Barry my Bossy-Pants Barred Rock "Cockerel"?

I have told you about my barred rock that I believe is a cockerel.   I have a barred rock female to compare him to and the differences are striking.  Besides his already large red comb and visible red wattle nubs, he stands more upright than she and he bosses everyone around.  He decides when it is time that everyone go inside the coop at night.  And he decides if anyone will go in the coop during the day.  Most of the hens don't pay him much attention but the new hen Big Red doesn't know any better...yet.

Barry will not let Big Red out of his sight.  It's like he is one of those obsessive boyfriends they warn you about.  He decides who goes in the coop during the daytime.  If Big Red goes in, he goes in and ushers her out.  If I throw out treats and she comes to get some he always wants the treat she picked.  I know chickens originated the term 'pecking order' but sometimes I wish she would just peck the poop out of him when he is bossing her around. 

Like I said, he tries to control the other hens too.  But because they have known him since the day his egg cracked open next to theirs in the incubator, they don't seem to take him so serious.  Big Red is new here so she thinks he must be the boss since he acts like one.  For now, she just complies with his wishes.  When he runs up to her outside she stops and hunkers down in the submissive hen position.  It's really kind of funny to watch because he couldn't mate with her at this stage if he wanted to because of the size difference.  As long as she is still getting plenty of food, treats, water, and time to lay an egg, I pretty much let him be.  But lately he has just been so occupied with keeping her in line.  Just look at these pictures.

Big Red goes in the coop in the late afternoon...

Since it was not Barry's idea, he goes in and ushers her out...

Barry looks out to see if she went all the way out off the ramp...

Big Red going down the ramp after Barry ushered her out...(of course she turned right around and hopped back in the big door and they repeated this all over again).

Barry chasing Big Red away from the fresh peaches I tossed (that everyone is eating)...(don't worry, she eventually got some because he got busy shooing the other ladies away from the peaches).

Barry is bossy with all of the hens, but seems to have his eye on Big Red right now.  Perhaps he thinks she is 'trainable'.  I thought about getting out my spray bottle and giving him a little training myself, but I see that although Big Red is submissive with Barry, she does her share of pushing around a few other chicks who are lower in the pecking order...poor Tiny, Alice, and Lucy are at the bottom.

What do you do to keep your roosters from being total tyrants?  Do you just leave them be, or do you intervene?  Barry is one of my favorites in the bunch.  Other than being a bossy-pants to everyone, he has a funny personality so I don't want to change that.   Right now at least, he knows that I am #1 in the pecking order...and I intend to keep it that way.

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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Chicken Teriyaki Stir-Fry Over Rice ~ A Quick, Delicious, Fresh Meal

Tonight I made the most delicious Chicken Teriyaki I have ever made.  Part of what made it so delicious is because I used fresh organic veggies and Free-range Organic Chicken breasts.  I don't raise meat chickens because I am not able to kill and process them myself.  So I buy my chicken meat at a local natural grocery where they have local, free-range organic chicken (FR/O).  The flavor of a FR/O chicken compared to a store-bought factory-raised chicken is 180 degrees apart.  The FR/O has such wonderful flavor and is so juicy that you could literally cook it with nothing more than a bit of salt and pepper (if you even needed that) and it would taste wonderful.  The factory-raised chicken has no flavor at all so you have to use a lot of spices just to make it taste like something, and the texture is just blahk!

So I baked up two FR/O chicken breasts in the oven, wrapped in foil to hold in all the wonderful juices.  Then I diced them up into bite-sized pieces and tossed them into my hot wok with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and some low-sodium teriyaki sauce.  I tossed the chicken to cover it with the oil and sauce, then dumped on my chopped and grated veggies (see veggie list below), gave it all a toss and pushed it up the sides of the wok.  Then drizzled a little bit of teriyaki sauce on top, then put the lid on to allow the veggies to steam.

Chicken Teriyaki Stir-Fry over Rice

Veggie List:
1 head of broccoli chopped up in to small bite-size florets.
4 Green Onions diced
2 medium Zucchini's grated up
1 carrot grated up (grated cross-wise for short pieces)
Sun-Dried Tomatoes (Julienne cut, small handful)

When the broccoli florets were just about done (tender, but still a little snap left in them) I put two bowls of rice (that I cooked earlier) into the microwave to heat the rice up.  When the rice was warm I ladled some steamed veggies and chicken onto the rice, drizzled a little more teriyaki sauce on top and served it up.  Delicious!!

This made enough for two more meals so we have lunch or dinner waiting for us tomorrow when we are too busy to stop and cook a meal.   If I feel like it, I could even add some different steamed veggies to this for a little variety in our next meal.  What are your favorite veggies to add to a stir-fry?

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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My Experiments with Growing Chicken Fodder

In a previous post I told you about building a grazing frame to grow greens inside the chicken run for the chickens to eat.  The frames prevent them from digging up the roots or eating the plants down to the roots so the chickens can 'graze' on the greens throughout the spring and summer months.  Since they will probably not grow well in to the winter months, I have been doing some experimenting with growing fodder so I will be able to keep my chickens in healthy greens throughout the year. 

Two baskets of Fodder in the mini indoor greenhouse.

I have been testing different seeds that I already have around the house to find out which ones sprout the fastest, and with the biggest bang for the chicks buck as far as large, plentiful sprouts go.  First I tested wild rice...not so good.  As you can see here (if you squint your eyes) it takes forever for the rice to sprout and they are very small and tiny.

Wild Rice sprouts after 8 days.

Since I am growing wild bird seed (and pasture grass) in the grazing frame I thought I would test some of the wild bird seed as fodder.  It sprouts pretty fast, here is my test basket after just 2 days.

Wild Bird Seed Sprouts at Day 2

And here it is after 4 days.

Wild Bird Seed Fodder Sprouts Day 4

And here on Day 6.  I went ahead and gave the basket to the chickens.  I went back to check on them in a couple of hours and there was only a few little pieces left in the basket...so I would say they liked it.  I wasn't real impressed with the amount of greens that the wild bird seed produced, but in all fairness I didn't use much seed to begin with.

Another thought as to why the wild bird seed did not do so well for basket fodder is that it grows better in dirt.   I'll keep watching its progress in the grazing frame in the chicken run (where I have planted wild bird seed and pasture grass).  I know that in the past I have been able to grow quite exotic looking plants without trying when if falls from the feeder onto the ground below the bird feeders by the patio.

An interesting note, I seemed to get a lot of gnats inside the greenhouse, mostly in the area of the baskets.  Something about it must have attracted the gnats.  I had the greenhouse outside on the patio because I figured using the A/C indoors would have made it too cool around the greenhouse and inhibited the growth of the sprouts.  Being outside probably contributed to the gnats accumulation as well because I did not have any gnats in the greenhouse when it was indoors used for starting my seedlings for the garden earlier this spring.

Since the greenhouse was outdoors and the temps have been in the upper 90's this week, I think it may have negatively impacted the seed growth.   The high temps required me to rinse them about 3 or 4 times a day to keep the sprouts from getting too dry, where normally I think once or twice a day rinses should be enough.   I will experiment more with growing fodder baskets in the fall when the greenhouse will work more effectively in cooler outdoor temps.

Well, I am off to more experimenting with growing fodder.  I'll keep you posted of my findings.

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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Making a Grazing Frame for your Chickens ~Easy DIY Project

Since I don't have grass (or anything green) growing in my yard, not even in the spring or summer, I thought I would try growing some greenery inside the chicken run using a grazing frame.  You may have seen my grazing from in the pictures in an earlier post about Big Red our new flock member.   A grazing frame is basically a wood frame with hardware cloth attached to the top side.  You can either place it over existing grass to allow the chickens to graze that area and enjoy the grass without allowing them to scratch the roots up or devour the patch of greenery altogether.  Or if you are like me and don't have any greens naturally growing, you can plant them and cover the area with a grazing frame to keep the chickens from digging up the seeds while they grow.  The sprouts will grow up and out through the hardware cloth so the chickens can enjoy the parts that stick up out of the frame, but the plant and roots remain safely under the hardware cloth.

I stole some 2x4's that the hubby is using to build a storage shed...he wont miss three little boards will he?  I left two of the board the full 8' lengths.  I cut one 8' board into four 2' lengths.  Then I attached them like this.

I then stapled hardware cloth to the top side.  Then I trimmed off the excess hardware cloth.

I could have used redwood or cedar instead of pine, but I figured if the wood rotted over the next few years and I had to rebuild it, it was still cheaper then spending twice or three times as much on redwood or cedar...besides, the hubby already had this big stack of pine he bought for the storage shed.

I cleared an out-of-the way area inside the chicken run, big enough for the grazing frame.

I laid the grazing frame over that area and pushed the gravel up against the sides of the frame to help keep it in place.  As mentioned earlier, you can plant your seed in the soil then put the frame on top of that, but I was feeling lazy so I put the frame down first.
 

Then I shoveled my super-soil and manure mixture on top of the hardware cloth so the dirt fell through but the chunks were caught by the tight weave of the cloth.  I tried to make sure the soil inside was some what level but I didn't put a whole lot of effort into it because Perfectionism is something I have outgrown.

 
Then I sprinkled a mixture of equal parts pasture grass seed and wild bird seed (about 1 cup of each) on top of the soil.  Then I added another light layer of soil by hand to gently cover the seeds but not bury them to deeply.  Then I sprinkled water over the entire grazing frame.

A little later Barry and Goldie (my two most curious chicks) did the final inspection.  It met their approval so my work here was done.  Now I just need to water it once or twice a day, depending on the temperatures. 

After 3 days of watering I didn't see any sprouts yet...but on day 4 look what I found!

Day 4 -Spouts appear!

And here are the sprouts on Day 5.  There are several patches throughout the frame like this.  By next week they should be poking up out of the wire for the chickens to nibble on.

Day 5

This grazing frame will allow me to grow fresh greens inside the chicken run for the chickens to eat, while preventing the chickens from being able to dig up the roots or eat the plants down to the roots, so my chickens can 'graze' on their greens throughout the spring and summer months.  I wasn't sure how much seed to apply at first, but now I can see that I needed more.   So I plan to re-seed periodically until this grazing frame is densely filled with green treats for the chicks.

Since this will probably not grow well in to the winter months, I have been experimenting with growing fodder in my mini greenhouse.  I will be sharing what I learn from my experimentation in another post coming up very soon!
 

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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Silver lining to my Very Cloudy Day, Part 2 ~ Meet the New Chick in the Coop!

Yesterday I shared my pharmacy fiasco that turned out to have one redeeming event in the whole night...that was bringing home 'Big Red'.  Let me tell you about our Newest Chick in the Coop!

'Red' as her previous owner called her, is a 5 month old Red Sexlink hen that has been laying eggs for about a month now.  She came to live with us because her owners had too many hens and needed to downsize their flock and Red was the one chosen to be re-homed.

Lets see where did I leave off...Oh yes, I put her in the dog crate in the coop and went to bed! 
 

At 5:13 am the next morning, the ADOR automatic coop door, opened and my chicks all wondered out into the early morning.  They did their morning routine of getting a drink of water and filling their tummies with chick food.  Then they all went back in the coop to check out this stranger in the dog crate and I joined them.

Red was a beauty, and although she was nervous about me picking her up the night before, she seemed calm this morning.  She was as curious about the chicks as they were about her.  I poured some feed into the dog crate and she ate it with vigor.  The chicks stuck their heads through the bars and helped her eat it up.  She didn't seem to mind them.  When the time came for me to finally let her out into the run to explore her new home, she was more than ready.  Everyone came to greet her.  My dog Daisy didn't know what to think about this big bird...she had only seen my little chickens, never one this size.

One of my cats stopped by to check her out on his morning routine past the chicken run.

 The chicks followed her around the yard.  Then, as if on cue, the rearranging of the pecking order began.  Barry (my possible rooster), was the first to puff up at her to let her know he was the one in charge here.  She complied and moved back a little when he approached her.  My Rhode Island Red chick (who is already named Red) approached Big Red and didn't get pushy, but kind of acted like, "Hey we are alike!"  Things were going well.

Big Red & Little Red, instantly bonded.

Then Barbara, my unassuming barred rock female, ran up to her, fluffed her feathers at her and pecked at Big Reds wattle.  Barbara stood her ground and stared eye-to-eye with Big Red (even though Big Red is triple her size).  They stood there a good 10-15 seconds locked in a stare.  Then Big Red blinked...well, not actually blinked, but she was the first to make a submissive move.  And just like that, the pecking order was rearranged.  I would have thought that Big Red would be the #1 chicken because of her size alone, but that was not the case. 


For the next couple of days Barry continued to strut around her like he's the boss.  Barbara will occasionally run up to Big Red, then Big Red would back away from what ever she was doing.  But all in all, they are all getting along fine.  I am thrilled to have Big Red as a member of our flock.  I wish she hadn't come into our lives in the midst of such a mess of events with me being sick and running all over Phoenix late on a Sunday night with outside temperatures of 100+, with the hubby and I starving and resorting to eating fast food in a desperate situation.   However, if I had not been sick that night, I would not have been in the valley at the very moment and she might have been placed with someone else.  So she is the silver lining to my very dark cloud that day.

The Happy Flock foraging for food.

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3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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Big Red, the Silver Lining of my Very Cloudy Day

A few days ago I was on my 4th day of being sick with a very sore throat, fever, and an irritating cough that would not let me get any sleep, and it wasn't getting any better.  Then my ears began to ache and feel like I was wearing ear muffs so I decided it was time to see a doctor.   Of course I didn't reach this decision until late Sunday afternoon.  If I was going to get any relief I need to go to Phoenix to and urgent care clinic because I didn't think I could handle one more night of this illness.  I searched online for and urgent care clinic that was open late on Sunday nights.  I found one that also allowed pre-registering online.  Since I had a 1-1/2 hour drive ahead of me to get to the clinic, pre-registering could help me get in and out quickly and hopefully we could be back home by dinner time.  Besides, I didn't want to spend one minute longer than absolutely necessary sitting in a waiting room with other sick people, passing around our germs to one another.

Good thing I pre-registered because there weren't even enough seats for the hubby and I to sit down when we arrived.  I was called back within 10 minutes of arriving, ahead of people who had been waiting there for over an hour (wishing they had pre-registered I bet).  I know I probably ticked off more than a few people who had been waiting there for awhile.  Once in the back, they gagged me with a giant q-tip to get a culture to test for strep.  (It was negative thank goodness).  Then the doctor examined me and said I had an upper respiratory infection and prescribed antibiotics and some other over the counter stuff that was suppose to to relieve the symptoms.

At approximately 6:30 pm the doctor gave me my walking papers and told me he sent my prescription to a CVS Pharmacy in the valley ('the valley' means one of the many cities within the large metropolitan area known generally as Phoenix) that was a 24 hour store.  It was approximately a 35 minute drive to the pharmacy.  When we arrived, we discovered that the store was in fact a 24 store...but not the pharmacy!  That department had closed before I even left the urgent care clinic.  I was now in a panic!  I needed to get the antibiotics in my system asap so they could start working and maybe I would start feeling better by tomorrow evening, if I was lucky.  I just knew I was not going to be able to wait until tomorrow to come back to the valley to pick up the medication and get one day sicker before starting the antibiotics.

In a panic I called the urgent care clinic and told them what happened.  They said to just give them the name and address of another pharmacy and they would call it in there.  Well I don't live in the valley so I don't know which pharmacy is closest to our location or which ones are open late on Sunday night.   My husband asked the clerk for a list of close CVS Pharmacies that have a pharmacist on duty at that hour.  He didn't know.  Apparently they don't keep a list of 24 hour pharmacy departments in case of this kind of situation.  He guessed about one not too far away but wasn't 100% sure they were open, and he didn't have their number!?   I had to google the store to get the number then called them myself.  They said the pharmacy was in fact open 24 hours.  I called urgent care back and told them of the new location.  They said they would have the doctor send the script there.  We drove 20 minutes away to the second pharmacy.  The time is now shortly after 9:00 pm.

I go inside and head all the way back to the pharmacy department. (Why do they make sick people walk all the way to the back of the big building for their medication?)  They look up my name...nothing!  What?!?  I called the urgent care clinic back and after several minutes on hold, she tells me they had an emergency patient that the doctors are working with, as soon as they are free they will call it in.  Ok, I can understand this, "be patient" I tell myself.   The urgent care said they would call me when the script is called in.   I am sitting in the pharmacy waiting area, 10 minutes pass, then 15, then 20, and finally my phone rings!  It is urgent care, but they said they couldn't call it in because there are more than one CVS Pharmacies on this same street, which one am I at?  "Well the hell if I know!" I wanted to shout, but instead I ask the clerk.   I pass on the street address to the urgent care receptionist.  She locates the appropriate store and tells me the doctors are again with patients, and she will have them call it in as soon as they get out.

It is now about 9:45pm, my throat is hurting like hell, my emotions are just frazzled, and I start crying right there in the waiting area.  When the prescription is finally called in, everyone is already aware of me so they start working on it right away.  Within minutes the wonderful pharmacy staff at the Dobson & Warner CVS Pharmacy call my name.  I pay for the antibiotics and over the counter medicines and head to the car where my husband is patiently waiting with a chicken in the back seat in a plastic tub with holes drilled in it so the chicken doesn't die of heat exhaustion in the nighttime temperature of 100 degrees

...Wait a minute!  A Chicken?!  Where did that come from?! 

Lets back up a little bit and I will tell you...


Earlier in the day I was reading posts on my favorite online forum, Backyard Chickens, when one of the folks from the Arizona group posted that she had a laying hen she needed to find a home for -Free to a good home, just PM her.  I had been wanting a laying hen so we could start enjoying fresh eggs now, since our chicks are not going to be laying for a few months.  I I sent her a message that I was interested, just visit my blog to learn more about the new home her hen would have and contact me if she approved.  I explained that we lived a few hours north of the valley and made the drive at least once a week so I could come get her on our next time in town.

While I was in urgent care, waiting in my room to see the doctor, she emailed me to say she wanted to find 'Red' (the hens name) a new home as quick as possible so when might I be coming to the valley again.  I said, "I am here right now, waiting in the urgent care to see a doctor.  But I could meet her somewhere after I was done."   So when I was done we arranged to meet near where the pharmacy was.  It would only take a few minutes out of our time to pick up the chicken, get my prescription and be back home in two hours.  But as you know already, it didn't work out that simple.

Big Red in her makeshift Travel Tub

So during this pharmacy fiasco we had a 5 month old hen in plastic box with holes drilled in it to keep her from melting, in the back seat of my car in the 100 degree temperatures.  It was so hot that I had to lift the lid a little on the tub to get enough air in to her.  She was figgity and kept turning around in the tub.  I was afraid she might just jump out of the tub and probably scare the bajeezes out of my husband who has zero experience with chickens.   I worried about this every time I had to go inside the pharmacy(s) and leave them alone.  Thankfully that didn't happen.

We finally arrive back home at just after midnight, both of us dog-tired, me feeling like total crapola from my infection, and feeling horrible about the nasty fast-food that we were forced to eat because we were starving and couldn't leave the hen in the car in this heat. I have not eaten at anything like a 'McDonald's (just for example) in over 20 years, but this was a desperate situation that I hope we never have to repeat.  I took the hen out to the chicken run and moved her from the plastic tub to a dog crate and placed the crate into the coop, put in a fresh water bottle with a chicken nipple, then went to bed.

The next morning I got to see that there was a Silver Lining to this dark cloud of a night...it was "Red", now called "Big Red" because we already have a "Red" in the flock.

I'll tell you about this 'New Chick in the Coop' in tomorrows post...I need a nap now.

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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My baby chicks are growing up so fast!

I cannot believe how fast my baby chickens are growing!  It must hurt to grow that fast!  Just look at them their first day at our home, at 3 weeks old.

Baby Chicks at 3 Weeks old.

 Look at them here at 6 weeks old!

Chicks at 6 weeks old.  Favorite treat is Watermelon!

I introduced them to my grandkids when they were 6 weeks old.  My grandson wasn't real thrilled (he is 4) but my granddaughter (age 6) is a future farmgirl.  She took to them immediately and they took to her as well.  They walked right up to her so she naturally just bent over and scooped them up one at a time.

Granddaughter holding Goldie

After allowing my granddaughter to pick them up, this Buff Orpington, who I call 'Goldie' now wants to get up in my chair with me every morning.  She will peck around on my shoes until I pick her up.  Then she will either sit in my lap or on the arm of my chair next to me.

Goldie, my new best friend.

They are really starting to display their own little personalities too.  This helped me figure out a name for each of them to.  We have the two Black Australorp's, "Alice" the biggest chicken of the flock, and "Tiny" the runt of them all.  Two Rhode Island Red's, "Red" the darkest RIR and "Lucy" the lighter colored of the two. Then there is "Goldie" is the bigger of the two Buff Orpingtons and "Buffy" the smaller one.  And finally "Barbara" is the girl Barred Rock, and "Barry" my other Barred Rock, that I believe is a boy.  Just take a look at the difference in Barry and Barbara's combs in the picture below.  You can't really see it in this picture but he is already getting a little red wattle too.  Barry is the one who rounds up the stragglers each evening before the ADOR Automatic Chicken Coop Door closes. (Read my review of the ADOR here)  He runs around making an urgent sounding squawk, flapping his wings, then once he has everyone's attention he goes up the ramp and into the coop.  The stragglers always follow him.

Comb Comparison. Barry in the front with is big red comb going back father than his eyes (he also had the beginnings of wattles that you cannot see in this picture).  Barbara in the back with her short, low, yellow comb (eating a piece of watermelon).

It seems that the chickens are a hit with everyone.  Our dog Daisy (miniature Schnauzer) wants to chase them. She spends her entire day stationed at the fence whinning at the chickens and jumping up everytime they wonder near her.  I would NEVER let her in the run because she would surely attack the chickens. (terrier just runs too strong in her blood.)

Daisy vigilantly watching the chickens through the fence.

Our cats love spending some time at the fence too.  They get bored pretty quickly but they still make their first stop outside by the chicken run...then they go hunt lizards.

Harry watching Live Chicken TV.

Interestingly I have no pictures of my Boston Terrier Piggy watching the chickens...because she couldn't care less about them.  We were most worried about how she might be around the chickens because she is a notorious cat chaser (but not our cats?), but she looks over at the run and goes about her business, not even the least bit interested.

So the babies continue to grow and feather out and show more and more of their personalities every day.  I am so happy that I finally made the decision to raise chickens again...I cannot express in words how much enjoyment I get out of spending time with these little critters.  I even leave my bedroom window open at night (our bedroom wall is one of the walls to the chicken run) so I can hear them making their little chicken mumbling sounds at night.  I wake each morning to the sound of them emerging from the coop at dawn. I don't know how my husband is going to like the sound of a rooster each morning (if Barry turns out to be a boy), but I know I am going to love it.  I grew up to the sounds of chickens and I hope to spend the rest of my days doing the same.

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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If you hide your blog, I can't find you and become virtual chicken-keeping friends!

Are you and your blog hiding in the background?  You should step out of the shadows so like minded people can find you!  It's as easy as updating your blogger profile.

See that box over there in the right-hand column that says "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" and has little thumbnail under it with your picture (hopefully it has your picture)?  Did you know that if I click on it I can see your Google profile, a link to your website, a link to contact you via email (if you want me to be able to contact you), along with other things like what other blogs you follow?  Well, it shows me all that unless you are hiding. 

Many people don't realize they are short-circuiting everyone's ability to easily find their blog/website because this information is not up to date.  When I see a new follower over there, I click on their thumbnail and hopefully find a link to their blog so I can go visit their blog too.  If I want to contact them about their blog, I look for a link to their email address there too.  But if they have not updated their information, our ability for future networking ends right there.  You're visiting blogs to socialize, so lets make it easier to do.

Updating your information is really easy. 

1.) First, click on your own thumbnail (that hopefully is there because you are now following me).  When the pop up box opens, do you see a link to your blog/website?  If not then click on your profile name (to the right of your profile picture, or stock silhouette if you haven't added a picture yet).

2.) Next, click the "Edit Profile" button in the upper right corner of the new page that opened.

Under "Privacy" check the boxes to 'share my profile', 'show my email' (this is optional, you can leave it unchecked, but enter your email so I can contact you even if I can't see your email address), 'show my blog', etc.

3.) Scroll on down and fill out the "Identity" information.

4.) Add a profile picture...either of yourself or your blog picture.

5.) Go on down the page and enter your blog/website URL

6.) Fill in any of the other information that you are comfortable sharing, then go to the bottom and hit the "Save" button.

Now when I click on your thumbnail picture over there in the right column...I will be able to see you (or your blog picture), and I can easily go visit your blog/website!  This is what online social networking is all about.  You visit my blog, I visit yours...we become virtual 'chicken keeping friends!'


GFC is only one place that your profile helps bring people to your blog/website, so go visit any other places where you have profiles that need updated with your blog url such as Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, etc...

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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Planting in the Raised Bed Garden

The weather finally warmed up enough to start planting in my raised bed garden I built last month (see how I built it here).  I went to one of my favorite nurseries and picked up half a truckload of 'Super-Soil", organic compost and manure.  They were very nice in helping me figure out how much of everything and in what portions I would need based on the dimensions of my raised bed.  We literally filled half of the back of our 8' pick-up bed with soil & materials.  Then it was my job to shovel all of this into the garden bed...however it was 50 feet away and over a fence so I could not simply back the truck up to it.  So I had to get creative...

I pulled a bunch of plastic storage tubs out of my garage (I use these for so many things!).  Then I placed two of them side-by-side on my Farm & Ranch Steel Utility Cart that I had just recently purchased.  It is rated to hold 400lbs and this heavy dirt was a true test of its ability (and it performed wonderfully).  After the 2 tubs were full I pulled the cart over to my fenced in dog run where I built my raised bed garden frame. I repeated this for 16 tubs worth!!!  I filled the garden frame with layers of super soil, then compost, then manure and mixed each layer a bit before beginning the next set of layers.  Once it was full I let it sit a few days to warm up in the sun.

On the weekend I was ready to start planting my seedlings that I started in my mini hothouse indoors.  I planted some Okra, Watermelon, Cucumber, and two kinds of Squash.  I watered them by hand with a light sprinkle the first day, then set up my automatic sprinkler the next day.  The reason I built the raised bed inside the dog run is because I figured the fence and dogs would keep deer, javelina, and rabbits from eating my veggies. To keep my dogs and cats from getting up in the bed, to see what I had been working on, I wrapped some chicken wire around the tops of the blocks, about 12-18 inches above the blocks.

The next morning I went out to look at my new little garden and discovered that one of the cats or dogs had climbed up on the wire and ate the tops off of most of my plants!?!  I wrapped another round of chicken wire around the top of the first row of wire to make the fencing 3 feet above the top of the blocks and they still got in!  I was getting so mad at them now.  Thank goodness I still had some seeds left so I was able to replant the veggies, but this was going to have to stop or I would not have a garden at all this year.

With some investigative work by my husband and I, we discovered that the cats were most likely the culprits.   Prior to planting the seedlings in the garden I had allowed the cats to come and go from the kennel area through a small opening at the bottom of the gate.  But when I started planting I didn't want any critters coming in that opening so I closed it off.  When I did this, the cats could no longer get out to roam (they wouldn't jump the 4' chainlink fence) so they were stuck inside the fenced area and apparently got bored...so they explored my garden and ate my plants.  So I weighed the risks and re-opened the gap in the gate for the cats.  No more visitors in my garden since.

Now that the cat issue was resolved my garden has begun to grow again.  I had to add some mulch to the garden because the wind (it is always windy here) was drying out my dirt.   Now the plants have no one eating them and they are staying wet longer between waterings, so they are happily thriving.  I have added a few more seeds directly in the garden which are coming up nicely.  You can see that I have different stages of the same plants like my squash because the cats ate half of them so I had to replant.  Here are my plants so far.

New Zucchini seedlings I planted to replace the ones eaten. Older Zucchini that survived the cats are also in picture.

Brand new cucumber seedlings restarted.

New Roma Tomato seedlings (needing thininng).

New Watermelon (second planting)

Bell Peppers that were not eaten by the cats.

 

See the tiny baby 'Okra bloom' already?

Have your started your garden yet?  What are you growing?

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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