babies, babies, everywhere!

We’ve received word from the vet that a form of sinusitis was at least partly to blame for our poultry losses last month. While relieved to know something, it’s hard not to feel impatient to learn what the missing pieces of the puzzle are. In any case, the chickens continue to recover, put on weight, [...]

SOLE food during some bright days of winter

The SOLE food challenge is for the “dark days of winter” but here in northeast Maine we’ve been enjoying some bright, cold, utterly gorgeous winter weather. What a delight! The chickens and other fowl have been in top form, laying between 20 and 25 eggs daily while the goats love frolicking around on the the [...]

the three Rs

We got our Christmas tree a little earlier than usual this holiday, and left it up a little longer … I was making jokes about turning it into a Valentine’s tree. But I knew all along where the tree would go when we were finished with it this year – out to the barnyard! The [...]

slip slidin’ …

Today it was the animals’ turn to laugh at me as I made my way down the icy hill to the barn this morning. To my credit, I didn’t fall. I did look remarkably silly, though. After surviving their breakfast delivery, I returned to the house for the ash bucket and used every single cinder [...]

happy birthday

Our surprise-kids are two weeks old today, and it’s amazing how much they’ve grown in such a short period. We celebrated the day by spending it outdoors – the weather was remarkably warm and sunny, just perfect for a first outing. Niek, who has been rather less than thrilled with getting goats, was outside with [...]

a day that’s been a little too exciting

… and it’s only early afternoon! We got our first nor’easter of the season (about two months early, in my opinion!) and the girls did not find it amusing. The birds all piled up just shy of the snow line when I opened the barn doors this morning. I didn’t even try to get the [...]

where, oh where does the time go?

(and how can I slow it down?) Flying through October … so much to do and so little time, but it is (mostly) a joyous sort of rushing. Despite heavy rains, drastic temperature changes, and strong winds, everyone in the barn remains in good health. We lost one stubborn Plymouth Barred Rock hen last week [...]

in which our farmer cleans house, sort of

As you probably know, Pinto Bean is due to kid almost any day now. Obviously, that necessitates a thorough cleaning of the barn, and I got busy with that a couple of days ago, just in case things happened earlier than expected, or in case it got too busy to do it later. First, I [...]

many hands make light the work

The Crowing Hen will be visited by some industrious Bees this afternoon – in exchange for four dozen eggs and lots of homemade bread, they’re going to enclose the underneath of the barn. Sneaky chickens have been laying eggs under there, and I can’t reach them so our egg production has been really low. As [...]

yearning for approval

Although I’ve done a lot of reading and research, visited several farms, and am in possession of (I think) a reasonable amount of common sense I have been increasingly insecure about my setup here at The Crowing Hen. It’s because Pinto Bean will be kidding in a month and I’ve never done this before. I [...]