Happy solstice

Well it is the longest day of the year tomorrow. We don't have any big plans here at the farm. It has been kinda off and on rainy the last few evenings. The rains seem to have emboldened the weeds. So while quickly weeding the garden I came up with a bucket of chicken treats. I have to be a bit more careful though, I noticed that some nightshade had gotten into the weed bucket. I don't really know if it is dangerous to the chickens but figured I should remove it just in case.
Otherwise not much has changed. I am still impressed by the speed that the hops are growing. So far the tomatoes look to be doing well. I need to keep working on the garden. I will have to work on that this weekend.

Another chicken setback

Well today Cooper finally killed one of the chickens. I could see it coming. I made a mistake and purchased the wrong sort of electric netting and the chickens were walking through it at times. It was mostly my fault. For his efforts however Cooper received a strongly worded letter from our legal department and I think he will be less likely to offend again. What really upset me though was that Cooper didn't listen to commands. I will have to spend more time with him and teach him to follow direction if he is to remain at the farm. He is a headstrong animal and has been the source of many gray beard hairs. Ah well i should get to bed.

Mayhem in the hen house.

We had a bit of a setback with the chickens last night. A few of our chickens turned canibal last night. My chicken book says it could be damn near anything from crowding to overheating. It seems that just the meat birds got pecked but it was pretty bad. We moved them into the chicken tractor for the evening to protect them.
On a bright note, the township mowed the ditches. I raked up the cuttings and let them dry in the sun. I doubled the amount of straw in the shed in one day. One more time and I might have enough chicken bedding for the winter.

Electric fence

Well today i noticed that something had been chewing on the as yet un-electrified, electric fence around the chickens. Well I repaired the fence and hooked up the charger. I called Cooper over to the fence and he tested it for me. I can't be sure he was the animal that chewed on it, but I think he will not chew on it from now on. With fence in operation i figured we could let the chickens out into the yard for a bit. Jess and i had to herd them back in this evening but otherwise I think it was a success.
I also received my new hammock this afternoon. I love hammocks. Jess and I disagree on the necessity of spreader bars. I chose a giant nylon hammock without one. I got an hour nap in this afternoon in it. I am very happy.

Garden Work

Well today I planted out some small sickly plants that I had started from seed this spring. I had been hardening them off on the deck and they were constantly getting dry. (It is just a tad bit windy here!!) I also got a good watering done on the garden. The new raspberries are still going strong. I am thinking about adding a Mulberry bush or two as well. Still need to finish the outdoor run for the chickens .

A quick correction

Well I guess there are two grey kittens out there as well as the black one. So now we have Smoke, Ash and Soot. Otherwise we brought some electric fencing today and a charger. Still will need to set that up sometime this week.

Suprises in the wood pile

Well I went out tonight to take a few pictures of things we have been working on. The hops are growing well and I think that the Fuggles are almost 4 feet tall already. I also took a picture of some hay that I am drying and of the goose berries by the bunker. I noticed one of the many farm cats that inhabit the pole barn across the street. I had been seeing her a lot lately and was assuming she had learned to stand up to Cooper and was just hunting over by the bunker. That is when I spotted the kittens. I have nicknamed them smoke and soot since they are by the forge. i will try and see how trusting they are tomorrow.

Update

Well the chickens are adapting well to their new home. I still need to make a temp. controler for the milk house heater. I am also needing to put the light on a timer. I will most likely build them an outdoor run this weekend.

Pictures as promised

Well here are a few pictures. First one is a quick shot of the meat birds. The second shot is a picture of some radishes we had for lunch today. The last is the picture of the coop, complete with fresh coat of paint applied this morning.

Coop work continues

Well Jess and I put a coat of paint on the coop today. We also hung the door and added the plastic flooring to the coop. I will probably cut the chicken door tomorrow if time and weather allows. Then all that remains is to put another coat of paint and add some trim paint. The inside still needs nest boxes but the chickens probably won't need them before this fall. I will try and snap some pictures to post tomorrow as well.
Speaking of chickens we have learned that they love June bugs. All we need to do is knock a few in a bag and add them to the coop and the chickens go nuts. We have been doing this for the last few nights and now you have to shoo the chickens away from the door to do anything in the coop.
They just stand there and beg for more bugs. Since we still have them confined it seems like a great source of cheap protein.