by Mary Caelsto | Aug 7, 2017 | chickens, homestead stuff
The “velociraptors” (aka the roosters who are going to get a month or two more before visiting freezer camp), were moved to their grow out pen. We haven’t had a chance yet to build an enclosure and so I moved the game cam from the backyard to the...
by Mary Caelsto | Jul 28, 2017 | chickens
It’s that time of year. My April 15 hatch is now about 14 weeks old, and I am itching to get the pullets in with the laying hens. Part of that has to do with my being behind in building the goose/duck house, and they’re mixed in with my ducks/geese who are...
by Mary Caelsto | May 11, 2017 | chickens
My juvenile crested cayuga ducks are outside enjoying the warm weather. I’m thinking about ways to get the chicks that I hatched the week of Easter outdoors. I need to clean the other half of the chicken coop first, and then do a bit of repairs, but then they...
by Mary Caelsto | Apr 17, 2017 | chickens
Every year the Backyard Chickens Forum has an Easter Hatch-A-Long, where we all set eggs designed to hatch on Easter. Well mine came about 4 days early, starting to hatch on Wednesday. Here are my numbers. Set 26 eggs Hatched 19 chicks Of the rest, 2 were infertile,...
by Mary Caelsto | Apr 15, 2017 | cats, chickens
In previous years I didn’t have to predator proof my baby chicks. The only chat who had the run of the living room, where we kept the baby chicks, was mom’s old cranky lady, Belle. And she took it upon herself to watch over the chicks, much like it’s...
by Mary Caelsto | Feb 28, 2017 | chickens, food, homestead stuff
Having unlocked the homesteading achievement of processing my own chickens, I started to think about the economics of home butchering. The roosters that I sent to “freezer camp” were hatched from my own eggs (and a few from a neighbor). They were 11 months...