Chicken Moulting Madness

Get ready. Autumn is nearly here.
You'll start to notice your gals look a little bare. You'll also notice their coop, run or how about your yard in general ...looking like the mower ran over a down pillow. Molting is similar to a 'bad hair' day - except it lasts far longer. More like a really bad hair cut!

Some of our girls have started their 'bad hair' cycle a bit ago. It seems as though the pygmy goats are shedding a bit of fur themselves. Maybe it's just excess fur from all the rubbing and mashing they do up against rough objects so they can get their itch on!

Oddly enough, I was moving some potted veggies and unearthed what appeared to be a perfectly intact lizard scale. Is that the correct terminology?

Stay tuned for updates on great little remedies to assist your girls along with their seasonal moult.

Rare & Heritage Breeds for 2010

Have you noticed the Chicken Madness? Newspapers, magazines, blogs, websites devoted to chicken care and radio talk shows are spreading across the nation - it's all about chicken. And, why shouldn't it be?

With this little epiphany in mind we have made a concerted decision to raise a few select breeds of chickens that are threatened because the agricultural mindset has changed. Modern food production is horribly in favor of mass producing select breeds in a less than pleasant or natural environment. It's just awful.
Many traditional poultry breeds have lost popularity and are near extinction. So, with that in mind...we are featuring rare and endangered breeds for Spring of 2010.

Exact breeds are still to be determined but we do have a couple great one's decided upon - just more fun stuff we've got stuffed under our wings.

PS: just made the most delicious egg salad concoction. Then, because I was on a 'domestic' roll, threw together a scrumptious carrot (from the garden) and zucchini (also from the garden) bread. Mmmm.

Chicken Hawk Attack

If you've got younger gals running about freely please do your best to protect them from overhead predators such as hawks, crows and Blue Jays. Grrrr, those nasty Blue Jays and Chicken Hawks. I don't want to completely rule out the necessity of crows...often I have found them to be tattle tales alerting me to hawks and Blue Jays nearby. But they still do their best to eat the eggs which really tends to get on my bad side.

Wanted to provide a photo of our sweet little One Eye'd Sally but the batteries to the super slick camera are dead, dead, dead. Great machine that is completely worthless without those trusty batteries. Damit.

Anyway, it's been several weeks since that darn bird swooped down and tried to take her from us. She's lookin' pretty swanky if you ask me. But you can't tell since there's no flippin photo. Can you feel my annoyance?

Nonetheless, we gave her plenty of TLC and some of our natural remedies that we can't wait to spotlight with you when we re-open.

The countdown continues: 11 more trusty days.

Chickens, Pullets and Barnyards - Oh MY!

I had no idea what serious withdrawal I would go through not being able to Bloggy, blog, blog my days away.

That time is OVER and I'm back to type away my infinite babble about the many wonders of chickens and what we've been up to for the last few months. Sooo, many changes on the farm.

Stay tuned as I promise to write everyday until we re-open on August 1st for our big August Chicken Sale. We think you'll like it.

In August we will have pullets hatched in May. May 13th to be exact. That would be Grannies 84th birthday- in fact. Those are special birds and I'm certain they will have unique personalities as Granny was a spitfire herself.

We've also got girls from a June 3rd hatch. Many Standard breeds to choose from.

Then, (as my posting title mentioned) there are Barnyards. My special favorites. Maybe it's an Ameuracana and a Barred Rock combo. Could be a Polish Top Hat and a Crevacor mixer. Some appear to be Oppenzeler Spitzen Hauben (I know I spelled that incorrectly) with a New Hampshire Red. I will spare you the continious Frankenstein combinations ....these are truly unique gals and to be honest it will be hard to part with them but they are georgeous.
We'll have them available on the lawn to choose from. All should begin laying in approximately six to eight weeks. Give or take your girls hormonal set.

Check our availability to the right to see what's cooking - ouch, bad chicken term - to see what is available. We promise to try and keep it current. No guarantees as we expect quite a flurry.

Thanks for hanging in there Backyard Chicken Fans.

Exciting Changes in the Hen House

Okay, where do I start?

We, me, I... all of us... are really excited to announce some changes to Ranch Hag Hens. And we think you'll dig it too.

Products?
Many of you have sent inquiries about my last posting and newsletter announcement of 'products'......I promise, they (products for your chickens) are on their way - not just yet though.
Seriously, when will Ranch Hag Hens Re-open?
The First Weekend in August.
Saturday and Sunday, August 1st and 2nd. Check back for hours - they will be different than in the past.

Chickens.
It's time we get to the really good stuff.

As of August 1st all our girls will have been outside and will be ready to go-go-go!
We've got a lot, a lot, a lot of Standard Breed feathered gals. Check to the right of this posting to see our available breeds, pricing and ages.

Check back for more details and stay tuned for the 'fluffin' in the house' -

El Cerrito Approves Chickens!!

My dear friend Linda has done it again. She's a persuasive gal and this time she's really done it. So, for all you East Bay folks out there.....El Cerrito is gettin' hip with the Chicken Movement. If you don't already have plans for the 4th of July come on down (or up) to El Cerrito and celebrate - we'll be in Booth 49.

PS: we are always looking for volunteers in the area to help us set up and take down our chicken paraphernalia. Contact us if you are available - or just show up. See you there.

Hey there Granny?

The little girl shown in the photo (below, far right) is Granny at a sprite age. She passed away on May 30, 2009 after living a life of humor, sarcasm and love. We will miss her dearly.

The farm is closed this weekend to remember her life and the times we had with her.

Enjoy your weekend with family, friends and all those kids that are graduating. Don't want to spend your weekend with family or friends? Strike up a conversation with someone new - you never know what you might end up learning. Granny was well known for her knack of talking to anyone, anytime about the strangest things.
We'll see you next weekend.

Ranch Hag Hens -

PS: we had a few preemies hatch the other day. Two days early. They are sooo cute and tiny.