a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

Category: About My Chickens

  • Apple Harvest

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    The woodpeckers and other birds are starting to feast on the apples. It’s time to harvest them.

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    I cut up the damaged apples for the chickens, and they came running, even Lucky and her chicks. So did BB, one of our ferocious guard dogs. He doesn’t really like apples, but since the chickens are gorging on them, he has to have some.

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    Sven, our Swedish Chicken rooster, is making the most of the gathering of hens. You can see him trying to court one in the background. See how he has lowered his wing? He is doing his love dance. A rooster’s love dance isn’t elaborate like a Bird of Paradise’s. It’s very simple. Basically they lower one wing and dance around a hen.

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  • Potatoes Draw a Crowd

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    While cleaning some freshly dug potatoes, I tossed a few handfuls of the rejects on the grass. It took just a few seconds to draw a crowd of chickens. Even Lucky and her little ones came running.

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  • Duckweed Smörgåsbord

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    Lucky spotted me scooping duckweed out of the pond for the chickens. She’s come running to give her chicks a treat. All the chickens go nuts for fresh duckweed. Not only do they like the fresh green duckweed, they scratch through it to pick out all the bugs that live in the duckweed.

    I never tire watching the interaction between the chicks and their mother. All day long, the chicks are watching every move she makes. All day long, they are at her feet or scurrying close to her. When she finds something good to eat, their beaks are immediately next to hers. When she rests, they rest. Her chicks are now two weeks old.

    Sadly, on Saturday she lost one of her five chicks. I was in the kitchen looking out and saw her chase a Coopers hawk. I ran out to check on her. She was safe and so were four of her chicks. One was missing.

    Giving chicks as much freedom and space as I do has its consequences. It’s possible to protect them from land predators with adequate fencing, but it’s a challenge to keep them safe from hawks and eagles. The dogs do a pretty good job, chasing the bigger raptors away. It’s the smaller raptors that manage to sneak in and snatch the chicks. Maybe a fleet of heat seeking drones could detect hawks and eagles and automatically chase them away, or at least alert us ground animals to their presence.

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  • Hazel

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    Hazel is one of the more distinctive hens here at a man and his hoe®. Her character is as remarkable as her striking looks. She is a Turken chicken. She’s outgoing, friendly and cheerful. Seeing her come my way, always makes me smile.

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  • Grapes and Raking Leaves

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    It’s the season for raking leaves. From now through October, piles and piles and piles of leaves to rake. Leaves to compost. Leaves to blanket the garlic beds. Leaves to run through.

    It’s also the season for grapes, a chicken’s favorite food. If there is anything that will bring the chickens running from the other side of the pasture, it is grapes. They go nuts over grapes.

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