Time To Store Chicken Coop Straw - Winter's Coming
Time to start thinking about winter. We use straw as bedding for our chicken coop and for the nesting boxes. During the spring and...
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Sustainability
The whole point of this exercise was that Maggie wanted to live off the grid. While Ed is not ready to give up things like electricity and hot water, there are things we are doing to integrate sustainability into our life.
Maggie
- 17 hours ago
- 1 min
Our First Blue/Green Eggs From New Pullets
Pretty sure there's just one of my new hens that's laying blue/green eggs - but it's fun to see!
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Maggie
- Aug 31
- 1 min
Gathering Eggs with a "Cute" Basket Makes Me Smile
I've gathered eggs using my shirt as a "pouch"; I've gathered eggs using the pockets in my sweaters and jackets (which can be dangerous...
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Ed
- Jul 28
- 2 min
Gardening with Chickens
Last week, we harvested our garlic. We succession-plant bush beans, which was one of this weekend's tasks. The variety we plant mature in...
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Maggie
- Jul 13
- 1 min
The Last of the New Chickens (this year)
On Wednesday of this week, I traveled an hour plus to get our last three pullets of the season: a Russian Orloff (front), a Blue Maran...
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Maggie
- Jun 20
- 2 min
9 Week Old Pullets Successfully Introduced to Existing Flock - Whew!
The second time was the charm. The first attempt at trying to integrate new pullets to our existing flock was terrible (all kinds of...
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Maggie
- Jun 20
- 2 min
What Happens When Getting Interested In Medicinal Herbs
I'm in the process of learning about all of the medicinal benefits of herbs and other greens. I've bought reference books that outline...
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Maggie
- May 29
- 3 min
Correcting Course with New Pullet Introduction to Existing Flock
Boy - did I make a series of mistakes in judgement! Thank goodness I was able to course correct and all is well (at least for now)....
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Maggie
- May 28
- 2 min
What?! More Chickens?
Ed and I've been talking about getting a couple of pullets again this spring so that we'll have eggs over the winter. (Only first year...
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Ed
- May 26
- 2 min
Garden 2024 is in!
It took nearly 3 months, but the 2024 version of our garden is finally completed. The extra time this year was spent installing a fence...
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Ed
- Apr 27
- 2 min
Restocking Bees
Unfortunately, all three of our hives failed to make it through the winter. I pulled all three apart last weekend to look for clues and...
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Maggie
- Dec 17, 2023
- 1 min
Chicken Pot Pie - Using Canned Garden Beans and Carrots
We've said this before, but Ed and I are always trying to do our menu planning around the foods we've grown and preserved. The past...
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Maggie
- Dec 17, 2023
- 2 min
Meeting Neighbors Thru a Cookie Exchange
I went to a neighborhood "barn sale" this past summer and met a neighbor for the first time. She and her husband were new to the area...
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Maggie
- Oct 12, 2023
- 2 min
How We Pet Outdoor Barn Cats in the Cold Rain
It's a relatively cold, rainy, and overall blustery day here in Wisconsin. Ed took off work mid-week this week in order for us to catch...
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Ed
- Aug 27, 2023
- 2 min
Final Honey Step for 2023
After allowing our 5 gallons of honey to settle for a week, it was time to bottle. We bought a mix of 1-pound and 2-pound bottles and set...
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Ed
- Aug 27, 2023
- 3 min
Honey Day
In the end, we produced honey, but it was a challenge. We had previously checked the hives and determined that we would be able to take...
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Maggie
- Aug 21, 2023
- 1 min
Seed Saving Tomato Seeds - First Time
I'm trying to keep myself organized as I try saving tomato seeds. We planted a variety of tomatoes this year and they are all either...
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Maggie
- Aug 21, 2023
- 2 min
Notes From the Honey Harvesting Side Kick
If it had been just me, the side kick, there wouldn't have been any honey harvested this year. Ed did most of the strategizing and...
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Maggie
- Aug 12, 2023
- 2 min
Our First Ever Pullet Eggs - Woo Hoo!
At least one of our eleven pullets (raised from 1 day old chicks) has been spending time in one of our nine nesting boxes. With a couple...
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Ed
- Jul 29, 2023
- 2 min
Preparing for Honey
As we approach August, we are starting to count the days until we try and extract honey from our hives. I opened each of our three hives...
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Maggie
- May 26, 2023
- 3 min
2 New Black Kitty's - Smudge & Maple
My new area friend and her significant other have barn cats who in turn had kittens about 8 weeks ago. Last night, she was kind enough to...
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Maggie
- May 24, 2023
- 3 min
5 Week Old Chicks Moved to Forever Home
It had to be done. Our 11 baby chicks, now officially 5 weeks old as of today, were getting way too big for the brooder in our basement....
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Ed
- May 21, 2023
- 1 min
Coop Completed
The chicks are entering week five of six, and are getting quite large. They are rapidly outgrowing their cage in the basement. Maggie has...
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Maggie
- May 14, 2023
- 2 min
A Prescription for Work
I recently found a website entitled “Blind Pig and the Acorn”. While briefly perusing, I found the following words of wisdom that really...
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Maggie
- May 5, 2023
- 1 min
Our Baby Dinosaurs Are Growing
Well - the12 baby chicks that we received a little over 2 weeks ago are all still with us. Fingers crossed that our good luck...
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Maggie
- Apr 20, 2023
- 1 min
Our First Ever Baby Chicks Arrived Home Today
I got a call at about 10am saying that our brand new baby chicks (12 in all; egg layers) arrived today. We ordered these chicks back in...
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Maggie
- Apr 10, 2023
- 1 min
Homemade Pretzel "Rolls"
On Sunday, Ed made homemade pretzel "rolls" for the first time ever. We've both been making our own versions of bread (I tend to favor...
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Ed
- Apr 6, 2023
- 2 min
Coop Update
With maple syrup season finally in the rear-view mirror, it's time to turn our attention to our chicken project. Maggie has assembled a...
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Ed
- Feb 26, 2023
- 3 min
Rest Time is Over
The past couple of weeks, Maggie and I have been enjoying some relaxation and continuing education. Two weeks ago we made our annual...
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Ed
- Jan 14, 2023
- 3 min
Nesting Boxes
As we continue planning for chickens this spring, work continues on the coop. The most recent project has been nesting boxes. Although it...
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