Tracking the Eggs of the Famous Houdini Hens

If you live in the Ashland City area and would like to order eggs laid by our 'Can't Fence Me In' Houdini Hens, make a comment below as to how many dozen you would like and your preference for day and time. I can deliver eggs weekly, either morning, afternoon or evening.

Chickens are relatives of jungle dwelling birds. No, really. They don't fly much. It's more like semi-controlled falling or jumping. But that's because most domestic chickens weigh a bit too much to fly. Of course, in our modern agroindustry, most chickens don't even get a chance to spred those wings to find out how much they can fly. They prefer moderately warm temperatures. Think California. Chickens also tend to be home-bodies. They like to nest in the same place night after night. Being able to jump, however clumsily, up the limbs of a tree protects them from predators.

Staying in the same place every night doesn't seem like the greatest predator protection. For predator fooling tricks, we have to look at a hen's nesting habits. She prefers a secluded area. She will wallow out a shallow depression and scratch the ground up causing bits of grass, feathers and other stuff to form a sort of nest. Typically hens will look for places to nest that are screened by vegetation. This provides a cover of sorts from predators. A hen's nesting profile is very low and its coloration will blend in with the vegetation, no matter what colors are involved. Once the egg is laid, the hen will move off the nest and strut away from the nest making the characteristic chicken sound: Bowck Ba boc boc bawk or something similiar. (It is hard to translate chicken into English and each one sounds a little different) She is deliberately leading any predators that may be thinking of eating a nice chicken or eggs away from the nest. The attention will be focused on her at that moment.

Roosters have an important role to play here. They spend most of their time watching for predators and potential food sources. I have many times seen George, our Bantam rooster, find a spot of food on the ground, investigate it, and make a certain type of cackle until hens come over to eat what he has found. George is also fairly protective of his s and will attack anything that looks like it's getting near and shoulodn't be. The dogs definately leave him alone.

Now for the Houdini part. Our hens like to slip through any hole that doesn't look near big enough for them to get through and find those secluded little spots to lay their eggs. They have some very nice nesting boxes made from plastic planters and lined with straw, but I think they are a bit too exposed for the birds' liking. So out they slip, while I figure out what size hole is just too dang small for them and where to put the nesting boxes this time. One small wrinkle is when I collect the eggs in their little hideaways, the hideaways move. I get to figure out what other places are also inviting. If I am lucky I will come around when the hen is strutting and I can easily figure out where the nest is, this time.

The hens seem to prefer shallow depressions in the dirt surrounded by vegetation. I am trying a new experiment with the nesting boxes. Since straw and hay are in short supply this year, I am using some of the dry rotted wood mulch mixed with leaves as bedding in the boxes. Now all I need to do is move them to a more secluded spot. I will look for a spot near some mounds of grass and place woody stems and small branches around and on top of the nesting bozes and see how that works. I also have a few more escape holes to cover up on the fence. The idea here is to make the nesting boxes as close to the natural setting as possible.

If you have chickens, you know the egg count fluctuates from day to day and season to season. Check to see if you have some Houdini Hens if the count is off for a couple days. When you find their nest(s), it will surely be loaded with eggs. These are not the eggs I sell or eat for that matter. I grab the ones that are laid in the proper places, one of our six nesting boxes. I check for eggs three times a day because each hen has their own optimal laying time. Some like to lay early and some like to lay just before they tuck in for the night.

Starting with Sustainability

One of the primary values here at Mule Shoe Farm is to be sustainable. This is not necessarily a goal but rather the process of developing habits. The way I understand it, sustainability describes a system of agricultural production that supports itself - indefinately. Sustainability is a method ofliving because you cannot do one big project and achieve sustainability. You must keep at it.

I came across this concept from several different angles. One angle was through organic gardening methods, another was researching Community Supported Agriculture; and a third angle was researching native methods of cultuvation. The fourth way I approached the sustainability question was from a cost basis. And finally I looked at from he basis of simplifying my life.

Organic Gardening methods are characterized by an emphasis on building soil quality, thereby avoiding chemicals to control weeds and pests. An essential element in building soil health is compost. When soil is healthy, plants are healthy and nutritious.

Other Organic Gardening methods include intercropping, raised beds, companion planting, varying varieties of a vegetable, using predator controls, growing green manure crops and mulching. I will discuss each of these in more detail on Wednesdays. Next week, I will discuss composting. I invite your questions posted in comments of course, so I can answer them next week.

Exotic Invasives Part 1 - The Escaping Hedge

Today, I am starting a multi-part series of blogs regarding exotic invasives. These are plants from somewhere else that have become part of our wild landscape in Tennessee and are crowding out the plants that are native to the area. In each blog, I will discuss the origin of the plant, the naturalization process it went through, what plants it threatens, common locations, dangers of that plant, and how to get rid of it. Not necessarily in that order.

Tennessee has an organization devoted to informing people about exotic invasives and native plants called Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council. If a plant adapts to the local climate, exhibits rapid growth, matures quickly to flower and set seed, spreads rampantly and has no major pest or disease problems, it is an invasive plant. An exotic plant means is one that is not native to the area.

There are three types of privet that have made themselves at home in our backyards and wild places. They are variously named Japanese, Chinese and Common privet. Privets escaped from untrimmed hedges. As colonists came to this continent, many brought plants from Europe. Privet hedges are quite common in places like England and France where they are meticulously tended and trimmed. There is the key to the escape. When privet is allowed to flower and set fruit, birds flock to the berries. Through the bird's digestive process, privet seeds are scattered far and wide. The fragrant white blossoms can can escalate symptoms for seasonal allergy sufferers. Deer and other ruminants who forage the leaves, branches and berries of the privet are exposed to toxins in the plant. It is an attractive forage in the winter because it is an evergreen.

Privet is a midstory shrub that thrives in full to partial sun and can even grow in shade. In shady areas, it has a tendency to be leggy in appearance. It grows in many of the same places as Inkberry, Mountain Laurel, Devilwood, Limerock Arrowwood, Southern Waxmyrtle and Possumhaw Vibernum. Through rapidly spreading runners and berry production, privet quickly chokes out other plants in the same forest level.

I have tons of this stuff at the edges of my woods. It has also taken over areas that typically have hill cane growing. I noticed that the late frost we had this year caused the more tender growth to die back. That was very nice. But to get rid of it, you have to be diligent in removing it whenever you see it. Do not compost this plant! Branches, roots, stems and berries can all give rise to new plants. If you cut it back in the spring, cut after it has just put out a bunch of new growth. Cut the trunks back and soak with your choice of commercial chemical herbicide or diesel fuel. Do this when the weather is predicted to be clear and 72 degrees or better. Diesel fuel is considered to be a biologic or organic friendly control because it will breakdown into less toxic material. Commercial herbicides will not. Plant any of the above mentioned native plants in the place of the privet and give it a run for its money.