a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

Category: About My Chickens

Svenda in the Woods

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So what do chickens like to do? One thing they really like is to go hunting in the woods. The underbrush is full of good things to eat. Chickens evolved from red jungle fowl of southeast Asia. So it’s not surprising that chickens enjoy spending so much time in the woods. This is what chickens like to do. So why pack them by the tens of thousands into chicken houses where they never see the outdoors?

Here at a man and his hoe®, what the chickens want is paramount. It’s not about trying to produce the most eggs and meat at the lowest cost as possible. It’s about providing a farm where chickens experience the maximum amount of happiness. And after observing them for eight years, one of their favorite things to do is to spend hours in the woods. This is what humanely raised chicken look like. You can’t raise them humanely in a densely packed chicken house.

April 5, 2014
Chicken Love – Blink and It’s Over

Ten seconds. That’s usually all it takes. When there is no chase, knock off five seconds. But the rooster doesn’t get the hen every time. Sometimes she out runs him. Sometimes another rooster steps in the way. Sometimes another rooster will knock him off the hen. Sometimes another hen will chase him off. It is what it is.

What do hens say about human love? That it takes forever? That they’re stuck with the same man over and over again? That there’s no variety?

April 4, 2014
Beauty is Everywhere – Do Chickens See Beauty?

Beauty is everywhere. When the chickens make their rounds, do they see beauty? When they walk over fallen cherry petals, do they just see good things to eat, or do they think it’s pretty? When they walk by moss covered rocks, do they just check to see if there is something to eat on the moss, or do they pause and enjoy the lush green?

I’ll never forget the day I ran into Madeleine taking a walk in the woods. She was the first hen I had who hatched and raised a clutch. A day or two after she was done rearing her brood, she was strolling down a path through the woods.

I watched her for some time. She seemed to be more than just looking for good things to eat. She seemed to be taking a much needed rest from having spent twenty four hours a day for over a month rearing nine chicks. It was like she was out enjoying being alone for the first time in a long time.

That was back in 2010. Madeleine is no longer living. But I’ll never forget her. Watching her care for her chicks convinced me that every chick deserves a mother.

April 4, 2014
Living Green

Just so you realize that a man and his hoe® is about more than just mother raised chicken and eggs, here are some pictures of some crops which are growing now. What you see here are shallots, raspberries, plums in bloom, onion, garlic, and arugula. Though chickens do a thorough job clearing out pests, they can destroy vegetable beds in no time. Often, they aren’t going after the vegetables. They usually destroy vegetable beds by tearing them apart in their search for earthworms and bugs.

A terrific byproduct of vegetable and fruit production is mountains of compostable material. Every two to three months I start a new compost pile and keep adding to it until it is time to start another pile. Chickens are great compost workers, and every time I need to stir or break down and rebuild a compost pile, they swarm in to help. They can’t get enough of all the good worms and bugs they find in the pile. Their litter helps get the compost pile cooking, and when the pile is done, they do a great job breaking it down and spreading it over new vegetable beds.

The great thing about growing crops and raising chickens is that you see up close what nature is. It is always changing and constantly recycling everything. There is no waste in nature. Everything is something’s or somebody’s food. And while this frenetic activity is going on, there is so much beauty to see, it takes your breath away.

April 3, 2014
Egg Day

Thursdays are when I deliver eggs to Tweets Cafe. They use most of the eggs for making their delicious meals, but they also have a few dozen available for you to buy. When I was making my delivery, David, the chief, promptly grabbed two dozen eggs to make a quiche. These are pictures of the cartons they will have available for you to buy if you are visiting them this weekend. Tweets is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

April 3, 2014