Category Archives: Pets and Animals

Happy Birthday, Kiddo!

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Today was Cassie’s birthday. She took the day off and I was working from home (as I was having car troubles). She had a good day and we started the day off with a nice breakfast. Then we rode our bikes down to the Rio Grande for lunch where she got a free burrito for her birthday as well as a margarita. Then we took a little break and laid in the sun outside for a little while with Schnoodle and the chickens.


Hanging out in the yard on a sunny summer day: Cassie’s Birthday!

I also got Cassie a present that she had fun opening!


Cassie opening her present


Seltzer water maker!

We don’t drink pop but every warm evening night we like to drink “Nojitos” or alcohol free mint/lime seltzer drinks and juice spritzers. We thought it would be fun to make our own seltzer water instead of buying it! Definitely something we can/will use in PR! We still need to get the CO2 canisters, and Cassie is anxious to try it so I’ll probably have to pick them up tomorrow. I thought it would have at least one canister with it. It’s like getting a toy with no batteries! lol

Then later that evening Cassie’s mom and boyfriend came over for some ice cream cake. Also the neighbor kids like to stop by and play with the chickens and plants with Cassie, so when they found out it was her birthday and that there was to be ice cream cake, they wanted to stick around which was a lot of fun.


Birthday cake with the neighbor kids


Cassie and her mom


With neighbor kids


Then they played and drew with chalk

See, I told you, she’s still like a kid. Now do you believe me? haha.

Anyway, as Cassie’s mom would say, “Happy Birthday, Cassafrass!” and as Jack, Cassie’s dad, always would say, “Happy Birthday, Kiddo!”

Oh and I fixed the coolant leak on the car with a spare hose I had in the garage.  Over all a productive and different day!

 

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How to Harvest Flax Seed

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We put down a mixture of dryland wildflower seeds when we re-did our front yard flower garden area. We saw quite a variety of wildflowers the first year, but this year, there has been one clear dominator: flax. It is very pretty when it is in bloom; little periwinkle flowers steal the show. They are super-hardy and don’t need much water at all to survive. We see them growing wild around here in Colorado all the time.


Close up of flax flowers

When the  knock-out flower show is done, they turn into little ball seed pods and we noticed they were littering the flax seeds all over our driveway.


Flax Flowers in Bloom


This is what a flax plant looks like when its seeds are ready to be harvested


The small flax seeds reside in this tiny little pod

So we decided that instead of letting them all fall, that we would harvest a few of them. First, pick a plant that is ready to drop its seeds. Then cut it down with scissors or a knife (it’s a tough plant). Next, shake it vigorously over a sheet or some other type of drop cloth. (A towel would work, but it might get the little seeds stuck in the terry cloth material.) Check out this video for a demonstration:

 


A cut bunch of flax

Once you have all the seeds and other things shaken out of the bunch, pour it into a bowl. Then use a sifter or a colander to separate out the seeds from the leaves and pods that also shook into the mix.


Mixture after shaking the plant out


Sifting


Flax seeds after sifting -with a few other things still, but pretty good

Flax seed is very high in Omega-3 fatty acids which is great for your heart and brain. Some studies have shown flax seed helps prevent and/or treat cancer, stroke, diabetes and heart disease. It’s also a great food in general and can be added to everything from cereal and bread to chili and meatloaf. Additionally, it’s a great additive to your chicken’s food to help increase the omega-3’s in your chicken’s eggs.


I gave the chickens a few to try and saved the rest for us

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Best Plants to Have with Chickens

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Having chickens in your backyard is not exactly the easiest way to have a beautiful backyard. They love to scratch and peck, make dust bathing areas, and poop on the back porch. They also love to eat new seedlings and anything that has been freshly planted is prime for scratching (and, often, destroying) in the search for some good worms and bugs.

But with a little work, you can still have a nice area to hang out with your roaming little pocket raptors. Just spray the poop with a hose (no need to pick it up as it is free fertilizer), and encourage an area that you wouldn’t mind being a dust bath. There are also a few strong plants that can survive the onslaught of super hot fertilizer (chicken poop), and lots of disruptions. In fact, I would say if these plants can survive with chickens around, they are probably some of the most hardy plants around. And they are pretty too!


Chickens in the iris bed

Irises

Irises are very hardy plants and they look really pretty even when they are not in bloom. The spikes create a sort of tropical background. Then when the flowers bloom, it’s even more beautiful. Because they grow in clumps, it is difficult for the chickens to get in there and destroy them. When they spread and get too overgrown, you can separate the root rhizomes and plant them in new areas. I recommend planting them pretty close together to create the chicken deterrent effect.


The chickens and Schnoodle near the irises

Roses

Roses are both gorgeously fragrant and chicken-hardy. Because of their thorns, they are not messed with by the chickens.We have about 8 rose bushes in the backyard!


Rose bush and chickens

Others

Spreading plants like mint and daisies also do pretty well around chickens. Our comfrey plants are virtually unkillable, so if you like comfrey for its composting benefits and bumblebees, that’s another great choice. Raspberries, strawberries and other spreading plants that provide food also work, but you have to keep the chickens from eating the fruit! And surprisingly enough, regular old grass does remarkably well with chickens as long as you keep the number of chickens to a manageable number.


Daisies are great because they spread so eagerly

So what shouldn’t you plant around chickens? Well, pretty much any tender, sensitive or rare plant that you would hate to see stepped on, pecked at or scratched up. For example, our annuals like petunias and marigolds stay on our front porch in containers. Others that haven’t done too well around the chickens have been tulips, daffodils, mums and salvias. Some plants you can cultivate with the chickens in mind. For example, hostas are a little sensitive, but can be planted next to a house wall or corner where the chickens don’t have quite the access to scratching them. Or if you really want a sensitive-type plant, you can put chicken wire near it when it is young or first transplanted and then remove it once they grow full-size. As long as it’s not tasty to the chickens, they will leave most full size plants and trees alone.


Sensitive plants are kept separate from the chickens (in the front)


We keep the salvia (with bee) out front, but a full-grown plant might be ok

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