Month: May 2015

A Chick Update (Part 7)

If you’ve been keeping up with this series of posts, you know from A Chick Update (Part 6) that the chickens are now in the coop with the older hens and that the hens are doing everything possible to teach them how to be better chickens. A funny thing started happening this past week. The chicks are starting to recognize that the hens sit in a certain manner in the nest box. Of course, like children everywhere, the chicks have decided to emulate the behavior. So, they get up into the nest box, fluff out their feathers, and proceed to sit with the greatest of care. Unfortunately, all of them are sitting in the same nest box for the most part, which was amusing enough when they were smaller, but is absolutely hysterical now because one or two of the chicks usually end up falling out. The chicks will eventually get the idea.

These young hens are experimenting with the nest box, but they're all trying to use the same one.
Young Hens Experimenting with the Nest Box

Today is a sort of graduation day for the chicks as well. As of tomorrow, the chicks will have spent two weeks with the hens in the coop. Not only are the hens getting a bit irritable, but the chicks need to start growing beyond the coop as well. As of tomorrow, the chicks will have the opportunity to go out into the run and get some sunshine, along with a little freedom from the hens. However, I can’t just let them crawl out under the run fence as the hens have been doing for the last while (just so you know, chickens are excellent at tunneling under fences), so I’ve cleared all the brush and made sure that the fence will keep the chicks inside—at least for now. The hens can still get out by flying over the top of the fence. That was my original idea anyway to keep predators at bay.

I’m sure the chicks will be absolutely terrified when I open the run door. Once they get past the usual surprise though, they’ll go outside and run about. They still peep, but it’s not hard to hear them yelling, “I’m free! I’m free!” or the equivalent in chicken anyway.

Trying to get them back into the coop will be interesting. The last time I had chicks, getting them back into the coop consisted of chasing them back up the ramp at the end of the day. Nothing would prompt the chicks to go back inside. The hens may try to help me out, which would be nice. I’ve noticed that they herd the chicks about in the coop. If not, I’ll be out there again with my fishing net to catch any chicks that won’t go into the coop no matter how nicely I ask. After about two weeks, the chicks will get the idea that when I call from inside the coop, it really is time to come in for the day. Everything takes time.

As the chicks continue to grow, they’ll also gain more knowledge of what it means to be a chicken. It’s interesting to think about chickens going to a school of sorts, but that’s how things end up working out. Let me know your thoughts about all things chicken at [email protected].

 

Thinking About the Cost of Freedom

For many people, Memorial Day, which is also known as Decoration Day, is simply another day to spend time with friends and family. Of course, every veteran would agree that the reason for the sacrifice is so that people could spend time with friends and family. Everyone loves a good picnic or barbecue and being free to gather as we wish is important. The freedom to do what you want, when you want to do it, is an important right. Memorial Day is all about remembering, at least for a moment, the cost of that freedom.

I’m writing this post on Friday. Like many people, I won’t be in my office today. In fact, I’m making it a true day off—I’m not even bringing my computers up. About now, I’ve spent some time thinking about the guys I served with in the Navy and said a prayer for their well being. I’ve also thought about all those people who came before me and have served since my time—people who gave of themselves. However, I have to wonder just how many people have thought of those who died (or even the veterans who managed to live through it all).

In preparing for the post today, I wanted to find something interesting—something I haven’t discussed in years past. It was a bit surprising that Google returned all sorts of unexpected results. The first entry was from Wikipedia, which is quite nice, but hardly noteworthy. However, the next several entries were about the things that could (and should) surround Memorial Day, but didn’t discuss the main event at all. There were entries about the weather, finding the food you need for your picnic, the potential for wet conditions ruining the Memorial Day celebration, and an ad for Travelocity. At least I didn’t go ten straight entries without finding something worthwhile. The next entry was a CNN presentation of the difference between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. I then went another 14 entries before I found something that was actually related to Memorial Day. So, out of the top 20 hits on Google, 18 of them talked about the weather, picnics, travel, television shows, and all sorts of things that really don’t have anything to do with Memorial Day.

Fortunately, you don’t have to follow the crowd. You can choose to celebrate the true meaning of Memorial Day, which is to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure you have the freedom to live as you wish to live. Take time this Memorial Day to provide a moment of silence at your picnic or other festivity. No one is asking you to be somber for the rest of the day, just to take a quick time out in remembrance. After all, all those fellows in Arlington (and other cemeteries worldwide) thought your freedom was worth far more than a moment of silence, they gave their lives to attain it.

 

A Chick Update (Part 6)

The chicks are now in the coop. Moving them was akin to watching a keystone cops movie—anyone who has tried to catch chickens knows precisely what I mean. The cage I built is nice because it gives the chickens plenty of space to run. However, getting the chickens out of there when it’s time for them to go is another story. I’ve found over the years that using the end of the brooder insert to corral them does help significantly. Even so, you’ve got to be really fast to grab the chicken, yet really gentle to avoid hurting them.

All the chicks did calm down once I had them in my hand. Picking them up regularly as they grew did help significantly. I’m not entirely sure why they make such a big deal out of being picked up, but having them settle right down is nice. I got them over to the coop one at a time.

Of course, one chick always has to make my life interesting. She deftly flew out of the top of the coop when I tried to get her. So, I had a chick running around the garage examining absolutely everything. I was prepared and closed the garage door. The chick is now frantically running about and the garage door noise didn’t help matters. In this case, I used a landing net, the rubber type, used for fishing. It has a long reach and the rubber net lets me catch the chick without hurting her. I’ve used the net a number of times to catch chickens and never hurt any of them.

The chicks ran into a corner when I put them inside the coop. They looked straight into the corner, probably figuring that if they couldn’t see the big hens, the big hens couldn’t see them. My new approach of placing a hen with a tendency to be broody in with the chicks worked well. She didn’t precisely defend them all the time, but she kept the other hens, especially Violet, from getting too bossy. Both Hyacinth and Daisy took turns watching over the chicks—mothering them sometimes, teaching them at others. Unlike my first experience adding chicks to the coop, this experience is going exceptionally well.

Saturday will mark the one week point for the chicks. I’ll keep the chicks and hens shut up together for two weeks so that they can get used to each other and establish a pecking order. So far I haven’t seen a single instance where a chick has been pecked to the point of bleeding or even lost any feathers. This morning I went in to see several of the chicks trying out the lower nest boxes (they still can’t fly to the upper nest boxes). Even though it will be August or September before they start laying, I like the idea of them getting the feel of things sooner than later.

As a point of interest, the hens will definitely teach the chicks how to behave in the coop. I have changed the feeding schedule so that the chicks are sure to get their fill each day. I also stand in the coop during the first feeding of the day and keep the hens and chicks separated. Otherwise, the chicks have learned that the hens eat first and they eat second. They’re also learning to leave the hens alone when they’re sitting in the nest box. Like all young things, the chicks have a lot to learn and I’m sure now that the hens will teach them (rather than hurt them).

Every time I embark on a new project, I learn something interesting. So far, this chick raising experience has taught me the need to introduce the chicks to the coop earlier, to provide them with a surrogate mother, and to ensure I pick them up as often as is possible. Of course, I’ve known of the need to be fast with a fishing net for quite some time now. Let me know your thoughts about introducing new chicks to a coop using this method at [email protected].

 

Finding the Right Zucchini Seeds

Over the years, I’ve had a number of people write me about my zucchini posts, especially the one entitled, Making Use of Those Oversized Zucchinis. A few people have pointed out that their particular kind of zucchini didn’t work well for chips. It’s true. You can’t use certain types of zucchini for chips. Especially bad are the yellow crooked neck squash that turn hard unless you pick them exceptionally small. The common straight zucchini works quite well, but you must ensure the skin is still soft enough before you make chips. If you can easy stick a fingernail through the skin, you’re probably fine—no matter how big the zucchini is physically (and bigger really is better).

The kind of zucchini I like best is the Lebanese Summer Squash. My previous posts had pointed to a place where you could get the seeds for this type of zucchini, but unfortunately, even though the link still works, the site shows that the seeds are constantly out of stock. The new link in this post will help you find the seeds you need to get started. Unlike many kinds of zucchini, this particular plant grows quickly and you still have time to get your seeds planted. You don’t have to start them in the house—just plant them in the ground and make sure you keep them watered.

Zucchini chips are a healthy alternative to the kinds of chips you get in the store and they’re absolutely delicious. Of course, you can make other sorts of chips too, something I discuss in Making Dehydrated Chips. Let me know if you have any questions about making them at [email protected].

 

A Chick Update (Part 5)

In the continuing saga of the developing chicks (see A Chick Update (Part 4) you last saw the chicks exploring a world without walls. Of course, they felt instantly overwhelmed by all the new space at their disposal. When the full grown chickens appeared on the scene, the chicks were quite beside themselves. Such is the world of chicks. Everything is new and frightening. I keep emphasizing that chicks are suspicious of everything because people seem surprised at some of their reactions.

The chicks are having more of the full grown chickens visit with them (I started out with a Buff Orpington named Hyacinth). In fact, I’m letting the chickens sit with the chicks in their cage, one at a time. I keep looking for ways of easing this whole issue of establishing a pecking order.

Of course, establishing a pecking order brings me to another topic. Up until now, the amount of fighting between the chicks has been minimal, probably because they’re too small to care and because they were grouping together to keep warm and fight off the hoards of perceived enemies. This week I started seeing a little more fighting amongst the chicks. They’re starting to establish a pecking order between themselves. My need to help them through this transition is becoming more important.

Breeds come into play at this point. The Buff Orpingtons are called gentle giants for a reason. First, you can already see that there is a small size difference between the buffs and their fellow chicks. The size different will increase. The Buff Orpingtons (which can come in at about 9 pounds processed weight) will never get as big as a meat chicken (which can easily exceed 12 pounds processed weight), but they will get a little larger than most of the hens in the coop (with an average processed weight of 6 pounds). They also tend to lay relatively large eggs, assuming you can keep them from getting broody. In the fight for dominance though, they just don’t seem to get the idea. The three buffs will end up at the bottom of the pecking order. Then again, in the coop I’ve noticed that even though the buffs are at the bottom of the pecking order (basically because they don’t care), no one really messes with them much either.

In watching the chicks, it’s starting to look like the Barred Plymouth Rock chicks will be the most aggressive. They aren’t completely overwhelming the three Americaunas, but they do seem intent on having their way at the food dish and the watering pan. I’ll have to see how things work out. At this point, I haven’t introduced the chicks to the queen of the coop, a Black Australorp named Violet. She’s loud, she’s bossy, she keeps the other hens in line. I’ll definitely save her visit until last.

I’m still trying to decide on that magic moment to move the chicks from the cage to the coop.  I’ll want to do it soon, before they get too big.  They’ll stay in a cage in the coop for about a week and then I’ll try letting them out.  I’m thinking that if I introduce them to the coop when they’re younger, perhaps the other hens will be easier on them. Let me know your thoughts on raising chickens at [email protected].

 

A Chick Update (Part 4)

This was a week of big changes for the chicks (see A Chick Update (Part 3) for details). The brooder box boards came down and they discovered that their cage is much larger than they thought. Their reaction was to huddle in the corner. Of course, chickens are highly suspicious of anything new. Suddenly, there are no comforting sides to their cage—everything is open. Having an open cage worried the chicks to no end. If you have chicks, you have to think about how scary changes can be for them and encourage them in the right direction, but not get frustrated when it takes time for them to accept the change. Everyone and everything requires time to accept change. I handled the situation by talking softly to them, but I also put their food at the other end of the cage. If they wanted to eat, they’d have to explore their cage to do it. A few hours later I came back into the garage and the chicks where now running back and forth, wings akimbo, chasing each other frantically. It was if they were saying, “I’m free! I’m free!”

Eight chicks of different types at five weeks.
Layer Hens After Five Weeks

The chicks are continuing to get bigger and gain in strength. Most of them can now fly short distances, so I needed to add the top to their cage this week. The top is simply recycled corrugated roof panels from a friend’s roof. They replaced their roof and these particular panels were still in good shape, so there was absolutely no reason to send them off to the landfill. I used other panels as sheathing for my chicken coop. So, now the chicks have a roof over their heads. They don’t like it when I have to move the panels about and will cheep quite loudly at me, telling me how they dislike the noise. I’ve set the panels up so that I provide the minimum of disturbance each day when I feed and water them.

The cage is now covered with a corrugated tin cover and completely open for the chicks.
Opened Cage Using Corrugated Tin Cover

Eventually, the chicks will need to become integrated with my flock—they can’t stay in that cage forever. There is a reason that we talk about pecking orders in life. Chickens can be quite mean toward each other. In fact, during my first integration, one of the new chicks was actually pecked to death by the other hens in the coop. The experience has taught me that I need to introduce new chicks slowly and carefully. This week, I opened the garage door. The hens are free to roam about my property during the day. Being curious and suspicious, they peeked around the end of the garage at the chicks in their cage. After a while, they started spending time in the garage, viewing the chicks. The idea is to get the hens used to seeing the chicks.

I’ve read any number of texts on flock integration and there just doesn’t seem to be any non-confrontational way to do it. The hens must establish a pecking order, deciding who is the boss. However, this time I’ve thought about the idea of placing the hens, one at a time, in with the chicks. When I first place the chicks in the coop, they’ll be in a cage. The integration process will be slow. Unfortunately, despite these precautions, a day of reckoning will come and I’ll have to let the chicks work their way into the flock as a whole. During their first week in the coop, hens and chicks alike will stay together. My goal is to integrate the new chicks with the least amount of trauma.

This week also saw the chicks eating regular laying mash—the same food that the full-sized birds get. The chicks are taking their time adjusting to the new food, which is what I expected. As with all changes, it’s essential to take things slow and understand that all things require time to adjust to change. Let me know your thoughts about chickens and their growing process at [email protected].

 

Odd Fallout of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Laws generally help define correct behavior when there is a difference of opinion between groups of people. They do things like ensure public health and safety. After all, when everyone agrees that certain behavior is acceptable (or unacceptable), you rarely see a law about it. Most laws also free people from the whims of government by providing a rule upon which to base decisions of whether someone is law abiding or not (the requirement to prove guilt, rather than innocence).

The context of an act usually comes into play. Stealing Intellectual Property (IP) is one of those areas in which there is a difference of opinion and context most definitely comes into play. There is a group on one side that says all information wants be free and that there is no such thing as stealing IP. This group is represented by people who download music or other forms of media without paying for it and feel the act is perfectly acceptable. On the other side is a group the vigorously defends IP, even when there isn’t a good reason to do so. This group is represented by organizations such as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Of course, artists and consumers alike are stuck in the middle between these two warring parties.

A law is considered fair and good when it represents the interests of as many parties as possible in an equitable manner. Over the years I’ve read about the truly odd fallout from the DMCA. For example, the RIAA suing a dead grandmother is an example of the sort of negative publicity that tends not to produce a desirable reaction when the goal is to get people to actually buy the music they want to hear. Of course, you’ve read about my viewpoint on IP a number of times. However, the fact of the matter is that publishers are slowly losing ground because the majority of people are ill-informed as to the need to buy IP and those who do know have decided that getting free IP for as long as they can is the only consideration. Most authors and artists (myself included) are starting to move toward means of earning a living that don’t involve fighting with customers over who should pay.

Unfortunately, the fight over IP is one of those things that just won’t go away because you want it to. I recently read an interesting InfoWorld article, Copyright act could make it illegal to repair your own car, that has me thinking of future stories in the news about Ford hauling dead grandmothers into court over repairs done without the consent of their local Ford dealer. The fact of the matter is that the DMCA is a bad law that represents only one side of the dispute—those who stand to make a huge profit from IP. Until the consumer is involved in the process and the voices of radical elements are heard, you can be sure that people will continue to ignore their rights and responsibilities when it comes to IP.

What do you see as the future of IP? The current situation isn’t sustainable. Authors and artists of all types need to earn a living just like everyone else. Someone has to pay for the IP or the people producing it will decide to do something else to meet their financial obligations (possibly creating lower quality and substantially less IP during their off hours). At the same time, consumers should be free to use the materials they purchased in any reasonable manner they see fit. If you buy one of my books, I guarantee that I’m not going to use the DMCA to haul you into court for marking it up or using it in a manner consistent with fair use laws. I’d like to get your feedback at [email protected].

 

Fun is Where You Find It (Part 8)

One of  the series of posts that I’ve produced that have received the most comment and views is the Fun is Where You Find It series. This series of posts is designed to help you do something fun for next to nothing. The fun today was started when someone gave me a basket filled with goodies for a special event. The basket is really interesting because it looks like a little house. Rather than put the basket aside as a means for packaging someone else’s gift, I decided to make something interesting for me in the form of a basket with silk flowers to decorate the house. Silk flowers are especially nice during the winter months because they perk the house up when there aren’t any real flowers available (except at a premium rate from the florist).

The basket was free, of course, and I did find a few flowers in the craft closet, but this turned into one of my more expensive projects. I spent about $20.00 in total for the supplies that I used for the basket. The first need is floral foam to use to hold the flowers in place. Floral foam comes as dry and wet blocks. For a project of this type, you need dry blocks. The blocks will require shaping. All you really need is a good utility length knife. Carefully cut the foam to fit the inside of your basket.

Of course, you also need some silk flowers and greenery. A friend and I went to a craft store and had a wonderful time perusing the assortment. I tried to shop carefully. It almost looked like I had too many flowers at first, but I amazingly didn’t end up with much left over. The flowers are always provided long, so you need a diagonal cutter to safely clip the stems to length. The diagonal cutter was the only tool I needed to get the job done besides a good, sharp, knife. Here’s the results of my efforts.

A flower basket in the shape of a house with a springtime arrangement.
Re-purposed Flower Basket

Even though this isn’t one of my less expensive projects, it should provide a nice decorative element for my home at a price far below what I would have paid for a finished item at the store. Let me know about your latest crafting project at [email protected].

 

A Chick Update (Part 3)

People keep asking me about the chicks that I originally talked about in Spring Chicks. They really are cute and they’re starting to get quite big. They’re about four weeks old now. The weather had been especially cold for a while, but things have warmed up, so the heat lamp is off now. The fact that my little birds are getting feathered out quite nicely helps. I still have the sides up in their little brooder box. I tried letting one out in the other compartment the other day and she quickly decided that it might be nice to try to get out. Another week will likely do wonders and I’ll finally be able to consider letting them out into the bigger area.

Eight chicks of different types at four weeks.
Layer Hens After Four Weeks

 

I’m still feeding my new hens chick starter, but I’m mixing in a little layer mash. I want them to get used to the layer mash slowly. Eventually, they’ll get layer mash mixed with some goodies. Of course, I feed the full sized hens all sorts of things and they help themselves to bugs when they’re out pecking about. Good laying hens actually need a diverse diet and given a choice, they’ll find it if you don’t supply it. However, for the short term, I’m keep my little birds on a strict diet to help ensure they grow up healthy and happy.

A funny thing happened this week. I had been feeding the chicks using a pie tin because they weren’t able to use any of the feeders I have. Using the pie tin leads to feed waste because the birds spread it all over their cage and then won’t eat it because it isn’t in the pie tin. You can see from the picture that they now have a new feeder. The round feeder is nice because all the birds can get to it easily. Chickens are suspicious, however, and my chicks wouldn’t have anything to do with that new feeder. A few approached it and jumped back—perhaps it’s a snake, they thought! Eventually, the chicks did warm up to the new feeder, so now it isn’t too uncommon to see one of the chicks sitting on top of the jar containing the feed. (You might wonder why I’m using a glass jar instead of the plastic jar that sometimes comes with the round feeders. The plastic jar flexes, so it comes off the feeder quite easily, which means wasting feed instead of dispensing it efficiently, and it also isn’t as easy to see just how much feed is left in the jar.)

An Americauna chick stands atop the feeder bottle.
Queen of the Food Bin

It’s about this time in their growth cycle that the chicks start to get quite defiant if you pick them up. They want to be out on their own—running about, peeping at the other chicks. When tired, the chicks still pile up on top of each other. Even though they aren’t particularly interested in contact, I’m still working with them. Once they’re up in my hand, they do get comfortable.  I had one fall asleep the other day in my hand and I watched it sleep for a while. The second I moved my hand the wrong way though the chick was up and ready to run about again.

In looking at my weight readings, I find that a meat chicken would be about twice of weight of a layer at this point and probably about twice the size too. Layers definitely grow slower than meat chickens do, so you really can’t compare the two. As they grow, I’m finding that these layers are also getting more and more personable. When I hear loud peeping now, I often know the culprit even without looking into the brooder box.

I’ll keep providing updates as long as people continue to ask me about my new hens. Make sure you send any questions you might have about them to [email protected].