The Chickens Have Landed

First, there is the romantic dream. When I thought about bringing chickens onto the farm, I had the idyllic image of flocks of feathered hens running around the yard, bringing life, happiness, and occasionally comedic relief.

But I wasn't completely naive. Everyone I know out here that have chickens have lost chickens. I know there are "bad guys" out there. Predators. Those who would see the new arrivals as the inauguration of the new neighborhood diner. So I enclosed the soon-to-be barnyard with fencing capable of keeping dogs, coyotes, and other predators at bay. Perhaps from time to time I might have to deal with a thief. But the other 364 days of the year would be bliss.

My naivete would last less than 24 hours after the baby chix arrived. Then, during broad daylight, and every day and night afterwards I saw them. The fox. Like a bad cartoon. The 6ft wire mesh fence isn't going to keep those guys out. Nor the skunks. Alright. Nice to meet you Mr. Reality. Time for Plan 9: the chicken tractor.

First I built the mobile coop. A veritable fortress on wheels. I don't know how many of you remember Super Chicken, but this vessel puts the Super Coop to shame. It has a double wire bottom, so the precious chicken poop can drop right onto the ground. The double wire is to prevent the nasties from eating the little chicken toes that protrude through the wire. Concerned about the wire on the little feet, I made 2x4 pathways so that the chickens (and I) can navigate the coop and hangout w/o having to always walk on wire. Built in nesting boxes with side access shutters allow easy egg removal w/o having to go into the coop and play "Who's Your Daddy" with Mr. Rooster.

But Alas, chickens love getting down and dirty. I would put some of them in a wire bottom dog kennel right on the ground and they would pick and dig and bathe in that dirt. If chix could smile, they'd be grinning ear to ear ever time I let them contact Mother Earth. So that's when the mobile tractor attachment was born. To the right is a photo of the partially constructed tractor with the wheels deployed. The wheels raise the coop off the ground so that it can be maneuvered into place, and then the wheels lower resting the tractor onto the ground providing a protective daytime pen or chicken park.

As usual, it took me way longer to build than I thought, including some welding and metal fabrication lessons from the local blacksmith. Sigh, my initial wooden landing gear would not bear the weight. But this week I finally "got'er done" as Larry would say, and positioned the coop and the tractor side by side in a virgin field. Note the three ports on the tractor. These align with corresponding ports on the coop and are connected with a protected gangway.


DAY 1: the chickens were... well CHICKEN. Man, what worry warts. I would open the coop, grab a hen and put her in into the tractor, and she would panic and run right back into the coop. Some of the chickens would get topside where there is a window and look down nervously at their new park. But nary a venture. Finally, one brave barred rock, Nelle Armstrong, the adventurer braved the gangway, and under her own chicken power, jumped down into the tall weeds under the tractor. Here I caught this historic event. One small leap for chicken, one sigh of relief for the man.

DAY 2: A few more ventured out. Up to a quarter of the flock could be seen in the tractor at any time during the day. In the evening, they all went back into the coop, though one fat hen clogged up the door, and two smaller hens were stuck roosting on the gangway. In the evening I gave them a gentle nudge and they got the courage to push their way past fattie and get inside before I locked them up safe.

DAY 3: Still about a quarter of the flock. The auracana's and barred rocks seem to favor outside the most. Occasionally a RI Red or a Buff Orpington would come out, pick around, and return to the coop. Amazingly in three days, they have reduced that weed filled space to COMPLETE RUBBLE. Bare dirt! Time to move the coop and tractor down a bit :)

TO BE CONTINUED: Well, unfortunately I can't move the coop and tractor right now :( during their maiden voyages, each experienced some "technical difficulties" which are going to require a few more lessons from the blacksmith. Oh well, at least the chickens are on the ground where they are happy until I get those parts welded back up again. The remaining weeds will have to wait.

New Hand Lotion

Yesterday I worked on labeling hand lotion. This is a new product for Carmel Lavender. Many of you have asked for a lotion in a pump. I was able to mix up a batch last week and bottle it. They just needed labels before releasing. Of course, each and every label is hand stamped, and bears the seal carved for me by that craftsman in Shanghi (see August article: Hand-crafted Seals and Hand-stamped Labels).

The lotion is an Aloe Vera base scented with a lavender I distilled last December (see December 2008 article: Winter Oil). It is from Provence lavender, and adds a very nice scent. During testing, one customer said that she would use it on her hands in the evening so she could smell the lavender all night. That should help with sleep too.

They are bottled in 4 oz blue cobalt class bottles with a black pump.

If you would like to try my new Carmel Lavender hand lotion, send me a note. The price is $11. If you live locally on the Monterey Peninsula, send me your order before the end of the month and I can arrange to bring it to town for you, and I'll even give you 20% off.

How's Chix?

They're all doing well. You can see however they aren't really chicks any more. They have actually grown quite large. And the different colors are quite beautiful. Not as large as some of the the Cornish X Chickenzillas I wound up with by mistake, but that is another story....

Still no eggs, and I don't expect eggs for another couple of months. I have heard from some of you about interest in CSA shares. As soon as they start producing, I'll get that going. If you do have interest, send me a note.

Interesting little note, if you crow like rooster, they all simultaneously shake their heads and ruffle their neck feathers. It is actually quite entertaining to watch all forty of them shake their head at the exact same time like that. Of course, you have to learn to crow like a rooster if you want to indulge! I wonder which the oak trees find more amusing, the chickens or the farmer? :)

Travel Well Joyous Heart

Today the farm embraces a major transition. My daughter leaves the farm to go overseas to study. We will miss her here but I hope that she takes a piece of Lavender Hill with her on her journey. With joy, I send her off with this thought:

Travel Well Joyous Heart
by John Russo

Joy does travel
In the Heart
Set aloft for adventure.

Preparations
Voyage far
The Trip and Journey come now.

Travel days end
Journey more
A lifetime, remember well.

The plane of Youth
Turns the World
Under its wings the future.

Passangers sing
Laughter, Hope, Joy
All that promise Tomorrow

A better way
Than those songs
Sung yesterday by the source.

New Lady soon
To return
Her I welcome home today.

Reducing Plastics Use on the Farm

I like to consider the footprint I leave in every aspect of farming. One particular issue I keep a close watch on, is my use of plastics. Plastics and agriculture have in many ways become integrated with each other. Plastic mulch, plastic drip lines, feed buckets, containers. It all adds up. Where ever I can, I try to use alternatives, even if the cost is higher.

In my packaging, I make sure to use glass or metal bottles for my essential oils and hydrosols. However, when distilling, I have the problem of where to store the gallons of hydrosol I produce before bottling. For the oil, I use bulk glass bottles. But I must admit, in addition to glass carboys, I have used plastic buckets for the hydrosol. But I decided last year to stop that practise. I acquired a 55 gallon stainless steel drum from a local wine maker. It has been sitting outside, next to the distillery for about 6 months. Preparing for a distillation job next week, I noticed I was out of plastic buckets. Now is the time to make the transition.

One of the reasons the barrel has sat for 6 months, is because I needed a way to fill and empty the hydrosol once it is in the barrel. Completely full, it will be quite heavy. I had planned to rig it up with some stainless spigots and a sight tube, but the additional cost was discouraging.

So I came up with a rolling stand idea. I would make a wooden stand to hold the barrel horizontal, and I would put wheels on the top of the stand, in contact with the cylindrical barrel. Then I could fill from the middle port used in wine making, and when I wanted to take some of the hydrosol, I could simply roll the barrel over and pour out what I needed.

So I built this simple stand. To the right is a picture of the partially assembled stand. The picture at the top shows the barrel mounted on the fully completed stand. I washed out the barrel, and rolled it in the sun to dry out.

I am looking forward to my next distilling run, and placing the fresh hydrosol into the stainless drum, rather than those plastic buckets. Plastic, yuck! And maybe someday, I will find an alternative to those plastic drip lines.