SPRING developments

Well hello...

Okay so I told myself I was going to be better at sitting and updating and well I didn't.  This is exactly why I don't make New Years resolutions either.

The month of March and part of April saw us teeter-tottering between bought of blizzards and ice and MUD.  Nothing brings down a person's mood or energy like acres of mud let me tell you.  I was prepared for mud when we made the move to rural living but seeing horses knee deep in mud; losing your rubber boot to sticky mud holes while moving horses and buckets and the constant mopping at the front door just depletes ones stamina.

Thankfully we had  a full week of sunshine last week and my internal energy is replenished!

I think it may be safe to say its spring, so here's a quick spring update.  There have been lots and lots of babies!

The first baby chicks hatched here at SchnickAcres... in the midst of ice storms that saw us losing hydro in the wee hours of the morning and running the gasoline powered generator (NOT quiet).

Baby ducklings... four for Krista's kindergarten classroom and nine for the neighbour down the road.  Though I am a self confessed "Crazy-Chicken-Lady" even I have to admit these guys are sweeties.
And once again, please let me tell you just how COOL small town people really are - I mean, DUCKLINGS in the KINDERGARTEN classroom!  What an amazing experience for the children.  :)   I love the names the kids gave them.. "DJ, Daisy, Fluffy and Fudgey".

And Smores brought four little fuzzy babies into the world at the end of March.  Two little grey tabbies (named Jasper and Edgar), one little Torti-shell that the girls named Stevie after her daddy and finally a little orange tabby that Krista named "Mr Orange".  For being a young mommy, Smores is an amazing mother.

And with the sunny weather it was time for us to get started on our outdoor to-do list before the mosquitoes make their appearance.  We began by trimming all the pine trees out front and trimming back some overgrowth at the roadside.  Our garden plot has been dug, and layered, and this past weekend, Derek began the big job of painting the barn roof.

The metal sheets were rusted but solid... after much research it was primed and painted...by Derek... I just held the ladder and held my breath.  Yikes...

Our 2016 goal list is ever growing.. the things that must be done and the things that can be done to move us towards a life of self sufficiency.  Even the mediocre jobs such as tree trimming and raking fill us with such a feeling of satisfaction and pride.  Life is good.

Happy Tuesday.

Jeanette

{{WORDless Wednesday}} February 10, 2016.. BEST FRIEND CHICKEN

We are half way through the week and on our way to MINUS CRAZY temperatures.  Here is a photo that is getting a lot of love on our instagram page.  Last weekend's lovely weather had us out in the wagon... Krista took lots of time to love and cuddle her favourite hen... A hen she calls "best friend Chicken".

Happy Wednesday!!

Jeanette

Chicken Care... vent prolapse

Hello to you!

I'd like to share my first experience with chicken home care... WARNING - my post contains one graphic photo and some icky-butt talk.  But for my vet-tech and nursing friends, fellow chicken keepers or solid stomached friends.. read on!

Saturday before last as I went about my morning barn routine, I noticed one of our hens with what looked like a 'messy bum'.

Much like parents that do a 'diaper wiff test' on their little ones (come on, admit it, we have all picked up our child and did a sniff of the bottom to gauge the severity of the diaper contents) I do peek under my girls' tails from time to time to ensure that everything looks good.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed a soft shell egg attached and her very red vent turning outwards.  Though I had never worked with chickens in my 'veterinary technology' days, I had a pretty good assumption that I was seeing a case of vent prolapse.

Scooping up my little hen and placing her in our 'isolation crate' I came indoors to google vent prolapse.  There are so many great chicken sites out there and each one that I read confirmed what I was seeing was vent prolapse.  Thankfully the soft shell egg came out in one piece and it was just the vent that needed attention.

Taking a quick drive into town for a few supplies gave me the immature pleasure at Derek and I leaving the clerk blushing  as she rang in our Saturday night purchases...

Back at home, I bathed our little hen in warm water to loosen off stool and  any egg remnants before gently easing her vent back inside with a gloved finger.  Patting the area dry, I then soaked a napkin in witch hazel and held it in place to help bring down the inflammation.

A warm straw nest was made in the crate and after a generous dollop of hemorrhoid cream on her bottom she was settled in for the night.

To give her body a rest from egg making and laying, it was suggested to withhold food and to limit the amount of time in light for a day.  We settled her crate in my craft room where the other animals would not be able to bother her and where it could be kept dim.

The next morning she laid another soft shelled egg with a skim of calcium on it and thankfully with no trauma to her vent.  Over the next day we steadily increased her feed again but kept her secluded and quiet with applications of the hemorrhoid cream twice daily.

By day four, with the name "Ultra Violet" given to her by the girls and some much needed rest, she was perky and bright eyed and ready to rejoin her coopmates!

Thankfully it was a mild and sunny morning, so I was able to reintroduce her as the others were venturing outdoors.  This was to hopefully minimize any hen pecking that might occur.

Everyone welcomed Ultra Violet back with no issues and she seems back to normal.

It is disconcerting to read that hens with prolapse can often have it recur.  Fingers crossed that we won't see this again, however, I will continue to look at chicken butts regularly.. just in case.

Thanks for reading,
Jeanette

A la carte.. CHICKEN style! Or.. what I feed my free range birds.

Happy Monday!!

Sooo... I have learned a ton of what chickens (and ducks) DO and DO NOT eat and what may change when the winter snows cover the scrumptious green grasses or the tasty bugs.  I was surprised at what my birds enjoy eating and thought I would share my discoveries.

We do have a balanced "Layer" stage poultry feed in crumb form accessible to the birds at all times along with fresh water.  We also have dishes of crushed oyster shells for extra calcium - essential in strong egg shell formation.

Another source of calcium for our birds is egg shells themselves.  This surprised me but its true and the birds love to eat them!

I had originally tried just breaking up the shells of eggs I had used in the kitchen but the inner membrane made the shells hard to break into small pieces and the birds didn't seem to enjoy eating the membrane either.  After some reading, I decided to try drying the egg shells in the oven, cooling and then crushing. 

My go to method now is to collect the used egg shells in a dish on my counter and when I have finished using the oven for baking or cooking, I turn off the oven, place the egg shells on a cookie sheet and let them sit in the cooling oven.  By the time everything is cool, I have dry brittle egg shells that I crush in various sizes in a ziplock bag and take out to the coop.

The birds are very happy with the end result!

I originally believed chickens were herbivores... watching them devour mealworms and bugs changed my thinking completely and now, when I am cooking meat - even beef, I take a little bit aside, chop it into fine pieces and share it with my feathered friends.

And even my furry friends.

 Look at Chachi here waiting patiently, giving the hens first dibs on the meat.  What a gentleman.

And bowl cleaned right up.

Lastly, our family always seems to have yogurt in the fridge that is nearing expiration.  Before it gets that far and has to be wasted, I mix it up with a little bit of oats and we have a tasty treat that is high in fibre AND calcium!

Darling, you have a yogurt moustache.

Good sharing, and another bowl cleaned up!

Obviously, all the above are occasional treats and don't make up the majority of the diet.  Just like us, too much of a good thing isn't always the best thing.

Other items from my kitchen that our birds enjoy as a treat are leafy greens (spinach, lettuce) and cooked pasta.  They loooove cooked spaghetti - do they think they are worms? 

And there you go!  Maybe a little more about a chicken's menu than you wanted to know. :)

Jeanette

Eggs and Ponies.. a WORDFUL Wednesday post

Hey there!  Its been a while!  :)

Thank you to my Nicole for allowing me to use her laptop as mine decided after six years it was finished with me.  THANKFULLY Hubby-D is a back up fanatic and we are all good on that end!

Sooooo... what has been happening around the acres??  Well...

Annie was getting a little wound up being the only equine friend in the family, so we opted to free lease (have them live with us for the winter) two ponies that belong to a friend who is away at college.  This was a great arrangement as "Cricket" is the mare that Nicole rode over the last year - remember that horsey-kissing post from the summer?  ;)

Her paddock mate is a gelding named Typhoon or "Tye" for short.  He's a sweetheart.  They both have settled in nicely and other than a few nips over the fence at Annie, and she back at them, they have decided they can be friends and barn mates.

We are down to our last eight roosters.  Three are beautiful (though still loud) and have been moved into the coop with the girls.  We will keep these boys and hopefully have baby chicks in the spring.  But to have baby chicks, you must first have eggs.. and I am so happy to announce that as of last Friday we do have eggs!  :)  Two of our hens have begun laying and in five days we have had seven eggs.  Go Girls!

It astonished me how happy finding these beauties in the nesting boxes made me.  I jumped up and down and squealed and texted just about everyone I knew!  Oh, and of course, posted to instagram.  lol  Proud Mama Me!

What a wonderful early Christmas present!  :)
Jeanette

Farming just got REAL!

It is Friday already and November is nearly half over!

This week decisions had to be made and actions had to be taken... it is time to cull the flock.

I am not sharing a "how to process a chicken" tutorial or a "you should totally eat your free range chicken" persuasion, simply our experiences here at SchnickAcres.

We bought our chicks unsexed knowing that we wanted to keep a flock of heritage Chantecler chickens  and thus would need a few roosters... it has come to our attention as they have matured that we have TWENTY TWO roosters.  That in my estimate is eighteen too many - our poor sixteen hens will have no rest!  Not to mention rest for my ears.  We have some very vocal boys that crow continually at each other across the property trying to outdo one another and be top cock.  Ladies, visualize the hot headed popular jerks in high school driving very loud Trans Ams or Camaros... try spending all day with that!

I really was coming to the end of my rope when not only were the males crowing constantly but some began showing aggression towards each other, the hens and then the poor ducks!  When Derek returned home one evening last week and saw my face his only words were "Shit just got real"!  I wasn't on a rampage but he could tell I was ready to make some decisions.

Now, a couple of weeks ago I felt I wanted to take some time to learn some new skills.  How to decide which roosters to propagate your flock and how to fill your freezer with the others wasn't on my radar but that is what I have been learning.  Deciding which boys remain in the coop is a big decision - gotta love the internet - youtube has a video made by a Poultry association judge outlining the traits of a perfect Chantecler.

The next step - how to choose how to process your birds.  I don't even have enough words or the correct words to explain how I considered the next step... Derek worked in a processing facility during his teenage years, those experiences brought forth valuable information.  I was up in the middle of the night when internet isn't a hot commodity and read some farm blogs - one that even outlined why you shouldn't keep chickens if you aren't prepared to process them yourself.  Though I didn't fully agree with all the points that author was trying to make, my reading took a turn to "what does it take to process your own chicken" and do people really still do so?

Much to my surprise, many family farms DO still process their own birds and it really isn't all that difficult (short of the emotional preparedness).  Long story short.  Sunday afternoon Derek and I processed one rooster together.  As in the past, what Derek does naturally or well, I tend to do the other part equally competently.  We made a good team.

Our rooster had a good life.  He ate bugs, fresh produce and had clean water.  He had days of lounging in the sunshine and warm safe nights in a coop.  Our coop has electricity!  80% of humans on earth can't say the same!

As in life, at the end our rooster was handled humanely.  He was thanked for his life and he was put to rest quickly and peacefully.  There was no panic or "chicken running around with its head cut off" type of situation.  The girls were not present for that first part but showed curiosity when it came to the anatomy of the chicken during processing.  Reminiscent of my "vet technology" days I identified the internal organs for the girls that were interested in looking (all but Erin, poor dear).

We were slow and methodical in our cutting.  We ensured we kept the bird and the work area clean.  We did not rush.

After air chilling for two days, I roasted our chicken for dinner on Tuesday.  As I prepared the stuffing I did feel a little weak in the knees once or twice - I'm not used to feeling a connection to my food.  And that got me thinking. Perhaps that is what is missing?  We eat without abandon, even things we know are not healthy for us because we don't see them for what they are.  Case in point?  I couldn't eat the skin.  I wasn't repulsed, I just didn't crave it as I did in the past when cooking a store bought turkey or chicken.

We enjoyed roast chicken on Tuesday night complete with mashed potatoes and broccoli.  The meat was tender and tasty.

On Wednesday, with me still fighting a chest cold we enjoyed homemade chicken noodle soup, which I finished up on Thursday for lunch.  The last of the bird is in chicken salad for tonight's dinner.

Our first taste of self sustainability.

Jeanette

Twelve Week Chickens! {{WORDless Wednesday}} October 21, 2015

Well hey there!

If you don't follow us on Instagram you are missing out on a daily dose of CHICKEN love.  :)  So to mark their twelve weeks here at Schnick Acres, the WORDless Wednesday post this week is some photos of me enjoying coffee with the flock this morning.  Enjoy!

They really do like my sing song -baby talk voice... really they do!

Whatcha doing human?

That APPLE on the back of your phone.. I can eat that, right?

Scratch and Peck,...repeat.

Digging under leaves for worms and yummy bugs.

This is a rooster - the chicken just in behind is a hen.

Derek's ducks really don't care too much to hang out with me; they prefer their own private conversations around the duck pool, but maybe next time I'll showcase them - they are pretty neat.

Have a wonderful Wednesday,

Jeanette

The COOP - fruits of our LABOUR (Labour day weekend 2015)

Good morning!

We are wishing everyone a very happy and safe LONG weekend - the last one of the summer.. where did the time go???

I am so excited to finally be sharing some photos of our chicken coop.. the SCHNICK project of the summer.  Yesterday we moved our flock from the barn to the coop and I was able to clean out the horse stall so that it is ready for an equine friend.  :)

In July, Derek and I discussed what our perfect chicken and duck coop might look like.  We read a lot of articles on the subject and made some decisions.  We would definitely like the coop up off the ground, we would like it to be insulated and we would like to frame in a utility room so that the entrance to the birds would be inside (think blowing snow come December).  Derek used his schematics to calculate how much wood we would require.  We decided to go with pressure treated 2x4s and barn board - to match the barn.  :)

Determining WHERE to put the coop was a big decision as well.  We ultimately decided that it should be closer to the barn instead of behind the workshop - here it will get beautiful morning sun as well as the wind protection of two large evergreen trees.  And although I don't doubt SCHNICK plans, it is comforting to know that should we need to move the birds back into the barn in the future, the barn would be close.

Let the framing begin!

When family came out to visit during this time, we put them to work.  :)  Big thank you to our siblings and our nieces and nephews.  xo

Next came the outer walls... the roof - (again I am amazed at how my hubby knows how to angle, cut and install trusses and shingles) and then the insulation and plywood inside walls.  We also constructed the windows and vents to allow for storm windows and shutters to be placed in front of the metal screening when the weather requires.  Soffits were equipped with venting as well.

With these finished,  we decided to floor the coop using recycled pallets (thank you for the donation, Papa).

I spent one day in the sun ripping the top boards off the pallet legs.  The time trade off for the price, but you can't beat free!

I then laid the boards out in the coop staggering the seams and began screwing them down.  

My little helper.

I really like the way the floor came up...

Finally... we were ready to set up a temporary chicken yard using the green chain link fencing that we had ripped out.  We hope to have full free ranging chickens and ducks but until we get them used to coming into the coop at night, we thought it best to keep them somewhat contained.  

The girls and I cleaned the hardened mud out of the bottoms of the fence posts and Derek used the tractor to push them into the ground.

With fencing in place, we prepared to move the birds.  Now, this is where I noticed a HUGE difference in approach between hubby and I.  I hadn't realized what a cowboy I had married.  :)  I knew that Derek had worked at moving livestock during his teenage years but I was not prepared to see my husband grab three or four chickens by the feet, turn them upside down and carry them to their new abode.  In contrast, I cradled one bird at a time and walked each bird in turn to the coop with gentle words of "look at that glorious sun darling, welcome to your new home!"... yeah it totally would have taken me all afternoon without Derek.  :)

But all forty chickens and ten ducks made it safely into their new coop and I was so excited to finally open that door and get them out exploring the grass!

Thinking about venturing out...

Okay... I want back in now!

Derek and I installed some roosts and began constructing nesting boxes that will have accesses from the utility room so we don't need to disturb all the birds when collecting eggs.  I'll be sure to write another post about those as I plan on sewing curtains for the nesting boxes.. yup, you read that correctly.  Don't believe me that there will be sewing for chickens happening?  Its a real thing, as are crocheted sweaters - its coming!!  :)

By 8:30pm we had our babies tucked into their new coop for the night and I was showered and into my flannels with a glass of wine on the back deck where I could appreciate the view of our coop.  Our LABOUR of poultry love.  :)

Another SCHNICK-success and a venture that brings my heart so much joy and contentment.  Thanks for reading along,

Jeanette

xo