EXTREME MAKEOVER: Chicken Coop Edition!

Extreme Farm Makeover paid a visit to Eastside Farm! After a careful assessment of the chicken coop, it was decided that a makeover was LONG overdue!

Yes, Farmer Jeff and I lost our minds again. We decided a couple of weeks ago to COMPLETELY overhaul the chicken coop. When we first built it 2 1/2 years ago, we only had so much time and money we could put into it. Even then we built it more sturdily than our house!

After cleaning the coop and washing eggs for a couple of years, we decided to take the plunge and rip the inside apart.



We started this project the day before with the assembly of pre-fab nesting boxes. Complete with bizarre instructions written by someone who, big surprise, could not write instructions on how to crawl out of a paper bag. Needless to say, it took longer than anticipated, but we did end up with some new, neat and clean nesting boxes.

Yesterday we were both so excited by the project that we were awake by 6 (something I NEVER do) and were hard at work by 8 am. We started by scooping out all of the shavings/poop from the inside of the coop. Then we started pulling everything out: the nesting boxes, "droppings bin", perches and hardware. We literally tore it down to the studs.

Then the rebuild began. After a serious trip to The Home Depot, we were then on a mission. We wanted a coop that we could clean & sterilize. I think it is because both of us have our background in the food industry, our solution to this problem was FRP. (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic Composite) Since we were going to put that up, we both agreed to insulate the coop. I worry about the cold of and the heat of summer. We had considered insulating the coop for several years, but knew that in order to do so we just had to tear it apart. SO...yesterday we insulated.

After the insulation was installed, we cut and installed drywall. I can't believe how much weight we lifted, cut, moved, held and installed. Whew! Makes me tired just thinking about all that we did!




Next step: we paneled the roof to keep it warm and keep the rats out. Little buggers. We could hear them last night, along with the chickens who were locked outside. Everyone was agitated and perplexed! We tried to placate the troops outside but little solace was found. They really complained the whole time! We tried to keep the girls happy by setting their familiar nesting boxes outside, but that really didn't help. We did get about 10 eggs from them yesterday, but that was about half of what we normally get. I can't blame them. Their sweet and familiar life had been interrupted!

After the plywood and ceiling were in, then we could get to cutting and installing the FRP. As you can see by the pictures, night fell by the time we got to the FRP. The girls were stacking up on the ramps to their doors, that were closed, and they started picking on each other. I tried their cracked corn, "chicken pancake treat", but that didn't do much. We rigged lights into the pen and that seemed to finally calm them down.





We had laid out the FRP on the grass to make sure that it "gassed off" and it ended up being wet from the dew/condensation. We dried it off best we could and then cut it and glued it to the walls. Not content with these incredible walls, we took it one step further and laid linoleum! It is so easy to clean and keep clean!

Once the floor was done, the next step was to install the nesting boxes, one of which I was assembling on the floor! They turned out to be pretty cool looking and CLEAN!!! After the boxes came the perching rails. Farmer Jeff kept me apprised of the time. At first he said, I think we'll be done by 11. Then it was, I think we'll be done by midnight. Then it was, we're almost finished, Hon...

The nesting boxes on Napoleon's side are a stylish blue, but all in all, I think it is a very stylish look!

What time was it all over? 2 am. We had worked for 18 hours straight. The flocks reaction? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??? I AM NOT GOING IN THERE? At that point, Farmer Jeff took me by the elbow and led me inside to go to bed.

The first thing we did this morning, um, later in the same morning, was to wander into the chicken coop. Thankfully, several of the girls were not only checking it out, they were actually beginning to lay eggs and as of this moment, we have 4 eggs on Napoleon's side, and 7 in the main section!

It is a glorious day. The temperature is a perfect 69 degrees, the sun is shining and the chickens are happy. The revolt we saw brewing yesterday has given way to sun bathing and exploring the "new digs". Our girls are happy, once again!

The Mighty Miz Sarah and the other Bantam Ladies Lay

Our darling Miss Sarah, the Bantam Old English Game Bird (aka tiny hen) and her step-sister, Bully, the Bantam Brahma hen, have started to lay! We are so dazzled and amazed by the size of these eggs! They are about the size of big olives! Not only have they begun to lay, but our other older bantam girls, Wild Girl and Josephine (both had Ameraucana mothers and unknown fathers) are laying again...we are guessing.

Really, with 50 chickens/46 hens, you really have to guess at who is laying what. I mean, you can't exactly see who is laying which particular egg because we aren't out there all day long. Farmer Jeff went out this morning to collect the eggs that have been laid over the last couple of days only to surprise Sarah sitting on a green egg. Now, we know full well that Sarah will NEVER lay a green egg because she just isn't that kind of girl! Whose egg it was, well, now that we have 9 Ameraucanas, we will really never know. We have seen that some of the Ameraucanas are laying very green eggs while some of them are laying eggs with a slightly more blue hue.


We love all of our chickens equally, no matter what color egg they may lay. Thanks, Girls!

Chicken Portraits

I spent part of my day taking "portraits" of the chickens. Now that we are selling eggs at Farmer's Markets, our customers want to see pictures of the actual chickens involved. Above it an arty photo of Napoleon, our first rooster, and a lovely metal sculpture we bought at the Windsor Farmer's market a couple of years ago.

The white chicken is Martha. She is an Ameraucana hen and lays pale green eggs.
The red girl in the middle shot is Ruby. She is a Rhode Island Red and lays brown eggs.
The next one with the wild hair do top notch is Sid (as in Sid and Nancy...yes, we have a Nancy). She is a Barbander and lays very pale brown eggs, sometimes bordering on ivory. More photos and IDs to come!

Eastside Farm goes to Market!

Farmer Jeff and Chicken Mama took the show on the road and went to Windsor Farmer's Market to sell produce and eggs! We are proud to say we have been certified by the county of Sonoma to sell produce, and can actually sell it anywhere in the state.

Above you can see a picture of Farmer Jeff, along with our newly picked squash (6 varieties), kirby pickling cucumbers, and our farm fresh eggs.

Working at the Farmer's Market was a totally new experience for me. I felt so proud of our little squashes, explaining the different varieties. It is really something to see them go from seeds, to little babies in the basement, to seedlings going into the ground and then, heavens, producing an abundance of SQUASH!!!

We handed out a recipe that used both eggs and squash, Summer Squash Casserole. Give it a try. It is really easy to make and SO GOOD!

Summer Squash Casserole – A favorite family recipe

1 ¾# ZIN Garden summer squash, whole = 5 c. finely shredded
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (about 3.5oz)
freshly ground pepper
¼ c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic
¼ c. freshly chopped parsley
½ c. bisquick
4 Eastside Farm eggs – well beaten
1 T. salted butter, melted in microwave in 8x 8 glass baking dish

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Sprinkle shredded zucchini with salt and set aside for 1 hour. Turn into colander and press out liquid.
• Combine squash, cheese, pepper, onion, garlic, parsley, and bisquick.
• Stir in well beaten eggs until thoroughly blended.
• Melt butter in baking pan, distribute all over pan.
• Pour zucchini mixture into skillet. Bake in preheated oven 350 degrees 35-40 min (or until mix is firm and edges are browning.)

Spring is here!

Spring = flowers, doesn't it?

The light of spring is beautiful. Life is bursting out all over.

We have been enjoying soft spring weather. Warm, but not too warm, a few clouds, but not too many, soft orange, pink sunsets and happy animals.
Our sweet pup, Callebaut, aka elder statesman, got into a tussle with our little guy, Tasso, and ended up with a hurt pad on his foot. Does it slow him down, or make him cranky or keep him from being his normal cheerful self? NO. He is our darling sweet boy.

Little Tasso has been under house arrest ever since he began, um, "marking" in the house. He is a very willful little guy. He gets to run and bark and do dog stuff while outside, but once inside, he is carefully watched!

Miz India, on the other hand, is a good little girl and does not require close supervision. The kids have all been happy to have Chicken Mama home (while she recovers from sinus surgery) and India takes full advantage by climbing up on the nap couch with a stuffed toy, and zonking out!



Whilst walking back from locking up the chickens one night, I saw a really fat earthworm on the path. My mom taught me that earthworms are invaluable and if you ever see one on the sidewalk after the rain, pick it up and move it back to soil. I was following this advice and as my hand reached for the big worm, I noticed the slightest flick of a tongue. HM...this is NOT a worm, but instead, a baby snake! I called friends of mine with little boys, thinking it would be a fun thing for them to see, but then we all agreed it may be in the snakes best interest, and let it go.

Our hens have been most generous lately! We are getting anywhere between 18 and 24 eggs per day! Thank heavens for spring. I am happiest of all to report that Tyner, our little Ameraucana hen with the scissor beak, is now laying eggs! Hers are the tiny green ones. Farmer Chef Jeff has just changed the menu at the restaurant to reflect Spring and has a warm Asparagus Salad with House Bacon in Sherry Vinaigrette, Eastside Farms "Sunny Side Up" Parmesan Baked Egg.


Julian likes to help dad to wash eggs. He is also hoping for a light green salad to appear on his salad plate. The cat is a nut. He loves his salads.


The sweet, darling of the house, Miz Chloe, poses for her close up.





Ginger declined to be photographed for this blog. Something about not getting the right amenities in her dressing room. Princesses!

PS: Happy Spring!