1 brown (1L)

1 brown (1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

Tuesday 1 brown (1L)

2 brown (2S)

Bought scratch $10.99

1 brown (1L)

1 brown (1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

Tuesday 2 brown (2L)
massive storm Tuesday - 10 inches of rain in under 24 hours.

1 green, 1 brown (1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

no eggs on Saturday.

No swimming, feel like I've had a bit of flu the last few days - aches and pain throughout my body, minor fever.

2 brown (1S,1L)

Older Americauna was out of the chicken yard this morning, I chased her back after she had made quite a bit of noise. I think she's laying some eggs outside of the coop/laying boxes. Which is unfortunate because I have no good way of knowing which eggs are fresh and which are old. Given the rooster, found eggs could have embryonic chicks in them, which is a real bummer to find when you crack an egg into a pan.

2 brown (1S,1L)

The pullets are getting close to the size of the laying hens. They seem to forage, scratch, etc as a separate group from the older birds.

Rooster tends to stay with the older birds. From behavior I'd say he was 3 months old wen he was dropped off in June, making him 7 months now. In the past month he's become aggressive towards unfamiliar humans in the chicken yard, and I attribute that change with age and an associated increase in hormone production. I better be slaughtering him soon.

1 green, 2 brown (2L)

1 brown (1L)

bought 50# pellets, 5# flax seed. $19.93

I was out of town for 10 days. Chickens were properly cared for, no losses due to predation.

2 brown (1S,1L)

15 eggs saved during the 10 day absence, plus probably 8-12 eaten. Caretaker said they had good production, but then he hadn't been tracking it day by day.

2 brown (1S,1L)

1 green, 2 brown (1S,1L)

1 green, 2 brown (1S,1L)

swam usual

Saturday 1 brown (1S)

1 green, 2 brown (1S,1L)
green eggs 2 days in a row. I'm impressed that the ameracauna is producing again.

Thursday 1 green, 1 brown (1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

swimming in a few minutes.

1 green, 3 brown (1S,2L)

Raccoon got to 5 eggs stored on my porch. Electric fence will be active every night until problem is eliminated.

1 green, 2 brown (1S,1L) first thing in morning. Possibly more later.

Here's another video, I commented on it as I recorded it on my cell phone.

1 brown (1L)

Swam usual.

raining tonight.

Saturday 1 brown (1S) laid in the evening.

Joyful little video.

1 green, 2 brown (1S,1L)

Bought 50# feed, 5# flax seed - $19.93. Filled 12# feeder (it was nearly empty). Will be tracking feed consumption, next couple of weeks.

Thursday 2 brown (1S,1L)

2 brown (1S,1L).

1 green, 1 brown (1S) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

2 brown (1S,1L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

3 brown (2L,1S)

Swimming later today. Possibly more eggs too.

1 brown (1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

2 brown (1S,1L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

1 brown (1s), 2 brown cannibalized (2L)

1 brown (1S)

Sunday 2 brown (1S,1L)

1 brown (1S)

it has been very hot during the day.

Swam usual (actually took a break at lap 23.5 because I was coughing and needed to clear some mucus, after i did so I finished out 35 laps as usual).

2 brown (1S,1L)

1 brown (1L) 1 brown cannibalized (1S).

I have some new video of older and 2 month chicks scratching and playing dominance games to post.

Wow, I've been remiss in posting egg counts the past week.

2 brown (1S,1L)

Tuesday 2 brown (2L)
Monday 2 brown (1S,1L)
Sunday 2 brown (1S,1L)
Saturday 1 green, 2 brown (1S,1L)
Friday 2 brown (1S,1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

Wednesday 1 brown (1L)
swam usual (night swim season)

1 green, 3 brown (1S,2L)

americauna laid egg in cicken yard.

Monday 2 brown (1S,1L)

3 brown (1S,2L)

swam usual. Weekday swim is over, will be trying to make Monday or Wednesday night swim.

Saturday 2 brown (1S,1L)

Friday 2 brown (1S,1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

Wednesday 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

3 brown (1S,2L)

swam usual.

1 brown (1S)

Chicks are running wild - playing dominance games outside the coop, but staying with their age group - they know the older hens are ahead of them in the (literal) pecking order. I bought a second bag of chick starter (different mix of grain meals than hen lay pellets). That's going to be all the chick starter I get this year - it will run out sometime after the chicks are 3 months old and ready for regular lay pellets as their main feed.

I'll get some cell phone video of them posted here in the next couple of days.

2 brown (1S,1L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

1 brown (1L)

swam usual.

Another marauder won't be returning. He ate 2 of Friday's cackleberry harvest before being trapped and dispatched to whence he won't return. Now to determine where the Americauna has been laying. The masked one had been leaving green egg shells prior to his dispatch I have some clues to where she's been laying.

Friday 3 brown (1S,2L)

2 brown (1S,1L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

Chicks are leaving the segregated area routinely now. They get back to the coop pretty frequently, think that the rooster is intimidating them.

2 brown (1S,1L)

3 brown (1S,2L)

1 brown (1S) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

swam usual

2 brown (1S,1L)

2 brown (2L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1S)

Rooster managed to get into the segregated area (to be fair he was trying to escape my efforts to chase him out of the coop). He needs to become stew soon.

Friday 2 brown (1S,1L)

swam usual.

4 brown (1S,3L)

chicks have been free to leave segregated area since yesterday. 4 were in the coop, 5 in segregated area when I collected eggs. There was one older hen in the coop, didn't seem to be abusing the chicks.

2 brown (1S,1L)

I've opened the segregation area so chicks can leave it, they were staying put when I checked them a couple of hours later.

3 brown (1S,2L)
Here's some video of the young chicks.

2 brown (1S,1L)

Sunday 4 brown (2S,2L)

I've let the young chicks out into the full size coop. There's one old hen in there with them, so the chicks should have incentive to learn how to run back to the segregated area when she pecks them to establish dominance.

Saturday 2 brown (2L)

Swam usual.

I've not found any fresh green eggs since the last raccoon predation. The old americauna is still getting out of the chicken yard.... there's bound to be a stash of her eggs somewhere, once I find them I'll remove those of unknown age and then start collecting green shelled eggs again.

3 brown (1S,2L)

Chicks are roosting at night. First night 2 roosted, other 7 huddled together. Now all 9 are roosting on a 2x2 about 16 inches off the ground. I've kept them in the segregated area... one of the americaunas got out today, put her back. I think she may end up being the new chicken that crosses the road.

Thursday 3 brown (1S,2L)

Wednesday 2 brown (2L)

3 brown (1S,2L)

5 week old chicks were put into the chicken coop yesterday. I had built a segregation area that does not allow older hens access, using some 1 inch chicken wire.

About 2 hours after I put the chicks out they had used their new freedom to get in trouble. The chicken yard is fenced with 2x4 inch welded wire. 5 week old chicks can fit through this size fence with some difficulty. 2 chicks were stuck, the other 7 were distressed and harassed by the older hens. Eventually I shepherded all the young chicks back to their area. All were fine in the morning. I may keep them confined to the segregation area for a week, once they're fully acclimated then let them have the run of the yard. By then they should be too big to fit through 2x4 welded wire.

3 brown (1S,2L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L).

swam usual.

Sunday 1 brown (1S)

Brew Day
Solomon's Oatmeat Stout (Imperial Stout)
16# pale ale malt 1# chocolate male, 1# roast barley, 1# steel cut oats
4 gallons 130 degree water. Raise to 150 degrees at 60 minutes. Total mash time 100 minutes.

sparge 8 gallons 170 degree water

boil to 6.5 gallons. hop with 35 gm chinook 12.1% alpha 45 minutes.

boil to ~6.0 gallons
o.g. 1.064 (target f.g 1.014 - 7.4% ABV)
pitch 1056 american ale yeast.

I brewed this on my son Solomon's birthday in 1994, in 1993 I brewed it a couple of days prior. O.G has usually been over 1.074, I've had it as high as 1.095, mostly due to length of boil.

3 brown (1S,2L)

Thursday 1 brown (1L)

Didn't brew Friday, too hot. Brewing Sunday... Beer fridge is waiting on temperature controlled damper/louver to enable multiple temperature zones.

2 brown (1S,1L)

swam usual

Brew plans:

I'm finally going to get the beer refrigeration unit done. Was held up with zone controls - need to have it blow air from freezer section to serving and lagering sections at set temperatures. Will be doing some custom mechanical work to provide inlet dampers and fans under appropriate controls.

Should have it charged with gas before Saturday.

Solomon Imperial Stout on Sunday 7/19
(16# pale, 1# choc, 1# Roast barley, 1# steel cut oats)

Brewing Abbey ale on Wednesday 7/22 (14# pale, 2# Crystal)

The next 4 beers depend on having a lagering area ready to go.

Reverberator bock on Saturday 7/25 (15 # pils, 3 # carapils)

Pils #1 on Tuesday 7/28 (11# pils, pils yeast)

Pils #2 on Friday 7/31 (11# pale, pils yeast)

Pils #3 on Sunday 8/2 (11# pils, Czech yeast)

Party on Saturday 8/15. Will have multiple pale ales, ESB, Zot d'amour, pilsner, bock, stout on tap. Munchies... Possibly celebrate new work as well.

The 3 pilsners are in the way of an experiment, I'll get some idea of yeast and malt interactions. The Bock is also a new recipe, should be ready in October.

3 brown (1S,2L)

Monday 2 brown (1S,1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

3 brown (1S,2L)

Friday 2 brown (1S,1L)
swam usual

Thursday 2 brown (2L)

Wednesday 2 brown (1S,1L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

1 brown (1S) + 1 brown cannibalized (1S)

Brew Day - Kriek
11 pounds Belgian Pale ale malt, 4 pounds Gambrinus Wheat Malt
4 gallons 120 degree water
Bring to 140 degrees mix of initial mash water, 160 degree water.

Sparge 8 gallons 170 degree water

Boil to 6 gallons. Add 6 pounds pitted bing cherries. Boil to 5.5 gallons.

Pitch 1214 Abbey yeast.
o.g. 1.060.

add 6 pounds cherries in cane sugar/water, wit yeast at 10 days. This will change the amount of sugar available, final ABV will be higher.

5 brown (2S,3L)

swam usual

Sunday 2 brown (2L)

1 brown (1L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

Friday 3 brown (2S,1L)
swam usual

Thursday 1 brown (1L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1S)

1 brown (1S) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

3 brown (1S,2L)

3 brown (1S,2L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1S)
trap caught a cat Friday night, it was released. Caught raccoon Saturday night, it will not return.

swam usual.

2 brown (2L)

Friday 3 brown (1S,2L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1S)

2 brown (1S,1L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

Water heater is installed. Nice to finally get a shower.

4 brown (2S,2L)

9 chicks are thriving. 3 RI Red, 3 Silver Laced Wyandotte, 3 Americauna.

these chicks should be laying sporadically starting in January. By May they should be reaching full production.

2 chickens will be 2 years old then. Their eggs will be getting larger throughout the coming year.

I don't know if any of the 7-8 year old hens will be turned into stew. At this point their production is still quite good. I think possibly cull 2 hens in January... a flock of 15 is manageable in the space available though, and I may see how production continues with 8-9 year old birds next year.

Current Flock
2 SL Wyandotte (7 years)
1 RI Red (7-8) years
1 Americauna (7 years)
1 Barred Rock (1 year)
1 RI Red (1 year)
...
9 chicks.

Summer 2010:
5 SL Wyandotte (3 1 year, 2 8 years)
5 RI Reds (3 1 year, 1 2 years, 1 8-9 years)
4 Americauna (3 1 year, 1 8 years)
1 Barred Rock (2 years)

15 chickens... possible losses to maruading predators, possible roosters among chicks...

Realistically 12-14 chickens in summer 2010. I'd like 4 more Barred Rock hens in a young flock (3-4 year old or less) of about 15 hens in 2011-2012. 12 brown egg layers, 3 green egg layers.

3 brown (1S,2L)

Monday 2 brown (1S,1L)


Sunday 1 brown (1S)

Spent most of the day removing old water heater and cleaning up garage where it leaked.

2 brown.

No raccoon problems since the egg eating incident. Trap is being set nightly.

1 brown (1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

Raccoon ate some eggs last night - tracks are clear. These eggs were stored about 10 feet from the chicks. trap will be moved and raccoon will have an encounter with destiny.

1 brown (1S)

4 brown (1S,3L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

Chicks arrived today. 3 RI Red, 3 Silver laced wyandottes, 3 americauna, 1 exotic.

Swam usual.

Sunday 2 brown (1S,1L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

3 brown (1S,2L)

2 brown (1S,1L) 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

3 brown (1S,2L)

Rooster has been in the yard all day today. Hens seem to be OK with him, he has been attempting to cover them, haven't seen him have any success, they have an aversion due to ducks raping them in the past. I'll know if he has success if I start getting fertile eggs.

3 brown (1S,2L)

3 brown (1S,2L)

Brew day
Beyond the Pale Ale (Belgian Tripel)
17.5 pounds belgian pale ale malt
4 gallons 130 degree water - replace with 150 degree water after 45 minutes from sparge water being heated)
9 gallons 170 degree sparge after another 40 minutes of mash time.

Boil to 5.5 gallons.
22 grams Vanguard hops 7.0% alpha at 45 minutes.
O.G. 1.072

pitch Wyeast 1214 (Belgian abbey)

2 brown (1S,1L).

Rooster was not in coop overnight. Rooster was in chicken yard in morning, I tossed him over the fence and he hasn't been back all day.

3 brown (1S,2L)

Rooster was in the coop last night when I closed it up. He was still roosting when I opened it this morning, I promptly tossed him out of the chicken yard. He's been scratching outside the yard since then, crowing a few times an hour.

I'm going to list him on craigslist as available for free. Someone should want him for stew or because they like roosters. He's not in the coop Sunday night, so he may meet his fate from a marauder.

I may have a few fertile eggs the next couple of weeks. Will try to eat them within a week of laying. Eggs won't be brooded or incubated so there shouldn't be significant embryo development.

I'm half tempted to confine the rooster with the barred rock hen, as I'd like to have more than one barred rock laying hen - incubating 3-4 fertile barred rock eggs wold give me a couple more barred rock layers before spring.

2 brown (2L)

A rooster visited today - not sure where he came from, suspicion is that he is escaping from a neighbor's flock about a quarter mile away. Another neighbor "helpfully" put him in the chicken yard thinking he was an escapee from my flock - they also knocked on my door to ask about it and we both concluded he was probably from the distant flock.

I wonder if I'll have some fertile eggs. I didn't see him covering any of the hens and he was only present for a couple of minutes. Hens were quite unhappy with his presence and were pecking at him. He seemed to be healthy. His breed is barred rock. I will be on guard for his return - he may be excited about additional hens and come for a visit.

3 brown (1S,2L)

Thursday 2 brown (1S,1L)

3 brown (2S,1L) + 1 brown cannibalized (1L)

2 brown (1S,1L)

Monday 3 brown (1S,2L)