Waking up to spring on the Homestead

It was so beautiful out this morning that I had to grab my camera and go for a walk with Emma kitty. Here are a few shots of what spring looks like on the homestead.

I have a busy weekend ahead, but I'm so glad I was able to carve out a little time to be creative. I feel like it is so important to have unstructured "play" time to recharge. And for me, there's no better way to recharge than this. Nature, animals, photography...give me those three things and I'm a happy girl!

~Tammy

Mother Nature

Here in Missouri, it's not uncommon to have wild swings in temperatures. Case in point - just ten short days ago, David and I snuck away to the Lake of the Ozarks with some friends and were enjoying 70 degree weather.

Our private dock on the Lake.

We caught up around a bonfire at the lake's edge at night, feeling comfortable in light clothing.

Today, this is the reality in our part of Missouri.

That's me, under about twenty layers of clothing. We ended up with 11 inches of snow, and this morning when I woke up the temperature was -10. That's not the wind chill, that's the actual temperature!

The chickens and Emma kitty are not coming out of the coop, and who could blame them. I have been refreshing their water every several hours and taking the chickens hot oatmeal and scrambled eggs to warm their crops. Baby is hanging out in the garage and the indoor cats are watching all the action from the warm house.

Duchess is built for this weather, so she is having a blast running around in the snow. I do put her in the coop at night as well since it's getting so cold, but during the day she is out and about.

The guineas, hardy as ever, are just fine as long as they have a perch to rest on. Some of them have found their way to the coop, but others are still outside like this old timer.

We're all hanging in there, but not exactly happy! It seems the snow is here to stay as the forecast does not show us getting above freezing at all, so we'll just have to get used to it for now. As I say nearly each year, spring can't come soon enough!

Have you been buried in snow this winter?

~Tammy

Feathered Friend Friday: Happy Girls

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with facts, photos, or stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the FFF posts here. 

Now that spring is officially here (woohoo!) I can tell the girls have a little extra pep in their step. It's easy to see that they are thrilled with the warmer weather. They can barely wait to get out of their coop in the morning, and they don't want to go back in at night. We humans are ecstatic with the warmer weather, but our feathered friends are happy as well!

It's still very brown out here, but there are small signs of green popping up around the house. In no time the grass will be back in and the girls will be overjoyed to chomp on fresh greens and catch bugs.

They really are getting back into the groove with their egg laying, and we are collecting around a dozen eggs a day, sometimes as many as 14 eggs from our 16 girls. They are definitely earning their keep!

My favorite thing in the world is sitting outside on a beautiful day while watching my chickens free range and happily scratch through the woods. I am so thrilled that soon I will be able to do just that!

~Tammy

PS - This one goes out to my youngest follower, Grace. Hope you liked this post! :)

Feathered Friend Friday: Chickens And Ice

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with facts, photos, or stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the FFF posts here.    

We haven't had super cold temperatures for a few weeks now (thank goodness), but for most of winter every morning I would have to chip the ice out of the chickens' water pan. It would freeze solid overnight so I'd have to break up the ice and refill with fresh unfrozen water each morning.

For some reason, the chickens always went for the pieces of broken ice first before drinking the actual water. In the dead of winter, they go crazy over ice. Go figure.

Goldie's high stepping cracks me up.

Do you see Emma?

Eventually when they had eaten all the smaller pieces, they headed over to get a drink of water and a bite of food to start off their morning. It was kind of a funny ritual every morning to make me smile when I was freezing while breaking up chunks of ice and dreaming of warmer weather.

Now that we are into weather above the freezing point, I can look back and reminisce at these photos and smile even bigger knowing that soon enough they will be foraging for grass and bugs, not chunks of ice!

~Tammy

Feathered Friend Friday: Goodbye Roosty Roo

You may have noticed there was no FFF last week, and I do apologize for not posting. So much was going on around that time and Roosty was very sick, so I didn't feel right publishing a post on that day.

Around Wednesday of last week, I noticed Roosty wasn't acting like his normal self. He was staying away from everyone and just standing with his head hanging down. On Thursday he was so bad that I decided to bring him into the house to try to figure out what was wrong. By Friday morning, he was lying down and not moving at all. I noticed his breathing was very shallow and I had a feeling that he wasn't going to make it through the day. I stayed with him as long as I could, but I had to go to work. So I said my goodbyes and left him. He was gone by the time I got home that night.

Roosty was supposed to be a girl. We got him at our local feed store in a bin labeled "pullets." But since chick sexing isn't 100% accurate, occasionally a boy gets thrown in the mix as well. At first we were disappointed, but he turned out to be such a sweet boy and fit into the flock well since he was submissive to our head rooster, Cam.

I told David the other day that I am really thankful that we got Roosty, because if someone else got him expecting a girl, when he turned out to be a boy they may have gotten rid of him. I feel like it was meant to be for us to bring him home. 

The one thing that homesteading has taught me which I didn't really expect, is to appreciate the moment because you never know when things will change. With keeping animals, you have to expect that you will lose them at some point. It's one thing to say you realize that, but it's another to actually live it and experience it firsthand. Through all our losses, I am reminded that time with those we love, whether human or animal, is a gift and we need to appreciate it every day.

Homesteading isn't all sunshine and roses, even though sometimes to an outsider it may appear that way. I choose to focus on the positive because that's just my personality, but I feel that it is important to also write about the disappointments because those are just as much a part of the journey as the good times.

~Tammy

Feathered Friend Friday: Random 5

As I've done in the past, today I thought I'd join my friend, Nancy, for a random 5 post about my feathered friends. Today's random 5 is all about eggs!

1. This week two of our hens started laying again after their winter break. Isis (Easter Egger) lays green eggs and Summer (Welsummer) lays dark brown eggs dotted with speckles. It's so thrilling to find the first mint green egg of the season in the nesting box!

2. We sell our eggs for $2 per dozen. For interested potential customers, we like to provide a colorful half-dozen starter pack to try and get them hooked. How could you not love these pretty eggs?

3. Collecting eggs from the nests at the end of the day, bringing them inside and writing the date in pencil on the end of each egg, and arranging them in cartons is one of my favorite things ever.

4. Since we always have access to delicious fresh eggs, you might expect that we eat them at just about every meal. In reality, we don't eat eggs very often. I do bake with them, but we only eat egg dishes every couple months or so.

5. Right now we collect up to seven eggs each day, and I usually put them in my coat pocket for safe keeping until I get back in the house. Several times over the past couple weeks I have accidentally crunched eggs in my pocket. It makes for a pretty gooey mess. Yuck!

~Tammy

Feathered Friend Friday: Beautiful Light

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with facts, photos, or stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the FFF posts here.  

In the summertime, I am constantly taking photos of our chickens. Bright green grass and colorful flowers provide such a gorgeous backdrop to all my pictures. And the chickens just look so darn pretty in the middle of a lush summertime landscape!

This winter has been so stark that I have struggled with taking my camera out to the coop. The past few weeks I've just felt completely uninspired by the lack of color and freezing temperatures. I really missed snapping shots of my girls and boys, so I was searching for any bit of inspiration when this happened.

I noticed the most beautiful light streaming in through the "hay room" where everyone gathered to get a drink and bite to eat early one morning after being let out of the coop. I immediately sprinted back inside the house (careful not to slip on the ice) and grabbed my camera so I could get a couple shots.

One of my favorite things about photography is how I've learned to see things differently and take time to notice what I used to just glance over in my haste. Now I am constantly finding beauty in unexpected places and I feel such a rush when I can capture something in a way that makes others see the beauty in it as well.

So in the dead of winter I may not have a colorful landscape to inspire me, but now I know that if I just keep my eyes and mind open, the light will always find its way back in.

~Tammy

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Feathered Friend Friday: Winter Weary

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with facts, photos, or stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the FFF posts here. 

This winter has obviously been an extreme one for most of us, and we definitely haven't seen a colder winter here in Missouri since we got our first flock of chickens four years ago. The chickens and guineas are hanging in there and being good sports, but I can tell they are getting just a little bit tired of all this wintry weather - just like the humans are.

Last weekend we got some snow as you can see in the photo above, then a couple days later we got a lot of ice on top which has basically turned our world into a giant ice skating rink. The temperature this morning was only seven degrees, so the ice isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The other day I was giggling at the guineas as they were slipping and sliding as they tried to walk across the run, then karma got me back as I found myself falling flat on my butt while trying to feed the chickens. I think the guineas laughed a little bit. Luckily I had tons of layers on so my fall was padded and didn't hurt!

Even in this tough winter, our young hens are amazingly still producing eggs for us. All season long we've been consistently getting between three and six eggs each day, so we have plenty of eggs for us and some to sell which helps with the feed cost. 

For the most part everyone is still in good health, but Cam has developed frostbite on the tips of his comb and wattles because they are so large. And some of the chickens are sneezing and snotting a bit, but hopefully they will clear up when the weather turns a bit warmer.

It will eventually get warmer, right???

~Tammy

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Feathered Friend Friday: Cam The Protector

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with facts, photos, or stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the FFF posts here.

Shortly after moving to our homestead, we decided to get a rooster for our flock. We lived in the city before so only had hens, but being out in the country we wanted a rooster for flock protection and also just because we could! In my opinion, a crowing rooster really makes a homestead so much better.

David teaches music at a rural school with a lot of farm families, so one day he asked his students if anyone had a rooster for sale. The following day, a student brought a young Barred Rock cockerel to school in a pet carrier and he spent all day with David and the kids in the classroom. David brought him home to me that night, and so my love of roosters began.

I know some people have had bad luck with mean roosters, but I'm pleased to say all of my boys are good as long as I know my place and keep my distance. I learned this after Cam began to show signs of aggression towards me when he was about a year old. Anytime I got too close, he would peck at my legs - and peck hard! I learned to respectfully keep my distance, and he has been a gentleman ever since. 

I quickly learned his vocalizations, and can tell if he's calling the girls over for treats or warning them to run for cover because he spots a hawk overhead. It is quite amazing to see him in action and observe how the hens listen to him and respect his command.

He's not a cuddly boy, but that's ok because he is busy taking care of his girls. It works best if I just stand back and let him do the job he was born to do. And he does a great job of protecting the flock. I can safely say we will always have at least one rooster in our flock, and hopefully Cam will be doing his job for many years to come.

~Tammy

Feathered Friend Friday: Coop Ventilation

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.  

Sometimes it can be hard to know if there is adequate ventilation in the chicken coop, but there is one surefire way to tell - your nose. We have been using the deep litter method in our coop for years now and it has always worked out well for us. However, recently the coop has been a little too stinky in the mornings when I let out the chickens. We do have 18 chickens in the coop, so that is a lot of poo overnight! Once I began to detect a hint of ammonia, I knew we did not have enough ventilation and air flow.

To remedy the issue, David got to work with his drill and a 4 1/2" round bit to create ventilation holes at the top of the coop far above the roosts. Placing the ventilation up high ensures that no drafts will hit the chickens while they are roosting overnight.

Instead of just cutting out a large area of the coop, he made lots of these little circles so it would be nearly impossible for potential predators to fit inside. He also stapled some 1/2" hardware cloth on the inside of the coop to cover the holes and keep everything out.

David cut several of these ventilation holes around the top of the coop and they are definitely working because I haven't noticed a smell at all. An added benefit is that they let in extra light. We don't have any windows in the coop (our coop is a transformed garden shed) so it can get dark in there. But now there's a little extra light for us and the chickens. And the circles actually look kind of cute from the outside!

Even though it has been very cold lately (this morning it was 1 degree!) ventilation is still necessary. As long as the chickens stay dry and drafts aren't hitting them directly, they can withstand very cold temperatures. Cutting down the moisture in the coop by adding extra air flow also helps to prevent frostbite because the main culprit in frostbite cases is excess moisture, not cold temperatures.

I think the chickens and our coop kitty, Emma, are enjoying the extra light and the stink-free zone.

How do you add ventilation to your chicken coop?

~Tammy

Shared with Maple Hill Hop 

Feathered Friend Friday: Good Morning Chickies

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here. 

I just love my morning routine. The best part of it is when I get to let the chickens out for the day. I can hear them grumbling and complaining as I reach the coop because they don't like to be locked up for even one minute after the first light.

When I open up the big coop door, I get out of the way lest I'm trampled by the eager hens waiting impatiently just on the other side. The sight of my happy chickens makes me so happy that I can't help but greet them with a joyful "good morning."

The chickens can't wait to come out, and the guineas can't wait to get in and eat some of their food. And yes, that is Emma at the end of the video! She sleeps in the chicken coop each night now. Adding to my belief that she truly thinks she is a chicken herself.

Some mornings I have special treats for the chickens, and this morning it was the remnants of a spaghetti squash from our dinner last night (check back next week for the recipe!). I thought they'd enjoy pecking and pulling at the last remaining strands of squash, and I was right.

Of course I couldn't leave out Duchess. I always save my peanut butter jars when I'm done with them so she can lick out the last bits at the bottom that I couldn't get to. A dog with peanut butter is a happy dog!

We've been keeping chickens for over four years now, so this has been my morning routine for quite a while. I wouldn't have it any other way!

~Tammy

Feathered Friend Friday: Switcheroo

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here. 

Since we were hit with temperatures way below normal earlier this week, we had to figure out how to keep all the animals safe and as warm as possible. We performed a few housing switcheroos with Duchess and Baby staying in the garage, Emma hanging out in the guest room, and our sweet Roosty Roo taking up residence in the guest bathroom.

We kept the chickens tucked away in their coop for a couple days while it was really bad (they didn't want to come out anyway) so we knew we had to separate Cam and Roosty. Cam is our head rooster and he does okay with Roosty as long as they have space, but when they are enclosed together Cam bullies Roosty and chases him into a corner where Roosty cowers in fear.

(FYI - Roosty was a "pullet" we got at the feed store several years ago, but he turned out to be a boy. I couldn't part with him, so we just incorporated him into our main flock and got some more hens so that he and Cam wouldn't fight so bad. This was before we let Ellie hatch out her chicks last spring and got four boys out of the five chicks. These four roosters are in their own free-ranging flock because six roosters together would be way too many).

We didn't want Roosty to have to go through the emotional trauma of hiding from Cam for several days, so we brought him into our guest bathroom. It works really well because we have a corner shower enclosure and we put pine shavings on the floor just like in the chicken coop. When it's time to clean up, we just remove the shavings and hose the shower down. It's actually the perfect setup!

The morning after we brought Roosty inside, we were awakened by his crowing at dawn. It's a little shocking to wake up to a rooster crowing inside your house, but he is the perfect alarm clock because he goes off every few minutes and we can't hit the snooze button on him. A while back our hen, Liliana, was staying in here while recuperating from an injury, and I remember being startled by her "egg song" after she laid her egg each day. The cats went a little crazy, too!

All in all, we had a total of five cats, one dog, and one rooster in the house earlier this week. It was a little crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm living my childhood dream!

~Tammy

Feathered Friend Friday: Dreaming Of Summer

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.   

As I've heard on the news lately, many of us are currently experiencing bone chilling cold and lots of snow. Thankfully, we don't have tons of snow, but it is a lot colder here than normal. Our forecast has low temperatures below zero for the next upcoming days. I am not built for this kind of weather! The bitter cold has David and me dreaming of living in a region where we can have a garden year round and the temperatures rarely dip to the freezing mark. I do believe the chickens are dreaming of this as well!

For now we are all stuck in the frigid zone, but to transport me to warmer days I thought I would revisit some of my favorite summertime shots of my flock. Perhaps it will warm your bones as well to see some bright green and flowers.

Ahhhh, doesn't that feel nice? One thing I miss the most about summer is all the vivid colors. I just feel instantly energized and inspired when I see beautiful flowers and a vast array of colors. Add in some free ranging chickens with their fluffy butts to the landscape and that is my heaven.

Are you dreaming of summer lately or do you like the cold, snowy weather?

~Tammy

Shared with Maple Hill Hop