normally plant. I plan on planting the onion starts tomorrow. I have not yet started the spinach.  We had some mold issues in the greenhouse over the winter with the crazy mix of a hot January, and a freezing frosty wind-whipped February. January did in my carrots that I had wintered over in the greenhouse.  I was pretty disappointed to be throwing out a beautiful looking bunch of carrots into the compost pile! I should have harvested them as soon as January started to warm up. Garlic is doing okay. I was worried with the January.  I threw a bunch of leaves on, as mulch and frost protection.  I need to get more fertilizer on them. And I guess that's about all I can report on, for now. It's TRULY Spring 💗❤💗💝😁

Marching on in Snow - Winter 2019

So we seem to be stuck in the winter despite the groundhog signaling an early spring. 

January was pretty warm, and even one (or maybe) two of the Welsummers started to lay an egg, now and again. But that's stopped by mid February as the cold snap settled in and we started getting snow. The Rhodes continued to do their best, with at least two eggs every day. But this crazy weather is wearing on them, as well.  We are almost to 12 hours of sunlight per day, but it sure does not feel like it. Yesterday was another round of rain, sleet, hail and snow. Then we received another half-inch on top of that, last night. All together, it was a little more than a dusting, but not much more than. 

We only have 11 more days until the season changes over to spring, and I can't even plant potatoes yet! What a Mess! I may have to start them in the green house to minimize the freezing. I'm hoping that my garlic starts have survived that were started last fall. 

Some More Snow 3-9-19

Not Much, but More Than We Wanted

Five Day Cornish Cross - Start of Wing Feathers

It is always amazing to me just how quickly Cornish Cross chicks develop and grow. When they hatch, they are, for all intents and purposes, the same size as any "normal" sized chick. Bantams are smaller so I don't include them in the group. And within days, they are outsize their peers, and start to grow feathers on their wings. I have already needed to raise up the warmer because of height/growth. In about a week, I will need to put in the other brooder warmer because they will be too chunky to all fit under the one. 

I can't remember if I indicated that we have no plans to get more layer chicks this year. We will deal with the hens that we have and will probably get more layer chicks next year. We did get nine meat chicks this spring since we are eating more chicken due to health/diet restrictions. Can't get any healthier chickens than the ones I raise myself. No hormones, antibiotics or other stuff added because we keep the environment clean and we raise our chicks as humanely as possible. That means that they get to go outside when mature enough and will get to act like chickens, even if they are a bit lazier than the layers.

For the photos, I tried to only use natural light (without flash) but that means that the speed of the picture (lens is open) longer to capture the image. Of course, these little guys are not inclined to just sit and wait for the photo. Out of 15 tries, this was all I could get with only a little blur. 

We are supposed to get snow again this weekend. Brrrrrrrr.... Winter can't be over soon enough for my tastes. We have a space heater that blows some warm air into the small cage that we have covered with an old sheet to minimize drafts. Otherwise, it is simply too cold in the garage and the chicks will not get out from under the warmer to eat and drink (and poop). They are way too stinky to start out in the house.We had this issue last year too. The typical purchase time in the spring for Cornish X is April. But, if we wait for that time, then we tend to have to deal with the hot temps of June and July, which is stressful on them just prior to process time. I'm hopeful that they all survive through to next week.

You can't see me!

Dinner Time

Litte Fluff Balls Don't Hold Still

So then he said. . . 

Pre-Spring Chicklets Arrived

Nine little fluff balls arrived this morning.  We have them in our small cage with high sides for now, to make it easier to control the environment.  We have the brooder warmer at the low height and they are all piled under there as they adapt.  Since the garage is on the cool side right now, we have added a space heater to blow a little warm heat in there.  Of course, we also have the cage covered with a sheet to cut down on drafts with the one foot wide opening at the far end of the cage (away from the chicks) to ensure that they are in a warm, but not too warm environment.  If it is too cold, they won't leave the brooder warmer for the food and water. It can be quite the task to find just the right temps on these cooler winter days as we head into spring. 

These are only the Cornish Cross - meat chicks.  No layers this year.  We will replenish the layers next year. So, it's the start of the new flock. 

Cornish Cross huddled under the warmer.

Late Winter Arrival 2019

So it has been a while since I last posted last fall.  We had an incredibly warm winter with a lot more sunshine than normal. We did something different this winter. Rather than put lights in the coops, especially while the Welsummers were recovering from moult, we decided to wait to see how long, in the shorter light days, the Rhode Islands would lay eggs.  Unlike our previous pullet breeds, the Rhode Island Reds continued right through December 21st laying two to three eggs per day. So we never bothered to install the timers and lights.  We wonder if a part of that was because of the warmer and sunnier winter.

The first of the Welsummers just started laying an egg every other day on January 28th. She seems to be the only Welsummer laying. 

The last part of January, the Mid-West and East Coast started dealing with a Polar Vortex, while we continued with our warm weather. Then, the last few days of January, we got some colder nights with snow and ice. Not much to speak of. About two-three inches of really wet snow, and I didn't even bother taking pictures because it was mostly gone within a day.  The ice stayed, and each morning was a little too cold to keep water out in the coops. We have been pulling the waterers out of the coops each night so that they don't freeze.  At night, temps have been dropping down to the low 20Fs. 

Rhode Islands are still laying every day, unfazed, so far, by the cold nights. 

Tonight we are supposed to get significant snow for the weekend and possibly into Monday or Tuesday. Because all of my coop covers are iced over, I could not move them into place. OY Vey. I cobbled together some covers with plastic, canvas tarps, bricks, and even a folding dog pen.  I just hope they all stay in place. This could prove to be the wrong strategy.  Hoping it lasts at least through the night until I can get the rest of the family members to help me pull in in better covers.

Update - Last night's snow accumulation. About 5 inches of snow.

Looking Northwest at Coops	Changed Light Filter
My Magnolia Top	Magnolia bottom
Greenhouse looking Southwest

Pesky Leaf Miners in my Spinach

I was asked what is a Leaf Miner.  I'm no expert on the topic, bug, or control. All I know is that there is a little fly that resembles a house fly that lays tiny white eggs on the underneath sides of leaves, and when the eggs hatch, the larva starts munching away on the underneath side of the leave, taking all the juicy nutrients out.  On the top side of the leaf, it looks like a whitish lesion or strip has been damaged.  In a day or two, the leaf curls and shivels around the damage. At first, I thought it was sun damage. 

I routinely (daily) check the leaves for the tiny white eggs.  I scrape off the eggs with my fingernail and flick them out into the grass.  I have read that it is not a good idea to pull the leaves and put them into compost, as this becomes a perfect area for them to breed and grow within the breakdown.  I don't know for certain, that's just what I read. I put damaged leaves into my burn pile or garbage. There are probably better treatments to stop the flies from laying eggs.  I just try to stay organic, and in my micro garden patch, it is not that difficult to check the leaves every day or every other day. 

Leaf Miner Larva Damage	Leaf Miner Eggs are White and in rows
Close up of Eggs	Close up of damage
Leaf Miner Fly *

*Resource - "https://www.daylilies.org/ahs_dictionary/leafminer.html"

One Month into Fall 2018

Here we are, one month into the fall season, and the weather is polar opposite of this time last year. We have sunshine, albeit breezy, and temps in the 70s during the day. This year, my fall garden is so much better than last year.  Some things I learned is to have most of the fall veggies in pots/buckets in order to be able to move them quickly into the green house, in the event the over night temps drop into the low 30s.  Otherwise, I leave them outside over night, for any rain or dew.  One thing to watch for closely are bugs that want to lay eggs in the soil.  One way to cut down on this is to sprinkle DE (diatomacious earth) that is "food safe" around the plants onto the soil.  This will kill and/or detract most bugs. Also, watch for leaf miners that lay little white eggs on the under side of the leaves. The culprit looks like a house fly. But, the eggs, as they hatch will take all the nourishment from the leaf, causing it to look like a slug crawled over it.

So far, the bell peppers (in the green house 24-7) are still producing cute little peppers. The strawberry starts all took and are looking great, as the older berry leaves are turning red and brown. The oregano has slowed its growth, but we can still harvest any that we want.

Fall plants, carrots, spinach, garlic and cilantro are knocking it out of the park this year. Could not ask for a better bunch of plants. I have planted a second fall start (fingers crossed) of spinach and lettuce.

30 carrots in a container	Topdown carrots
Fall Cilantro	Fall Leaf Lettuce
Fall Strawberry Starts	Fall Spinach
Leftover Bell Peppers	More Bell Peppers

Three of the four Welsummers are in full moult, while one continues to persist laying an egg every other day. She seems quite proud of herself.  The Rhode Island Reds are continuing to lay three eggs per day for us, so we are plenty in the eggs this fall. Considering that there are only about 11 hours of daylight per day, and we have yet to put any wattage into their coop yet, I am in no hurry to take the electricity out there, just yet, while they continue to lay an egg per day. 

The Freedom Rangers are 10 weeks of age, and we will process them next weekend. They are good sized.  I speculate that they will each weigh about 5 - 6 pounds processed. There are three cockerels and three pullets.  The cockerels are crowing every morning and every evening... they seem most intrigued by the hens in the other coop, since the pullets are not mature enough for mating purposes. 

All six Freedom Rangers	Two Pulls and Two Rels
Pullets Leaning into the Breeze	Good Size!
Back to the feed trough