Where's The Egg?

Thursdays are all about animals.

As the weather gets colder and the days get shorter, my thoughts turn to providing warmth and shelter to the animals. Will their nutrition needs change, now that it's colder. Will the length of the day affect them in any way? Do/can animals get SAD (seasonal affective disorder)? It's sounds kind of silly, but since I want to keep my animals in the best possible health, I must ask.

If you've been checking the egg count periodically, you will notice that it has been dropping steadily since early October. This is because once daylight hours drop below 14, chickens do not lay as many eggs. Why are there still eggs in the grocery store all year round? Are they $2 a dozen because they're flying them in from the tropics? Well, they're not exactly flying them in from the tropics. But, in large scale chicken farming the barns are kept a steady "optimal" temperature and the light is kept on for 14 hours per day. This uses energy that I can't afford. It is not cost-effective to do this for a small flock. Plus, t'ain't nachril.

I view the winter as a time to rest up and prepare for the energy of spring. Chickens that are kept up all hours of the night wear out faster. Winter also means that the chickens need to eat differently. They need to be able to have extra energy for the cold nights, so instead of feeding them only in the morning, I have to make sure they have food in the afternoon. When they eat, their body temperature rises for awhile which will help them on those frosty nights. A chicken house doesn't hurt, either. We converted an old Sears storage shed to a chicken house and they are lovin' it.

I really can't tell whether animals get SAD. I guess that one's for the scientists. My chickens are happy. And warm. And well-fed. And resting up for spring.

Another Ivy on the Ground

Tuesdays are devoted to weeds and other invasives

Ground Ivy is one of my favorite weeds to pull. It has a distinctive odor and is related to the mint family which you can tell from its square stem. In the early spring and late fall, this lovely little weed will get a jump start on just about everything else. It likes grass. It likes gardens. It likes driveway and sidewalk cracks. Its roots are plenty and its spreads like wildfire. It forms thick carpet-like masses literally anywhere and can easily overrun your lawn.

If it occurs in your garden, which it probably already does, you will have a heck of a time getting rid of it. Since I do not like to fool with chemicals, I tend to pull it up repeatedly. That's just about the only way to get rid of it. Pull it, pull it and then pull it again. Also grow other things that will shade it out. Luckily it does not care for summer much. That doesn't mean it won't pop back up when the weather cools down. This pest is a perennial. Yep. It'll come back. That's why it's so hard to get rid of.

Ground Ivy blooms in the spring and can be a source of allergies. It is for me. It's the odor I think. Once you pull it from your garden, don't compost it. Just pull it out, heap it up and let it wilt and rot on the path. Lay a thick layer of compost mulch on your garden - 3 or 4 inches, according to Mike McGrath. This should keep the ground ivy out until your seeds sprout.

Good Luck with it.

Out of the Loop

by Chaparrel [Kendra]

Yeah, I know. I've been out of the loop. I admit I haven't posted anything this week except for Monday. The truth is I haven't been near a computer since Monday. I haven't been feeling well and have had multiple doctor's appointments this week. Hopefully everything is squared away and I will be back to my usual self next week.

The hardest thing about being sick, for me, is the laying around doing nothing. Yeah, I know you're rolling your eyes at me. Who wouldn't want to lay around? It's not that I'm opposed to laying around, it's just that as a wife, mother and farmer I keep thinking of all the things I could be doing. I know I have built and re-built the new chicken house at least five times this week in my sleep. Believe me the coop gets better every time I build it, but the pieces are still sitting in the field waiting on someone to actually put them together. And that someone is me.

But then, am I all about sustainability? Doing what you can with the resources you have? Not overextending the land, the animals, the soil, or...

myself?

Ummm. Yeah, that's me.

That thought has kept me getting better this week without overextending myself too much. A little at a time. Easy does it. And so on.

See ya' next week!