Duck Tales - part 1

Before we moved to Sweet Biddies Farm, these wannabe farmers tried their hands at raising ducks. There had been a little chatter between us about getting ducks. We had chickens. We had a coop. We would love some duck eggs to go along with our chicken eggs. So, why not?

One day while out and about with no intention of becoming a duck farmer that day, this girl made the decision that we needed to have ducks when she was faced with a whole smorgasbord of adorableness that is little tiny ducklings.

Like a little child, I was mesmerized by these little cuties. Trying to be practical - and an adult - I was able to walk away from them that day but it was hard. Those little babies stayed with me…haunted me even.

So, after some research and only good intentions, we drove back to pick out two little ducklings to join our chickens.

Two little crested ducks - with those cute little afros on top of their heads - became official members of the family.

The yellow one was christened Eli.

The yellow and brown one was christened Lucille.

(We had no idea what sex either of them were).

Now there is an upside and a downside that we all too quicly discovered to being duck owners.

Upside:

There was indeed an abundance of absolute adorableness in our household. Ducklings maybe the cutest thing I have ever seen.

EVER.

And they are hysterical to watch. Duck shenanigans may be the best kind of shenanigans there are.

Chicks are adorable and fun, yes. But they just cannot top ducklings.

I could watch ducklings for hours.

Downside:

For all that cuteness comes an equal amount of poop.

There may be nothing out there more adorable but there may be nothing out there that poops as much.

I mean nonstop poop.

Constant poop.

I think every time they took a step, poop came out.

It was ridiculous.

You may think chickens poop a lot but they have noting on ducks. I am even a little thankful for this experience because now I think nothing of chicken poop. I've faced far worse.

The worst was having to keep them inside when they were so small and dealing with cleaning out their bin, which was constant. But that was no big deal because just like the chicks, they would be moving outside to the coop soon enough.

They would be happy. I would be happy. Everyone would be happy…or so we thought…

Something we didn’t really consider about raising hens and ducks together is that hens are straight up bitches.

         Just horrible, mean…

                                             ...bitches.

Once they were big enough, out to the coop they went with not a thought about how the chickens would feel about new roommates. We really had absolutely no clue that our four hens would straight up bully the poor things. Our two rhode island reds were the worst. 

It was horrifying for me to watch Eli and Lucille just huddle together in a corner, completely terrified. 

I am sure that it would have gotten better. The ducks were still smaller than the chickens and surely they would fight back - I have dealt with plenty of angry ducks in my life - or at least, the hens would have gotten used to them. Right?

Not only did the guilt of having them being constantly tormented weigh on me, but the added guilt of not having water for them to swim in, just did me in.

Ducks don’t need water.

But ducks sure do want water.

Ducks LOVE water.

And our ducks were no different. Their happiest moments were when we put them in water. We didn’t have a pond for them. We didn’t even have a pool for them. Instead we just filled a plastic bin with water and let them swim around for a little while each day. It wasn’t much but that bin was more than enough for them.

They loved it.

In the water, they were no longer terrified. 

In the water, they had a short reprieve from their tormentors.

And I loved watching them happily splashing around.

It also made me very sad.

I absolutely hated to end their enjoyment and put them back in that coop. And leaving them out was not an option since the backyard was not fenced in. 

So, back in the coop they went. To wait out the night and most of the day huddled together in a corner.

Looking back I can see just how foolish we were to bring those ducks back home with us.

Now that we live on the farm with so much more space, I would certainly raise ducks without hesitation. But there would be a couple of things I would make sure to do:

I would give them their own space. 

I would make sure they had access to water. Of course a nice sized pond would be preferred – not just for duck reasons - but not happening any time soon. A little kiddie pool would actually suffice.

And I think that our chickens would have no problem with some ducks sharing their space since this coop has so much more room.

So, maybe one day soon, I can announce that Sweet Biddies Farm now features ducks. It would definitely add a lot of fun to the farm, along with a ton of gosh darn adorableness.

But whatever became of my two sweet ducklings???

I have wanted to tell the tragic tale of Eli and Lucille for a while now…

A Pasture-Raised Life For Me

We knew from the beginning that keeping free-range chickens on our farm would be a bit of a challenge.

We probably underestimated just how challenging it would be...or were just a bit naive.  

Chickens that are free to roam actually REALLY love to roam around in spots that you would prefer them to stay far away from. You have all this land to dig and scratch around in, why do you continually choose to do it in my flower bed???

Always so dang curious...

But probably the biggest challenge of all – and the most important one – is keeping them safe. Aside from being out with them every single second of the day – which I am not going to do – you just have to pray that your chickens are smart enough to stay out of harm's way.

Guess what?

They’re not.

We have lost several chickens these past couple of years.

Coyotes, foxes, hawks, owls…

Side note: Did you know that owls are vicious creatures? They carry your chicken off into the night and eat the head. Yep, just pop that thing right off for a midnight snack. Let me tell you, it is quite alarming to discover a chicken body with its head missing.

Those are just the predators we suspect have taken some of our chickens. There are countless other things out there that would do harm to your flock.

Building a fence around our 20 acre property is not a realistic option for us. Plus, those fences don’t keep out what has been the worst offender of them all – hawks.

And well, there is always the option of keeping them in their coop. The coop itself is rather large with an even larger run to give them some access to the outside. Plenty of room for the girls.

However, that option just does not work for me. 

No matter how large, it just isn't large enough. They’ve scratched up every bit of greenery inside the run and have decimated the bug population around the area long ago. Plus, they are just so desperate to be let out every day, squawking at me until I let them free.

How could I keep them in there?

Luckily, we were not the first to face this dilemma and have discovered mobile chicken tractors. 

Genius.

Your flock is out in the fields, scratching, digging, doing everything they love, while still kept out of harm’s way. 

But Sean decided to take it one step further and designed a mobile chicken coop. 

Yes, the chickens have moved to a new home.

One with wheels.

First thing to do in a new home is pick out your room.

It is a bit smaller than their old coop, but sadly, we have a lot less chickens, so there is plenty of room.

And just like your typical chicken tractor, we move it to a new grassy spot every day. 

They have also moved to a location that they were way too afraid of before but some place we desperately need them – and tried in vain to bring them to before – the GARDEN.

Chickens are some of the best resources in the fight for chemical free gardens. They eat all those pesky bugs and their poop is great fertilizer. Some of their favorite scratching places on the lawn have provided the best soil.

Work that soil ladies!

They are still let out of the coop and into the garden but only when we can be out there with them to supervise. The area is pretty open with no trees or bushes for them to hide in.

And they have discovered paradise...

This must be what chicken heaven is like.

Lots of things to scratch up. Lots of things to eat. 

No chance of being eaten alive.

It’s a win, win for everyone.

So, we are changing our chickens/eggs from "free-range" to "pasture-raised." I guess you could technically still call our birds free-range since they do have plenty of access to the outside but I think the term pasture-raised fits a lot better.

As always, Althea keeps an ever watchful eye on her flock.

Don't Miss the Cat Condo...

Even though the "business" aspect of Sweet Biddies Farm took off only a few months ago, our farm actually first began a couple of years ago when a young couple decided to take a chance and move away from the city down to the "country" (technically not the country but more suburbs but I like to pretend we are in the middle of nowhere).

So, there are a lot of stories missed on this blog like what is was like moving away from the city to the farm, getting chicks for the first time, getting the blasted coop ready for chickens, launching The Milk Cow BBQ Co., and many  other firsts and adventures that we have had on the farm.

On this blog, you also have not met three very integral pieces of our farm – Althea, Dennis and Hank, who you will even see pop up every once and a while in these posts.

If you are interested in our earlier adventures, you are in luck! There is a place for you to catch up on it all, and it is on my original blog – Farmer in a Pink Tutu.

We will be posting all of our farm stories and tips on the Sweet Biddies Farm blog, but I will occasionally write about the non-farm shenanigans on the Farmer in a Pink Tutu blog (and yes, I know I only occasionally write on this blog now...).

So, if you ever feel the need for more stories from the farm or just want to read something fun, make sure to check it out. I have to say I am particularly proud of the story of my greatest invention ever - the Cat Condo.

You can also check out the latest goings on with The Milk Cow BBQ Co. by clicking HERE. It’s a great website that features some locally made, deliciously flavored, one-of-a-kind craft BBQ sauces and rubs. 

Keep The Coop Weird

Here at Sweet Biddies Farm, we have had several types of chickens pass through our lives. And anyone that has owned chickens can tell you, each has their very own look, style and personality.

It’s been a couple of hens here that have really stood out and made a big impression on our lives, which is why they get actual names (and a little write up on a blog dedicated just to them).

No one else gets a name because, well, they are a bore.

That is how we roll at Sweet Biddies. 

Meet Freddie Mercury, one of our white leghorns.

Freddie Mercury got her name from a very sweet little boy named Colin, who received a pet chicken as a gift from us and is currently being raised at the farm.

Colin got to name his chicken and the moniker Freddie Mercury was chosen (with no help at all from his parents...).

Freddie has a very distinct feature about her...

...that ridiculously large-ass comb on the top of her head.

Look at her swing that comb around like the superstar she is. 
The human Freddie Mercury would be so proud.

But seriously, can she see?

It just looks so annoying, God love her. But you know what they say about a large comb, right? Amirite???

Meet Maria, our very last cuckoo maran.

Funny thing about Maria…

She’s a little bit different than all the others.

Maria has a leg issue, which means that she walks much slower and a little funnier than her sisters.

We’re not sure if she was born with this issue but we are sure that it is not serious. In fact, Maria knows that she is not as fast as everyone else, so she knows just how to stay out of harm's way. You’ll never see her out in the open scratching around like the others sometimes do. But you will find her just sitting by herself relaxing in the coop or lying inconspicuously under a bush, content as can be.

She is one of the first chickens that we got when we moved to the farm. And guess what??? She is one of only a couple of the originals to have survived this long.

Some might call Maria slow.

I call her smart.

Oh and if you feel sorry for Maria for being different from the others or that she may be picked on because she seems weaker, don’t. I have seen Maria deal with the others around food time and the girl has got a mean peck.

Meet Peggy, our beautiful rhode island red.

Peggy is my absolute favorite chicken.

My absolute favoritest chicken ever.

EVER!

Unlike every single chicken that I have ever met – and that has been quite a few – Peggy will not run away from you.

Nope, she does quite the opposite in fact. It's really more so the fact that she is very interested in what she is going to get from you rather than wanting to actually be around you but I'll take it.

Her greed very much outweighs her fear.

She’ll run to you. She’ll stand on your feet. She’ll follow you around. She'll peck at anything and everything on your body trying to find a treat. She'll let you pet her (the only chicken that I have ever been able to pet in fact). She'll even let you pick her up.

And there is this other interesting thing about the Pegster…

The gal loves water.

Not loves drinking water. She. Loves. Water.

She splashes her head around in water. She needs to be right next you while you are pouring it, just waiting to be able to dunk her head in it. She loves being sprayed with the water hose...

She's a total weirdo.

But I love this weirdo.

Our dog doesn’t even like being sprayed with the water hose.

I've been told that growing attached may not be the best idea when it comes to your free-range chickens. The odds of a long chicken life are just not in your favor, which I must admit has gotten to me a bit. Throughout the day when they are outside, I continuously check to see if Peggy is still out there. If there is a commotion outside, I run to make sure Peggy is ok. And at night when they are back in the coop, I need to make sure that Peggy made it back in safe and sound.

I even make sure that she is resting in her favorite roosting spot at night. If she is not, it's usually because another chicken beat her to it, so of course, I kick the other chicken off and place Peggy where she belongs.

Yes, we play favorites at Sweet Biddies Farm…

 

 

Coyotes, Snakes and Deer(man), Oh My

I have to say that it is never boring living on the farm...and we're an itty bitty farm.

It’s been five times – FIVE TIMES – now that I have walked in on a snake in the chicken coop. 

All five were rat snakes and I know they are not harmful (I am told that we actually want them around) but they might as well have been mutant cobras. 

             

First time: big OJ gloves required.

Second time: bare handing it will do.

Yes, it is our fault the snakes are in the coop. We've discovered holes that needed to be patched up and now, since all of the chickens are bigger, we keep the run door open so they can get in if needed. OK, so it may be more surprising that I haven’t had more encounters with snakes but still…it’s very upsetting for me. I still can bring myself to step into the coop.

The snakes are almost as surprising – but not as scary in my opinion - as coming home one day and seeing a coyote just gingerly sauntering out of the woods ready for a fresh chicken dinner. That encounter was really more of a curiosity to me than anything else because the thing looked just like a cute and sweet - yes, I said sweet - dog. The real scare came later when I realized just how much damage it could have done to our chickens, who were out of the coop.

But encountering creatures is to be expected when we are away from the more populated areas and surrounded by woods. The solitude is certainly nice, however, it's the dark places and weird noises that can be a bit unsettling, especially for one with frail nerves such as I.

Hearing things late at night is unfortunately not unusual, and it’s even worse when you can't hear things but your dog sure does. And Althea is very good at letting us know that there is definitely something out there, so RUFF RUFF BEWARE RUFF RUFF.

Usually, I can decipher whatever it is making noise. An engine rumbling in the distance, an animal scampering away, an unhappy chicken, a cat fight or even a donkey... 

Have you ever heard an upset donkey? These suckers are loud...and unnerving.

It’s the noises that I cannot make out that have me clutching my mighty arsenal - a can of hairspray and scissors (I spray you in the eyes with some hairspray and then you get a stabbing).

I hear noises that freak me out all the time but it is this one noise that I have heard twice – once just recently and the other about a year ago - in the middle of the night. I know for a fact that it was the same exact noise because the first time I heard it I could not even tell you what it sounded like it was so alien. I have never forgotten it…and only heard it again the other night.

It was very late and it woke me – and the dog – up. And I don't even know how to describe it. Not to Sean – who has the benefit of me actually making the noise – or to you.

All I know is I heard a noise that sounded like it was from several things rushing past my window. An alarm like sound is the best I can do in describing it.

That horrible sound is what woke me up. I heard it rushing by, then my dog started barking.

Unfortunately, Sean was woken up by the dog, so he has no clue what I heard…again.

Animals.

It had to be animals.

Animals out there doing whatever animals do.

Except I have listened to all kinds of recordings of animal noises. Raccoons, opossums , coyotes, birds, bobcats, etc, etc, etc. Nothing. Absolutely nothing sounds remotely close to what I heard.

Not. Even. Close.

There is no other explanation except maybe...

Aliens.

And it all wouldn’t be so bad if my dog didn’t decide to bark like crazy at the woods for two days straight after we both heard this noise (not the husband though).

I love having a dog. She keeps the monsters at bay. However, there may not be anything scarier than a dog barking at something you cannot see.

And the dog and I both know it wasn’t nothing. We both heard it (not the husband though).

And for a coincidence above all coincidences, it just so happens that the very next day – while my dog was going hysterical over something in the woods – I saw a face staring at me in the woods.

Sure I was on the back porch, a good 50 yards away, when I spotted it. At first it looked like a deer but as I approached closer, it looked slightly different in facial structure and color than any deer that I have seen around our house.

And it was too tall to be any other animal besides a deer.

It was in the middle of the day so I was more curious than afraid to see what it was, so I slowly approached hoping that I could get a better look. But my dog – who may or may not have the best eyesight – began barking at a completely different spot, and for a second – a second – I turned my head away and then it was gone.

And the more I think about it, the more I think that it could not have possibly been a deer. I'm telling you it looked completely different from any of the deer I have seen, and I have seen many a deer out and about since moving down to the farm.

The only other thing it could be is a human. And I know that it was not human.

Not deer... Not man...

A deerman???

And that has got to be better to deal with than a wolfman, right...

RIGHT?!?

Chickens: The Slayer of Plants and Flowers

I do love having chickens.

I really do.

They provide us with yummy eggs.

They have done a number on the tick population around our house.

They provide plenty of entertainment.

But do they frustrate the hell out of me.

Why, yes. Yes, they do.

I try - oh how I have tried - to keep pretty plants and flowers. I desperately - DESPERATELY - want to keep our front and back yards appealing. It's like this dream that I see but just keeps alluding me. I see all the pretty flowers all lined up perfectly just swaying in the gentle breeze...but then I wake up to find them lying on the ground dead under the scrapping claws of a bunch of chickens.

HOLY@$&*@^#%$!!!

It's really like a massacre. Flowers just dug up, tossed about, completely shredded and dirt just kicked all over the place.

I honestly do love having chickens. I just have to figure out a way to have my chickens and plants live cohesively before I take them out into the woods and leave them there (kidding, kidding).

I've tried lots of things - (trial and lots of error)  - that I thought were ingenious but all turned out to be failures.

After spending long grueling hours laying down, hammering in and covering up chicken wire, those darn chickens decided to undermine me and just found a spot beyond the chicken wire and kicked up dirt even higher and further so that it still landed even more scattered all over the pavement.

What about container gardens? Yes, these do work for the most part but depending on what kind of plant it is or how how your pots are, don't count out a chicken still getting to them or digging around in the pot's dirt. Or they just find a nice spot on the pot's edge to sit and eat, which is I imagine like dining in at a restaurant for them.

Plus, pots are kind of expensive and I have a lot of space to fill.

Really the only alternative is to figure out what plants your chickens will not eat, and I have discovered that there are actually a lot out there to choose from.

Roses

 

Maybe it's the thorns but the chickens stay away from my roses.

Anything with waxy leaves

We have camelias, gardenias, rhododendrons, indian hawthorns and creeping jasmines. Chickens seem to avoid any plant we plant with the waxy leaves, so that is what I usually buy when looking for plants for the garden.

Clematis

 

So happy they don't touch any of my clematis because I love clematis. I have four different flowers growing in the yard and the chickens don't touch any of them.

Azaleas

No picture because I ended up getting rid of our azalea bushes. Chickens are not the only ones that are not impressed by azaleas.

Lantanas

Not sure why the chickens seem to ignore these flowers, but they I'm glad they do.

I am sure there are tons and tons of other plants that are chicken resistant but those are the list is from my own personal experiences. And the chickens are around each type of plant every day. They have tons and tons of room to roam other places but they seem to prefer to hang out by my flowers, which means that even though they won't actually eat those flowers or leaves, they still absolutely love scratching around them.

I tried putting mulch around the base of the plants but guess what...chickens freaking love to dig around mulch.

Pebbles.

I put some pebbles around the base of my plants and that stopped them. I'm sure an even better solution is to just fill your entire garden bed with rocks, but that is just not a look that works for me. Especially white rocks...sorry but that just repulses me.

So, for now, I have found a place where my flowers and chickens can coexist, and we don't have to take a late night field trip into the woods...

Coyotes are jerks

It’s a dangerous world out there on the open range for biddies.

It's all relaxing and dust bathing now...

We recently lost another chicken to a coyote.

It really shouldn’t be a big surprise. We live on a large piece of property, surrounded by woods and a good distance from anything busy. And, well, coyotes are out there. My first in-person experience with a coyote was seeing one dead on the side of the road. No big deal, I know, but growing up, coyotes were animals I only heard about and were someone else’s problem. So, seeing one (even dead) was interesting...

My next encounter was a little more lively. We just happened to pull up on one trying to sneak into our yard. There it was in all its stealthyness just creeping up out of the woods. It looked just as surprised at seeing us as we were of seeing him. And pissed. It looked pissed at being thwarted from catching a chicken dinner.

You can imagine my surprise seeing a coyote come out of the woods like that (especially given my reaction to a dead one). My initial response upon seeing it was actually, “oh look a sweet dog. I wonder if it will come over and let me pet it” and had to be told that it was in fact a coyote.

I’m not a big nature girl.

But it is kill or be killed out there. And the coyote (or a dog, I know!) would definitely mess up some chickens. It was only luck that saved our girls from a mass killing, I’m sure. They were out, we were gone, the dog was inside, easy pickings.

And it’s one thing for a dog or cat to get to the chickens. We’d be mad, sure, but there is no way we would harm either.

Even a fox I could deal with.

 

Hawks, I just have to deal with.

But a coyote???

Coyotes are jerks.

And it is alarming to see one just saunter into your yard. Not that he was very menacing to us. He was surprised and then immediately got out of there.

And that was that. Coyote gone. Chickens safe.

Until one day, you’re in the house watching a Real Housewives repeat with the dog snuggled in your lap and you hear a chicken commotion outside and then see all your chickens running across the yard.

You then find two chickens missing and you see two spots of feathers…

Well, that sucks.

If only I went outside to check the mail…

If only I let the dog out…

Anything would have surely scared the coyote away. 

(Damn you real housewives!)

But another lesson was learned.

We want to free range our chickens and there are plenty of hiding places for them around the yard but that doesn’t keep some from still wandering a bit too far off, especially if they are left to wander for hours at a time.

I would love to be able to just open the coop up first thing in the morning and then close it up at night. Let them have free roam all day long. But that is just not feasible if I want to keep them safe. We did learn plenty of lessons over the winter and we just learned another important one.

The chickens cannot be left alone outside at all. Whether it’s winter or spring, they stay inside the coop until we can be there to keep an eye on them.

Althea watches over her biddies.

Not that this is so bad. They still have plenty of time outside. Plus, their coop is pretty awesome. It’s big and I have come up with several chicken thingamajigs to keep them entertained. I mean do you have a swing in your house?

And maybe the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that coyotes are jerks. Real jerks.

Sure, you may already know this but now I have come to realize that they may actually be the biggest threat to our chickens. Coyotes are no longer just a thought in the back of my brain but at the forefront every time I open that coop door. And if I see one again, I will not attempt to call it to me.

But wait!

There is a happy ending to this story.

I was heartbroken when I thought we lost two of our barred rocks to the coyote. However, the next morning we saw one of the girls sitting outside the coop wanting desperately, I’m sure, to get in.

She is a little worse for wear – she is missing some back feathers – and shaken up but she is ALIVE and well.

We have named her Beyonce because she is a SURVIVOR!

Beyonce prefers hanging in the coop right now.

Hard to see but there is a bald spot back there.

I'm a survivor (what?)

I'm not gon' give up (what?)

I'm not gon' stop (what?)

I'm gon' work harder (what?)

I'm a survivor (what?)

I'm gonna make it (what?)

I will survive (what?)

Keep on survivin' (what?)