Guarding the chickens

We recently lost a pullet to a red shouldered hawk from this flock of New Hampshire Reds so we moved Sofie, an Akbash Anatolian mix livestock guardian dog in with them for a few days.

Later in the afternoon we discovered the hawk had gone to a different flock on the opposite side of the farm and helped itself to one of the barred rock layers so we moved Josh, our other livestock guardian dog, into that pasture, leaving the goats to fend for themselves for a while.

Because our flocks roam within the limits of movable electric fencing they are protected from most predators. Aerial predators such as hawks have an advantage though they are usually not a problem. Colder weather is here and apparently some of the small rodents and snakes that comprise the hawks' diet are not as readily accessible

Helpful Chickens

While we raise layers for their eggs (and the delicious stewing hens we get when laying days are over), the natural life of a chicken serves many purposes on the farm.

Chickens love to scratch in the dirt and eat the bugs stirred up by their activity. We moved the New Hampshire Reds onto our future berry patch and while they are doing what comes naturally they are also fertilizing the soil and spreading the leaf mulch and old straw piles for us. Every critter on the farm is skilled with multi-tasking.  For chickens, having access to piles of mulch and straw, is similar to being at an amusement park with free food!

Domestic chickens are descended from jungle fowl so their natural diet is insects, plants, small rodents, lizards and seeds. A "vegetarian" diet is actually not a complete and healthy diet for a chicken. We are grateful for the labor-saving joy these chickens are experiencing. They'll be happy when we share the extra berries with them next year too!

The patch of soil the chickens are rehabilitating is on an area that is part of what was the most worn out of our pastures when we bought the farm 4 years ago. For 4 years we have bush-hogged whatever grew and allowed the plant life to lie on the soil to decompose. For 3 years chickens have been moved across the pasture from one spot to another and we can see the benefit of our efforts. No pesticides, insecticides or herbicides have been used on any part of the farm and the land is healing. As the land heals the plant life changes from weeds to grasses, eroded places vanish as the increasing organic matter in the land enables the soil to absorb the water.

Pastured Poultry Workshop

Our County Extension Agent invited us to host her Pastured Poultry Workshop.  It was held yesterday, May 13, 2014.  It was unseasonably hot but at least we had no rain.

We pulled 5 birds from their flocks to be used in Dan's demonstration.  They
were happy to go home again when the show was over.

Here are some photos of the well-attended, informative event.

County Agent for Livestock and Forages, Lauren Langley, setting up the registration table.

Our friend, Farmer Mike, arriving to help us with parking.

Dan Campeneau, Poultry Agent, teaching about conformation
or how to determine a good layer from a cull.

Learning about mobile housing from Charlie and Dan.

The next workshop will be held September 30th on the topic of "Small Flock Health."  Location TBD.

Guineas and Chickens

The guineas and Dottie the chicken roosting together

The three guineas that remain from our original six have taken to living with the various groups of chickens on the farm. They spend their nights in Hen-a-Bago II and their days generally wandering with the group of chickens free ranging near our house. We have had a few close calls with the road being nearby, but no accidents thus far.

Guineas poking their heads out of the Hen-a-Bago II

Guineas in the chicken roost

They still haphazardly wander around the farm making lots of noise, but, until recently, always found their way back to the chicken coop for the night.  For some reason they've decided to roost outside again.  At first they alternated between a large cedar tree and the fence-top around the coop.  Now they choose to stay in the vicinity of the stationary coop near the tool shed and, so far, they're surviving.

Guineas wandering the lane

Comparing Soils

Soil in the field where the chickens were not pastured

We have been tilling up some new fields on the farm for planting this spring. One of our fields had the chickens on part of it last year and the differences are amazing to see! The photo above is of the area of the field where the chickens were not penned up. The photo below shows the soil where the chickens had been for part of last year. Note the richer color of the soil nourished by the pastured chickens who truly benefit the land on which they graze, consuming nutrients from the insects and plants in an area, thus enabling the chickens to produce delicious and nutritious eggs.  You can taste the difference!

Soil where the chickens were pastured

Moving the animals

Small Hen-a-bago next to the pond

We have moved our animals to other parts of the farm, into a new pasture that has recently been completely fenced.  While the chickens and goats can be contained by electric netting, Sofie, our livestock guardian dog, needs a "real" electric fence to define the border of her "patrol" area.  As we have three smaller groups for her to protect she roams the larger area in which the smaller enclosures are fenced.  Sofie really loves being in this larger pasture!

The goats now have a view of the creek bed and the smaller flock of Delaware chickens have a view of the pond. The large flock of chickens (Rhode Island Red and Partridge Rock) have gone to the oat field--yes the one we planted a few months ago.  We rotate our animals around the farm in order to  keep them from eating all of the fresh seeds and grass on the pastures, to give the pastures a chance to rest, and as a form of parasite control on the pastures. The animals also provide a healthy source of fertilizer for the soil.  The garden should grow really well this year!

Delaware layers next to the pond