First you need to know that I raise chickens, and have for the past 30 years. I do not look like this, although I do have roses growing in the Shed Bed, next to the hen house. Peggy Ornstein in The New York Times today talks about "femivorism" and the part chickens play. I did not get my chickens because I thought it was part of good parenting practice. My five children were teenagers or older by the…
There were frosts and snows here in Heath, but in between we have been having the most delightful weather. Sun and warmth are such blessings at this time of the year that every ordinary (quotidian) task brings an awareness of the pleasures of the earth. I have my morning routine, beginning with feeding and watering the chickens who are enjoying this weather even though it does not prompt them to lay eggs. I'm down to two or three…
Rory has come to visit during school vacation and the chores begin. We found out the worms are not dead after all. At least not all of them, so we have to feed them eggshells to help reproduction, and squash flesh and seeds. If you look really closely you can see a couple of worms in their last meal. We also saw very very tiny worms, so I guess the eggshells work. We are not the only ones…
The day old Americauna chicks we got the first of June have matured and are finally laying eggs!I have always been amazed that Auracaunas which origninated in Mexico did so well in our cold climate. I guess they have been slightly hybridized because the name has changed in the Murray McMurray catalog. We have had many breeds of chicken over the past 25 years, Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Silver Laced Wyandottes and even a few…