Edible Landscaping with Rosalind Creasy » Chickens

Seed Savers 2010 Annual Campout

Rosalind Creasy — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 05:57:23 +0000

The Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa has been a part of my life since the late 70s when I, and a lot of other worried American gardeners, became aware that many of the old time vegetable and fruit varieties were rapidly disappearing. At that time, most of the major seed companies were offering more and more modern hybrids and fewer heirloom, open-pollinated varieties. (Hybrid varieties are created by crossing two proprietary varieties, thus creating a new variety with selected characteristics. Gardeners cannot save the seeds of this new variety because the offspring will not be the same as the parent. In contrast, open-pollinated varieties, can reproduce themselves and under most circumstances the gardener can save the seeds from year to year. ) To help preserve these old varieties, in 1975 Kent and Diane Whealy founded the Seed Savers Exchange, and a few years later were inspired to have a campout for other seed enthusiasts to gather and share seeds and information.

In late July, I and about a thousand other heirloom seed enthusiasts, attended the Seed Savers Annual Campout to celebrate their35 years. We gathered to swap old varieties of seeds, attend seminars on seed saving and fruit tree pruning, and learn how to cook favorite heirlooms. In the last few years, saving heritage breeds of chickens, geese, turkeys, and ducks has been added to the organization’s goals, and courses on raising poultry were added to the agenda. And because a significant anniversary is a great time to reflect, the group sessions celebrated the early seed savers that collected so many hundreds of old varieties and the founding members that started a movement that has influenced seed savers around the world.

The Seed Savers anniversary cake was enjoyed by hundreds of campout attendees. It was primarily a carrot cake, which seemed very fitting, plus a chocolate layer for good measure.

My grandson Alex Chavarin, assisted me as I gave a number of presentations on raising chickens in the home garden. The hen I’m holding is an unusal White Crested Black Polish.

Five of the speakers at the Seed Saver’s Campout gathered to sign their books and greet their fans. From left to right: Maria Rodale, chairman of Rodale Press; yours truly, Ethne Clarke, editor-in-chief of Organic Gardening magazine; Amy Goldman, author and chairman of the Seed Savers Board of Directors; and Deborah Madison, member of the Seed Savers Board and vegetarian cookbook author extraordinaire.

To learn more about the Seed Savers Exchange, join the organization, and/or purchase seeds of heirloom varieties visit www.seedsavers.org

In Memorium – Mr. X

Rosalind Creasy — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:32:26 +0000

Mr. X in his prime

Our noble rooster Mr. X passed away on November 14th. We almost lost him the week before Christmas last year so the past ten months were a gift. Arthritis was his major problem. His last year or so was a quiet one compared to his previous 14 years of traveling around the country visiting nursing homes, garlic festivals, friend’s homes, and fourth grade classes. His last public appearance was at a local garden club where he nobly sat in the crook of my arm for a half hour as I lobbied for the 2008 California Proposition 2 to free millions of chickens from their inhumane cages. I wanted the audience to experience chickens as sentient beings that we should not abuse. In that short time the members got to know and love him as we did. He even nodded when I told them that he didn’t like cold French fries, only hot ones, and that he’d never met a dog he couldn’t dominate.

As I walked through the audience with him he patiently let them touch his glorious feathers and to feel how warm he was. And of course, he didn’t poop on me, much to their surprise. But then he never did poop when you held him unless you didn’t pay attention to his squirming-I-want-to-get-down warning.

Mr. X in his final days with Cathy

The house feels empty now. I still listen for his faint crow I would hear from the garage every morning. I miss him waddling up the walk after me. His walk through the house to go to his dog carrier in the garage every night, and his constant excitement and clucking when I offered him a handful of cantaloupe seeds or some lettuce leaves from the garden. And of course, the neighborhood children miss his cock-a-doodle-do when they would come to visit and feed him. This gorgeous chicken has left an indelible mark on his part of the world and will be remembered in all our minds for decades to come.

Raising Chickens at Home

Rosalind Creasy — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:32:31 +0000

When planning your yard, consider including a chicken coop and some chickens. My chickens are champion recyclers that provide a steady supply of beneficial manure. Their presence animates the garden-even if they are not allowed in it (chickens quickly peck and eat most greens). I find chickens amusing, friendly animals; I raise them for eggs not meat. My small flock supplies the tastiest and most nutritious eggs you can imagine, delivered fresh every day. A small sample test at Mother Earth News estimates that true home-grown, free-range chicken eggs (not the commercial “pseudo free-range” eggs where the chickens only have “access” to an open pen with no greenery, so are fed the same corn-based diet) have seven times the beta-carotene and twice the omega-3 oils, and a third less cholesterol than the average super-market eggs. So I eat lots of delicious, healthy eggs with the most amazing orange yolks.

Basic Guidelines

Most laying breeds lay an egg a day from spring through fall so 4 chickens are plenty for the average family. Egg production slows for molting and in winter. A hen noticeably slows her egg production after the fourth year. (A rooster is not necessary to produce eggs and their crowing is notorious. For this reason I put my rooster in a dog crate in the garage at night. The evening I forgot to bring him in we made the local newspaper’s Police Blotter.)

Consider heritage breeds. Besides beautiful plumage, many are more people friendly than commercial breeds. Further, some of the varieties are endangered, so you help keep the breed going. My chickens are Dominiques, Easter Egg Araucanas, and Rhode Island Reds.

You can buy day-old female chicks from hatcheries and local feed stores. If you get fertile eggs from a friend and hatch them as I did, you can get a number of problematic roosters. McMurray Hatchery www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/ offers one of the largest selections of heritage breeds. Chicks need special care when young so before you order consult a good chicken book or go online. I have found that time spent handling young chicks makes them friendly and easier to manage as adults. My neighborhood children enthusiastically volunteer for chick duty.

Provide a hen house to protect them from the elements. If you are not going to let them free range, they need a large enclosed coop for running around. Avoid overcrowding; provide at least 10 square feet per chicken. Install chicken wire over the top of the coop and provide solid walls and flooring in the hen house so mice can’t get the eggs; and an outer coop door with a good latch to protect them from roving dogs and wild critters. To keep out digging animals, install the chicken wire at least 6 inches deep into the ground, and extending 18 inches away from the coop.

Situate the coop away from neighbor’s houses, as hens announce new eggs with much drama. “Mine is the best egg ever!” “You can’t believe how big this one is, come see!” Provide a perch a 3 or 4 feet off the ground for roosting at night. In cold winter regions, they need a solid hen house without drafts, and an electric light for heat on very cold nights.

A clean supply of water is also a must. Feed stores carry containers that continuously supply clean water. I have installed an automatic dog waterer in our coop. In winter, you install the heating elements people use for their bird baths to keep the water from freezing.

Give your flock a nutritious chicken feed, preferably organic without medications or other additives. Keep the feed clean and dry. If they are not free-ranging, provide chicken grit occasionally.

Supplement their diet with goodies from your kitchen and garden, especially greens. My chickens get very excited when I bring them stale bread, melon rinds and seeds, overripe tomatoes, bean vines, weeds, and other kitchen and garden flotsam. Basically, I give them almost anything I would put in the compost pile-no animal products-but nothing that has begun to rot. For everyone’s pleasure, I have sorrel planted near their coop so the neighborhood children and their grandparents can harvest it and stick it through the wire to feed the chickens when they visit.

Good sanitation is essential to keep your flock healthy and cut down on flies. Rake up the chicken litter every few weeks and apply fresh litter. Put the old litter in a hot compost pile or dig it into the garden at least two weeks before planting. Freshen nests frequently.

Litter possibilities include ground cornhusks, peanut hulls, and straw.

Free-range chickens–a good idea because the chickens supplement their diet with insects and greens-work in some yards, not in others. If they are cooped, you can create a movable pen and move both pen and chickens around the yard as desired. I find them great at cleaning out old vegetable beds and eating the pests and weed seeds

Resources:

Keeping Chickens: the Essential Guide to Enjoying and Getting the Best From Chickens by Jeremy Hobson and Celia Lewis.

Websites: www.organicchickens.homestead.com and www.motherearthnews.com.

Rosalind Creasy is a regular guest on Organictobe.org. Her newest book is: Rosalind Creasy’s Recipes From the Garden.

Christmas 2008 with the Hawthorne’s and Mr. X

Rosalind Creasy — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:12:07 +0000

With the new blog, I have the opportunity to keep up with everybody around the country. I look forward to adding some personal anecdotes, recipes, photos and more. So please do check back often.

I am now at the Hawthorne ranch in San Luis Obispo, California. It’s a part of our yearly tradition, where we meet up either in Los Altos or on the Central Coast for several days of festivities- usually including copious amounts of food, and a careful mix of traditional family recipes and adventuresome forays into novel culinary ground.

The turkey is in the oven, pies have been made, and Mr. X the rooster was just taken out for a walk. Our beloved little bird hasn’t been feeling well lately, so he was supervised closely during his stroll with someone making sure he didn’t fall over.

Here are Noah and Sierra doing some PT work on the chicken as the rain storm cleared up a little bit.

He was fed some worms dug up from the garden:

Settled into the bushes to rest:

And then joined us by the Christmas tree. Here he is with Sierra.

While having a rooster as a pet is admittedly a bit novel, he is such a blast to have around.

Mr. X seems to be doing a little better. Relaxation on the ranch has been good for him. Merry Christmas to everybody, and again, feel free to check back with the blog and watch it develop these next few days.