Hen House Update

Hi friends, it's been a while since I've posted ~ and it's good to be back!

I've missed your company, and hope you are all well.

Spring and Summer are always a busy time here on our little homestead in the woods ~

the usual maintenance, caring for the pets, plus gardening to keep the forest from taking over the tamed sections of the property is nearly a full-time job. And this year especially busy with our new flock of chickens.

One of the things we have been busy with is the hen house which we designed and he, (Mr. OUaP) built. I'm heart-skippy happy with the results, one of the most fun gifts I've ever received and I want to share it with you.

With the exception of the exterior communal nest box and decorative finishing touches, it is nearly complete. Thankfully the hens will not begin laying until they are about 5 months old (late July, early August) so we have a few weeks to finish the nests.

I chose wood shingle siding for its rustic look which I think fits so well in the wooded forest.

Under Construction :

(The house is 6' x 8' -not including the exterior mounted nest box- and the pen is 15' x 16'.)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we built the house and pen on the site of the old playground area, to the side of the back of the main house. The playset consisted of swings, a slide and "fort" structure; it was massive ~ constructed from utility poles, with the heavy duty metal slide bought at auction from a local school some 20 years ago.

Over time the structure had become compromised, and it was time to disassemble it. In the following picture, to the back of the pen, you can see the cross bar (utility pole) from which the swings were suspended to give you an idea of its' scale.

Our rural area is host to many predators who would do most anything for a chicken "dinner", so making the house and pen secure was a number one priority. All windows and openings, with the exception of the human door and the chicken door are screened with hardware cloth (19 gauge, sturdy metal 1/2" mesh screen.) The pen is also enclosed (top and sides) with the same hardware cloth.

Why not chicken wire for the enclosure?

I like the rustic and country look of chicken wire, but after doing some research I learned that is it NOT a secure method of keeping predators out ~ unless it is reinforced or used with live electrical wire/fencing.

After reading of some other's tragic experiences I learned traditional chicken wire is for keeping chicken fenced in, but not predators out.

The perimeter of the playground area was built from 10" x 10" redwood timbers and filled with pea gravel (which we left in place.)

Mr. OUaP excavated a portion of the pea gravel to build the hen house foundation and pen area, so the pea gravel became a walk way around the pen.

The perimeter of the pen foundation is made of 2"x 12" pressure treated wood and buried deeply beneath the pea gravel, but that is not deep enough to keep a determined predator from digging under. To keep critters from burrowing the pen edges hardware cloth was laid flat around the entire perimeter of the pen, and is buried beneath the pea gravel.

For the pen floor we had 2 truckloads of decomposed granite delivered which Mr. O

spread and compacted. It provides good drainage, and is easily raked clean each day.

Details of the exterior~

The doors and shutters are constructed of cedar ~ and I can't wait to see the wood shingle siding begin to age and darken for a nice contrast to the cedar.

I have a few ideas for container plantings near the the doors, and along the pen to add interest and color.

I wanted to carry out the rustic look so I chose hand forged iron hardware from Restorers (on line), with the exception of the human door. For reasons of practicality we went with these heavy duty self-closing gate hinges from Stanley, purchased locally.

I've had the rooster bell for years, and just moved it from one of the garden gates.

A peek inside:

One of the crucial factors to keep in mind when housing chickens is that they MUST have plenty of ventilation, but without drafts. We incorporated as much ventilation as possible while attempting to maintain the style of the structure.

What we thought would be a good idea for easy clean up ~a slide-out droppings board on the floor~ was not practical for a couple of reasons:

"We" ended up with substantially MORE chickens than the 5 we originally planned for (I couldn't resist adding a few more different breeds.) :D

This changed our plan as we realized we needed to free up as much floor space as possible, so we mounted a slide out droppings board a few inches beneath the roosts ~ a much better arrangement and easy to clean each day.

We're using the deep pine shaving method* on the floor of the hen house---I was skeptical at first, but it has been working out beautifully.

*(Fragrant pine shavings are layered approximately 4-inches deep, and simply fluffed up each day with a rake, then cleaned out and replaced as necessary.) Some find they only need to replace the shavings each 6 months or so ~ but I anticipate changing it out every 3 months due to the number of chickens and size of the house.

Out of view here, to each side of the human door are a hanging waterer and a hanging feeder.

Incidentally, we mounted hardware wire, attached to the rafters as a ceiling to prevent the chickens from roosting there~ chickens like to roost at the highest place they can find... which would be a nightmare when it comes the the "droppings" issue.

Still, we have one little renegade, Olive, who insists upon roosting in the sill of one of the eaves every night, so we eventually added a wider ledge up there for her.

(Her spot is the eave sill directly above the roost in the corner in the picture below.)

I have plans for livening up those walls to add some additional color ~

I'll update as things progress.

Currently this is the largest ventilation opening:

It provides a good cross draft when open, it also functions as a small awning when propped open ~ I leave it open every day, rain or shine.

(Eventually Mr. O will construct a hardware cloth screen door to fit inside the human door.)

If you know chickens, you know they are creatures of habit~

This little sweetie (a Silver Laced Wyandotte) jumps up on the sill every single morning to greet me when I open the window.

Of all the chickens she is the only one who does this, as if it is her assigned duty.

She and her Silver Laced sister are the youngest and most friendly of the flock.

And THIS is what follows when I open the chicken door/ramp:


?

A blur of chickens!

Hurrying out to get their morning treats.

There is Olive (the renegade who sleeps up high) leading the girls.

We kept the shutters simple~ one on the opposite end of the house from the human door, and one on the side, opposite the large window.

Mr. O wired the electricity~ which allows for a fan to keep the air moving on hot days, and a light to encourage them to continuing laying into the winter months, and an outlet for a heat lamp in cold weather.

So far everything has been working out very well. They have been in their new home for several weeks and I'm really pleased that the usual "aroma" (aka stinky, noxious fumes) associated with chicken coops hasn't been a problem, and the chickens seem happy and healthy.

Next time I'll share some shots of the girls, almost all grown up ~

Thank you SO much for stopping by ~ it's always a pleasure to hear from you.

Please note: If you have sent me an email in the past couple of weeks to which I have not responded ~ please bear with me, I'm getting to each one as time permits.

Thanks for your understanding.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

xoxo ~m.

~ A Brand New Year --- Happy 2011 to All ~

Nothing special cooking at my house today ~

just taking a little break from the kitchen after the holidays.

Instead I thought I'd share some eggs from one of our chickens, Sugar ~ our Amerucana (or "Easter Egg") hen, lays these beautifully colored eggs. The outside of the shells are light olive green, while the inside are a bright Robin's egg blue. Each Amerucana lays colored eggs ranging from light brown to various shades of blue and green, and each hen will lay the same color of egg her entire laying "career".  :)

Sugar ~  about 2 weeks old 

What a surprise it was when I cracked open her first egg and saw that beautiful blue interior.  (The egg tastes no different than any of the other chicken's eggs.)

Another close up ... I loved her markings as a young chick. :)


All of our hens began laying prolifically in mid-to- late summer, as winter approached and the days grew shorter their egg-laying tapered off a bit (as is to be expected) and will pick up again as the days grow longer, come spring. 

I don't have a picture of her full-grown (it's time to take current pictures of the hens), but here she is with her "sisters" early in summer of 2010.

We thoroughly enjoy our chickens as pets (and the bonus is, that they also provide fresh, organic food for the table.) Each hen has her own distinct personality and they are quite entertaining to observe.

 During the day we allow ours out of their pen to roam the property ~ they do a wonderful job of keeping the insect population under control.

If you have a little space in your yard and an interest in chickens (and fresh eggs~), I would highly recommend you consider raising a couple for yourself. 

    Many communities allow keeping up to 4 to 5 hens ~ (check into local ordinances.)  A hen house and pen does not have to be elaborate, and can be set up in a corner of your yard.  I had a lot of fun searching 'google' images for "chicken coops", and "hen houses" while were were in the planning stage of our hen house and pen.  You might be amazed at the varieties and styles of coops and houses available.

I am often asked if hens need a rooster to lay eggs... no, they do not need a rooster to lay eggs.  However, if you want fertilized eggs to eat, or you want to allow your hens to raise their own chicks ~ a rooster is a must.

To read more about our Chicken Keeping:

  Click HERE to see pictures of the chicks when we first brought them home last spring.

For our Hen House construction click HERE and  HERE 

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There are plenty of great resources on the internet with information on how to keep your own.

One of my favorites is Backyard Chickens , and you can find many other excellent resources by doing an internet search.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Marcella Hazan's Roast Chicken with Two Lemons ~ A Tribute to Marcella

Hello Friends~   It was with much sadness that we fans of Marcella Hazan learned of her passing on Sunday morning, September 29th. 
I cannot begin to express how I admired Marcella and appreciated how much she shared with us through the years. 
With thoughts of Marcella I wanted to share one of the first recipes of hers that I ever made so many years ago after watching her prepare it on television in  San Francisco. 

This is a repeat of a post that I published a couple of years ago, the chicken remains one of my all time favorites.

From the moment I heard of this method of preparing a roast chicken well over 20 years ago,  this has remained one of my family's favorites. It is definitely my personal favorite, and if I could only roast a chicken using one method for the rest of my life ~ this would be it!  It's that good.

If you are fortunate enough to get a chicken with skin entirely intact (no tears, or holes) ~ near the end of roasting time the skin will puff up dramatically and have become crispy while the chicken beneath the skin remains juicy and succulent ~ as this one did. (But by the time I got the camera out it had deflated, no worry though because the chicken is delicious just the same.) Perfectly flavored whether served from the oven, or at room temperature.

It's a classic and simple recipe from one of my favorite cooking teachers and cookbook authors, Marcella Hazan.

One whole chicken, two lemons, salt and a little freshly ground black pepper produce some of the most succulent pieces of chicken you may ever taste. I love Marcella's recipes, and although some may seem to be quite an undertaking because of the length ~ please don't let that put you off. It simply appears so because Ms. Hazan is such a great teacher that she explains each step and exactly why they are necessary to produce the desired results, which is enormously helpful, especially for a new cook.

   

The method is simple ~ rinse the chicken well, inside and out. Allow to drain for a few minutes after rinsing, then blot dry with a cloth or paper towels. Remove any visible bits of fat in the cavities of the bird and salt generously, inside and out. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Roll the lemons between your hands or on a counter to help release the juice. Poke the lemons many times with the tines of a fork or a wood pick. Place the pricked lemons inside of the cavity of the chicken and secure with a couple of tooth or food picks. I tie the legs together with a bit of twine to help keep the chicken compact and the lemons in place. Then roast, at first breast down, then turn over to continue roasting until done~ the chicken is self basting, no need to add fat or to baste.

     

Serve along with the succulent juices ~ and you'll probably taste one of the best roasted chickens you've had in your life.

Hint...Hint...Hint:

Sometimes the skin of the chicken breast will stick to the pan during the first part of baking (as the chicken is roasting breast-side-down.)
To prevent this~  
I cut a small piece of parchment baking paper, brush with olive oil or butter and place it on the roasting pan beneath the chicken breast where it makes contact with the pan.  When it is time to turn the bird over to continue baking (when breast side is UP) just remove the parchment paper. Yay! No stick, and NO torn chicken skin.

Forever grateful to Marcella Hazan for all she has shared! I have several of her books, which I value highly ~ here is the first I ever purchased and I recommend it. 

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You probably noticed I roasted the chicken in one of my favorite cast iron skillets.  Not fancy at all, but of all the roasting pans I have... stainless, porcelain, Le Creuset or Staub ~ I reach for my Lodge cast iron skillet almost every time for small roasted meats like this - just as my parents and grandparents did before me. It's just large enough to add a few potatoes and/or carrots around the meat while roasting. 
Readily available almost everywhere (amazon.com has a good selection)  Lodge Logic-- comes already pre-seasoned.  Just hand wash it and it is ready to use.  I love my collection of great quality cookware ~ but I would never part with any of my black cast iron ... they heat evenly and are indestructible workhorse pieces in my kitchen.
The actual recipe:

I haven't asked for permission to share the exact recipe, but you can find it HERE on the Internet.  If you try it, I hope it becomes one of your favorites, too.
Thank you for stopping by today ~ and I would love it if you would leave me your thoughts or any comments, I cherish each one. 



~ Rest in heavenly peace, dear Marcella. ~