Beekeeping...in Brigham City?

It has recently come to my attention that some residents in Brigham City are interested in urban bee keeping and are working with the planning commission to clarify related city ordinances.

Obviously I am in favor of this, not because I am interested in keeping bees (I am not), but for the following reasons:

1. Clarification of city ordinances reduces headaches with government and neighbors.
2. Interest in being responsible for food production educates people about where their food comes from and how it impacts the land, animals or insects that produce it.
3. Self Sufficiency.  Do NOT confuse this with "I will save money by doing it myself."  Economies of scale have been established and whether it is chickens or bees, you probably wont save money...BUT not relying on someone else and knowing what goes into YOUR food product can be incredibly satisfying.
4. Bees are docile...especially when compared with the wasps and yellow jackets whose population has been exploding recently.  If bees compete with wasps and discourage them from being in our neighborhoods, I support that. :)
5. Brigham city is full of gardeners and backyard fruit growers.  Pollination relies on these insects to spread the love so to speak and produce the fruits and vegetables that we love to eat.

I think bees need to be understood before strong opinions make uninformed decisions.  That statement is just as important to the person who wants to begin keeping bees as it is for anyone opposing it.  In a short amount of time one can easily pull up volumes of information that will help educate and inform.  Below is a small list I put together.

http://www.examiner.com/article/gardening-101-backyard-beekeeping

http://utahpests.usu.edu/bees/htm/honey-bees/

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865560975/Urban-beekeeping-feeling-the-sting-of-cities-rules.html?pg=all

http://www.motherearthnews.com/modern-homesteading/urban-beekeeping-zmaz80jfzraw.aspx 

Receiving Eggs Again

I don't have a light in my hen house.  Although I love getting eggs, I don't feel the need to push their physiology.  I let them molt, I see it as a physical renewal and preparation for winter.  Are they earning their keep?  Not even close.  I don't think there's anything wrong with adding artificial light to extend the laying season, I just choose not to.  Maybe I'm lazy.  I do have an extension cord out there, It provides heat to keep their water defrosted and powers the Christmas lights that I like to see during the holidays.

After probably 2 months of no eggs one of my hens has begun to lay again.  Sam our "Americauna" Easter Egger has laid two days in a row.  She has been one of my most prolific layers and provides the largest eggs.  Plus they're green...thus the name, "Sam" as in "Sam-I-am".  My son came up with that when we got her.

For Christmas, I got a trail cam...one of those cameras that you strap to a tree and when it senses something walking by it takes a picture of it.  We have camping property that I want to use it at this summer to watch the deer and moose that come by when we're not there.  I've been experimenting with it, mostly learning how to set it up and change settings.  After figuring out the basics, I decided it would be fun to put in the chicken run and see what I get.  The cool thing about this is not only the pictures but it tells the time, date and temperature.  Now, we've been in the 20s and below for the past week so I was interested to see how warm the chicken's run was.  Now keep in mind, the picture below was mid day, full sun and my chicken run is wrapped in plastic (except for a foot at the top to keep fresh air in).  I was very happy to see it was a comfortable 64 degrees inside their run!

In the front is Sam, on the left is Wheezy, behind Sam is Rosie (Rhode Island Red) and Olga (polish).  Henriette and Red are not in the picture...probably up to no good.  My guess is they're sitting in the nest boxes NOT laying eggs and laughing.

Molting

Not much going on in our coop these days, just a lot of feathers falling out.  The molt is on and they don't seem too happy about it. 

We've been cleaning out our gardens and raking up leaves.  It is a good time to mix some greens and browns in the run to let them break down and create some compost.  There is a method of composting called the "Deep Litter Method" that helps create heat for the hen house.  I have read articles by people who swear by it, I try to do it be able to add it to my gardens but I can't say that it creates much heat.  I just haven't verified it.  The theory is, chicken poop is full of nitrogen, the wood shavings are carbon, you need both to create compost.  What I don't see in the mix is some type of moisture which I have heard accelerates the process.  Oxygen is another component that microbes need to break down the materials so turning the mixture periodically will help.

Chicken Manure

If you're wondering what to do with the by-product of cleaning out your coop, here is a project you should consider:

DIY Tumbling Composter










The link above has a materials list and step by step instructions...something even a non-handyman like myself could pull off.

The blog I got this from often has great ideas for those of us with backyard chickens.  If you would like to subscribe to their emails, go on over to http://ipost.com/communitychickens/prefs and fill out the form.

Prolapse

Sorry for the delay in posting.  Summer has been busy and now that the kids are in school I am finding that we're even busier!

Rosie (front) and Red (rear) my RIR hens

I had an experience last night that had me quite concerned.  Red, one of our Rhode Island Red hens has a problem.  I had noticed earlier in the week her butt was quite caked with poo.  Then last night when I got home from work I noticed it looked like she had prolapsed.  If you are not familiar with the term, it means part of her lower large intestine was protruding out of her vent.  This is not a pretty site, and looked very sore.  Her temperament was good and it didn't look like the other hens were pecking at it yet, but I knew I had to deal with it.  She wouldn't let me catch her so I decided to wait until she went to bed.

When she went to bed, I prepared a plastic tub of warm soapy water and went and got her.  I sat her in the water and it was not something she was too happy about!  But, luckily she was very tired and remained fairly calm.  I had to hold her in the water to soften much of the poo and then I proceeded to gently clean her.  I have to admit, I wasn't able to get all the poo out of the feathers but I got almost all of it off her vent and her protruding guts.

I had read a couple articles earlier in the evening about how people helped their hens recover, they are easy to find on the net, but in short, here are the steps I took.

1. prepare warm soapy water for a bath
2. clean her as good as possible
3. gently reinsert the intestines into the vent...That being said, every time I did, and I moved her they came back out.
4. put her in a separate cage or pen to keep her safe.
5. cover the pen somewhat to reduce light and keep her from laying an egg until she has had time to heal.

To my surprise I was happy to find this morning that her vent looks normal with nothing protruding.

Now, this happened to Red because she was constipated.  She had large grass balls trying to come out but were unable to exit.  I manually eased them out in pieces until she appeared empty.  Some hens prolapse when an egg cannot exit.  That is a scary situation because if it breaks, the shells can cut her.

I gave her water with some molasses in it since I heard it can act as a laxative and I don't want her straining.  So now I wait and watch for her to pass feces normally and keep her separated for a week or so until I feel she has recovered.

Bullet dodged!

Update 9/28/12:
I came home from work last night and checked on Red.  I was shocked to find she had laid an egg AND her prolapse had not returned.  I'm thinking she can go back with the flock this weekend.  I do have to give her another bath though.

Checkups for your Chickens

I just spent a couple weeks at two different youth camps.  It was a great way to enjoy the summer.  I did miss  my hens though while I was gone.  I got so desperate, I found myself trying to lure seagulls to eat from my hand while at the beach at Bear Lake.  One brave bird would fly by me and I would toss a piece of bread in the air and he would grab it.  That was fun.

I just read a great article with photos titled "9 Point Comb to Toe Checkup and DIY Antiseptic Ointment" on how to monitor the health of your chickens.

The article outlines 9 things to look for when analyzing their health.  You can find it at the following website:  http://communitychickens.blogspot.com/2012/07/9-point-comb-to-toe-chicken-check-up.html#.UA_-PKOO4_g

It has lots of good information!

National Fried Chicken Day is on Friday, July 6, 2012.

Today is National Fried Chicken Day!

My original intent on raising chickens was to raise them for about a year and slaughter and start over.  I wanted a cycle of eggs and meat and wanted the experience of providing a small portion of my own food from beginning to end (aside from my garden).  Well, needless to say, as soon as my family saw the hens, they became pets and were removed from the menu.  I wasn't too disappointed, I had pet chickens as a kid and found them to be a very rewarding pet. 

Sam, came and took a nap watching me fix a sprinkler.

Wheezy came and sat on my lap while working on sprinklers.

  

Despite my love for chickens and admiration for their beauty, entertainment value and companionship, I have no hesitation in consuming fried chicken.  I've commented to my wife before that if I ever lost self control, I could end up being the guy they found with a KFC bucket in his lap dead from over consumption of fried chicken.  It is not just KFC that would do it.  I enjoy fried chicken from almost any source!

Not my chicken coop, but I have always loved this design!

So, here we are in July, a perfect time to have a plate of the best potato salad ever (my wife's ...just ask anyone who has eaten it!) with some crispy, juicy pieces of fried chicken.  I eat it mine in the back yard to remind my hens who's in charge. :)