the saga of Whitey the Chicken continues

Posted on September 23, 2009 - Filed Under honeymilk farm | 2 Comments

We met her, have seen her flock and her beautiful eggs. We’ve laughed at her slap-stick predicament. We’ve read about her alternative lifestyle love-life. We’ve even seen her recent embarrassing condition. Now, today, we have the torment of Whitey. Only this time, I’m not kidding. But before I go any further, let me reassure everyone [...]

this chicken is molting

Posted on September 15, 2009 - Filed Under honeymilk farm | 11 Comments

It’s embarrassing not to look your best. And a molting chicken is bedraggled and generally pitiful.

For comparison, look at Whitey in full feather:

Wow, what a difference! Molting happens every fall for chickens who lay eggs. They lose their feathers and grow a new set. It takes about a month. The first time one of the [...]

would you like some eggs?

Posted on August 21, 2009 - Filed Under honeymilk farm | Leave a Comment

fowl weather friends

Posted on August 10, 2008 - Filed Under honeymilk farm | Leave a Comment

You may recall that of our five guinea chicks, only one survived the unknown-guinea-eating-monster attack. We were quite concerned about our lone guinea. Would the chickens shun her? Attack her? Could she find a place among them or would she be on her own–not a good situation for a flock-loving-critter such as herself.
Little could we [...]

lucille ball moment

Posted on May 12, 2008 - Filed Under goats, honeymilk farm, mayalife | 3 Comments

When you have a barn, you have flies. And since our barn is not that far from the yurt, we have noticed an increased yurt-fly population. Ewww. Paul bought a number of fly swatters and some fly ribbon, and after killing 15 flies in the bathhouse–double ewwww!–I had the brilliant idea that [...]

food is weird

Posted on May 3, 2008 - Filed Under food, goats, honeymilk farm | Leave a Comment

Goat milk, fresh from the teat (at least Fancy’s milk), tastes amazing: sweet, mild, and creamy. There is no hint of ‘goatiness’ as there is in the stuff you get at the store. And if you drink it within minutes of milking it, it’s still warm.
Which is kind of weird. When milk, [...]

bootstrap building

Posted on April 24, 2008 - Filed Under alternative building, honeymilk farm | 1 Comment

We use recycled building materials every chance we get. For example, here is our chicken house.

It’s quite nice, with outdoor and indoor roosts, an enclosed yard, a sliding door on the house to close them all the way inside when the winter is cold, and a hinged flap that lets you check for eggs [...]

easter egg chickens

Posted on April 19, 2008 - Filed Under food, honeymilk farm | 6 Comments

We have four Ameraucana chickens, named (by my daughter) Goldie, Whitey, Coco, and Floppy. Goldie, Whitey, and Cocoa were named for their colors, Floppy for her tendency, as a chick, to flop around. Naming is so easy when you are four years old. However, my husband declared that Whitey’s full name is Whitey [...]