The Latest Cackle from the Hen House: The Benefits of Free Range

Hooray!
Today was a big day for our little ladies.  Today was their first day going "free range".  I've been trying to coax them out of the coop for about a week now, but they always seemed to "chicken out" (no pun intended...lol)  However today, they took a leap of faith and "flew the coop" (Ok, Ok,  I know, enough with the chicken jokes.)  Wow, what a bunch of happy ladies.  They were absolutely loving it out there today.  Strutting around their new territory, peck, peck, peck.  It was so fun to watch.

There are so many benefits to letting your ladies "free range", but here's just a few:

Nutritious eggs:

Instead of those boring, grocery store eggs with the pale yellow yolks, you get instead: fresh, nutrient rich little gems that contain:

• 1/3 less cholesterol• 1/4 less saturated fat• 2/3 more vitamin A• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids• 3 times more vitamin E• 7 times more beta carotene

How great is that?  Not to mention, it's so much more fun to gather your own eggs rather than make a trip to the store.  It's like your very own daily Easter egg hunt.

Chickens: Your very own free extermination service:
Chickens love to eat protein-packed insects, which works out well because they can serve as an organic pest-cleanup crew in your garden and devour all kinds of bugs on your property. They also love to eat weeds, and serve as post-harvest garden bed cleaners, potentially making your work as a funny farmer, much much easier.

Chickens are great little gardeners:The health of our food is tied directly to the health of our soil. Chickens perform multiple functions that can turn parts of our boring old yards into fertile garden patches. All that scratching and digging that comes to them so naturally, can help to create productive garden beds. They are experts in the mixing of manure with mulch to create fertile soil. They act as gas free, noise-free mini roto-tillers, that mix the top layers of soil with compost or other mulch to create a fertile soil which allows you to grow more produce in a smaller space and use less water, which is particularly useful to us suburbian funny farmers .

Chickens can work as a natural antidepressant.Yup, you heard right.  Ever hear of oxytocin, the love hormone? It's a stress-lowering chemical in your body that's unleashed when you hug someone you love, or even pet your dog or cat. And anyone who has raised backyard chickens would probably agree, the same effect holds true for our hens.  I love to just sit and watch them strut around and peck the ground.  And yes, they are my pets. Particularly one of my little ladies, A black Australorp named Verdelle, who likes to follow me around and peck at my jewelry and sparkly toenail polish.  There's just something therapeutic and charming about chickens roaming around my back yard.  So, hug a chicken.  I highly recommend it.
 
Now....If I could just get them to clean the inside of my house....lol 

Until Next time.......

Happy Farming!

Funny farm update: Spring has sprung.

Wow! It certainly has been a while since my last posting. Things have been crazy busy here on the Funny Farm. Spring is normally a busy time of year for us, but this year has been especially busy. Mostly because we have had some new additions, some expected and others not so much. Early spring brought us the much anticipated chickens. After spending their first weeks in the basement, I was anxious to get their dusty, furry little behinds outside. Our weather has been so unpredictable that finding decent weather to put the coop together proved to be extemely challenging. But eventually it did get done.  The Coop is still currently under construction, but is at least habitable and the girls seem to be enjoying it outdoors immensely. Plans are underway to spruce it up, but for the time being, until things slow down around here, it's working just fine. Now were anxiously awaiting all the fresh eggs.

  Another new addition to the farm, and definitely an unexpected addition, is our new foster baby. This is foster baby number three for us and our future plans are to adopt this little guy as well. He came to us at 3 days old, and he's five weeks old now. So you can imagine how I've been spending my days...and nights.  We have been so blessed with three of the most adorable, sweetest little boys.  They certainly keep me busy. So, much of my suburbian farming has been temporarily put on the back burner. However, things are progressing slowly but surely. The chickens are cooped, the strawberries transplanted, the herbs planted, and the taters are in with the help of my junior farmers in training.

The piles of lumber that was once our old barn are getting smaller, and the good lumber that is left will be recycled in the form of raised garden beds and compost bins.  The blueberry beds are getting weeded very slowly, but are coming along.  I'm trying desperately to get them weeded before it gets much warmer as to avoid running nose to nose with the ginormous garter snake that has resided there for the last several years. 

So stay tuned.  We've got lots to do, and lots to share. Until next time....



Happy Farming:

Funny Farm Update: They're Here!!!

I've always dreamed of living on a farm.  My dreams were filled with acres of rolling hills, abundant fruit trees, flourishing gardens, and a barn full of livestock.  Now this here little farm isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but it works.  Although living in the city has some disadvantages, there is actually quite a bit of farming to be done in a very small space.  There is always room for fruit trees and a garden.   But what is a farm without chickens?  Exactly!  That’s why we at the Funny Farm are proud to announce the arrival of chickens to our little bit of suburbian acreage.  The first of our little ladies arrived on Wednesday.  I surprised my son, Xander by taking him to the feed store to pick them up.   What a fun and special moment to share with my son.  The look on his face was priceless.  It was so fun to see him jumping up and down with excitement, and he was so gentle when he actually got to handle the little bundles of fuzz.  I’ll never forget it.  I took a trip down memory lane that day and remembered all the furry friends of my childhood.  I learned a lot about life from growing up around animals.  We had dogs, cats, rabbits, ducks, and chickens.  I learned about responsibility, life, love, and loss.   These lessons, helped to shape the person I am today, and I want my boys to have the same experience.

And So far, these little ladies have been a huge hit.  Right now they are residing in our basement under a heat lamp, but I’m looking forward to finishing their coop and getting them outside in the fresh air as soon as they’re old enough.  Now Xander has been a little disappointed that they aren’t laying eggs yet (lol) but I’ve encouraged him to be patient.   Even my husband, the skeptic, had to admit they were pretty cute and even went so far as to hold them and anxiously ask when the others were coming.  Yep, you heard right.  We have three more coming next week.  Is he converted?  I’m not so sure.  But we’ll see how he feels when they get bigger and start giving us fresh eggs every week.  Now how to I break the news to him that we’re getting a cow next month?  Just kidding….lol

Happy Farming!

Back to Basics in 2012: Non Toxic Cleaning.

I use to be a cleaning product junkie.  Anything new that came on the market I had to try it.  The cabinet that used to house my cleaning supplies began to look like a graveyard for partly used cleaning products.  I knew something had to give.  Not only was I overwhelmed by toxic fumes on cleaning day, but when times got tough, and the budget got lean, I knew I needed to change my ways.

Boy, am I glad I did.  My house has never been cleaner and healthier, and my pocketbook has never been happier. 

What I did:

Laundry soap:  we started using more eco friendly detergents.  We have members of our family with allergies (including myself), so we need either gently scented or preferably unscented products.   And with the use of cloth diapers, I needed an all natural laundry soap that wouldn’t leave a residue on the diapers, thus making them waterproof.  I tried all kinds.  My favorite:  Country Save.  I use this primarily for the cloth diapers.  For all other laundry I have found that Ecos Magnolia and Lily is my favorite hands down.  It smells heavenly without being overpowering.  And the fact that it’s available in a huge bottle (200+ loads) and available at Costco, makes it a real winner.

Dishwasher detergent:  I’ve tried a lot, and my favorite is Bio Kleen Automatic Dish Powder Grapefruit and Orange.  It’s hard to find locally and I usually have to order it, but it’s worth it.  A little goes a long way, and my dishes come out sparkling.

All purpose cleaner:  I use a lot of baking soda and vinegar.  I use it for everything from scouring the sinks, and cleaning the windows, to unclogging drains.   Just dump a couple of scoops down a lazy drain, top it off with some vinegar and “Viola”, you have your very own indoor volcano.  (Think Jr. High science experiment)  My boys love this.  And trust me, it works.  I try to do it once a week for maintenance.   For shiny floors, I use about ¼ cup vinegar to 2 gallons of hot water when I mop my floors, using a regular old fashioned cotton rag mop.  Sometimes for variety I might add a few drops of lavender oil to the water to make it smell good while I mop.  And lemons are great for cleaning your cutting boards.  Just cut a lemon in half and rub it over your cutting boards.  It works to sanitize and deodorize.  I also use Mrs. Meyers Clean Day all purpose cleaner.  It’s great for cleaning a variety of things including dumping a capful into the toilet for a refreshing scrub-down.  All Mrs. Meyers products are earth friendly and smell delicious.   My favorites are the Lavender and the Lemon Verbena, but they also are available in other yummy scents.  And make sure you have some microfiber cleaning cloths on hand.  They are a great alternative to paper towels.  They make cleaning a breeze and are re-usable.

All natural flea control:  I hate fleas.  Here at the funny farm, we have lots of pets inside and flea control is of the utmost importance.  It’s no secret that fleas looooove carpeting.  You can have just one flea come in on one of your furry friends, and a week later you have an infestation.  Trust me, I know.  And I refuse to fill my home with toxic fumes.  If it’s toxic enough to kill the fleas, chances are it’s toxic enough to eventually kill us as well.  And with a baby crawling all over the carpet, toxic, topical treatments are not an option.  What works for us?  Epsom salts.  Just scatter some Epsom salts over your carpets, let it sit half a day, then vacuum.  The salt dehydrates and kills the fleas.  Of course when you vacuum the first time it sounds like you’re sucking up bits of shrapnel, but it absolutely works.  I do a treatment every 4 months, and I have not found one flea on the carpeting in almost 2 years.  Proof enough for me.

There are so many other tips and ideas out there.  These are just some of my favorites.  For more great ideas you can visit   http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm 

So until next time….

Happy housecleaning J

The Old Red Barn She Aint What She Used To Be.

After many, many years of housing chickens, goats, cows, bunnies, lawnmowers, and garden supplies, (and no doubt rats…yuck!!!) our old barn/shed finally succumbed to the winter storms.  We had been planning on demolishing it, but Mother Nature finished her off during this last snow storm.  Long before the Funny farm came into existence, when the old girl was still in her prime, the former owners used it to house a cow, a goat, some chickens and rabbits. 

By the time she came into our hands she was in disrepair, but served well to house our garden supplies and work as a shelter for our dog kennel.  It also served to add some charm to the place and give it that “farmy” feel.  Will we rebuild?  Most definitely!  But it won’t be for a while yet.  In the meantime, we’ll use the extra space for the chicken coop and a garden.   Our plans for the future include a double car garage/shop, but, that won’t be happening for a              while.  Perhaps, I will also get a new smaller barn in the future.  And while I don’t plan on having a cow anytime soon, I won’t count it out entirely…You never know what the future may bring.   My husband isn’t too excited about the chickens, so a cow would really send him over the edge…LOL

               So in the meantime, we’re busy with clean-up.  We certainly have our work cut out for us, but we have had lots of help.  Several people have wanted the old barn wood, and one of them, in exchange for giving him the wood, is going to build me a hen house out of the old barn siding.  We’ll have a snuggly little home to house our new chickens in, we'll be "recycling", as well as adding a little piece of history to the farm.   A fitting tribute I think. 

So, it’s time to put on the over-alls and the heavy duty work gloves.  It’s clean up time on the Funny Farm!

Until next time,

Happy Farming!

Back to Basics in 2012.

Times are changing and our lives have become so complicated.  The price of everything is going up, up, up.  The air we breathe, and the water we drink has become toxic.  The foods we eat have become so genetically modified that they can’t even be classified as food anymore, but rather a substance to consume.  Our minds have become poisoned by the media, and our world is no longer safe and is filled with litter.  It is up to us parents to protect and educate our children.  Goodbye Mayberry, Hello chaos.   I keep telling my son that if we don’t take care of Mother Earth, that we’re going to end up like the people in the movie “wall-E” and be living on a spaceship with our faces glued to a computer screen.  The only problem with that is that he thinks that sounds pretty cool and doesn’t really find it much of a threat.

I want my children to grow up safe, healthy, educated and strong.  Who know what lies ahead for them in the future.  That’s why I think it’s so important for them to learn the basics early, because in the future, it might be necessary for their survival.  That’s why in 2012, we at the Funny Farm are adopting a new way of life, a simple life. 

What do we have in the works?   Sustainable living and urban homesteading.  Although working full time while attempting to achieve this way of life will present some challenges, I feel I am up to the challenge, and feel it’s important not only for the well being and health of my family, but also for my mental health.   The disorganization and chaos of our current lifestyle is making this momma crazy.

So what does Simple Living mean for me?                                                                   

1.      Getting rid of the puppy…..Just kidding…LOL

2.      A well stocked pantry

3.      Growing and harvesting some of our own food:  for example having a garden and orchard

4.      Raising chickens:   For eggs/compost  

5.      Canning and preserving

6.      De-cluttering, organizing, and simplifying our surroundings.

7.      Composting and recycling

8.      Reducing waste, and “waist”…..lol:  example: cloth diapering, buying in bulk and eliminating junk mail.

9.      Running a more energy efficient home:  Turning down the thermostat, line drying some of the laundry, using energy efficient light bulbs, reducing water consumption, washing laundry in cold water and only doing full loads, and only running full loads in the dishwasher as well.

10.   Ridding the home of toxic materials:  using eco friendly detergents, using  baking soda and vinegar for cleaning.  Not using pesticides, instead using eco-friendly choices like Epsom salts for flea control.

11.   Eating whole foods and eliminating processed foods:  in other words, If you can’t spell it, don’t eat it….lol

Now I know this doesn’t seem simple, and this does seem like a very long and overwhelming list, but just like anything worth achieving, it takes time and work.  After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.   Also, here at the Funny Farm, we have already been doing some of this for a while, for example, the cloth diapering, eco friendly detergents, home-made cleaning products, line drying, and energy saving light bulbs.  We have gotten a little lax in the compost and recycling department. And we’ve been extremely lazy in the food department.  We eat too much junk, and waste too much food.

Over the next weeks,  I will be going over each of the items on this list in detail, not only to let you know what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, but also to help keep myself on track and keep myself accountable.  Now, if the Mayans were correct and the world comes to an end on December 21 of this year, then all my efforts will have been in vain...LOL   Otherwise, should the world continue, here at the farm, we’ll be well prepared for anything that heads out way.

So until next time……

Happy Farming!

Funny Farm Spotlight: Composting

I’ve decided that with the addition of chickens at the Funny Farm  and plans for a garden this summer, I need to get busy with my plans for composting .  I have tried my hand at recycling and composting in my efforts to “go green” in the past, but I’ve only been able to achieve a level that is more of a chartreuse color. (Think margaritas!)  Also because of my past efforts of composting, I have been banned from composting from my hubby who evidently got tired of dumping the ultimately forgotton compost”soup” from my compost bin.   So to stay in the hubby’s good graces, I’ve decided to be more proactive in my efforts and treat this endeavor with a little more dedication and enthusiasm. 

So where to start….I did compile a list of some really great websites.  I have listed them below if you are interested.

http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html

http://easycomposting.com/

http://www.compostguy.com/bokashi-resource-page/

There are also some really cool products on the market including the "All Seasons Happy Farmer Kitchen Composter Kit", which uses the Bokashi method. But until I have proven myself serious in the composting department I don’t think my husband is going to be too keen on me spending money on something that will harbor rotting food on our kitchen counters.  But Hey!  It’s a goal! 

I do have one of those nifty large plastic outdoor receptacles that I had been dumping my slop into, but after I took the lid off one afternoon and came face to face with garter snake, my trips to the compost bin were over.  However, I do plan on using it again.  I just either have to overcome my fear of snakes, or sweet talk my hubby or my son (who loves snakes, by the way) into dumping the compost for me.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear any tips or ideas you might have.  Especially in the fear of snakes department…lol

Happy Farming!