Jump Start on Spring Chores

2C is absolutely insane in Ottawa (we're zone 5b) it should be -20c, or less with the wind chill. So I took full advantage of the warm weather on Monday since hubs was home to watch the kids (holiday).

 Why my muscles hate me today!

The deep litter worked quite well, in some areas more the others. There was a lot of build up under the water buckets, but that's also were the litter was the most decomposed. I think for next year I'll water the litter and see if that helps it along. I'm also trying to think of a way to add some worms to the litter (since we can't have any come up through the dirt, it's a concrete floor) but the chickens will just eat them all.

 The goats are "helping" again. 

We got all these wood-chips from hydro when they trimmed back all the trees around us. Be careful what you wish for because we ended up with 3 giant piles! The ones of the farthest left and right are great, very nice chips. The pile in the middle has a lot of greenery in it, so it's composting and steaming quite a bit.

It was the middle pile I used for the chicken coop, mostly because I needed to break that pile up before the wood chars.

The goats are quite happy to help clear out the pile, judging by my "goat pruned" trees around here, they really love a little evergreen in their diet.

 This is the first time I've walked into the chicken coop and thought it smelled really good! The chips are mostly cedar so it's quite nice in there. The chickens seem very happy with their new bedding, and I really quite like it as a flooring too. Maybe not quite as warm as the straw that was down before, but we'll see. It's already composting well too so it's warm just from that.

Happy Chickens

And because that wasn't enough work

I also removed the 1-2' of deep litter from the pig pen. That was a lot of work. Lots & lots of very wet and composting straw and old hay. Plus I started just before their dinner time I was navigating very heavy fork-fulls around annoyed goats.

I used the mostly chip pile to fill up their pen with just a few inches of bedding. Pigs are so clean I can easily scoop out the back 4" of their pen every now and then over the summer to keep the whole pen clean. Then I threw some hay into the sty for them to make a new bed for themselves. They seem to eat quite a bit of the hay as well as sleeping under it, so I really think it's a good thing to keep giving them and they only take a few flakes a week.

Weather

As a true and patriotic Canadian, I feel like I'm not complaining about the weather enough.

I never thought there was a combination of rain & snow that could actually make me yearn for the bitterly cold years we've had the last 2 winters, but I've found it.

The entire barnyard is a skating ring covered by about 1" of snow. So I look like a penguin while gingerly carrying feed (or eggs) back and forth with my arms out for balance. I'm quite sure I'd get my chores done very quickly if I just strapped my skates on to do it.

The horses both have a lovely thick coat on them, but it's much harder for all of us to endure those -35C with windchill nights, when it was -8C a day before. -15C is about my limit for enjoying the weather, anything past -30C and I'm hiding in the house.

I love winter, I really enjoy getting bundled up and going out to work outside. You reach a really nice internal temperature where you're just warm & cosy instead of sweaty, sticky and gross.The fresh snow gives the farm a beautiful and very clean look, and there is no mud.

But I hate ice. Not only is it far too dangerous for me to take the horses out for a ride, but I've noticed they are sticking to well worn paths in the paddocks.

The goats, are even staying inside the barn!

Right now, I'd take just about anything else over the weather we've been having so far. With 6C (!!!) temperatures forecast for tomorrow, at least the rain has been called off, looks like it's not going anywhere.

3 more months till spring...

The end of the world as we know it?

We're one of the lucky ones, hubs with a really stable job in a growing & busy industry. But with all the economic doom and gloom what are some simple things you can do to help your family become more self-sustaining?

1. Buy Chickens
6 months - for 2 years you should get 6 eggs/7 days out of a healthy hen. Yes, there can be bi-laws if you live in the city, but most of these are changing. Hens generally do not make a lot of loud noises (although some do sing after they lay). It is also very possible to keep chickens indoors in a large enclosure. Quail are generally not banned anywhere because they are not chickens, although you may need a special permit. Layer feed costs about $12 for a large bag, and you can (and should) supplement your chickens with kitchen scraps and weeds. Bantam chickens are small, they produce smaller eggs as well, but they also need less space & less food.

2. Start a Garden
$100 worth of seeds from a large internet provider will supply you with a huge garden with tons of varieties and more produce then your family can eat. You don't need to spend even that much money, you can get last year's seeds from the dollar store or big department store, for very inexpensively. You won't get as high a yield (not as many of them will be 'good' seeds) but the veggies won't be any different. You can also ask any veggie gardeners you know, and yes you can grow from things you buy at the grocery store. Once you've got your garden going, you can learn to save seeds and not have to buy year to year.

3. Learn to Cook
Want to make bread for less then $1 a loaf? Something that is fresher and tastier then you can get at the store. Cooking is time consuming especially when you're first learning, but when we can go to McDs for $25 for dinner, or I can make a huge, simple, steak dinner for less then $15; what would you rather eat?

Lastly, as the holiday season is quickly approaching, many people appreciate home made gifts. Just make sure all the wood for your cutting boards doesn't split because it dried out too fast leaving you with a last minute scramble...

Good Day, Bad Day.

Today was a bad day.

I lost my favourite little chicky (my little penguin) when he fell into the chicken's water bucket. We've had chickens (meaties) drown in other waterers before, but that bucket has been in the coop through lots of chicks and this has never happened. I was in there at noon and forgot to check the chick's water, the bigger chickens must have drained it & little penguin got thirsty.

If nothing else, I learn from my mistakes, and hubs is picking up a proper waterer on the way home today. I was hoping to set up an elaborate rain catch & drip-water system. That's not happening any time soon, so in the mean time we won't loose any more chicks.

Coco officially abandoned her nest. There was one cold morning she got off to eat & the BPR took over to lay an egg, and then Coco did not return to her nest. The eggs hadn't cooled off too badly so I was hoping they'd survive, but it looks like none of them did. Coco kicked an egg out yesterday, then two more this morning, and left the last 3 this afternoon. She's back to being a normal chicken and I dismantled the nest.

I wouldn't let her go broody for at least a few weeks because she needs to get back to a good condition; and then the weather is going to be way too cold (November chicks was kind of pushing it). So the soonest we'll let her hatch more is early spring. We'll see what she thinks of that plan.

Out of about 2 dozen eggs we got 6 chicks and I'm starting to re-examine my hen-hatching plan in favour of an incubator... well not really. Selecting for a good chick raising instinct is really important to me, but those are some frustrating numbers!

Instead of removing the dog kennel I set up a creep for the chicks. Now they can access their feed and water where the adult chickens can't reach it.

The other bad news is that someone is eating my chicken eggs. It started before the new chickens arrived, so it's not them. I'm moderately sure it's the turkeys. I have been going in there to collect eggs as frequently as possible (usually 4-5 times a day) so they don't get a chance, but they got another one today. That means I need to separate the turkeys, egg eating is very difficult to stop once it starts, and I don't want to the hens getting any smart ideas.

No idea where I might put the turkeys for the winter... so this could prove challenging.

Good news on the turkey front is that they were looking a little wormy, ruffled feathers so of shrunk up posture, but I locked them in the feed-room of the coop (where they may have to stay) with turkey feed & a whole lot of Diatomaceous earth and they look great!

We're still getting a dozen or so eggs every day out of the coop, most are xl & jumbo so I'm on the hunt for some bigger egg cartons. Hubs should also be picking up our regular sized cartons on the way home today, and I'll be glad to get all my bowls back since they're in my fridge holding eggs.