Striking The Pose!

They are growing up so fast. It seems like only yesterday they were coo'ing and giggling and now they want the keys to the car and new feathers. No one tells you how tough the teenage years are. They are constantly trying to get out of of the coop, always trying to get away and "Fly The Coop" That cute little saying didn't come about because the chickens love to sit in the coop and stay close, although at bed-time they are quick to return, but boy once they are up and fed... they want OUT! In the foreground is HOOT. Really this is a beautiful bird, never thought I would every write those words. I like to build stuff, play guitar, break things, go to the mountains - Lake Tahoe to be exact, but never, ever...ever utter "pretty bird". Anyway - Loa is in the background, Sunny to the right and Millie in the foreground. Today is going to be spent mostly out of the coop and roaming the yard. I need to go grab a saw and cut something.

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

HobbyFarms?

I am sorry, but this is a world of discovery for me. All of you have probably hit this site and seen the great information it has. Everything I am trying to do wrapped up in a neat little magazine. And now, Urban Farms? - How cool does it get? I am dizzy from excitement. Having been raised with an entreprenuer mind-set and "control -issues"... I rail against authority - mainly government intervention. I loathe it, find it to be the most fruitless form of transactional relationship anywhere in the world. I digress, Urban Farm is more my speed, as I am trying to turn my lawn into a place where we as a family can forage. I know, we'll be competing with the chickens and possibly other neighbors, but that is why I've purchased a shotgun.

A couple of tips in these sites -

1. Great chicken description pages in HobbyFarm.

2. Great ideas on gardens in both; including composting, seed starting...etc.

3. Great ideas on "Out-Buildings"... every home needs one. I built the Simpson Strong-Tie shed, using it's plans and connectors, yet added some of my own features - windows, dutch doors and evetually, water and electricity - Man's Got To Have Some Peace!

Check these out... very nice sites.

Coming Soon "Le Coop" Cam

OK.. so I am going to do it... I need to find a deal on this thing first, but I am going to install a coop cam.

This will enable all to pan, tilt, zoom the camera from the web and even hear them clucking. The nice thing is; you will be able to control - one at a time, but it will enable you to have some fun. I need to run my CAT5 cable to the router, as I am NOT going wireless, too spotty and a long way from the router...with a lot of house in the way. Wireless technology likes "line of site", so this cam will not be line of site to the coop. I am going to mount it about 10 ft up on our chimney so you will have a nice perspective. So... hang in there... The Chick Cam is coming!!!!!

Chicken Eggs - How Much?

I am not sure what this thing is in the picture - it appears to be a chicken, as knitted in a junior high sewing class. However "Nest Egg" is apropos' here

So, in acquiescing to my daughter to raise chickens, I have also opened up the world of people asking if they can "buy" any extra eggs we have. So, as I estimate the production - 200 per year per chicken, I get 1200 eggs per year. I am guessing we consume 360 eggs per year - and upon research it says we consume 276 eggs per person per year. NO WAY!!!! Maybe in cakes, muffins and breads, but in just eggs? No way.... so let me think I bet I consume 3 eggs a week. WOW, that is still 156 eggs a year. Which means, my family will consume 624 eggs a year, which is a little over half the gross. So, this means I can sell... 500 eggs, assuming some spoilage. I see from http://www.backyardchickens.com/ (which is an awesome site) that prices are all over the board. Based on the sampling; it appears people in a more rural location are getting $1.50-$2.00 per dozen, whereas people in more suburban areas are getting as much as $6.00 a dozen and $12.00 a dozen for duck eggs (guess what Dad is coming home with tomorrow!!!!?). Although I hear ducks are waddling garbage trucks and destroy yards - and I have not see studies on duck intelligence, duck manure, foreign ducks attitudes - I don't need a snooty French duck, giving the English chickens a hard time. Anyway, back to my math... 500 eggs at $4.00/ dozen (slightly conservative given my location) = $166.67. DOH! That's right everyone, living the high-life now. Oh yeah, Wailea Four Seasons, here I come. Good grief, $166.67 A YEAR!!!! And it is saving me, $156 at the grocery store, so my net is $323.00. Not bad - really... but ducks can make you rich. Ducks lay all year round, are coveted for their taste and are - well ducks... beloved in cartoons and good eating. I think in metropolitan areas more can be attained... and no doubt more money in ducks.

Chicken's On The Lamb

I get home tonight and run over to the chickens like it was Christmas morning only to see the waterer looking like a commode. I quickly open the door to the coop and Kapalua the Arcauna decides to make a run for it. They have gotten very use to us coming in the coop. They know when we are there = food and actually don't run off like it is a bomb scare. I also left the gate open to the backyard which opens her world like an Amish boy at a toy store - she decides its movie night and she's off to downtown. Fortunately the nickname "chicken" was accurate. She walked 10 steps out the gate and looked around like she just walked into the Lion's Den and runs back into the backyard as fast as possible. The grass is always greener theory is bunk... and this chicken realized it quickly. She tried everything to get back in the coop with the others... of course the others look at her like she was a convict. "Weirdo!!!! You always were the unstable one". Of course the two Buff's, sat back and mumbled something about "Americans always running off to better places! It took some chasing to get back in because as we got close to her, she decided to try her martial arts skills on us. We managed to get her herded back in where she promptly laid down.

More tomorrow on the waterer... Ebay'ing it.

Flax and Chickens

So we surpassed 1000 today, which is very cool thanks.

Something I wanted to share today is something I picked up from an organic egg producer. This producer sells two types of eggs; 1. Organic eggs and 2. Omega-3 eggs. It is classed as an Omega-3 egg for one reason, they feed the chickens flax seed. Purportedly, when chickens are fed flax seed the conversion process within the chicken is the equivalent of putting a putting a dish in the dishwasher and pulling out a Wedgewood china vase. So, pictured to the left is flax. A super easy plant to grow, propogates like bamboo and produces beautiful flowers that when finished blooming turns into these little tan balls of 6-10 seeds in each. These balls become completely dry and once crushed in the fingers, simply blow away the chaff , collect the seed and add to the chickens food. You see my daughter holding the remnants of two bulbs. We simply add this daily to the chickens food. Viola' the chickens dawn capes and begin flying from one end of the coop to the other shooting Omega-3 eggs out like a machine gun. Their mental acuity becomes so good, they actually place their eggs in their own cartons and sign the package.

So, here is the challenge... plant some flax, feed it to the chickens. WOW not an Olympic moment here, but a challenge nonetheless.

By the way, eat these yourself too. They taste very wheat-like, but - as my daughter thought, watermelony. Which, in retrospect is very accurate. Enjoy!

Chicken, Gardens and Agrarianism

While deciding to become and egg harvester and chicken babysitter, I decided to get back into gardening. I have taken a 10 year hiatus while I turned my house into the Winchester Mystery House. I really can't help myself as I love gardening, am enjoying this chicken craze and will soon be hand-augering a well in my backyard so I can irrigate everything. I have a small piece of property it is 100 x 100 and 35% is house another 20% is driveway and lawn. So I am not a land-barron and don't want anyone feeling inhibited by a perception of money... negative tower.... no money here. Which leads me to my next point.

My desire is to get off the grid; solar on the house, eggs in the coop, veggies in the garden and water in the well. In as much as I can tell this is neo-agrarianism. Since we don't live in villages where someone is stomping out wine or kneeding bread or pressing olives or making some shoes. The best we can do is; water, sun, wind, dirt, seeds and chickens, unless you have land and ordinances that let you slaughter - then meat..I don't and wouldn't anyway, unless I had to.

I have read enough to know, our economy will never be the bloated self it was from 2002-2006. That was 4 years of Fantasy Island. I also know from my years studying and applying economics in business, that we are in for lean times. As the government turns on the printing presses, our money will buy less. This begs the need to keep it in your pocket and food being one of our larger monthly expenses, why not provide it for yourself - no matter the size of lot you have.

Above are kaliedescope carrots. These are offered by Cook Gardens. I have bought many seeds from Cook over the past 20 years and they have been the best - by far. They are awesome to eat, beautiful to look at, kids like them and they "sell". Many local gardeners can make money selling to neighbors or at Farmers Markets, but more importantly you can provide for yourself.

So, while I am tending to my chickens, I will be harvesting some veggies too. If your not doing it, give it a try. Neo-Agrarianism is coming to a street near you.

Le Coop du Jour T-Shirts coming soon.

Orpingtons

What a great breed of chicken....

(splash, blue and buff)

Carmel Valley and Chickens Part 2

As you ramble down Carmel Valley road it becomes clear you have moved from the well-to-do retirees to well-to-do wineries like Bernardus, Chateau Julian, Talbott among many others. The landscape is stunning and as you drive the valley seems to narrow with oak studded mountains becoming closer and closer.

Is it any wonder why celebrities and dignitaries call this place home; Doris Day, Betty White, Clint Eastwood, Earth, Wind and Fire (at one time), Merv Griffin, Leon Panetta, Charles Schultz (Peanuts), Charles Schwab, The Kohler Family, The Firestone Family to name a scant few.


Once deeper into the Valley you come upon the Village. Once a cowboy hitching post has now become a village of great restaurants, unique shops and artisans. The newest and one of the more lively is the Volcano Grill owned by Billy Quon Lee. Mr. Lee made a name for himself back in the 80's by opening a string of successful restaurants on the Monterey Peninsula. His success seems to continue.


http://www.volcano-grill.com/



If you dig a little deeper there are great spots to stop and take in the view, the Carmel River and even go for a horseback ride through the foothills and wineries at Holman Ranch.

http://www.holmanranch.com/



My point to this travel tip is; ranches and farms are everywhere. Chickens meander about along with wild turkey, quail and jack rabbits. Horse stables abound and discoveries are awaiting.

This is getting too sappy...

Carmel Valley and Chickens

Carmel, CA


OK, when most of us think of Carmel we think of Clint Eastwood, golf, quaint shops, incredible beach and a storied history and tradition. How many of us, know or realize there is much more to this area than the aforementioned? This place has it all. As Robert Louis Stevenson said - "It is the greatest meeting of land and sea and chickens and sustainable living in the world" OK, RLS did not say this, but if he was living today, he might have.

Having grown up on the Monterey Peninsula, I have had the chance to explore, learn and grow to love it. There is not place I have ever been which brings such an incredible peace. I am feeling very vulnerable right now and need to cry for a moment... OK I am over it. Really this is a wonderful place and should be visited by all. Just make sure I am not there and not all at once.

So, off the beaten path you head south on Hwy 1 to Carmel Valley Road making a left you are now heading southeast. Essentially this road, Carmel Valley Road, is a treasure trove of fun. Not to turn this into a travel site, I wanted to focus the imagery on sustainability and travel, inspiration and, of course, chickens - really this is what it is all about. As you head out you have "The Barnyard" a group of shops set right at the mouth of the Valley... in a, well, barn-ish setting. The irony is thick here, as The Barnyard (pictured to the left) telegraphs the Valley's true character.

As you meander through the pines, oaks and homes, you will also begin noticing fields, horse-ranches and wineries. Dotted in between, there are nurseries, golf courses and FEED STORES!!!! Yeah.... The coolest one I've come across is Hacienda Hay and Feed at 7180 Carmel Valley Road.

This place, situated due east of Quail Lodge and the Wagon Wheel restaurant (Good Breakfast Spot). This is essentially a working feed store, providing all the essentials to many working ranches and horse stables, but is a wonderful garden center and, yes, even petting zoo. Although one time we were there and there was a peacock roaming around and it freaked us out as it followed us, step for step, mocking us... we'd stop, he'd stop, we walked, he walked, we ran, he ran - utterly unnerving. This is a place to stop, eat at the local restaurants, visit the stores and take in some memories. Oh yeah and some killer chickens. More to come on Carmel Valley.