It All Comes Back to Chickens...Podcast Episode 28

It is time for the 2nd episode in our series on chickens!

As we continue to talk chickens, we realize that everything comes back to chickens, including our 10 minute foray into a cult in southern Cali led by a 90's heart throb. You know...just the norm.

So come have a little listen about the genetics of the modern day chickens and how they gained popularity through history.  

Click here to listen directly on SoundCloud, or listen on your favorite podcast listen-y thing-y like iTunes, Stitcher, etc!

This week we learned a ton from these great sources/articles...

Smithsonian Mag (also you have got to check out the epic picture they have of a chicken in royal clothes. I am def framing that sh*t.)

Penn State Extension

ThoughtCo

Thanks....

Of course we always wanna give a shout out and thank you to All the Apparatus for letting us use their song 'The Aeronaut' for our Intro and Outro!  Show you love by checking out their BandCamp here!

Support...

And if you love what we do and would like to support us, please like and share with your friends!  

(And if you are so inclined, you can even check out our Patreon page to support the podcast even more!)

You can also follow us at...

Instagram

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Modern Dinosaurs this week on the Fiberton Podcast!

In this episode we begin a series on what many call the gateway drug to farming/homesteading...the chicken! These modern dinos have quite the history, and in this first part we discuss where they come from and their religious significance through time.

Check out this episode here on Soundcloud or on your favorite podcast player like iTunes, Stitcher and more!

This week we learned a ton from these great sources/articles...

Smithsonian Mag (also you have got to check out the epic picture they have of a chicken in royal clothes. I am def framing that sh*t.)

Penn State Extension

ThoughtCo

Thanks....

Of course we always wanna give a shout out and thank you to All the Apparatus for letting us use their song 'The Aeronaut' for our Intro and Outro!  Show you love by checking out their BandCamp here!

Support...

And if you love what we do and would like to support us, please like and share with your friends!  

(And if you are so inclined, you can even check out our Patreon page to support the podcast even more!)

You can also follow us at...

Instagram

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Another part of the Jolene the Franken-Chicken Saga...

We had to do one more addition to the saga that is little Jolene, our Franken-Chicken (aka Fiberton's Monster.)

If you missed the previous posts, you'll find why she received that name here and her health updates here.

In our latest installment, we must reveal a new name for Jolene.... Joe!  Now that Joe has grown up, we now know that Joe is a rooster!  And as for Dolly, who we thought was his sister, well, we are now calling him Donny. (As you can see by Joe crowing below...)

Ric was not having it....

"Ric, I think the combs and wattles on Jo and Dolly are really big. They might be roosters." I tell him one morning.

"Nope.  That is just their breed.  They are fine.", he says defiantly.

Later that week...

"Ric, I need you to watch this video of Jo." Here I produce video of Jo crowing...

Here's the thing, and probably why Ric was trying to pretend otherwise, but last month we had to do the not fun task of culling 4 roosters , as at that time we had 6 that we knew of.   They were fighting, and would not give the girls any peace, so they were not able to free range.

That being said, Joe and Donny are very domesticated and let us pick them up no problem.  And so far, it seems that the roosters have taken on their own family units.  Our hope is that it stays like this, and we can keep all 4 roosters.

Our family units include:

• The two Kevins (the sorta wild roosters) and their hens: Girl Kevin, Falcor, Artax, Donkey and Giraffe
• Donny and his 2 girls: Barbara and Dixie
• And finally Joe and his gal, Atreyu

So far so good!  We hope to add some more chicks to the mix very soon!  Today my job is the get a special space set up for the new additions that is outside and not in our bathroom this time.

- Ash

PS - And speaking of chickens, keep an eye out for our new podcast episode coming out very soon on....Chickens!

Update on Jolene, the Franken Chicken

For those of you curious, little Jolene is doing great! She has been enjoying living out with the rabbits, as she gets the little leftovers they drop, and she keeps little mice and such at bay.

As you can see, some of her feathers are even growing back! Soon she will be able to roam free with the other chickens (even though we enjoy having her with the rabbits!)

So glad this silly little girl is doing so well! Thanks for the concern from all of our readers!


- Ash

10 Ideas for Chicken Nesting Boxes

Today's to do list...

1) Bake some cookies to warm up the house (and because they are delicious)

2) Make more dryer balls (we sell them!  Check them out here if you are curious...)

3) Build some nesting boxes for the chickens.

That, of course, led me to start looking up some ideas for different nesting boxes, and we thought we ought to share our faves with you!

So without further ado, here are....

1) Pretty in Pine...

I just love the look of these ones.  The pine seems like a good choice and the 2nd story boxes are a neat addition....  Head over to the folks at Keeping it Cozy to check out their blog post on their coop.

2) One piece of plywood...

The folks over at Green Willow Homestead did some serious calculations (and graciously shared them with the internet) to create a very nice set of laying boxes from just one piece of plywood!

3) Simple and Spacious DIY Boxes....

This post by Remove and Replace shows us the step by step to make this simple set of nesting boxes (much of it could be with salvaged wood, too!)  I personally would add a coat of paint.  (Also, I'd make sure this was not the only roosting bar, as I want their roost to be away from the eggs to discourage pooing on the eggs.)

4) Astroturf?...

The folks over at Hawk Hill have come up with Astroturf for their set up!  But this post is about nesting boxes, right?  Well, I honestly am interested in this concept, but I also love the set up of these boxes, opening out to the outside.  Our chickens are freerange and I have been thinking I want something accessible from the outside....

5) Upcycled boxes...

I am always up for re-purposing old things into new ones.  Give some new life to a dresser for the chickens? Not sure of the original post, but found this bad boy over at The Homesteading Boards.

6) Unconventional but easy to clean...

Found this over at a forum on Backyard Chickens.  I love the ingenuity and I bet these are crazy easy to clean!

7) Too cute....

Ok, this whole set up is an inspiration!  I love granny chic and this looks just like a coop of my dreams.  And her ideas on cleaning and everything...yes! Head over to Farmhouse38 to check out this transformation and the neat little set up.

8) Ana White to the rescue...

If you don't know of Ana White's plans, you are missing out.  She is prolific in creating building plans for some the cutest furniture. And that includes this adorable nesting box.  This baby will stand the tests of time, that is for sure!

9) Ok...it's silly but great!

I just love this. I can't find the original post, so this is a Pinterest link, but how funny and cute is this? Talk about re-purposing!

10) Now to decorate...

Ok, I am definitely doing this.  No matter what kind of boxes we build this is a must!  How cute is this?  The folks over at Cluck Wild Homestead certainly came up with an adorable idea on this one!

Hope you liked these ideas, and once our boxes are done we will share them with you!  In the meantime, you can also find all these ideas and more at our Pinterest page!

-Ash

Jolene, our FrankenChicken.

Literally just after I post about keeping it real, we have some new mishaps on the farm.  I am going to start a new series each week with one interesting or funny happening (or mishap) on the farm. So, without further ado, we present....

(Oh, also, squeemish alert for below, I am gonna show a chicken head wound.)

Friday, after getting home from work, I went to close up the chicken coop doors and just happened upon one of the girls with quite an alarming head wound. (I usually just close the doors and say goodnight...luckily one of the chickens was being a little shit and I had to look into the coop more inventively.)

 Heads up, its not a very pretty sight below.  Not sure if she got her head stuck in something or what quite happened, but needless to say, she had to come inside for some medical attention.

First, I took a quick photo to send to Ric while at work. When I told him Jolene was hurt, he (I think), thought I was going to show a little pecking form the roosters.  (Let's just say that sometimes my alarm levels are very similar for minor things as it is for major things...oops!)

Sorry, it is gross.  But boy oh boy, that has got to smart!

She was in surprisingly high spirits and, after cleaning the wound a bit and spraying on some good ol' Blu Kote (which anyone should keep on hand. It is indispensable!), she ate and drank and seemed to enjoy getting to hang out in the bathroom.

Post Blu Kote and cozy home for the night.

Saturday she continued to relax in the makeshift home in the bathroom, eating and drinking like it was no big deal.  After work I came home and cleaned the wound again.

Don't mind the messy bathroom....

She was a good little patient and after a little more Blu Kote she settled in for the night.

We doubt that she will grow feathers there again, but if we can keep it clean and free from infection, she can join the others soon.  In the meantime, she has taken up residence in the area where the rabbits are housed, happily cleaning up food they have dropped and doing quite well.

We will keep you updated on her condition.  For the time being, little Jolene has a new nickname of our FrankenChicken. (Or I guess technically it should be Fiberton's Monster?)

Ash

PS - Ric and I are arguing over this... should she get a hat or a wig? Thoughts?

Knitting, Explosions and a Special Guest! AKA - New Podcast Episode!

Hey lovely peeps!

It has been a busy couple of weeks, but we are excited to share a new podcast episode...this week with explosions AND a special guest!

Click here to go directly to Soundcloud to listen, or head over to your favorite podcast player like iTunes or Stitcher! (And don't forget to rate and review if you do so others can find us!)

We talk a bunch about knitting, and I refer a ton to these articles by Sheep and Stitch:

http://sheepandstitch.com/the-history-of-knitting-part-1-mysterious-origins/

http://sheepandstitch.com/the-history-of-knitting-pt-2-madonnas-stockings-and-guilds-oh-my/

Thanks to Sheep and Stitch for the great articles!  Head over to see some of the photos and paintings we refer to in the episode!

We also mention our sister podcast, Keeping Up with the Clampetts, who you can check out here.

And local chicken farm, Dare 2 Dream!  Check them out more here!

And of course, thanks to All the Apparatus for the intro and outro music!

Thanks so much to everyone who listens! We <3 you!

- Ric and Ash