Nobuko-san MIA

On Friday the 13th we lost another hen. This time it was an Araucana named Nobuko-san who did not return at dusk after a day of free-ranging. Predation or simply on vacation? Frankly, we're still surprised we haven't lost more chickens after a year's time. We are considering adding a few new chicks to the flock to make sure egg production remains steady.

Clownie Has Gone AWOL

As of last Monday, May 12, one of our Black Star hens has disappeared. We do a nightly count and came up one short at dusk just before closing up the coop. We weren't sure which hen it was, so we called 8-year-old Maya to do a chicken-check (she's the only one who can identify all 26 simply by looks). The verdict was that Clownie did not come in for the night and she has been missing since. While we are worried that she might be a casualty of predation, we have seen no signs of a stuggle nor carcass, and remain hopeful that Clownie is hiding out somewhere on the property sitting on some eggs. The typical gestation period for a chicken egg is 21 days, so we'll be keeping an eye out for Clownie and chicks around June 2 just in case. I suppose that situations like this are simply a part of the free range practice.

Moving Right Along

Today saw the pouring of concrete footings for the garage, more of the future basement for the main house was excavated, and the all-important Port-O-Let was delivered.

Our contractor also did some grading of the driveway so that a semi full of ICFs (Insulated Concrete Forms) could be delivered. The modular ICFs are stacked then filled with concrete for an amazingly durable and energy-efficient structure. Click here for a step-by-step on ICF installation. Click on the photo to link to our construction shots photo album.

Back at Rose Cottage, our landlord's handyman finally got around to mowing the rest of the yard which I had started last weekend since it was so overgrown. Chickens were let free at 2:30 in the afternoon after producing a baker's dozen eggs. We are keeping them in their run during the first part of the day now since we were suffering from low egg count by letting them free range first thing in the morning (we suspect they are laying eggs in undisclosed locations about the property... sneaky hens!).

Let Them Eat Snake

If you love something, set it free---as in free range. You've probably seen and heard the term "free range" but what does it really mean? The U.S.D.A. (United States Department of Agriculture) allows labels to say free range if they have "certified access to the outdoors," but does not specify other criteria such as the quality of the land/environment, size of roaming area, or the number of birds confined to a particular space. In other words, some chickens could be defined as free range simply by having a small run with nothing but gravel or mud. Also beware that there are no standards governing the term "range" or similar advertisements on egg cartons, such as "free running," "free roaming," or "free walking." True free range allows for chickens to sustain themselves on their natural surroundings.

About a week ago, with the okay of our landlord (who seems to have turned over a new leaf lately), we decided to bite the bullet and let the chickens roam free in the yard. We trust that they will use their instincts to determine what is food and what isn't, but just in case we scoured the property to ensure there were no obvious threats (physical or chemical). Like letting your child go off by themselves for the first time, we were nervous parents, imagining hawk attacks, lost hens, and other untold dangers. However, the flock doesn't wander far and we have yet to lose any to the nearby woods or the neighbor's car...they return to their coop each night as the sun sets and the headcount is always the same.

Now, aside from the usual plants and insects you'd expect them to eat in the wild, our flock is expanding their palate to include such things as small snakes (we caught them playing tug o' war with the one pictured above). Whether or not they actually ate it is anyone's guess since they are competitive about rare treats and will run off to finish their meal in seclusion. We've also noticed that they no longer seem to think that being handfed is such a novelty.