Letting the Chickens "Roam If You Want To"

Today we tried a little experiment with the "almost laying" hens. We let three of them out to scratch around outside their pen. Now that we have a goat fence up that encloses Coop 1 and the Brooder Coop (and future Coop 2), and we have the goats and a dog to help ward off predators, I want the chickens to have free range within that area. However, we haven't clipped their wings and they could fly out to unsafe places. We stood around while they explored for about 15 minutes and then herded them back in the pen.

The next experiment will be when Monty (hubby - Chris Montalbano) makes some bottomless cages for me to put in the walkways of the veggie garden. The cages will keep the chickens from eating my veggies and keep hawks from eating my hens. The hens will be able to forage for bugs, weeds, and other goodies.

The worm bin is coming along nicely, and we added another bin yesterday after Monty cleaned out under the bunny cages. He found HUGE, juicy worms with lots of little baby worms and started another bin (see http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol18/?pg=83) with the contents of that heap! We'll be having black gold (worm poo) for our garden in NO time!

Watermelon Rind Pickles. Yes, watermelon rind. Mom made some of these delicious, cinnamon and clove spiced pickles when I was growing up. I just think it cool to find SOME way to use EVERYTHING!! I cut up a watermelon after lunch and we ate half of it. I cut all the pink and all the dark green off every piece of rind and made half inch wide strips that are soaking in water until I cut up the other half tonight. I'll keep you posted.

Squash Pickles. Well, you've got to find interesting new ways to use the produce of that FANTASTIC garden, and here's one. Squash pickles. I'll be using yellow and zucchini squash and maybe some baby carrots. Rachel (who sent me the recipe) uses peppers, eggplant, or whatever else she has too many of. I wonder if this would work for beets???? Rachel? I don't have quite enough squash for this today, but by tomorrow or Saturday, I will have plenty.

Monty is out right now running our old push mower over some of the leaf mold under the trees and bagging it for use as mulch in the garden. I fertilized earlier with the last box of 9-13-13 I intend to buy this summer. Next month, I'm using chicken poo that will have been in the compost bin for weeks working off the ammonia and rotting into pure, rich, beautiful compost.