So Long, Soot

This weekend saw a change in our flock: Soot has gone to a new home.

Soot with my other market goodies: she was not at all sure what was going on and had plenty to say about it.

We continue to debate about bringing any of our hens with us on our voyage west. I think we've decided that Belina is coming with us. Belina is our big, puffy, personable Buff Orpington who is the subject of a childrens book i'm writing. She's just too sweet and too easily harassed to be left behind. She's also the reason Soot was the first to go. Soot was our favorite pullet: beautiful, full of things to say (she makes the sweetest little sounds) and an excellent layer. She's also what we liked to call "the enforcer." She's in charge of alerting about danger, and ruling hte roost. Poor Belina was looking really great while Soot was molting and feeling like poo - and as soon as she was back to feeling herself, Belina was back to having bloody comb at most times and constantly chased about. Soot is a great hen, and she'll be great for our friend Robin who has 6 other hens that will be sure to put "Queen Soot" in her place.

I'm betting that Soot is none too happy right now, being the new girl in an established flock. I'm sure she's getting her share of well placed pecks and comb lacerations, but all is peaceful and serene back at the homestead flock. Three hens are left, and other than a little increase skittishness caused by the lack of their previous leader, all is well for our remaining hens. Belina is standing up a little more proudly. Olive is finding her voice, and BB (the quiet mob boss) is finding her way into the role of head hen.

Why am i in this cage, mom? Will Robin hug me every day like dad does??

BB will be next to go, hopefully to a flock of Chanteclers. Her breed is endangered and i'd love her to assist in propagating it. She's frequently broody and would make a great hen for someone looking to re-establish this rare, heritage breed. We might also leave BB and Olive here for the next owners, but I hate to risk their lives to new chicken owners who might forget to lock them up at night. We have some time to make our decision. For now, i'm enjoying watching the peace and camaraderie.

Have you ever moved (long distance) with hens? Do you have any advice?
This post is pat of the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop - check it out!

Happy Easter

Blooming cacti and squash greet me this cloudy Easter morning.

On to dye some fresh eggs with beets picked from the garden this morning. I'll boil the eggs with the beets and vinegar in the water and hope for color fastness, then have beets for lunch!

The beet greens went to the crock to ferment into pickles: the perfect accompaniment to summer grilling.
Have a lovely holiday, everyone. Are you dying eggs this year? Where did you source your eggs, and what are you dying them with?

Chicken Enthusiasts! C'mon and Get Funky!

That's right, it's that time of year again. It's time for Austin's annual Funky Chicken Coop Tour - the greatest day of the year! Folks from all over Austin come out to wander through their neighbors' back yards and take a gander at the coops and runs they've constructed for their backyard flock. There's always something unique, silly, exciting, inspiring or just plain odd to be seen. Don't miss this year's tour. For all the details visit their blog.

We're not on the tour, but we may come out to see some of our fellow Austinites' creations. I'm pretty satisfied with our chicken tractor and plan on building something similar for our Oregon chickens - but it might be nice to have a stationary house and run to protect them from the wet valley weather.
Go on out and have fun! Feel free to post pictures in the comment section of this post if you go and see anything note worthy!

Eggy-in-a-Basket: A Recipe for Fresh Eggs

I met Foy while in Savannah, GA for graduate school. She's always amazed me with her knowledge of plants and horticulture, and she always brought something scrumptious and homemade to our many potluck dinners. I make a recipe very similar to this, it's especially great when camping. Try it with some cinnamon raisin bread for an awesome sweet/savory combo. Enjoy this post from Foy!

Eggy-in-a-Basket:  A Recipe for Fresh Eggs 

Eggy in a basket was a staple for our two years as Peace Corps Volunteers.  Jeff and I lived without electricity in a tiny rural village up on the continental divide in Panama.  This was our kitchen:

One of our chief luxuries was the stove and oven we ran off a 10 gallon tank of propane. 

While in Panama I learned how to bake simple bread, much like Miranda’s Onion and Herb Bread recipe.  We had neighbors who sold us eggs from their pollos de patio (patio chickens).   At least once a week, we’d make eggy-in-a-basket.  It is such a simple comfort food. 

Back in The States, we live in an apartment with no room for a bevie of backyard beauties like Miranda’s.  I found the next best thing, a country house along my way to work with a sign that reads, “Brown Eggs $2.50 a Doz.”  The yolks of these eggs sit high and pert and are a dark rich marigold color.  Fresh eggs are essential for good eggy-in-a-basket. 

I like my yolks a little runny while Jeff prefers them set but not opaque.  This is how I make eggy-in-a-basket for the two of us. 

I start with a couple thick slices of bread.  They don’t have to be homemade, but you can’t go wrong with fresh bread.

Then poke out the middles out of each slice.  You don’t want to break the ring.  That’s what’s going to keep the egg in place. 

Butter a large skillet with about a half tablespoon of butter.  I use a non-stick skillet, but I bet a cast iron skillet would be divine.  Place the bread in the skillet.  Put the centers you poked out of the bread in there too.  Then crack one egg into each bread ring. 

If you prefer your eggs over hard puncture the yolk.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper then cook the eggs over medium to low heat. 

Flip the eggies over once the albumin of the egg has started to turn solid white, should take one or two minutes.  Continue to let them cook for another minute or so.  I pull mine off the heat a little before Jeff’s because I like dipping the bread center into the soft yoke.  You can tell if the centers have set by prodding the middle.  If it jiggles it’s not set. 

Eggy-in-a-basket is delicious alone or make a meal out of it by adding some veggies.  We had ours with a side of Brussels sprouts pan roasted with onion and bacon.  If you want the recipe hop on over to my blog, Foy Update: Garden. Cook. Write. Repeat. 

I hope you will try eggy-in-a-basket.  They are a simple pleasure and I know you’ll like them. 

Can You Hear the Screaming of the Hens, Clarice?

I happened to be in Buck Moore Feed yesterday and overhead a woman talking with another customer about the noisiness of roosters and the 'pastoral sounds' of hens. I had to interject, saying my hens are PALENTY noisy. She agreed, but her opinion was that their 'noisiness' is more zen like. I had to chuckle.

These girls are NOT feeling very zen like right now:

Scratching, clamouring, clucking and howling. They are very, very, very noisy.

It is spring and my yard needs some grass. They do a very efficient job of consuming all those tender shoots and thus will be confined to their mobile coop for a few weeks. Much to there very, very audible chagrine.

I DO hear the screaming of the hens, Hannibal Lecter. I hear it every morning and so do my neighbors, much to THEIR sometimes audible chagrine.

Good thing we don't have a rooster, ay?
Do your hens cause a ruckous, or are they pastoral, cooing darlings?

RIP Fish

The cold snap has brought more than just frozen plants to our little homestead. I was sad to find 4 dead fishies floating amongst the pond weeds this morning. Luckily, the chickens and the compost heap will utilize their frozen little bodies.

2 fish remain.  May they see long, sunny, warm days ahead.

The snow exposed another threat this past weekend. Raccon:

As far as I can tell, he wandered through the front veggie garden and back into the yard near the chicken coop. As the girls remain unmolested, we can give another thanks to Josh at Mobile Chicken Coops for such a sturdy design.

It is late. I am full of nachos, still. The house must be vacuumed. This Urban Homesteader needs to get off the computer and back to work.         Hasta manana!

Let me know if you'd like me to re-post the recipe for these beauties, along with the delicious bean dip. So good. So much. So full.

Snow Day in Austin!

Gym classes are canceled so i stayed home, made bacon and eggs for breakfast and played with our puppy and hens. The hens are NOT cool with this snow business (they refused to walk around, just stood and stared at their feet in terror), but Pocket sure loves it.
Here are a few cute photos and a video for your enjoyment.

We'll see what, if anything bounces back after this long cold spell. I'm pretty sure the onions and garlic will bounce back and i left one broccoli un-harvested as an experiment.

Alternative To Hay: Nest Box Filler

I occasionally find myself working part time at the lovely Umlauf Sculpture Gardens & Museum. Like many office spaces, the Museum goes through some paper and I'm lucky enough to have access to their shredder - or the results of their shredder, at least.

Straw isn't sold around here, and I hate to use a giant bale of hay that could feed horses and just ends up molding in my carport... Even the $2 bags of scrap hay at Callahan's seem a waste that i can't get through in a cost effective way before they get stale. Leaves are a decent alternative, but it just doesn't seem right to scoop up dirty, buggy leaves off the ground and put those in the ladies' nest boxes.

Belina's looking so healthy lately. Look at that tall, full comb and lovely wattles! She does not, however approve of the leaves.

They are LADIES, after all! Pine shavings work alright, but again: i hate to purchase something that's destined for the compost heap, even if it is to be soft bedding for nutritious eggs first. Cedar shavings are an absolute NOT ALLOWED due to the fumes they give off: can be deadly! Other than that, creativity is welcome and the girls seem to enjoy these paper shreds just fine. They're soft, push aroundable, easy for me to clean up, and are a great alternative use for what would otherwise be wasted.

The ladies inspect and approve of the change. Happy laying, pretty hens. Molting/Winter update: Belina is being a real trooper and laying almost an egg a day, with Olive slowly catching back up. BB's still off, but she's been squatting so i predict eggs in a week. Soot, on the other hand is tail-less, tummy-less, and generally bedraggled and NOT laying.

"Queen Soot" has been showing lovely Belina much more respect lately.

This post can also be found at Simple Lives Thursdays.

Chicken Update

It's been quite some time since i've posted about our hens. I would like to do a more elaborate posting on their health and life stages, but will keep it short today. I keep an 'egg log' to track how many eggs each hen lays per week, and it is looking pa-rit-tyyyyy bare these days. Nary an egg in over a week. Our Australorp was our last trooper, holding out even during her ridiculous molt with an egg about every other day. Our Wyandotte was first runner up, but even both of them have stopped laying. Our Buff has started squatting again, so I'm hopeful that they'll turn things around and start earning their keep. I could use some scrambled eggs for lunch about now!


Make a gif

It's Winter in Austin, which doesn't feel much different than Spring of Fall and we don't really need to 'Winterize' our coops. Even in the coldest climates chickens can fare pretty well on their own as long as they have A. Plenty of water B. A draft free place to take shelter and C. Plenty of food with supplemental fat. I give our girls scratch on the chilly days to warm up their metabolisms and i covered their open-air coop with plastic last year since they were pullets without their true downy feathers grown in.  Open air coops are really the best housing for any climate because they allow plenty of circulated air to flow about, minimizing smell and disease, and keep things cool in the Summer. The girls all pile into the nest boxes on chilly nights (which i'm SO happy to clean out in the morning, gross) and their warm feathers do all the insulating they need. Roosters can suffer from frostbite on their combs and wattles in very cold climates because they do not tuck their heads while sleeping.

Belina gave us another scare earlier this year. We went out of town for my Grandmother's 90th birthday and left the chickens cooped up the whole time we were gone. Belina (the Buff Orpington) has been slowly demoted to 4th hen and when cooped up isn't allowed at the food and is pecked at and harassed constantly by evil Queen Soot (despite BB the Chantecler being #1 amiga). We returned from our trip to find a pale, very skinny, bedraggled Belina in place of the big, sassy, fat and happy hen we'd left. I'm happy to say that the last few months have been good to her, she's fitter than ever though her comb is still chalky and she still gets kicked around quite a bit.

Hens on the porch = lots of messy poop and potted citrus shown disrespect

Pocket and the chickens have been getting along quite well lately. She rarely chases any but BB who seems to enjoy teasing her, though she does eat a bit more chook poo than i'd like. I mean that CAN'T be good for her, no matter how delicious she seems to think it is. Just this morning all 4 girls were in individual holes taking dust baths. When i let Pocket out she strolled up to them, gave Soot a little sniff and strolled along again. I've even seen Pocket laying down with a dust bathing chicken right next to her. Just another chicken.

I haven't noticed many mites, lice, or other problems with the flock lately. I worry about the chalkiness of their combs, but not enough to do any research about it. I dust their nest boxes with diatomaceous earth whenever i change them to prevent nasty bugs, and i give them poultry vitamins in the water every once in a while for good measure. Otherwise, they pretty much manage themselves. We let them out, feed and water them, say hi occasionally and lock them back up at dusk. Chickens are sure easy going pets. I say that now, before i'm trying to move across state lines with them.... hmmm.........

Don't Forget the Birds

One of the things i love about living in Austin is getting to see cardinals and mockingbirds. We had cardinals growing up in Connecticut but lived in a cardinal-free zone up in Merrill, Oregon. I just love seeing their red flashy selves darting about in the barren Winter trees. Mockingbirds came into my life when i lived in Savannah, Georgia. I often heard their adapted calls, just like car alarms. Sad.

Birds bring beauty to the Winter landscape when most other plants are grey and sleepy. I can't afford to feed my local birds seed this year, but i often see "Thump" our resident mockingbird (or his wife or son or who knows, they all look the same) hopping about in my garlic patch or amongst the gorgeous Winter pansies - coming out with a big ole bug. Way to go, Thump!

One thing that every gardener can afford to provide their local birds is fresh water. Like most critters, and people, staying hydrated is important for staying healthy throughout the seasons. A simple bird bath, pot dish, or pie pan filled with water could be the key to the birds' survival. Be sure to crack off ice in the morning and refill with fresh, unfrozen water if you live in a colder climate - or if you live here in the land of eternal Autumn, clear out those nasty leaves.

My pretty bird bath when it was clean and new.

Water is also important for the lizards and toads, ladybugs and butterflies, and of course the farm animals like chickens. Your chickens can survive most temperatures without much protection, as long as they have protection from the wind and plenty of clean water. They'll drink more water during times of heat and cold, so don't forget to check that waterer daily, and clean out any messes or algae buildup. Cider vinegar or poultry vitamins can be added periodically to keep your chooks feeling their best. 

Soot is definitely a 'high tea' sort of chicken

Keep those local birds coming back to your garden by providing plenty of fresh water, and you'll have lovely color to look at all year 'round.

Do you have a fancy bird bath, or do you use simpler methods for providing water to the local birds?

This post can also be seen on Simple Lives Thursdays

Salmon Dog Treats

I'm starting to think i should rename this blog " An Austin Doghouse "
But she's just so darned cute and fun to watch wag her tail. I'll probably stop posting dog treat recipes soon, as really they're mostly the same - mush together ingredients that are good for and tasty to your dog, bake until done. Avoid whole wheat flour, soy, sugar and salt, and you're set! Most of the bickies i make for my dog are just as tasty to me as to her, though perhaps a bit 'pungent' - it's a good rule of thumb, though to only use food ingredients you too would eat. You can use regular human cookie and cracker recipes and sub in dog ingredients, or just mix up random glops of foods that will at least adhere together and bake until firm.

Salmon Treats:

• One can of salmon, with juice and nasty skin/bone chunks
• Some Rye flour (could use rice or potato as well) enough to absorb the liquid
• Brewer's yeast, about 3 Teaspoons or more (repels fleas and is generally good for you)
• 1 Teaspoon baking powder

Mush, spread on a sheet, score for easy baking, bake at 350 for 30 or so minutes. Mine ended up quite soft, i could have baked longer for crispier cookies. I'll be storing these in the freezer to avoid any molding, so that should crisp them up enough and be pleasing on bloody, missing puppy-teeth sockets.
**Tip - for easy spreading, place a sheet of saran wrap on top of the glop in the pan and mush to an even thickness - this salmon mixture will stick to any spoon or roller you may try to use.

Pocket still likes the vegetarian pumpkin treats i made her - but these ones REALLY get her attention: excellent training treats.

Speaking of training, just as an update on the goings on of the homestead: we've been raising Pocket to coexist with our chickens, and help herd them into the coop on occasion. She's now going through adolescence, and while she's the most well mannered puppy i've ever had, she has taken to chasing the chickens some when we aren't inviting it. That's no good. We want no dead chickens around here! We've found a great herding instructor north of town and may begin lessons with her - but there comes a point when you have to decide if you want your dog to be a worker or a friend. We want Pocket to be a friend, to us and all our animals. But we'd also like some help encouraging the animals to move in certain places occasionally - i hope the trainer will still consider giving us the skills we'll need to direct her movements, despite not dedicating Pocket's life to separation from all livestock until time to work them, which is the nature of a working herding dog.

In the meantime, i'm revamping my efforts to train to coexist. Pocket has a long line i attach her to in the backyard: any sign of a chicken chase is thwarted instantly and we work on calm training instead. I use the smelly yummy treats to get her focus, call the chickens to me and have her practice her sits and downs and high fives. Once calmed, she's usually fine to not chase them for a while - any raucous play and fetching happens away from the chickens to get the excitement out without involving them. A chased chicken is not a happy chicken, and they're already hot, molting and exhausted in this late summer weather.

I hope to find a balance with our dog: a friend and hiking partner foremost with some helping paws when needed. I think i have the affinity for animals and ability to communicate with Pocket clearly enough that my goals will be met - but she is a predator and i will never take her for granted around such edible pets as my girls.

Laying around in the heat. Yes, chickens do pant.

Do you have livestock or pet chickens? Do you have a family dog that interacts with your animals, if so - does it act as guardian, colleague, or predator?

A Winner Has Been Chosen!

Ready,

Set,

Go!

I decided to have my hens do the choosing. I laid out the numbers, somewhat randomized in chalk on the 'porch' and let the hens go at it. Pocket stayed inside to observe.

There was one near hit:

Not close enough to call - i want CONTACT

And then Soot named the winner:

LUCKY NUMBER 40! THAT'S YOU, allisonsbj3!

Thank you to all who commented, especially my new readers. I hope you stick around for many more recipes, gardening tips, and other factoids pulled from my brain, research and experiences. I love my loyal readers too: thank you for joining me during this first year and i hope you'll stick around for another. Today is my first blogversary, i hope to have many more!

  I think Soot is a bit shy, having her 'unmentionables' caught on camera!