All Life Is Sacred

The season of winter is upon us. The dark time of the year, but with the promise of the growing light renewed.

As you gather about with your friends and loved ones, hold onto each other. Light those lights for your holiday. Be present in the warmth of your family. Whatever your beliefs, what ever you choose to celebrate, please know that my heart goes with you as well.

I'll leave this little poem and song for you in the link below from John Denver. Please say a prayer for the wind, for the water, for the wood,

And those who love there too.

It's In Every One Of Us

Wishing you all of the best for this year and all the years to come,
From myself, my wife, our little flock, the two cats, and the pig.

Chickens in the Snow.

During the week I discovered that the heat lamp was not working!

The heat lamp is on a thermostat and only turners on when temps dip to 35 degrees and shuts of again when the inside temps reach 45 degrees. So it doesn't run constantly. With daily temps hovering this side or that of freezing, the light is often off when I get home from work, but should have been on in the predawn mornings.

The lamp is really just a courtesy for my flock in these temps, but needed when the dead of winter dips down to zero. If there is a problem, I am glad to have discovered it now!

Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do about it during the week. I leave in the dark and come home in the dark. Going into the small coop while the flock is inside n their roosts would only cause pandemonium! The poor spoiled chickens had to suffer a few chilly nights until I could attend to it yesterday.

Good day to sort out the heat lamp, their feed and water, put down fresh bedding and attend to their general welfare. I figured, with snow still blanketing the yard, that they would mill about the run while I bopped in and out of the coop going about my business.

I opened the run and the flock has been SO BORED being shut in that they actually ventured out onto the field of white. Still skittish of it, they clustered together and wandered as a group to their favorite three season haunts. They seemed horrified to discover that this 'snow thing' was everywhere!

On any given day, I would want them to be out for as long as possible, but after attending to the needs of the coop (bulb had burned out, nothing serious). I ushered them back in.

A couple were reluctant to return, but most of them wanted to be back in the run and some treats encouraged the others.

Pitch black hens against an open yard of white is an invitation to a nice winter meal for old Mr. Hawk and I was not about to risk it for longer than needed.

In they went, and sure enough, abut an hour later I spied that hawk winging it through the mostly cloudy sky. Thwarted again, Mr. Hawk! Too late for an easy meal!

In other news, in the darkness of the evenings, when I bed down the coop and collect what eggs the layers' union sees fit to bestow on us, I have seen Ms. Rabbit about her business in the moonlight. Snow bothers her not so much. Glad to see she is doing well.

Embargo Lifted.

Matilda passed on suddenly back in September as you have read.

That triggered a molt. Two troublesome young roosters were also underfoot. The dark days also descended upon us.

From September until now we had been getting but one to two eggs a day.

I fretted over it. Most of the girls are older. The molt passed and still no eggs. The young roosters left for their new homes and still no eggs.

Pleased to announce that we are back up to three to four eggs a day which would be more normal for older layers at this time of year. In any case, if they never laid again they would still have a home with me, my original girls, for as long as they lived.

Never the less, they are bestowing their bounty upon us once again. Special kudos to my younger girls Lily and Petunia for crossing the picket lines lo these past few months and keeping at least a few eggs coming in.

I am grateful that the hens, even with the season of ice upon us, are happy once again and returning to laying their eggs.

Come Saturday, it will be treats for the whole flock!

In other news, I walked out onto the snowy porch this morning before the sunrise to clear off the cars and make ready to go to work. Not My Cat greeted me in the darkness with a plaintiff, yet cheerful cry for attention. This cat is well fed, well groomed, and obviously NOT a stray. Who on EARTH would let their cat out on a frigid snowy night?

No matter, his pleas did not fall on a heart of stone and I made sure he had some food as well.

Warm breakfast for the flock, a little food for the handsome stranger ... who is not my cat ... and off to work I went.

My heart yearns for the solstice and the promise of the returning sun.

Nope Day.



Today is a 'nope' day.

My flock flees to the cool shade on hot, sunny summer days. They huddle in a corner on windy days, they hunker down UNDER the coop on rainy days. Most of all, they love cool somewhat cloudy days. But snow is a 'nope!'

Yesterday morning, as the sun rose, nary a snow flake had fallen so they wanted to come out for their warm breakfast, but they were clearly skittish. As I was about to leave to get the week's groceries purchased, Howard stopped by.

Howard is a kindly elderly man who loves to spend his days riding his bicycle around the neighborhood. He is retired from a career in the sciences and possesses a sharp and inquisitive mind. In out casual conversations, he's taught me some of the particulars of the optic structure of birds and insects and I have intimated to him the behaviors of chickens. Always a fascinating time spent talking to him.

But yesterday morning found me wanting to get the errands done before the first snowfall of the year made the roads slippery for my bald tires on my old car. Howard picked that moment to stop by and say hello.

I politely said hello in a genuinely cheery voice, but told him that I needed to make haste. I further stated that he was MORE THAN WELCOME to stick around for a while and visit the flock to his heart's content while I was out. He strode over to the run and the chickens immediately moved away. He asked about this and I was puzzled too, so I paused to go over as well before leaving.

The dark days and the longer confinement in the run are taking their toll ad the poor girls are a little more skittish of people from lack of contact, but it was more than that. Even Coq Au was not looking to engage but rather wanted to herd the girls away from danger. The coming snow storm, with its first flakes already flying, was making them all pensive.

I bid Howard a fair adieu and left him by the run to contemplate chicken behavior and I do so without a care in the world. Many a time I've driven up the street to see Howard paused at some other neighbor's yard with no one around as he lovingly pets any friendly neighbor dog that happens his way. Just knowing the nature of some people, taking the time to speak to them, listening to how they respond, or what questions they ask, you can just tell an animal lover.

With the errands run, I returned hope before the flakes gathered on the road surfaces and herself and I settled into a snow day. Around noon, I brought out warm treats to the flock, they were hunkered down under the coop so I took the time to sweep away some of the snow for them and they were grateful for some warm food. The whole flock wasn't out, as each girl had gone into lay, they decided to stay indoors after nature's task had been accomplished.

By late afternoon they had gone in and I was content to close them in for the night as the growing darkness settled over the snowy suburban landscape.

This morning, I brought out warm breakfast, but decided with the new fallen snow, they might appreciate it inside and I obliged.

This photo was taken about and hour after that and only a few moments ago. Not one hen will venture out. For all of the weather that they love, snow is a NOPE!



 

My Pets are Liars

Apart from my rooster who likes to sneak up on me when my back is turned ... and he still tries to do this, but I've learned to be alert!

My pig and one of my two cats are liars.

Our cats are banned from the bedroom for misdeeds. But truth be told, it is Osha who is the trouble maker when left to her own devices. Moonkie is usually calm.

However, Moonkie will also yowl and meow at you to the point that you seriously wonder if something is wrong with her. She will issue her distress to the point that you are convinced that something is hurting her, but in truth, she is only complaining until one of us gives in and lets her into the bedroom where she will do NOTHING except lay contentedly on the bed like a boss for hours on end.

Our pig Ruby is also a liar.

She doesn't like coming into the kitchen, as hooves on a kitchen floor are uncomfortable for her and she slides about more than actually walking. When we are eating dinner, however, she braves the instability to beg at the table, where she sings the song of her people:

"Does't thou not hear my plaintive cries? Wilst thou not take pity upon they pig and share the bounty of your good fortune?"

After getting some treats we tell her in no uncertain terms that she has had enough and no amount of 'singing' will move us further. It is at this point that she makes a great show of her reluctance to traverse the kitchen floor on sliding hooves to retreat back onto the other room. She is convinced that her show of great trepidation will cause us to take pity once again and offer more treats to the poor afflicted pig.

But when you're not looking, she can walk that kitchen floor hither and fore with more grace than one would imagine of a creature of her stature. It's all drama.

Here is a picture of the two of them. Moonkie and Ruby snuggled on the couch with me. It is an OLDER picture from when Ruby was still small enough to get up on the couch!

The Birds of Winter.

With the season of darkness in full swing, I miss seeing my flock! I am up before the sun and have just enough time to feed them breakfast treats before the gathering dawn and then off to work. It is only a short moment in the darkness. By the time I am home, it is dark again and they are already abed.

Sometimes, I wonder if they miss me.

Thursday night, with some decent moonlight, I opened the coop and pulled out the empty feeder to refill it. Coq Au was on the roost fast asleep as were the girls. I took that sneaky opportunity to pet him briefly, my angry boy. He lifted his head in surprise and turned it this way and that, but being blinded by the darkness he could meaningfully respond. He couldn't have been too upset, he went back to sleep quickly.

Yesterday found skies that were clear of clouds and clear of hawks. I took a risk and let the flock out. Hortense went off by herself to her favorite dust bath spot. The rest of the flock hunkered down on the other side of the yard to enjoy their own sun and dust.

About two hours later, I heard a ruckus and flew outside. Skies were still clear, but the flock was hiding under a bush. Something spooked them and Coq Au lead them into cover. I took no chances and herded them into the run. Hortense was unaware, but Coq Au hesitated to go in knowing there was a girl missing.

"Coq Au, old man, you go on in, I know just where she is."

By the time I rounded the house, she was gone. She, hearing the ruckus, had wandered over to the spot where the flock as to see what was going on. Once located, I was inclined to scold her, but she's so sweet that I couldn't bring myself to do it. I herded her in as well and peace reigned once again.

I sure miss the tree cover, the longer days, and the warmer weather. Oh well, in about three weeks the solstice will be upon us and in about six weeks, the daylight will be back to where it is now but growing longer again rather than shorter.

An Uncomfortable Post.

Through the years of raising my flock and then writing about it over the course of this past year I have grown to know and love the individual personalities of my birds. I know a number of my readers have also expressed delight or concern about the state of my individual hens and even the overall health and temperament of Coq Au Vine himself. I am so delighted that the peace and comfort that my little backyard flock brings me can be shared with all who stop by to read about it. It is my hope that reading about these experiences brings a little of that peace and comfort to everyone.

In my last posts, I mentioned that our two spare roosters were spared. I also mentioned that for Thanksgiving we departed from the obligatory turkey dinner in favor of trying goose for the first time.

Now the uncomfortable part. What does roast goose taste like when compared to chicken and other poultry? Just on the off chance that one of my hens has snuck a wireless interwebs access device into the coop, they should be rest assured that I am NOT, repeat, NOT speaking about eating any of them! (mostly).

So … here we go …

I do not cook well at all. So any of my comments about the actual preparation and cooking of said poultry is second hand at best and should be taken with a huge grain of salt (no pun).

Additionally, goose, as I understand it, is a much more common meal across the pond. This was our first experience with it, so I have to imagine that any of my readers from Northern Europe may be sniggering at our clumsy American ways, but we gave it a good go, I’d say!

We purchased a fresh, young, 12-lb goose and felt that would be more than sufficient for four people to have a good meal. The first obstacle was the price! Not being a common meal in the states, I have to imagine that it is much less expensive in areas where it is more common. Based on price alone, we will not be feasting upon goose very often!

To look at this bird in its raw state, we were struck by just how large the wings were when compared to other poultry. The drum sticks were smaller than a typical turkey of a similar size, but still sufficient. My wife cautioned that the internal cavity would not be as large as a turkey, and thus would not accommodate an unusually large amount of stuffing. Never the less I let her know that even a taste of the stuffing would be enough for me to be satisfied. My wife also prepared a goodly quantity of stuffing to be baked outside of the bird. This is what I would call the ‘lesser’ stuffing. But even my wife’s ‘lesser’ stuffing is far superior to most folks stuffing, in my humble opinion!

My wife researched the proper particulars of roasting a goose and was nervous about it coming out good. She is a wizard in the kitchen for all meals great and small. She can cook meals with all of the bells and whistles or meals with ad hoc ingredients cobbled together from what is on hand and each one of truly amazing. She, however, is eternally convinced that the meal has come out wrong and won’t be fit for human consumption until the taste test reveals otherwise on the faces of our family and the enthusiasm in which we stop gabbing and concentrate on eating with true fervor.

So it was with the goose. But I’m a little ahead of myself.

Goose is a particularly greasy bird. My wife roasted it on a rack to let the excess grease drain off. She also gently pan cooked the gizzards which produced more grease. Halfway through the roasting process, she drained off a goodly amount of the grease. She filled a 16oz canning jar to the brim with it for later stock and still had plenty enough grease from which to make gravy.

So, after the stuffing, trussing, basting, draining, and roasting, the bird emerged from the oven at the appropriate time and the sheer look of it was enticing! A rich, golden brown it was. My wife made the first slices into it to check her work and was horrified to discover that she ‘ruined’ it. The meat was unlike any other poultry we had seen. Rich, dark, and a little tougher than one might imagine. I was not deterred in the least. The look of it reminded me of a roast duck, though a little more greasy, and certainly less fatty than duck.

We sliced off most of the breast meat and I discovered that by and large, there is a lot less breast meat on a goose than on a turkey of similar size. The drum sticks were also smaller, but without the bone splints that interrupt the fine meat of a turkey leg. The wings were positively huge. Additionally, there was much more stuffing in that bird than my wife had cautioned me to expect and it was beyond belief in its flavor!

As the meal progressed, we discovered that although the breast meat seemed to be in less abundance than we expected, it was a denser and filling meat than the overly plumped up birds that usually are the centerpiece of a holiday meal. That meat was dark, mild, yet filling! The wings produced much more meat than any other poultry I’ve had. The color and texture of goose reminded me a lot more of duck than either turkey or chicken but was still unique.

The grandest feature, I think, was all of that grease. The stuffing from the bird’s cavity and the gravy were the most wonderful, delicious, flavorful features that I had ever had in a holiday meal.

So, I liked the goose very much. I’d prefer duck or turkey, but goose has its own unique features that make it worth the trouble to enjoy every once in a while. As compared to chicken, it is very, very different. The only similarity I’d say is that they are both broadly ‘poultry’.

Left overs have been distributed and mostly eaten. My flock has picked the goose carcass clean to their own delight. This thanksgiving was a success!

The short points:
Chicken – cheap, easy, and a million ways to prepare. Free range farm chicken is tougher but more flavorful than industrially produced chicken, and probably healthier I’d guess.

Turkey – traditional, commonly available, best ‘bang for your buck’ for a one bird meal.

Duck – my favorite! Smaller, one duck if a good meal for two people and will still produce leftovers.

Goose – very glad for the experience! Different, meat is heavier and filling, makes the best gravy for sure!

I have no experience with pheasant, wild duck or goose, or swan, or any of the like. Would LOVE to hear from folks who have tried these!

To keep peace in this house, please, I implore you, don’t tell my chickens about this post!

And a special thank you to Brazil! Lately, someone from Brazil has started reading this blog in earnest! Hope you are enjoying it!