Make Way for Ducklings

My first experience raising ducks wasn’t the greatest, but they sure were delicious.  This year the family and I decided to try it again, but this time just for fun.  Our big pond was just calling for wild birds.  We raised them indoors starting when they were a day old.  Soon we took them outside to walk around near the pond and they went into the pond.  I find it so fascinating that they always stick together.

Chicken Chase

MWelcome to another day in my life. Here you see what happens when I move my own chicken tractor to a new location to service a fallow bed that needs to be revitalized. If you caught the video where I built the chicken tractor (with my own two hands!), now you can see it in action; the perfect place for protecting my chickens. The tractor is currently housing month-old Araucana chickens that have another month before they will start laying eggs. This is the perfect time for them to be working.

How to Build a Chicken Tractor

Why is it called a chicken tractor? I’ll tell you why  - A chicken tractor is kind of like a  tractor in that it’s a movable structure that’s easily moved around in your garden allowing you to choose which areas of the garden need fertilizing and/or cleaning up. A chicken tractor works similarly to an electric tractor is that it goes where work needs to be done.

Chickens are awesome at cultivating soil with their sharp-clawed feet and while they’re at it, they are also feasting on everything green and catching bugs and leaving deposits of their nitrogen-rich manure. The digging and scratching action will incorporate rich manure into the soil, making the soil perfect for plant growing.

My Trip to the Chicken Processor

I wake up extra early when I take a trip to the chicken processor. This time, you’re coming along with me as I prepare for a big party at my house and will have many mouths to feed. My Rock Cornish hens are in the back of my truck and I’m headed outside of Boston to leave them with the processor to be “processed.”  At the end of the day, they will be ready for pick up  packaged just like in the supermarket – but much, much better!

If you are a strict vegetarian, you may not like this video.  Understand, that the reason I grow my own food is for the health and well-being of my family and to raise livestock in a humane way.

How to Shear a Pygora Goat

I’ve come a long way baby! From a city apartment near the East River to shearing pygora goats on my urban farm in New England. What a difference a day makes. Today, I’m shearing my Pygora goat with my friend, Sam, who has been raising goats for nearly a decade.

In the United States, pygora goats are sort of a new thing. In the early 1980s angora goats and pygmy goats were first cross bred and became a new American breed of Goat! They produce different grades of fiber that is used to make yarn. The goat I’m shearing here has a more cashmere-type coat. Some pygora’s have more of an angora type coat and some are right in between.

Bantam Chick=Black Gold

I love my house, but I hate my soil! Urban gardeners are often met with less than desirable soil. But I’ve figured out how to work around that urban handicap.

I’d like to introduce you to a few of my favorite friends – I call them “my A-Team.” They have the power to transform my less than great soil into Black Gold!

Meet my Adult Bantam Chickens who work for my family in several ways. They lay small but delicious eggs in hues of blue, pink and green and they scratch my soil, turning it and then they leave powerful nutrients that make my gardens thrive. I’d like for you to meet Napoleon, Dynamite, White Silk Butt, Black Silk Butt and Rocket.