Some new additions for the Fat Ewe Farm have arrived. They are true Ameraucanas, Cream legbars and 3 white Chantelcers. Ameraucana chickens are my favourite breed. They are hardy, forage well, eat less than many breeds, lay consistently, but not through the winter and have pretty blue eggs. They are not overly friendly, but also not overly flighty. I can easily walk amongst them without causing a panic situation and they do not mind if I enter the coop. They simply look up as if to say, "Oh, it's only you!" and go back to doing whatever they were doing. 

These Ameraucanas originate from two different lines in Ontario and one from southern Alberta.  I am not interested in showing chickens, but I do prefer true breeds to start with, then I mix them up. The best breed so far are the Chantacaunas, or Chantecler and Ameraucana crosses. The birds are larger than Ameraucanas, better setters and brooder and better foragers than the Chanteclers, plus are very winter hardy. 

The cream legbar is a sort of leghorn chicken and the males and females look different at hatching, so they can be sexed right from the start. Unfortunately, I have 7 roosters and only 5 hens then. The chickens lay blue eggs very similar to the Ameraucana in colour, but they are better layers. So to increase the number of eggs per year and hopefully through winter I thought I would bring this breed into the flock. For my set up, which is an insulated coop without additional heat or light in the winter, the birds need to be hardy. They are fed and watered outside, not matter the weather and they do have a larger hoop shelter, which I call the day spa, to hang out in. It has a south facing low window where the chickens congregate to absorb some vitamin d and the warmth of the sun. 

In the fall I plan to sell, if I can, a bunch of chickens. These new additions should be grown up by then and I can decide which ones to keep and which ones to sell. The problem is that people do not want to bother with winter chickens around here, so fall sales are pretty much non existent. I would hate to butcher them, especially since they already cost a pretty penny for these pure lines, so may have to wait until spring. But the cost of organic grain is currently 40 cents a pound and feeding chickens that I plan to sell may mean they won't even bring enough money to pay for their winter keep. 

Tonight the babies are in the porch in a rather small container with a heat lamp for observation. I ran the regular feed of wheat, peas, flax and barley through the grinder and they are gobbling it up. Tomorrow they will go into the large old livestock trough outside with a second heat lamp. There is an old door covering the trough and they can see the sun. In warm weather I remove the door and put a wire over the trough to prevent cats and other birds (ravens, owls) from taking the babies. Then they can feel the wind on their faces and the sun on their backs, and when they feel cold, run under the heat lamp to warm up, just as they would with their mammas. 

I have observed the mother hens with their newly hatched chicks often. They are not in a building. The chicks run after the mothers, over straw and hay, through mud and on uneven ground. The wind blows their little downy feathers and the sunshine and rain falls on their backs. I do not agree with brooding chicks in buildings where there is no sunshine. Vitamin D is necessary for birds as it is for humans. Coddled birds that do not get fresh air, get respiratory problems. Outdoor chicks raised with their mothers seldom get anything. So my set up mimics natural chick rearing as much as possible. When they are big enough to go into a hoop coop, they will grow up there, protected from the owls and ravens, but still very much outside. They get fresh green grass picked twice daily and their organic feed too. 

So, welcome the newest little ones to the farm please if you will. And stay tuned to watch them grow with posts from time to time. Thanks for being with us. 

Gosh ducklings and goslings are cute! The last of the hatch was out today, with just a few goose eggs to go. The eggs were collected early in spring when the temperatures were still very low and although they were likely fertile, they were not viable. The ducks laid in their shelter and the chickens in their nesting boxes, but the geese were laying outside in makeshift nests. Unfortunately, most of the eggs got chilled and only two geese out of 50 eggs hatched. There are four geese setting now though, and each has a dozen or more eggs, so most likely, many of those eggs will hatch. The geese adults all care for and protect the young goslings. Last year, the gaggle raised 5 mom hatched little gaffers and they all went into the freezer. This year, if the eggs all hatch, which is not likely, but possible, there will be more than 40 goslings. It will be more difficult to protect the babies from arial predators, particularly the ravens. I am not sure how to handle that, not wanting to lose the young ones, but at the same time, wanting to allow the gaggle to look after and raise their babies. Only Robbie, the border collie, chases the ravens off. The other livestock guardian dogs do not much bother with them, unfortunately. 

Two goose eggs pipped, that is the baby broke through the shell, but they have been in the shells too long now, and likely will die in the shell. It is usually not a good idea to liberate the hatchlings either, since they often die shortly after, especially if they are stuck to the shell or membrane and bleed from being released. There are a dozen more goose eggs still in the incubator due in a few days. Then hatching is pretty much over for this year. A hundred chicks and about 25 ducklings, plus 5 turkeys made it, and so far, just two little goslings. They are all living in the granary aka brooder house with two heat lamps (in case one light burns out in the night or anything else ). During the day, if it is good weather, the granary door is open with a wire cover in place to keep cats and ravens out, so the birds can get some fresh air and see outside. In a few weeks they will be transferred to separate pens, one for the waterfowl and the other for the chicks and turkeys. There they will remain until they are well on their way to adult hood and have gained the ability to fend off predators and watch for themselves, usually about at four months old. The males will be sent off to the processor at five months, and the females sold as laying hens or kept for breeding stock and laying hens for the farm. Then next year, the cycle will go on. That is the way of the hatch. 

There are over 100 chicks, 4 turkey poults and about 20 ducklings in the brooder so far. Tomorrow the ducklings need to be separated because they use up all the water and make such a big mess, it just isn't fair to the chicks. The turkey poults do not know how to eat or drink on their own and that is something, when the turkey mother hatches her eggs, she teaches the babies to do. Otherwise, they must learn on their own from watching the chicks or if they are by themselves, their human caretaker must show them by giving them the food and taking them to the water and dipping their beaks into it. It is so much easier when the mothers hatch their babies and care for them, and the babies are so much smarter. Last year, I carefully observed newly hatched chicks. The mothers took them around the barn yard, showing them what food was good, how to drink water and when they got cold, she called them to her and brooded them right where they were. In the first week, the young ones cannot regulate their own temperature yet, and need to be very warm, so the mother broods them very often, but they also are out and about and running over and under grasses and straw. Humans tend to coddle the chicks, not giving them straw, thinking it will cause their legs to splay, but in the real world, they are everywhere. The better mothers watch their babies closely and defend them fiercely. No one dare get too close or she will rush at the intruder and peck hard and scratch and puff herself up to appear a ferocious as she is acting. Human raised chicks miss all that fun. These babies will live in the granary brooder for a month, then be transferred to a hoop coop with a heat lamp in the corner. There they can experience the sunshine and fresh air and learn how to cope with the wind. Some will be kept to breed next year, but most, if not sold, will be put into the freezer for delicious meals in the winter. Their lives are honoured though, and they are loved and appreciated very much. Thank you little feathered friends, thank you so much. 

The first hatch is underway. The cost of keeping birds is much less than buying hay for sheep and goats, and the eggs, chicks and adult bird sales far outweigh their upkeep. That is not so with the other animals on the farm, but at least something breaks even!
The incubators are not mine, but belong to two different friends. I am splitting the hatch with one friend and the other gets his pick of the birds, so it is a win win situation for me and for them. About 40 mixed duck eggs, Rouen, Saxony, Ancona and Khaki Campbell, plus Muscovy, and 15 Standard Bronze turkey eggs, 18 mixed geese, Tufted Toulouse/Embden/Pomeranian, and chicken, Ameraucana/Partridge and white Chantecler and a few others plus bantams are all in the incubator with the chicks due on April 26 and the waterfowl on May 3 and 5. Muscovy ducks take the longest to hatch, followed by the geese then ducks and chicks the shortest, at 21 days. Some of the hatch has been presold already. About the same time, or a bit later, the farm will be receiving an order from Performance Poultry with specialty birds so there will be waterfowl and chick brooders set up and ready to go. Three separate hatches will be made, with approximately 80 eggs per hatch. After that, if there is still interest, the hatch will be set by order only. Unclaimed birds will be raised and either sent to the processors or kept for layers or for sale as adult birds. In the summer the feed bill is very low because the birds free range and basically feed themselves. This year, the numbers of adult birds are too high for the small farm yard, so they will out to pasture with the sheep so the dogs can also watch over them. With the new fencing, it will be easier to pasture the birds. The fliers go where they wish anyhow, so basically it is the ducks and geese and a few of the chickens that will need supplemental grazing. The benefits of raising the birds are many from fresh pastured eggs to bug control to delicious dinners. And to think that when I began this venture three years ago, I had a terrible bird phobia and could not touch a bird, not even a newly hatched chick, let alone go in a coop. Now I can, though the odd time, I still get prickles on the back of my neck when the birds fly by my head. I actually like them now, especially the comical ducks. They are my favourites, hands down. The egg pictured is from a Standard Bronze turkey, and I even like them. 

There are three coops on the Fat Ewe Farm. One is an open hoop shelter covered with a tarp and it even has a window on the south side, a favourite spot of the goose who loves to bask in the sun. The long coop houses the ducks and geese, but the guineas and some of the chickens also hang out there during the day. There is a dust bath of wood ash as a spa enticement, and a dish of oyster shell or another of gravely dirt to go along with the grain lunch. This coop just got a good layer of fresh hay, which the birds eat from as well as snuggle into.

The next coop is the insulated pink coop with a window and pop door. There are three rows of perches and a cage which housed the wayward bantams who were locked in at the start of the brutal winter because they preferred to be in the tree. After one froze and fell out, the rest were caught and caged, since locking them in was only good for as long as the door was shut - then they high taled it back to the tree roost. Now they roost ON the cage instead. Gross! The perches remain clean, but the cage is yucky. The guineas, Chanteclers, and bantams live in this coop, plus the Muscovy ducks, who like the climate better than the waterfowl house. This coop has an infrared heat lamp for those who like to bathe in the warmth of the light, and nest boxes in case they are inclined to lay an egg, which the Partridge Chanteclers have done all winter long.

The third coop is a hoop shelter half covered with plywood and corrugated plastic. It is not insulated but has a cool design that keeps the heat in very nicely, with the birds providing the majority of the warmth for themselves. The Ameraucanas have adopted this coop, plus the white Chanty rooster and a few of the bantams. They do not mix with the rest of the birds for some reason, likely because they were raised in isolation from any contact for the first 8 weeks of life. They are flighty and unfriendly towards chickens, humans and dogs. I would suspect that their poor socialization is the reason for their self isolation. I plan to keep the eggs and raise a new bunch of Ameraucanas from them and sell these to one who does not mind their unfriendly demeanor.

And that is who lives in the Fat Ewe Farm coops.

The temperatures have stayed in the minus 20's for a long time, gong down to minus 32 and 34 at night. For the most part the sheep and the dogs, except of Harley, who has arthritis from being fed GMO grain based dog food when he was a pup, are pretty comfortable. Both the dogs and sheep can curl up on the snow and sleep there and not be cold. The dogs curl up and their bushy tails cover their noses. The sheep are well insulated and the alpacas seem to be too, more so than the llamas. Those poor goats run out to eat and shiver and run back to their barn, staying there until they have to eat again. They do not like the snow or cold and only travel on their paths, never venturing their little hoofies into the snow. The Angora goats were not shorn in the fall, so they have long thick warm coats that will be of little to no value other than insulation, because the fiber will mat and it is so full of vegetative matter from feeding alfalfa hay. It does make good insulation though. Some of the chickens only venture out to eat and drink and spend the rest of the day on their perches in the coop, trying to stay warm. The ducks and geese come out to eat and drink, but drop onto their downy bellies frequently tucking their toes into their feathers so their feet do not freeze. In their coop, they have a thick straw bedding that insulates their feet from the icy ground. Still, one duck froze in his sleep this winter.

The trees can be heard cracking loudly when it is crispy cold, freezing as they stand. In the winds, these weakened trees are blown over and up rooted or simply broken in two. No other living things are seen around the farm, no weasels, no coyotes, nothing, because of the pack of livestock guardian dogs that keep it safe. The lens on the camera continually fogs over because though it is very cold, there is also a mist in the air of ice particles. It has snowed non stop for the past three days, lightly, but non stop. One would wonder why anyone would choose to live in such a frigid area, and yet, further north, there are much colder regions where people also live. Just because winter is so hard here in northeastern Alberta, the anticipation of the beautiful summer is so looked forward to. But, darn, it is cold right now.

Here at the Fat Ewe Farm, many breeds of chickens have been tested. Black Australorp, Columbian Wyandotte, Jersey Giant, Speckled Sussex, Silver Spangled Hamburg, Japanese Bantam, Blue Orpington, and now Ameraucana and both, white and Partridge Chanteclers. The reason most of them did not make the grade is because they were not winter hardy. For example, the combs on the Jersey Giants are large, especially the roosters and they froze in the winter. The Japanese Bantams were not hardy enough and their feet froze. The Silver Spangled Hamburg is doing fine, and she is a good layer, but the rooster version is not nearly as hardy. The Orpington still here was kept because the dogs got her and ripped the skin off her back when they were young, so when the others went to the processor, she got to stay. She is sort of a pet, if there is a pet chicken on the farm. Her comb is not red or pink now though, and I suspect she may have worms. That is another subject because chemical wormers are only used as a last resort to save an animal.

The hardiest birds hands down are the white Chanteclers. They were bred in Canada by the monks, and his idea was to produce a very hardy, good sized dual purpose (meat and egg) bird. They are not pretty like some of the other breeds, just plain white with small combs and no wattles (hangy down thingys by their beaks). Those parts are what freeze on other breeds, so it is a good thing not to have them. But, they have not layed eggs this winter. The Partridge Chanteclers have layed a few and just in the last week, there have been two or three eggs a day. The eggs are small because the chickens are pullets, that is, they are young and just starting. Laying eggs takes a bit of practice and patience and hurts at first, like having a baby. So small eggs are better to start with than big ones. I am hoping the white Chanteclers will also start laying and the Ameraucanas, which lay blue/green eggs will too. Those white Chanteclers have been sleeping in the waterfowl house, which is an open three sided deep shelter. It is not warm in there, but it is protected from the wind and no snow gets in. The birds could go into either coop, but they do not seem to mind the cold. Bonus points to the white Chanteclers, pretty or not, for being winter hardy. Now let's see some eggs.

There is a rooster for the Ameraucanas and one for the white Chanteclers. I am hoping both will breed the others and I will end up with a super hardy winter tough mixed flock laying some blue and some brownish eggs. The bantams are crosses and they are as hardy as the Partridge Chanteclers, plus they have been laying the odd egg as well. Even though I check the nesting boxes frequently, at these frigid temperatures, the eggs have been freezing before I can harvest them, but I have managed to collect most. If I see a hen in the box, I go back and check often. So far, it is working.

Part of the sustainability of raising chickens is that no supplemental light or heat should be necessary for the right flock and they should still produce some eggs in winter. In the old days, the coops were hardly insulated, if at all, and the chickens survived just fine. Some were not watered, but left to eat the snow and they do do that, but I still give them water. The bantams do not drink it, preferring the snow. The only problem with the bantams is that they are so light, they do not produce a meat carcass. Otherwise, they are the best foragers and are very independent, all summer feeding themselves. Next winter, a huge manure/compost pile will be located in the chicken yard. The idea is that the heat from the pile will keep it thawed all winter and the chickens can forage and eat the worms and bugs and other tasty morsels from it, reducing their need for grain based food in winter. If it works, perhaps, grain can be eliminated completely.

The white Chanteclers are the breed to choose for winter hardy birds. Hands down. Second are the Ameraucanas and the Partridge Chanteclers, tied. Thank you chickens for your eggs, your bodies and your foraging. The farm would not be the same without you.