The Chicken on My Counter

So we've talked here about our 33 chickens, but in reality when it comes down to dispatching of the mob, we're likely only going to be putting 32 into our freezer.  As I mentioned a few weeks ago, one of our little darlings had an injured leg which meant she wasn't getting around the nursery area well and wasn't getting her fair share of the vittles.  Compared to the rest of the mob, this chick was easily only a third of the size which led to her often being trampled in the race to the feeding trough or getting sat on when one of her larger cousins didn't see her.  Last week we thought she was getting better ~ at least she was more mobile and seemed to be holding her own against her larger compatriots.  But about the time we thought that, she took a turn for the worse, necessitating the making of a hard decision:  let nature take it's course or try to nurse the little peeper back to health.  Being the soft-hearted chicken farmers that we are, she ended up in a box on our kitchen counter.  On the plus side, after several days of convalescing, she's getting better and is starting to be more mobile.  On the negative (or maybe positive, depending on how you look at it), she's becoming more like a pet than a future dinner. 

She's the chattiest of all the chickens, peeping madly if she hears or sees anyone in the room.  At this moment she's sitting in the corner of the box closest to me, peeking over the edge and LOUDLY peeping in an effort to get my attention (or maybe just critiquing my work).  Being as general wisdom states not to name your food, I've held out thus far against the offspring's campaign to bestow a handle on her, but I'm guessing this is a futile effort and she'll still be spared from her execution date, name or not.  Being as we don't have any laying hens, maybe she'll get a new home with the neighbor's flock and will contribute to the neighborhood egg supply.  Only time will tell.

Outdoor living, chicken style

With the bit of nice weather we've been (surprisingly) blessed with this beginning of the Memorial Day weekend, the husband finished up the chicken tractor ~ or as he has dubbed it, THE CHICKEN FORTRESS (said with all capitol letters and a certain amount of reverence).  It IS a fortress and as about as heavy as one too.  Thankfully he figured out how to hitch it up to the lawn tractor and with the use of an old skate board propped under the front and the installed wheels at the back, could drag it around the lawn without too much exertion. 

The Fortress is half enclosed with old roofing materials and half covered with hardware cloth.  We elected to use hardware cloth instead of chicken fencing because of the potential predators (raccoons, coyotes, neighbor's cats) in the area;  hardware cloth is more durable and harder to defeat.  The feeder hangs just past middle and under a hinged hatch door made of roofing.  Two old plastic gutters were transformed into waterers installed along either side.

The mob was ignominiously moved from the garage nursery out into The Fortress this afternoon and seems to be settling in nicely.  Honestly, I don't think they really care where they are as long as their food supply is readily available.  It's a good thing we got this done, too, as we had 2 escapees out of the nursery area today, and a third that almost solved the mystery of flying over the fence.

Here are few pics of The Fortress for your enjoyment.

Hanging feeder

The dog puzzling over the new addition to his domain

Drinking at the gutter waterer

Mambo Sprouts gluten-free coupons

Mambo Sprouts, in honor of their Gluten-Free May promotion, has several excellent gluten-free product coupons available for printing, including San-J sauces, Udi's buns, Rudi's breads and flats, and Van's Natural Foods.  They also have been featuring several helpful articles about gluten-free lifestyle on their blog.

Go here to select and print coupons.

Chickens, beginning of week 4

Official stats thus far:
34 chickens, started with 38 (I miscounted the streaky little beggars last week)
3 weeks old
approximate average current weight 1.5 lb though a few are approaching 2 lb
100 lb of food consumed (we'll need to buy more, the little pigs)
money spent: $56 for chicks & shipping, $65 for feed, $20 for feeder, $50 for hardware cloth, $15 for wood shavings + $6 for electrolyte + $6 for warming bulbs = $218

The husband almost finished the chicken tractor this weekend, adding wheels to the back and covering half with old roofing material from the grandparent's defunct porch.  The goal was for light-weight and movable, but since we used mostly reclaimed and recycled materials, light it is not (but cheap it is).  Thankfully, the tractor is movable if you really put your back into hauling it around the yard, and since we will only be moving it 12 feet at a time we've pronounced it good enough.  In addition, this thing is sturdy and (knock on wood) predator proof.  The last step will be to cover the second half with hardware cloth and add rain-gutter waterers which will be done in the next few days.  We were hoping to put the mob outside this week but thanks to our variable North-"wet" weather, it might be more like this weekend or later before the littler cluckers begin their outdoor life.  I think they will be glad to have more palatial digs as the garage nursery area is getting a little squishy (and stinky).

With their increased size and adult feathers we've raised the hover brooder on risers and unplugged one of the warming lamps.  We've also added a bigger feeder since they need more space to gather around the trough and placed all the waterers on risers in an effort to decrease the mess in the drinking water. 

Chuck E. Cheese to have gluten-free offerings!

Chuck E. Cheese started test marketing a gluten-free pizza and chocolate cupcake option in a few select locations in the midwest.

copyright, Chuck E. Cheese

Hallelujah!  In my book, if you have a child under 10, this potentially qualifies as a reason to rejoice!  Just since the new year we've been to two Chuck E. Cheese birthday parties, which were a whole lot of fun, but because of the gluten issue meant that youngest was not able to partake in the pizza and birthday cake.  Thankfully, he's a good sport and understands that eating there is just not an option so doesn't feel like he's missing out on anything (well, at least not missing out on too much).  After the first party, he was pining for a Chuck E. Cheese party of his own; thankfully, we were able to dissuade him from the notion with a way cool Angry Birds birthday party at home (see my Angry Birds pinterest).  Even though it would be hard to top Angry Birds, he's still hoping for that Chuck E. Cheese party on his next birthday.  And now, with this announcement from the grand mouse himself, it just might be a possibility. 

In my opinion there are several things Chuck E. Cheese is doing right in how they're handling their gluten-free products.  They provide both pre-made pizza and cupcake in a sealed pouch which can be used for heating and serving.  The pouch is not opened until it is served at the table so this completely takes care of any issues with cross-contamination from cooking utensils, kitchen surfaces or from those preparing the food.  Brilliant! 

Here's hoping their test goes well and gluten-free kids can soon enjoy ALL that Chuck E. Cheese has too offer.

Chickens, start of week 3

It's been 2 weeks since the mob hatched so they have entered their third week of life.  It's ASTOUNDING how much they've grown this past week.  The growth explosion has led to what I expect will be their entire life mission over the next few weeks:  eating, sleeping and pooping.  And whenever possible, it seems they try to combine these activities; their new favorite trick is to knock their feeder off its little perch so they can lay down next to it and eat.  It's quite amusing when they fall asleep with their head literally in the trough. 

At the beginning of the week we were seeing a bit more activity as they tested out their wings and tried to fly.  We had one especially industrious fellow who liked to get a running start (albeit a small running start), jump in the air and flap his wings furiously in a futile effort to get over the small fence around their enclosure.  I hate to tell him that by the time he's coordinated enough and strong enough for this flying thing he'll weigh too much to accomplish the feat, but I guess it's good to have goals.  We're still seeing some of the male posturing and chest bumping as well as an effort to perch on the tallest part of the litter in a poultry game of king of the mountain.  The chicks we guess are females like to roost on the feeder or dig holes in the litter in which to nest.

Husband has almost finished the framing for the chicken tractor.  We're hoping to finish it this weekend and potentially move the chicks outside sometime next week.  They're getting big enough that they are starting to get a little confined in the garage enclosure, and I worry someone will get injured when they spook and start careening around the edges of the chicken wire.  It's not uncommon for some poor sleeping soul to get trampled in the panic.  The tractor measures 12'x5' and will seem palatial after the garage nursery.


I finally was able to get a firm count and it's official, we have 35 chicks (started with 39).  Our last death was last Wednesday and was of an unknown cause that completely caught us off-guard.  With the previous three deaths it was obvious something was up , but this one was a complete mystery.  We have one chick now that show signs of a potential leg injury, probably as a result of carousing around the pen, but then again it might just be s/he is getting chunky enough that its leg falls asleep when it lays down for too long.  Overall, we're very pleased with how the flock is doing and are especially satisfied with Jenks Hatchery.

Gluten-Free Month at Amazon

In honor of Celiac Awareness Month many retailers post savings for their gluten-free products.  Amazon is no exception when it comes to jumping on the marketing bandwagon and during the month of May are offering discounted prices on highlighted GF products.

Amazon can be an excellent place to get competitive prices on gluten-free items, especially if you use the Subscribe and Save option.  We'll talk more in the coming weeks about good places to save on gluten-free products and strategies you can use to get the best deals.

Domino's Offers a Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

Domino's Pizza, in an effort to cater to a wider eating clientele, now offers a gluten-free pizza crust option.  While the crust itself is guaranteed to be gluten-free, the company is not promising that your pizza will be prepared in a gluten-free environment or that toppings you select will be gluten-free.  Domino's does not recommend those with celiac disease order this pie at this time.  Here's Domino's official stance on their new gluten-free crust:

We have not tried this pizza yet so cannot vouch for it's taste or if any of the gluten-sensitives in our house would react to this.  We would love to hear your experiences with Domino's gluten-free pie, so if you've tried it, drop us a comment below.

New Udi's Gluten-Free Bakery products coupon

Get a $1 off any Udi's Gluten Free product!  This is a great coupon especially when you can pair it with a current sale for extra savings.  My boys like Udi's sandwich bread (yummy grilled cheese and French toast) and hamburger buns.  Udi's also make cinnamon rolls, muffins, tortillas,  bagels, granola and a variety of other gluten-free bakery style products. 

Yudi's $1 Off Coupon

Chickens, week 2

Chicks at 1 week old

The chicks officially have reached their second week of life today and so far with good success.  We think we received 39 chicks in our order of 35 from Jenks Hatchery in Tangent, Oregon, but I'm still not swearing by that number.  For being so small, they can move fast and pretty much all look alike.  Out of our original shipment, we've lost three. Two died due to unknown causes, though honestly I would guess it's probably shipping woes and never quite recovering from the indignity of traveling through the mail in a squishy chicken box.  Those two babies never made the transition and were noticeably smaller then there thriving counterparts.  A third chick suffered an injury to a leg and eye (maybe too much love from one of the boys? or a turf war under the brooder?).  I'm finding these little lessons in life and death to be a bit harder than I expected ~ dealing with infant death is not my forte.  The oldest and youngest, on the other hand, are handling these sad events with a lot more forthrightness and understanding than I expected. 

It's amazing how much the chicks grew in only a week's time, and how quickly they are changing from cute little yellow puff balls into more adolescent looking birds with the scraggly beginnings of grown-up feathers on wing and tail.  I'm expecting we only have about a week left of referring to them as "the chicks" and will graduate to calling them "the mob."  We should also soon be able to establish gender.  A few of what I guess are males have been exhibiting some coop posturing, bumping chests and splaying wings in hooligan-like shows of dominance.  Ah, yes, the teenage years are soon upon us!

The hover brooder

Our chick nursery consists of our homemade hover brooder (made from salvaged items) and a penned in area in our garage.  The hover brooder came from an idea suggested on my favorite mothering message board which led us to Robert Plamondon's website and his book, Success With Baby Chicks.  We're also following Plamondon's suggestion of using a deep litter made of pine shavings & chips.  The current plan is to move them out on "the range" (i.e. the backyard) at about 2-3 weeks of age, depending on weather.  The husband is constructing a movable chicken tractor, sort of a knock-off version of the one designed by Joe Salatin of Polyface Farms but with a pitched roof in deference to our cooler, wetter Northwest springs. 

Celiac Awareness Month

In May we celebrate Celiac Awareness Month during May, so this is a great time find lots of information on Celiac Disease and savings on gluten-free products.  Here are a few of the events happening this month:

MamboSprouts put together blog posts about Celiac Disease in a Nutshell and Dining Out with Celiac Disease.  Plus, check out their coupon section for gluten-free product savings (worth a look every month!).

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness complied a big spread of information including helpful resources on testing and diet, daily blog posts on baking, nutrition, raising gluten-free kids, dining out and resources, and a pantry make-over contest.  They also highlight events around the country pertaining to Celiac's Disease and gluten-free eating so check out their calendar.


The Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) sponsors their Chef to Plate program during May ~ see their map of participating restaurants for options near you.  This is an awesome program designed to raise awareness of gluten sensitivities and provide more dining out options for those eating gluten-free.

Many regional and local restaurants are going gluten-free for the month of May so check for ads in your local media or run a local google search to see what might be available to you. 

A few national league baseball teams, such as the NY Mets and the Arizona Diamondbacks, are hosting Celiac Awareness Nights during May.  Other teams such as the Phillys and Mariners sponsor similar events later in the season.

Rudi's Gluten Free Bakery is holding their Spread the Bread campaign on their Facebook site.  Print a $1 off any Rudi's product coupon and they'll donate a $1 to the Celiac organization of your choice (GIG, NFCA, CSA, or Celiac Disease Foundation).

Help spread the word about Celiac Disease and gluten-free living this month!

 

Chickens. Yes, really, chickens

4 day old chick, getting its feather on

The chickens have arrived.  I don't know if we're brilliantly cunning for embarking on this grand experiment or stunningly insane.  But as the little darlings are now ensconced in their humble garage abode, we're committed. 

2 day old chicks under their hover brooder

In the last few years we've toyed with the idea of raising some hens for eggs, but since we have some really awesome neighbors who happily sell us their eggs from their pastured hens, there hasn't been a need.  Last year a friend and colleague of the husband raised a backyard flock of meat chickens with rousing success (see the story of his chicken experience and gardening exploits at his blog,  Insurgent Chickens), and after his glowing reports on the ease of raising them and the high quality of the meat, the husband was convinced. 

So here we are, the proud parents of 35 or so Cornish Rock Cross chicks (we actually aren't sure how many there are... we ordered 35 but suspect our hatchery generously sent more and the little buggers won't hold still long enough to get a hard count). 

I'll write more about our chicken adventure over the next eight weeks (sorry, feathery friends, your days are already numbered). I strongly suspect the question about our sanity will be answered by then.