Tag Archives: winter
Like Water Off a Duck’s Back
Recently, a friend approached me about taking in her ducks and chickens. She was getting ready to move and her new digs wouldn’t allow for poultry. I mentioned that we had plenty of space for birds since our flock had … Continue reading
My Bees are Freezing!
Last year, one of my hives didn’t survive the winter. The long, cold days took their toll on the inhabitants of that hive so, over the summer, I made a split from the remaining hive. Everything was going along fine, but now, … Continue reading
The Trouble with Hatching
This was an extraordinarily broody year on applewood farm. At least nine of our hens went broody over the summer, resulting in a population explosion in the chicken coops. We went from having around 24 chickens in early spring to … Continue reading
Minding My Own Beeswax
Going into the winter, I had two thriving beehives. One was a nucleus colony (or nuc… pronounced “nuke”) purchased from a local beekeeper and the other was a package from somewhere not-local. The difference between the two is that a nuc … Continue reading
Chickensicles
It snowed about 1,000 feet today and my chickens keep getting stuck in the snow. Despite the snowblown paths and the chicken bathhouse full of not-frozen ground, they continue to be mind-bendingly stupid. They wander off-course and they cannot seem … Continue reading
Frostbitten Ears and The End of the Apples
Bubbles ears are frostbitten. They look awful, but they don’t seem to be bothering her at all. There is a strip along the edges of both ears that ranges in width from 1/8″ in some spots to as much as … Continue reading
Bubble the Pig Has a Bad Leg
Our breeding sow, Bubble, has been walking with a limp lately. The leg doesn’t seem to be too badly injured, but it is cause for concern nonetheless. I was trying to capture her gait on video to see if we … Continue reading
Chicken Bathhouse
The chickens needed someplace new to hang out in the cold. The past few days have been filled with snow and bitter cold temperatures and the chickens are wimpy and dumb. In this weather, they wake up late, hit the … Continue reading
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