Farming Update

Well, it has been a while since I wrote to you all. Busy times at Stone Silo Farm. It's spring so outdoor chores begin to compete with work, exercise and medical appointments. It's all good, though. Well, it's all good for us. Things aren't so good for the chickens. The chickens have become a big part of our lives this year and so I feel that it is important to let you all know about life with chickens.

My husband likes the "free range" idea. By his definition, "free range" means "free." He lets them out of the coop, and  out of the chicken run where there are no fences, no walls, no roofs, and no protection from the hawks, the dog, the fox and the neighbors.  This arrangement is not ideal. They dig up the yard and the garden, and poop everywhere, and pretty much make huge nuisances of themselves. Meanwhile they tempt all those listed above to eat them for lunch. Except the genius dog who has learned to coexist with the chickens unless they flutter nervously which she believes warrants a little intimidation.

One day recently the husband heard some squawking in the yard, and when he came to check things out, he discovered a hawk with one talon holding down a chicken while it plucked out its tail feathers. Ah the brutal circle of life.  The husband, however, managed to save his bird by scaring off the hawk.

The result?

Half a chicken. I call her "Shorty". The husband calls her "Bobbitt."

Here you can compare a chicken with a backside next to one without.

Just in case you would like to examine this tragedy from  another angle.

And Shorty isn't the only one suffering on the farm.

 

This sorry bit of avian life we call Patches. She's the runt and is what one might refer to as "hen pecked". Little did I know that when my kids used to whine and nag this is the image that would have come to mind had we begun chicken farming sooner.

The good news is that all of these handicaps do nothing to slow down egg production.

Yes, my friends, we are a long way from  the sad, little egg days of yore.  Pretty soon I will be starting a blog about cardiovascular illness. Stop by if you want eggs.

The honey business is also doing well.

Don't stop by if you want honey. We're very stingy about the honey.

Some of you might be wondering what all this has to do with breast cancer. Absolutely nothing, I am happy to say.

Wishing you a honey-filled spring.