The Farm Must Go On

     After Diana passed away Anne & Lucy got a little, well, moody.  They really started going after each other.  Apparently little Diana was the "top hen."  Now that she was gone these girls were having all out battle royale for her spot! 

      So, like every other new chicken mother does, I went to the experts.  I was told they would calm down eventually; they would just need a little bit of time to re-establish the hierarchy. PHEW!  "However", (oh no! This can't be good...) I "should really have more than two hens in the coop because they're flock animals."  If something happend to Anne or Lucy, the other wouldn't do well since it would be all alone.

      Oh brother.....who's going to tell my husband?

Diana

                                                                 Diana



10 weeks old





1 week old

   Diana was a black Australorp and was part of the trio of our first flock we got back on April 2, 2013.  She unfortunately passed away last week at only 11 weeks old.  We were out doing our usual routine after the girls had been "coop-ed" up for an unusual four day heat wave.  Within ten minutes of being out Diana had made a coughing/hacking sound, but looked ok.  However when she did it again I knew there was something wrong.  She was choking on something.  I tried everything I could to help her, then ran inside to get my husband, who ran out while I got a child's medicine dropper thinking maybe I could suction something out.    
   I got some out, which I believe to be part of a slug; her favorite.  However, nothing we did could save her and within ten minutes of that initial cough she was gone.



With my husband & daughter

 Diana was unique, but it wasn't just because she was the odd girl out in the flock; she was so much more than that.  She had such a sweet and docile demeanor.  She loved to perch on my shoulder or arm.  She didn't seem to care about a pecking order and led to the beat of her own drum.  She loved attention and didn't mind being held or touched.  She was my favorite out of the three and is missed very much. 



With Every Homestead Comes Chickens!

   My ideal home contained visions of vegetable and flower gardens, horses, pastures of grass, chickens, old barns, cowgirl boots, and a farmers porch that had matching rocking chairs on it.  We haven't necessarily been able to check all of those boxes of the list, but slowly we're getting there.
When we moved to our town last year it seemed like everyone we met had chickens; which gave me plenty of opportunities for first hand learning.  I spent the year learning, reading and listening to others and then when spring hit and it was chick season, we began our adventure!



Anne, Diana & Lucy- 1wk old
 

These little girls are the three we chose to start with.  I chose two Buff Orpingtons and one Black Australorp.  I chose them specifically because they were cold hardy (very important here in NH), great egg layers and friendly/docile.  The latter was also a huge factor to us this being our first experience.
The two Buff girls are names Anne (Shirley) and Lucy (Maud Montgomery) and the Black Australorp is Diana (Barry).  If you have seen Anne of Green Gables, you will get the name theme!


Having chickens is a bit of work, but it is so much fun.  Many days I would go in to clean the brooder and end up in there a bit longer than intended...


Hanging out with me- 3wks old

Perching- 3wks old

When they were little it wasn't bad & tickled to feel them flapping their wings in my ears.  As they got to be 7 or 8 weeks and they still tried to do this it was a bit more tricky.

 

I tried to get weekly pictures of them before they got out to the coop full time.  I love seeing how much the grew in such a short amount of time.

         The time in between the third and fourth week is huge in growth!  Look at the difference between the two.  They are actually starting to look like chickens and not little baby peepers.

4 wks old

While the chicks were gaining speed in growth, the temperatures were still very cool here in NH, so they were not going to be able to stay out in the coop until they had all their feathering and a little beyond.  I would bring them out in a homemade enclosure so they were able to get some sun, grass and bugs on a daily basis.

6 wks old

Here's Lucy watching her new home being put together!  She's 7 weeks old in this picture.  She's a sweet girl.  Her favorite place to be is on my shoulder!

Here's Lucy today- a month later.  She'll be 11 wks old this weekend.  Look how beautiful she is!  Her favorite place is still on my shoulder, but given the opportunity to free range for a bit or my shoulder, she naturally pics free ranging.  She's no fool.

 

 

Rain

   Before the rain had hit sometime about Tuesday, we had not seen much rain for quite some time.  The grass was dry, the woods were dry and being in NH, that is never a good thing; we have a lot of woods!  There had been weeks of high fire alert warnings up.  So, when it started to rain, it was great.  My husband was able to get the garden tilled right before to loosen the soil one more time, he was able to get tick killing seed on the ground to get worked in by the rain, flowers not yet planted were being quenched.  It's still raining now three days later and forecasted to for another three.

  While we appreciate the gift of rain, it's putting a bit of a damper on quite a few things around here.

• The kids are going stir crazy!

• My husband is not looking forward to having to cut the grass for the third time in two weeks!

• I have still not been able to plant my vegetable garden! (and can I just add it's supposed to be 40 one night next week!)

• My chicken coop.....my chickens will be a whole seperate post since this is our first time having chicks and has been a great learning experience, not to mention so much fun!  However, for many reasons (which I will delve into in the other post as well) we got a pre-fab coop.  I went out the other day to do a full clean-out and found the corner areas had leaked water into the coop and nesting box areas overnight during a huge thunderstorm!  Since then the coop and nesting box section have been covered with a tarp. 

Everyday certainly IS an adventure.....what have yours been this week?

Amy

       

A Mother's Day Hat

   This winter was a very long, cold and snowy winter here in NH.  In December I decided I was going to take up knitting and crocheting.  Since we moved from a townhouse to a house we knew we would be keeping the heat low as to not run through heating fuel. 

   I began with scarves; nice and easy I figured, so I made them for everyone for Christmas.   I conquered the basics, but I wanted to challenge myself with more.  Mother's Day was coming up and I thought a crocheted hat with the wool she gave me would be a unique gift.  I had no idea if I could pull it off, but I found an easy pattern and went to work.

1st Wool Hat

   It took less than a week and was super simple!  I personally think it could be a little shorter than the 36 cs (chain stitches) that it says because we had to roll it up a couple times.  Aside from that, it came out beautiful for my first try and it will keep her head nice and toasty in the winter!  Best of all I have plenty of wool and time to make one for my daughters, husband and myself.

Welcome to the S&B Farm

   I'm Amy; wife, mother, teacher and domestic engineer. I live in a tiny little country town in New Hampshire with my husband Al.  We have three children- our son Devin is 17 and our daughters Briana and Sophia are 13 & 4; both which we are homeschooling. 

On our little farm we have one dog; Lilly, a cat; Isabelle and three chickens; Anne, Diana and Lucy.

    My family moved back to the country a year ago after being in the city for seven long years. It was the best decision we've ever made.  My husband and I have always wanted to have a house in the country where we could have a big garden, farm animals, and get closer to nature. Ever since I was little I have always wanted a huge farm with horses- somewhere in Montana or Wyoming (maybe someday!)  My husband grew up on his grandparents farm in Illinois, so farming is in his blood. 

   Our goal was to do things more like they were done so many years ago.  Over the past five months I've been learning new skills and crafts such as breadmaking, knitting, crocheting, and raising chickens.  We're slowly getting closer to the land and using it for it's original use, raising chickens for their eggs and to learn many homestead skills to be as self-sufficient as we can.

   With so many new things to tackle it's definitely an adventure around here.  There are laughs, there are tears, there are triumphs and epic fails.  One thing is for sure- everyday is a whole new day to learn and share.

I hope you take time to explore the adventures with us,

Amy