Spring Chicks 2015

Spring chicks are a happy event at Red Bucket Farm. Some years we obtain chicks from a local hatchery so that we can drive over and pick them up. This year we opted for more unusual breeds, so we ordered from My Pet Chicken. Our chicks hatched on April 6 and arrived by USPS on April 8.

Baby chicks are packaged carefully with a gel heat pack, but it's a difficult trip. All of our little ones were alive upon arrival, but we lost one within 24 hours. It was disappointing but not unexpected. The plumage (really it's fluff) of little chicks doesn't necessarily reflect their mature colors, so it can be difficult to ascertain which breed is which. We think the one that died immediately was a Partridge Plymouth Rock.

The new chicks are now three weeks old. They live in their brooder box in the basement. A heat lamp keeps them nice and warm. We refill water and food regularly, and check for vent blockage to make sure all systems are operating properly. (That's a nice way of saying that we check for poopy butts.)

This particular flock has seemed more flighty than previous flocks. We suspect that our choice of breeds may be playing into this. We decided to try Light Brown Leghorn, Exchequer Leghorn, Buff Chantecler, Silver Cuckoo Marans and Ancona as new breeds. Some of these breeds have a reputation for nervousness and flightiness.

Late last night I removed their water and stepped to the sink to refill. The girls were scrambling around in their brooder box in their usual panicky manner. Suddenly I heard a loud squawk and returned to find one little chick laying on her side, evidently paralyzed. She died in a minute. It's a mystery to us. Did she have a heart attack or aneurysm? Can a flighty chick die of a panic attack? We think the victim was either the Exchequer Leghorn or the Ancona.

We always order extra chicks so our flock will be strong enough to survive winter. Perhaps we'll try the new breeds again next, or maybe we'll just stick with the hardy heritage breeds. Stay tuned.

Ordering Chicks: Which Breeds?

So you'd like to order a few backyard chicks and you don't know where to start? First, decide why you want to raise chickens. Do you want to raise eggs, meat or both? Are you interested in showing chickens competitively? Do you want full sized hens or the smaller bantams?

Here at Red Bucket Farm, we've concentrated on winter-hardy egg laying hens. We always have one or two hybrids---Red Star or Golden Comet---bred for excellent laying capabilities. These girls keep us in eggs all winter long. We also have a few dual purpose hens. These birds lay well but also dress out nicely for the table, hence their dual purpose. We've had Delaware and Dominique, both heritage breeds, as well as Plymouth Rocks (Barred and Partridge--these are color variations), Wyandotte, Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, and Speckled Sussex. We also have had an unusual Delaware-Buckeye hybrid that produce eggs like crazy! Later in life, our dual purpose birds arrive at their other purpose: soup.

We've never raised meat birds (Cornish X) because they are bred to be grossly breast-heavy, aggressive feeders that require exclusive quarters. They grow quickly and are butchered in 12-16 weeks. They don't get along well with dual purpose birds and can't be raised together.

When researching breeds, don't forget to consider winter hardiness and temperament. Some birds are happier in confinement than others. Certain breeds are more gentle or aggressive than others. Eventually, you make a decision and get started.

I've ordered my chicks and I'm excited to start my new babies. I included another Easter Egger for green eggs. We're trying a new (to us) breed, the popular Black Australorp. And we're going for a Silver Laced Wyandotte so that our farm has a new glamour girl. Finally, we're raising a few extra dual purpose White Plymouth Rocks for meat. This is a new effort for us because purchasing organic chicken is so expensive.

The new chicks will arrive in a week or so. Stay tuned for updates and get your order in soon!  

Egg Production Increase

At long last, all our hens are back in production! Crocus the Easter Egger laid a beautiful green egg this morning, her first egg since October 26. Her molt took a looong time and she's very well rested. Daisy the Delaware lays a shiny medium brown egg nearly every day, and Squill the Speckled Sussex lays a perfect tan egg several times a week. The Buckeye-Delaware hybrids lay dark brown eggs just like clockwork. Since beginning artificial lighting in mid-January, our egg production has increased from zero eggs per week to two dozen eggs per week. The hens are more active, look healthy and talk happily when we step outside. Remember, folks, it's not the snow that effects egg production, it's all about light.

Talkin' Turkey

Years ago, my mother-in-law would roast wild game for Thanksgiving dinner. Each year was a little different---wild goose, turkey, or pheasant---depending on what my father-in-law had successfully hunted that fall. I suspect this is how our forbears celebrated Thanksgiving, serving whatever had been harvested.

Each year, millions of turkeys are raised in industrial conditions for consumption at the holidays. The birds have been bred for extra large breasts, so large that they may not even be able to stand up. They are grown quickly in very crowded conditions, and fed genetically modified corn and soy products. Not surprisingly, they don't taste anything like wild game or pasture raised birds.

Last year we decided to support a local turkey farmer. We placed an order for a pastured raised heritage breed turkey, and I drove 20 miles to the small market to pick up the bird. I seem to recall that it cost five or six dollars a pound, so even a small turkey was a hefty $50. The flavor was pretty fabulous.

This year we're hosting a larger crowd and we simply can't afford to purchase a heritage breed turkey large enough for the family. But I also couldn't bring myself to buy an industrial bird. We found a compromise at the local grocery store---a frozen turkey grown by an organic farm cooperative. It's not quite as local as last year's bird, but at $3.99 a pound, I can afford it and still support a farmer in my state.

Before you buy a Thanksgiving turkey, I urge you to ponder all your options. Happy Thanksgiving!

New Pullets

Welcome, Thelma and Louise! These two girls are a Delaware-Buckeye hybrid, recently acquired from an area farmer. I love their bright yellow legs! They have rather small combs ("pea comb") that may develop a bit more as they reach maturity. Their tails are still a little stumpy but are likely to fill out. Since the girls are only about three months old, we'll wait a little bit before they begin to lay eggs.

The Delaware breed is designated as a heritage breed. The birds are white, winter hardy and lay large brown eggs. The Buckeye breed was developed in Ohio from a Rhode Island Red. The Stoughton-area farmer who bred Thelma and Louise is hoping for very hardy birds that lays plenty of rich, brown eggs.

Incorporating pullets into an established flock is a little tricky. The older birds don't exactly roll out the red carpet. Thelma and Louise are keeping a low profile, sometimes perching on elevated roosting spots that the big girls can't quite access. It can be a bit of a circus, and Louise (with the pink leg band above) tends toward the dramatic.

Stay tuned for more updates on the transition in our small flock.

2011 Chickens in Review

We pause at the end of the calendar year to reflect on the changes at Red Bucket Farm. Specifically, we realize how much fun we've had raising chickens, and how much we've learned about them.

We began the year with four pullet hens about 8 months old. Rosie the Redstar, Hyacinth the Easter Egger, Wisteria the Columbian Wyandotte, and Delphinium the Dominique were our very first chickens. Rosie was a champion egg layer, followed by Hyacinth. Delphinium took a winter vacation between Dec 4, 2010 and Jan 17, 2011, refusing to lay eggs in the darkest part of winter. Wisteria was late to contribute to egg production, but we still managed to gather 73 eggs during January.

February began peacefully, but a terrible cold snap of sub-zero weather nearly took Hyacinth's life. We brought her indoors for a day or so to warm up, but returning her to the flock revealed the extreme bullying behavior of Delphinium. We reluctantly found a new home for Delphinium, who left us on Valentine's Day. Hyacinth took a while to recover from the trauma and didn't lay eggs from Feb. 9-25. Miraculously, we still gathered 61 eggs that month.

In March we fenced in the chicken yard so the girls could spend more time outdoors without our constant supervision. Rosie, Wisteria and Hyacinth produced a whopper 81 eggs that month, which averages to 27 eggs per hen---pretty good considering these are not production birds. At the end of March, we acquired six new baby chicks: Daisy the Delaware, Crocus the Easter Egger, Poppy the Partridge Plymouth Rock, Petunia the Barred Plymouth Rock, Rhoda the Rhode Island Red, and Squill the Speckled Sussex.

April was a hectic month as we tended to the new chicks as well as the mature hens, who gave us 77 eggs for the month. On April 9 we removed the winter wrappings around the coop, and soon realized that it was a bit too soon. The girls survived the chilly month, but we'll be more cautious to protect them longer in future springs.

In May we moved the brooder box from the home office (not recommended!) to the garage. We began the ritual of carrying the chicklets to the yard every morning where we provided a decent day shelter, and then carrying them back up the hill to the garage for secure night shelter. The three hens provided 78 eggs in May, and an additional 74 eggs in June.

In July we removed the fence in the chicken yard which divided the pullets from the hens, and soon after we stopped bringing the pullets to the garage for separate sleeping quarters. It was an awkward transition in spite of weeks of watching each other through the fence. Also, extremely hot weather caused a reduction in egg production, as the mature hens struggled to give 69 eggs for the month.

In August, the pullets began laying eggs. Production increased to 92 eggs for the month. The chickens still lived relatively segregated, with the six pullets flocking together and staying distinctly apart from the three older hens. In spite of the tension between the two flocks, life remained relatively peaceful in the chicken coop. We learned to trim flight feathers to keep the girls inside the chicken yard, mostly for their own protection.

By September, it seemed that most of the pullets were maturing into good egg layers. We collected 151 eggs for the month, but this signaled the beginning of chicken wars as the older hens worked to maintain their pecking order over the pullets. We experienced much more excitement than necessary: Rhoda's left eye was pecked and she lost sight in that eye completely.

Petunia's comb was pecked and wouldn't stop bleeding, requiring a visit to my neighborhood veterinarian, whom I'm certain thinks of me as the Crazy Chicken Lady. We installed new and improved nest boxes to help reduce aggression.

Tension settled down in October, when we gathered 169 eggs. At this point, it became impossible to ascertain which hen was laying which eggs. On Oct. 29 we wrapped the coop in 6 mil plastic to protect them from wind, rain and snow for the duration of the winter. They still have access to the outdoors, but they can wander in and out as they choose.

In early November, we began to witness the beginning of molt season. Wisteria dramatically lost most of her feathers in a matter of a few days. She hasn't laid eggs since early November because the molt takes most of her energy. Hyacinth began to molt a few weeks later. In spite of molting, we still managed to collect 129 eggs for the month.

December has been a mild and quiet month. The girls produced 100 eggs this month. Throughout the year, Rosie the Redstar has been our most reliable egg layer, and she is still clearly the leader of the flock. At the beginning of the year, Rosie rarely took a day off, perhaps once every month or three. Now she takes a day off each week. Although she produces slightly fewer eggs, they have grown to extra-colossal-jumbo size. Our total egg count for 2011 is 1,154.

Although we have no regrets for growing our flock, it seems unlikely that we will attempt to blend two flocks again. The process has been labor intensive and more violent than we imagined. Still, we have loved knowing the personality of each bird, and the reward of growing our own food is significant.

Here at Red Bucket Farm, we're grateful for the blessings of 2011 and we look forward to new adventures in 2012. From our farm to yours, we wish you all the best in the New Year!

Heritage Turkey

It's the time of year when many of us roast a turkey or two for holiday dinners. This year we did some research and became more informed consumers before purchasing.

Did you know that turkeys sold in common grocery stores are not able to breed normally? The Broad Breasted White turkey has been cross bred to such an extreme it can no longer copulate. This breed will grow breast meat so large and heavy that the bird can't breed and sometimes can't stand on its own legs. All the eggs are artificially inseminated, and all the turkeys are raised in large commercial factories in confinement production.

The good news is that there are options available if you're willing to look. Thanks to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, there are a few farmers willing to keep the endangered breeds alive. Interest from the Slow Foods USA movement is raising awareness among the public.

We ordered our Thanksgiving turkey (a Bourbon Red) from a local farmer who raises meat animals in open pasture. We'll admit it was pricey----at $6/pound, it makes even a small turkey a rather large investment. We roasted our nine pound turkey outside on the grill over smoking hickory chips and stuffed with apples and rosemary. The meat was moist and delicious, and there was far more dark meat than a commercial bird. We enjoyed every bite of it, and then boiled the carcass for soup broth.

We've considered raising our own turkeys, but it's not a good idea to raise chickens and turkeys on the same property because of disease control. Besides, it's not entirely legal in my municipality. So for now, we'll pay the extra money to support our local farmers who are working hard to preserve heritage breeds.