Best Laid Plans

I haven't posted in quite a while, and here is possibly why...

In December, we had a new baby, which means I was pregnant for at least 9 mos. prior to that, which means I was very tired.  I was also in school for most of that time.  Well, actually that is a new development also.

I was working full-time, but I quit that job right around the time I came down with mono for the third time in my life... and then found out I was also pregnant again.  I decided for my health that I needed a change.  I applied for a grad assistantship and now I am seriously pursuing a Ph.D. program in Education (as opposed to halfheartedly pursuing it). Still, that did not leave time for blogging.

Also, when I quit my job, I stopped getting pay checks.  Weird.  But right around that time, I decided that I should apply for WIC since our income would be significantly decreased.  At the same time, I felt I could not justify taking help from the government while we also spent $225 a month for about the equivalent of 8 very fresh and locally grown meals from Fair Shares.  So we dropped our share.  I was sad, to be honest, but realized how much of a luxury that type of food is... It is sustainable in the way it is produced, but not in its accessibility to the masses.

We finally have recycling bins close to us.  First, they appeared on side streets close to us, and lo and behold, one day a recycling bin appeared in the alley behind our house, which means we can empty the bins any time we want!  And contrary to my former sarcastic remark that recycling is only for rich people, I now know that recycling is also a luxury that is not always accessible to the masses.  But it should be available to everyone.  So should fresh, good food.  But it has to be at a good price, as well.

Our garden was a constant learning experience this past year.  Actually, the weather was against everyone.  It was so hot that even professional farmers had trouble... and then stayed warm so we had lettuce in November and a few tomatoes to boot. 

It's probably about time to start seedlings in the basement for next year already... my husband will probably be the one to do it, though.  He is the executioner around here.  I think up the schemes and he executes them.  It works for us.  I have more hopes set on our garden this year, though, since that will possibly be a major source of fresh veggies for us without our Fair Shares share.  I might have to get my hands dirty...

The chickens lost one of their companions last year.  She was fine in the morning, and by evening she was dead.  I cried.  I don't know if I can really put them in a soup now.  They are still laying, but not as much as the first year.  We may get a few more older chickens in the spring from an uncle who is getting a whole new flock.  Then we will have more eggs than we know what to do with since we also get eggs with WIC.

And finally, I have not made granola for a few months, even though I had stocked up on oats and coconut.  First, we get cereal with WIC.  The price of commercial cereal was part of the reason I made granola.  Secondly, I have been pregnant and now just tired.  So that's what happened.  Maybe I will start up again.

God is good.  There is provision for our family in various ways.  And I feel more in touch with my neighbors than before.  Well, my neighborhood, I should say, since we don't have proper neighbors--the houses next to us are abandoned and empty, and the closest inhabited house has a transitory population.  The children that live there haven't been by since it has been cold, but maybe they will be back when the weather is warmer to ask for eggs and pick peppers and tomatoes that aren't quite ripe.  ;o)

Baby #2

Chicken Heartbreak

So we have four chickens... Today I looked out the window and saw one of the birds is acting really lethargic, standing very still, feathers fluffed up, almost with her eyes closed, not eating, drinking a lot when she makes it over to the water. Her comb is pale and around her eyes look pale, too, if that is possible. Her poop is white and runny. I'm thinking either it might be coccidiosis or cholera... The other birds are still okay as of now. 

But I feel helpless.  I hadn't read anything about illnesses, which I should have.  I am struggling not to act panicky, because there is really nothing I can do at the moment.  All the stores are closed.  We were not prepared for this.  And so we know--we are not really farmers.  Farmers are prepared.  Farmers plan ahead of time for disasters.  Farmers don't panic when they know nothing can be done.  They don't panic when something can be done.

I'm praying for my chicken.  Is that silly?  I'm praying that God will spare her despite our stupidity.  It's not her fault, anyway.  

It is so bittersweet because finally today after almost a year of having chickens, a  troop of kids marched themselves into our backyard, petted the chickens, asked for eggs, played with the baby... I bandaged a bloody toe and handed out some water. It was noisy, but nice.  I felt useful in the neighborhood and my chickens helped pave the way.  Poor chickens. 

Somebody Isn't Laying

My husband and I have been debating in a life or death situation for the past few weeks.  We have looked at the books, talked some more, counted the goods.  My husband tends more towards mercy.  I am planning some chicken soup. 

So the situation is as follows:  We have 4 (supposedly) healthy laying hens.  Delaware hens.  Each hen is supposed to give one egg per day to earn her keep.  We have been getting three.  Or two.  Some days we get 4 and my husband makes sure I know, and the hens breath a sigh of relief.  Or they would if they knew. 

The problem is, I'm not quite sure how to find out which hen is not such a great layer.  They lay at all times of the day, although they do make a racket when they do.  They all lay in the same nesting box, although there are three.  So in the end, I'm not even able to follow up on my threat. 

Also, the books say that chickens slow down for all sorts of reasons: molting, the weather, a full moon (okay, not the last one).  So it really is better to tend towards mercy in this case and wait it out.  But I'm watching them. 

City Chicks

First of all, the title is actually a real book that I should reference and recommend, City Chicks: Keeping Micro-flocks of Chickens as Garden Helpers, Compost Makers, Bio-reyclers, and Local Food Producers by Patricia Foreman.   


So the story about why and how we got chickens...is fairly undramatic, actually.  My husband and I talked about it once. Then one day, I met a guy from our neighborhood who gave me a haircut at my house and talked about how he had chickens and he helped people set up coops.  When my husband got home, I mentioned it again.  My husband proceeded to find some chickens on craig's list in Imperial that were 5 mos. old (only 3 mos. older than our baby at the time).  That weekend, we went out and bought the chickens, 4 for $35.  The next weekend (and the following), my crafty husband put together a coop (with the help of my brothers) out of scrap materials.  After that, we drove out to pick up the chickens (then about 6 mos. since we had gone out of town for a weekend), and that was it.  It was winter, so we put a light bulb with a cage over it and set the light on a timer for 2am until 5am to give the ladies 14 hrs. of day light.  They started laying, and have been laying about an egg each per day.   

Now, in retrospect I can't remember why we jumped on this thing so fast.  My husband was really excited about it, and he has (to be fair) been doing most of the work, which for the record, is less than you would do to take care of a dog.   I think we had thought about a garden, and we knew that the chicken crap would make great compost.   We also liked the idea of eggs.  Having said that, the chickens were definitely the catalyst for everything else... finding a CSA, starting a garden (the great compost was demanding it!), reading farming memoirs, urban and rural.   

Now we are totally urban chicken advocates.  We let them free-range during the day, which doesn't mean we are animal rights activists, although I'm glad our chickens are happy in the sunshine eating bugs.  The biggest benefit is not the chickens' morale, but the fact that our eggs have great amounts of vitamin D and protein in them as a result.   

Chickens are so easy to keep if you have a little bit of knowledge.  Non-organic, Purina chicken feed runs about $12 for 50 lbs. which will last about a month with 4 chickens and yields at least 8 dozen eggs, which would be about $15 for regular eggs, in which case we break even, or $24 dollars for cage-free eggs.  But chickens will also mow your lawn for you, turn your compost, and eat bugs (and mice...remind me to tell that story).  They will eat food scraps, including meats, although we don't give them chicken... That's just weird.  So really, they can be very economical, especially considering what they give in return.  

Having your own chickens has become a status symbol recently, but I want to see this turned on it's head and the people who live in food insecurity have the opportunity to raise chickens. I have heard arguments that if all chickens were cage-free, nobody could afford eggs.  Apparently, their memory doesn't extend beyond 50-60 years ago, when many average folks had chickens and could afford them just fine.  They weren't status symbols, it was just how people fed their families.  The eggs were far superior to the insipid, pasty-yellow-yolk eggs you can find at your local supermarket, not because of more technology, but because it was just how God made chickens to function.  Oh, how far we have progressed. 

Off my soapbox now... and here are a few pics to inspire you! 

I had to put this in--our first egg.  Gorgeous, right? The yolk is even better.  You'll never eat store bought again.

The front and the yard.  We always lock them in at night.  So far, no critters have gotten to them.  The food and the water are out here, too.  You just have to make sure the water doesn't stay frozen in the winter, and doesn't run out in the summer.  They dehydrate easily. 

The whole back opens up.  In retrospect, we should have made this a little more "people-friendly" but it's not that bad to clean out.  We (my husband) cleans it out about monthly, but adds new bedding every few days.  There are "windows" for ventilation up top, which we covered with cardboard during the winter. 

They only lay in one box, actually, although we had three in case they needed some privacy.  You have to kind of train them where to lay, otherwise you will find eggs in random places in your yard.

The incredible, edible egg.

They seem to like their house.  They come in as soon as it is dark.  However, we are currently building cages for our raised bed gardens.  They will eat any green thing.  Small price to pay, I guess.