How to Make a Simple Hen Saddle/Apron

A hen saddle (also called an apron) is a great thing for chicken keepers to have on hand. They can be used to cover an injury, protect hens backs from over excited roosters, and cover up an unfortunate molting girl. Chickens are attracted to blood, so any time there is an injury it's best to either keep it covered or separate the chicken. But for a minor injury or pecking issue, sometimes a saddle can help immensely. If you find yourself needing one but not having time to wait for one to be shipped to you (I have never seen these in stores, oddly enough), making one yourself is a great option. Here is an easy, no-sew hen saddle you can make in minutes!

There are many sewing patterns out there for those who are talented with their sewing machines. But this saddle is one you can make with just a pair of scissors and some fleece! I bought this fleece from the fabric remnants bin for about two dollars. I've had it for over five years and I've used it for so many projects. So if you are looking for some cheap fabric, check the remnants bin at your local craft store.

One of our Easter Eggers, trying on the saddle I just made.

Making this saddle is a lot easier if you are able to get a few basic measurements of your chicken. Measure between their wings and from the top of their wings to the base of their tail feathers (how far you want to cover with the saddle). Your neighbors will not think it's odd at all to see you measuring your chicken :)

Start by cutting a 10 in x 10 in square of fleece. About 1 inch down from the top of the fabric is where you will make your wing holes. The chicken I measured had about 4.5 inches between her wings. Place two dots 1 inch down from the top of the fabric, spacing them the distance you measured on your chicken. I like to make the wing holes 2-3 inches in length. The fleece is stretchy, so if you need more room, you can stretch the fabric easily with your fingers. Place a dot 2-3 inches below each of the other two dots. Connect these dots with a line as shown below. The wing holes should be about one inch wide. In the center of the line, measure one inch, with a half inch on each side of the line. Place a dot on each end. Connect all the dots to make an eye shape. This will be the area you cut out for the wing holes. Cut these areas out on each side. 

Click on this image to make it larger!

You are almost done! I like to curve out the edges of the square, like below. It makes a shape that fits much better on a chicken! Once you have everything cut out, have your chicken try it on. If there are any areas with extra fabric, or if it is too long, give the fabric a trim. That's it! Very quick & simple chicken saddle!

These are certainly not as durable as ones you can buy or sew yourself, but they can really help when you are in a pinch. Amazon sells quite a few chicken saddles!

Shared on the Homestead Blog Hop and the From the Farm Hop!

What Does it Mean When a Hen is Broody?

A broody hen is simply a chicken who has decided she wants to hatch some chicks. During a period of broodiness, a hen will sit on the nest constantly. Only leaving a couple of times a day to eat, drink, and go to the bathroom. She will puff up her feathers and chase off other chickens from her nest. She will screech and growl if disturbed. She will pluck her breast feathers to better heat the eggs. Even a normally sweet tempered chicken may turn into a little monster, pecking at you or her flock mates for disturbing her. I personally find it adorable when our chickens are broody, but I realize that I may be a little strange!

A broody Speckled Sussex, named Snickers

If you want to hatch some eggs, a broody chicken is a great thing to have! A good broody will sit on her eggs for the duration of the incubation period. This is about three weeks total. If you do not want to hatch any chicks, you may have to encourage her to end her broody spell. Although not all broody hens will be good mothers. Some will abandon the nest half way through incubation time or even attack the chicks once hatched.

The eggs she was sitting on.

Having a broody chicken when you do not want to hatch eggs can be detrimental to your chicken. She will be devoting all her time and energy into hatching chicks and won't pay much attention to what she needs. She will not eat or drink enough. This can cause her to begin to lose weight. She will also not lay while she is broody. If you don't want to hatch eggs, try to encourage her to spend more time off the nest. If she is persistent, you may need a broody breaker (more on that in another post).

You can see how fluffed up she is & the crazy look in her eye!

So what causes a chicken to go broody? There are two things: hormones and instinct. Some breeds are just prone to broodiness and are known for their mothering abilities. Some of these breeds are Silkies, Cochins, Australorps, Orpingtons, Sussex, Brahmas and I'm sure there are others I am missing. Some breeds, such as Leghorns, rarely go broody. If you interested in which breeds make good mothers, check out Henderson's Breed Chart! There is a ton of information there. Some chickens may go broody frequently, others may never go broody. A chickens hormone level also is part of the reason she will go broody. This is also the reason you may find yourself with multiple broody chickens at once. Broodiness is just part of a chickens natural instinct & behavior. If you find a hen that is exhibiting these behaviors, she is not ill, she just wants to be a mom!

Cleaning out the Hay Loft

One of our larger tasks this year is doing repairs to our barn. We had a lot of trees fall on it and just do damage here and there. The hayloft is probably the easiest parts of the barn to check off our list.  Thankfully the hay loft had no issues currently except for being dirty!

The kubota makes things easier!

There was quite a bit of old, smelly moldy hay that had gotten wet when a tree fell against the back of the barn and let water in the rear window. That hay went into one of our compost piles. Other than that, there was not much up there other than mouse poop. Thankfully the way the windows and access from the downstairs are set up, it makes it very difficult for any wild animals to make a home up there. Mice being the exception.

Before.

Whenever you are cleaning out an old barn or hayloft or a similar place, it's important to wear a mask so you aren't breathing in anything yucky. Also make sure to wear gloves and wash your hands well. Some wild animals spread some very unpleasant things in their poo and you wouldn't want to be exposed to that!

After. & We even found a gate hidden under the hay!

We removed the old hay bales but left the newer ones which we will have other uses for. We extended the kubota's bucket up to the window to make cleaning easier. No carrying anything :) Once it was all clean, we were able to put our new truckload of straw up there as well! So much more convenient. Although cleaning it out up there was not a huge task by any means, it still feels nice to check it off our list!

Now there is room for our new straw!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Happy Easter from our family to yours! 

Peeling Fresh Hard Boiled Eggs

Over the past few weeks I have peeled a LOT of hard boiled eggs. You see, I got a new pot and that meant my recipe needed tweaking. I've always wondered why sometimes my eggs peel beautifully and other times they end up a sad looking mess and my fingers ache from trying to peel them.

So with Easter right around the corner I thought now is the perfect time to share my recipe. I know everyone has their own method that works for peeling them easily, but this is the method that we SWEAR by! 

I'll run through my basic recipe quickly. It's best to use eggs that are a few days old rather than ones laid that morning. I will leave them on the counter for a few days before using them. I start off by placing the eggs in a stainless steel pot. I cover them with warm water that covers them by about an inch. Place the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water. Now just to be clear, the amount of time you leave them in the water depends on a few things: your pot, your altitude, and how many eggs you are cooking. You may want to remove one egg at first and peel it to make sure it is cooked to your satisfaction. I have found 15 minutes works for us. 12 minutes was perfect with my last pot, but I had to adjust the time for my new one. When your time is up, remove one egg with a slotted spoon and run it under cold water until it can easily be handled. 

Eggs peel in large pieces!

Now comes time to peel! Once you have taken your first egg out and cooled it so you can handle it, immediately crack it gently on the side of your counter without drying it off (the water seems to help the process). I like to start peeling at the blunt end personally. If you get to a spot that is sticking, run it under the water again. I have found that with this method of peeling them immediately means I can peel them extremely quickly (15 seconds or less per egg) and the peels just pop right off in large pieces. Once you finish one, remove another from the hot water and repeat the process. 

I'm not sure why this method makes them easier to peel, but it seems like the inner membrane no longer sticks to the egg and the shell is more flexible. The water also seems to make the process smoother, which is why I always run them under the water again if I have a tough to peel spot. I cannot believe how easily I can peel eggs this way! This method has been working consistently for us, so I feel comfortable sharing it with all of you :)

Perfectly peeled eggs!

Spring is Finally Here!

This past winter seemed extremely long and cold. Even to snow & cold lovers like Eric & I. But it finally, finally looks and feels like spring!! I know it's hard to believe, but I have the photos to prove it!

Flowers are popping up!

The birds are singing!

The garden has some life! (Carrots & Strawberries)

The greenhouse is full of seedlings!

And the chickens are loving it!

And honestly, we're loving it too! We've finally been able to get some work done outside (without freezing to death). I even ate lunch outside over the weekend and sat outside with the chickens in a t shirt. The seven day forecast has one day in the 70's! I know lots of people had a very hard winter this year and I think we're all happy that it's finally warming up! :)

Videos From the Dairy!

I had transferred this movie over from VHS to a DVD file a few years ago and totally forgot about it. When I was looking through old family movies the other day, I stumbled across it. The original video is almost an hour long. Uncle Ed gives a tour of the farm, demonstrates disbudding baby goats, trimming hooves, sheering a goat, both hand milking and his milk machine, his water pump system that pumped water to his garden from the stream, his chickens & ducks, incubating chicks, some breed history on Toggenburgs & Nubians, and playing with his two golden retrievers. I just pulled out a few clips from the original video to condense it.

Some of the things you'll see in the video are:
- A bunch of the goats (kids, bucks, his milkers).
- The Toggenburg buck, which you see a lot of, was Uncle Ed's favorite buck, named Billy. He was so much fun! The other buck you see is a Nubian.
- Just a couple of his Muscovy Ducks
- Uncle Ed's milking machine
- His garden
- The water pump system (the faucet the dogs are drinking from)
- And playing with the dogs!