New Year Purge and Hoard

Foreword: I have been gone awhile. If you've been a reader since the beginning, you know I have spent the last 15 years caring for loved ones through illness and aging. Last November my mother passed away. She was the last of those needing my time and attention. I've taken these months off, before her passing to care for her, and after, to heal and find my path again. I'm almost there. Rekindling this blog will be bittersweet. When I began, my mom was my biggest cheerleader. She'd lived her life with a homesteading mindset, knew about the things I was learning, coached and enabled from the sideline. Even in the latter days of her illness, she always wanted to know about my chickens and garden. I will find bits of her every time I put a thought into words. I'll be sad but I know the peace will come because she taught me that, too. Thanks, Mom! 

I've been reading articles about other cultures' New Year traditions. One that I found really interesting was the old Irish custom of deep cleaning their homes. It was done (and still observed today) to help start the year with a clean slate. In our own way, we observe something like this in our home. Before Christmas everything gets a good dusting and/or washing. While we're putting away the Christmas decorations we discard the worn out items. After the holiday get togethers, we rearrange the cupboard and recycle/repurpose the mismatched plastic lids and bowls. Worn out linens get put in the dust cloth collection or sent to the workshop for greasy jobs. The fridge gets a good going over for chicken treats and kitty scraps and the stove top gets a scrub down. Molly gets a new dog bed and blanket for Christmas so we can trash the old ones. This purge is a great feeling of renewal. 

About the time we get everything cleaned out, however, we start collecting other things. Egg cartons start to pile up because the hens are laying less frequently. Take out containers and deli/bakery cartons are a hot commodity for seed starting around here so we're saving all of those. Speaking of seeds, the catalogs start showing up in the mail around this time, too. There's one in every reading nook! 

Suddenly, my yarn supply doesn't seem big enough either. I've finally got time to look at all the new colors. That spinning wheel I dusted before Christmas is calling my name. The jigsaw puzzles are marked down, too. I would love to get one or two new ones!

I don't have children at home to clutter up the place with new toys but I do have a DH who enjoys his big boy toys. I'm not alone in this collecting caper! There's "projects" stacked up in the workshop, parts to build a chicken plucker, and campervan supplies. 

We've managed to clear out the unnecessary stuff that is a weight to hold us down and start adding the things that make us hopeful for life to continue in a fulfilling way. Here's to 2023- may you be blessed beyond measure!

Fall Poultry Care and Pecking Order

 I spent more time than usual with the chickens and turkeys this morning. The typical morning chore is an in-and-out job of checking the feeder and waterer to see if they need filled, grabbing the eggs, and throwing a handful of scratch to get them all together for a head count. This week, though, they're in molt and I want to check their condition. I mixed extra scratch with a scoop of sunflower seeds so they would hang around a little longer. I always enjoy watching them but I find I don't do it as much since we no longer free range. It was easier when they would come to me instead of my going to them. 

 This week I'll be cleaning out the coop, also. Dust and feathers are everywhere! We will be adding a light to the coop to increase egg production in the colder months. The teenagers likely won't start laying until springtime and the slackers other hens haven't been regular layers in a while. Before I add that light I make sure there are no cobwebs that could smolder. We use a deep litter method in the winter so I also clean the floor and treat everything with mite and lice spray before I add the first layer of straw. AND it's time to put the fan away, install the heated base for the waterer, and cover the large window. 

 We added a rooster and some new breeds of chicks along with 2 heritage breed turkeys this year. Anytime the flock changes, so does the pecking order. It didn't take long for the rooster to make his way to the top. All the ladies love a bossy guy! The turkeys and chicks have reached the teenager phase of bird life. They've found their place on the roost at night but the older girls still will scold and peck if they go after a choice piece of scratch. Since we allow our broody hens to raise the chicks, we don't have to worry about them being accepted into the flock but those hens let them know who's the boss! Even the turkeys (who are twice their size) will scoot away from a pecking hen!