Urban Farm Online $10 for 1year subscription! Expires at Midnight!

Dusk sets in around 5pm this time of year.  Daylight is at a premium in a household of many children whose super power is channeling Jack Lalane and Jack Black.. at once.
Our use of electronic devices  sets our energy bill at a premium.

My chickens of course are oblivious to this non-weather we are having.
Soon my crocus' to will pop out at me like Steve Martin complete with banjo.
 ((Actually that I would really enjoy that.   Just putting that out there Universe.))


So we've been doing a lot of reading.. for today only you can get Urban Farm Magazine for $10 for a full year subscription. I subscribe every year and wanted to share this year. I can't tell you how useful this magazine is, seriously order your subscription today. Then we (all four of you who read this blog) will have so much more to talk about.

Happy New Year

Urban Farm Magazine $10/1yr. 01/05/12 only

Dead Fancy Bird Zen

It doesn't matter how far I travel I'm always reminded that born and raised in Idaho back in the 1970s was about living in a farming community. Everyone had chickens, gardens, squash patches, fruit trees and most of all grown up trees. Big trees.
I took from this upbringing the revelation that there is inherent good in those who care for their environment. Their land, their family, their character.

So why am I writing about a Dead Fancy Bird? 
HRH Margaret is.. or rather, was, my fancy breed bird. She was a Belgian d'Uccle Mille Fleur.

My Spidy-senses should have been tipped off by the fact that her name weighed more than she did. 

If anyone has happened to catch my previous posts, on my ill-fated dabblings into the magic of hatching eggs, you will understand the following better than anyone else.


Maggie was the lone chick to have survived my inept hatching contraptions and various flock attacks by dogs and the weather.  She was almost a year old, and quite gorgeous. You might remember that I ordered all those wonderful fancy eggs not too long ago. Yep. I thought I was Caroline fricking Ingalls. In reality it was a little closer to this:

Anyhow-- she managed to survive my best attempts to snuff her here at Chicken Survivor Island.
Over this last year it seems I've become the female equivalent of Lenny from the Grapes of Wrath.
Thank God someone talked me out of rabbits. Gretchen Anderson might have had to give some quote on how many Backyard Chicken Keepers go off the deep end.

Ok.. I have to stay focused.

Maggie's breed type and champion lines were what attracted me to her. Her brother Winston died last year from-- I kid you not-- a heart attack after a vicious puppy barking incident involving my chihuahua.
Heart attacks in certain fowl are not uncommon. This can actually happen in some breeds of birds... and I knew that.
I also knew that even with champion breed lines, certain birds requires a home for which those types of breeds are more suited.

So...at the end of the day I'm left with no one to blame and a Dead Fancy Bird. I get the Zen and learned my lesson from her death. So please don't flame me with hate mail.

Still, the Idaho Matriarch in me didn't like not having something to show for the effort. Needless to say I have a ziploc bag full of beautiful speckled super soft feathers that I'm determined to make into jewelry.
I'm sure my creations will be picked up immediately for Paris Fashion Week and I'll start a charity in HRH Maggie's name dedicated to congenital heart defect among fancy bird breeds.

But most likely they will end up gracing our Holiday Tree... glued to macaroni art and covered in glitter.

I promise to think about my Dead Fancy Bird Zen every time I look at the feathers.

It's fun to play at the IBBA Annual Auction

It was late last night when I ran across the craiglist ad for the Idaho Bird Breeders Association (IBBA) Annual Fundraiser Auction in Caldwell Idaho.

A quick google search produced a nice surprise of their website IdahoBirdBreeders.com , there was more information on the site about the auction.

It was more of a fundraising event as thirty percent of the proceeds went to the benefit the Idaho Bird Breeders Association. They are a group that meets monthly to promote and educate all things avian. Memberships start out as little as $10 and it opens an opportunity to meet, learn and make new friends with other breeders and enthusiasts with hundreds of years of combined experience and knowledge.


I took a few of my own birds, mostly because I didn't want to seem like some green behind the ears newbie. (But really, shh.. I am).

 Wow-- all the birds.. there were so many! 

PLUS! I did get some weird rush of seeing my birds in a cage with a tag on it... breed listed.. I could almost picture a ribbon on it.... a girl can dream right?

Butter sans diaper

While this wasn't a show, it was a great opportunity for me to schmooze en bird lingo with others who loved chickens like I do. Well maybe not like I do-- I didn't readily volunteer that on a regular basis slap a diaper on my silkie Butter and watch documentaries while she coo's in my lap.





Nope, I was wearing my big girl pants today. I had a bid card- #27.

Although the auction action was pretty entertaining in itself .



I had a plan... I wanted to walk out of there with at least 1 chicken that was laying eggs.

My opportunity came alive when a mating pair of Rosecomb bantams came up on the block... I think the feller bidding against me saw that I had that crazy determined look in my eyes and he bowed out at $12.
JUST $12! That's about as much as a trip to Starbucks or a pair of socks from Victoria's Secret.

My son pulled me away to bid on a pair of Cockatiels complete en cage' and he won!

Everyone I met from the IBBA were helpful, affable and had a big smile on their faces for all the people who turned out. It was my first auction, my first sale, and ... my first egg from my new Rosecomb hen was laying in the hay by the time we arrived back home.

Hatching Eggs?! Sweet Fancy Moses!

Taking care of older chickens (even pullets) is easy.
Clean water daily- Check
Clean food daily- Check
Open door for chickens to free range in yard- Check

Then.. then the unspeakable happened.
On a lark- I entered the "Egg Auction" section at the BYC forum.
It went something like this.
Oh hey- this auction is ending soon, and there are bids. Wonder how this works.. hmm.. oh I loved ebay, and am fully recovered from my ebay addiction days. And this isn't ebay- so lets make a super low bid for these dozen plus gorgeous silkie eggs.. there is no way I'm going to win.. so lets say hmm.. $8.00
Minutes wind down-- seven minutes the bid was entered. By minute 1 I was panicking-- with excitement and disbelief.
And loving every moment.
On their way with in the post are a dozen plus silkie eggs from Kentucky Silkies Breeders.


There you have it.

Ok. Ok. So I went the one place I had vowed was just entirely too much trouble and worry.

After pricing out Incubators and finding the cheapest place on the internet I did the math to find out it was cheaper to buy it locally from Dunlap Hatchery in Caldwell. The Hova-bator 1620N prices for about $57 and seems to fit my needs. I'm opting out of getting an auto egg turner, since I'm at home most of the time.

I purchased a Timex digital thermometer/hygrometer from Amazon.com (by far cheaper than buying it retail in store).

Then I realized the incubator has room for more.. and well the dozen or so eggs might be lonely... two auctions later. I called it good.

Silkies @ 12 + eggs from KentuckySilkies.com - Non standard colors

Cochins @ 12 + eggs from OzarkBantams.com- black and white

Silkie Cochins @ 6+ eggs from the BantamBarn.com- Barred and; Black silkie

I'm warming up the Hova-Bator today.

Already I am getting that chicken-high... ahh ..

Ohh-- and to top it off.. Ruby our new Easter Egger laid a gorgeous blue egg today.

Ahh-- I can feel the seratonin and endorphins just having a love-fest in my head...

The Neruda Exodus

She's alive and she home!

(Shes the chicken in the middle)
Last night as I my son was rounding up the chickens from their free grange playtime we noticed that the newest addition to our flock the new Ameraucana chick we named Neruda was missing. Soon we realized that she was under our backyard deck and would not budge. We tried everything we could to coax her out-- it was beginning to get cold out, winds blowing and the temp was dropping quickly towards the 50F degree mark.

We tried until past 10pm. Dark, tired and no signs of a peep.. we gave up. I silently hoped she was somehow still alive.
I bounded out of bed this morning and went to the backyard deck to check for any sign. Not a peep.


I went about the daily chores of being an artist, mother and all around superhero. I had finished a raised garden bed box and was hauling it out to the backyard when I heard it... the faintest "cheep, cheep, cheep". I rushed to the deck and slammed my ear to the boards... "cheeeeep"


My son and his friend were over and came out side at hearing that we had found Neruda! Already wearing my tool belt.. it was obvious... my son rushed to get my reciprocating saw and I got to work making well placed cuts. I could already hear my husband saying "You did what to our deck?!" Then I would remind him that I'm the household handy-diva... not him.

Scared she kept running away... until my sons friend swiftly like a chicken-snatching-ninja grabbed her in a flash and pulled her to safety. She is returned to the safety of the coop after some rest and relaxation,  food and feed inside the house.

Egg-citing idea...

When proposing the idea of keeping chickens in ones backyard.. the response is generally one of stifled laughter and then a look of "huh.. that might work".

Ahh the romance and security of a urban chicken flock..
There are so many benefits of having a backyard flock of chickens..
The idea of fresh multi-colored eggs, the soft sound of clucking, children scattering chicken feed, and fresh organic eggs from home flock chickens are so so much better tasting that the starch white eggs in the grocery store (in my opinion).
Not to mention the free organic weed and pest control and lawn aeration that chickens are happy to provide.

But wait... I need to be realistic and focused.

I needed to decide what would best meet the needs of my family.
Two adults and four rapidly growing children.
What would my backyard accommodate?
What are the zoning laws? Am I allowed to even have chickens?
Where would I keep them?
What would my neighbors say?
Is someone going to answer that phone?! ... whoops sorry... that was well nevermind..

Somewhere in it all.. I know there will be chicken poop. Lots of chicken poo...


Glorious chicken poo! It's like crack for your lawn.

Back to business. I sat down and decided that I wouldn't be tempted by the cute little peeps from soft adorable chicks.. I would instead sit down and write down all the goals for my flock.
1. Good & steady egg production
2. A non-agressive flock
3. Pretty... yes I said it.. Pretty.

With my new goals in hand I went about finding out what the zoning laws are in Boise for chickens.

Here's what I found. A homeowner may keep (6) six hens (no roosters) in the Boise city limits.

So now I had to find out what chickens would be productive enough to meet egg consumption of a family of six. I figure we eat about 12 medium/small eggs a week.

Then I narrowed it down to the breeds that work best at being good/steady producers and do well in the Boise climate.
Here's the list I came up with.

AUSTRALORP- Not the Marylin Monroe of chickens, more like the nerd at the back of the class who is friendly, sweet and can produce more eggs than a Duggar.
PROS: 4-5 Large eggs a week at a steady pace. Not prone to try to fly away. Good in Boise climate. Can produce eggs even into the winter. Friendly. Docile.
CONS: Not so pretty and I worry that the chicken might know I'm only using her for her eggs.




AMERAUCAUNA/EASTER EGGER- Many hatcheries will sell Easter Egger chickens and call them with different names (Ameraucana, Americana). I think maybe some believe they will sell better with a schmancier name.

PROS: 4-5 Large eggs a week. Gorgeous pastel colored eggs. Good natured, friendly. Not prone to try to fly. Hens come in a variety of colors and usually with a cute soft ear and chin muff of feathers.
CONS: None chicken wise.. but while they are prettier than the Australorp they sit in the seats to watch the Silver Laced Wyandotte runway show.



SILVER LACED WYANDOTTE-Most popular and in most demand for a reason. They are just plain gorgeous birds. I picked the silver laced variety but they also come in Red and blue laced and white.

PROS: 3-4 eggs medium sized eggs a week. Good natured, friendly.. but most of all.. pretty, pretty, pretty.
CONS: The other hens may resent her for being so pretty and not producing as many eggs.



Below are a few sites I found really helpful in making my choices. I also was able to get valuable knowledge from Jim & Martha Schwartz who run a small hatchery in Parma Idaho and are my go-to-people for my chickens and guarantee the sex of their chicks which is important if your chick grows up to be a rooster instead of a hen. Roosters are big no-no according to zoning.

www.backyardchickens.com and www.mypetchicken.com and www.urbanchickens.org

Right now the demand for most breeds dwarf the supply and most hatcheries are already sold out of some breeds months and in some cases years in advance.

Many hatcheries and websites that sell chickens/chicks require that you purchase at least 15-25 chicks at a time and the shipping fees are almost always $35-$50. So getting them locally is a big plus.

I will be picking up my little flock soon...
1- Australorp (20 wk pullet ready to lay eggs) - $15
1- Ameraucana/Easter Egger (1 day old pullet chick)- $5
1- Silver Laced Wyandotte (1 day old pullet chick) $-5

All said-- my little $20 flock should hopefully produce my family with 12-15 gorgeous, super tasty and totally organic eggs.

In the plans are a coop and a brooder (a place for the chicks to live and grow until they get nice n'big).

There is a lot of speculation over whether this whole urban organic flock movement is just a fad.

I'm only sure that I'm bound to have a load of new experiences. Good and bad... but mostly good.

Actually I think mostly great.