Building Our New Coop

Before I get into the pictures and details of our new coop, I`m going to tell you a story.  The epic story about how three hens moved from the city to the country, and how they did it.  It wasn`t your typical `put them in a cage, drive to new house`.  Oh no.  That would be too boring, and we don`t do boring here!

When we put the city home up for sale, I told my husband, "You watch, whoever buys this place is going to want my coop".  He assured me that no one, other than me, was going to want the coop.  I said the same thing to my realtor, my friends and my family.  None of them seemed overly concerned that someone was going to buy my coop.  It was a concern for me though.  My plan was to TAKE the coop with us, so the girls would have a home at our new home.

Well, you guessed it.  We got an offer on the house.  Aside from basically asking for everything including the kitchen sink and a few other outlandish requests, they also wanted my coop. I swear they probably would have asked for the chickens too, if they thought they had a chance.  But really, it was a buyers market and we were very fortunate to have an offer and sale within a month and a week.  If you are ever buying or selling a home in Southern New Brunswick, I highly recommend calling Andrea Hughes ( shameless plug!).

So, without making this little story too lengthy, here is how it went:  They kept the coop. We had to stay at my  dads for two weeks between houses, and there was obviously no coop there.  So,we improvised.  We had a garbage box constructed in the garage, waiting to be placed at the end of the driveway of our new home.  So, hubby cut a door in it, we put the girls in there and they lived in a garbage box for two weeks.  We put a small run on the side, so they could get outside for air and pecking.  When we moved to the new homestead, they girls traveled in their garbage box and used their make-shift run for about a month, until we built their new coop.  They didn't seem to mind their garbage box, but they definitely appreciated their new place, having perches again and a window to see outside.

 

Time was passing and we really needed to
 get the  girls into a safer, permanent home,
 so hubby  and my dad (and I!) worked after
 dark some  nights to get it done.

The new Coop

So, this is what it looks like now.  In the spring, we will shingle it to match the house.  We went with a standard 8x10 shed package, but only closed in half.  My thoughts were to leave the other side open so they would have a covered run area.

Under construction.

Guess what?  When they say "As soon as you have your coop done, you will be planning it's expansion". It's TRUE! Ha ha.  It' MUST be a chicken lady thing.  This year, I think I will close in the other side, giving more inside room, which will give me an indoor intro/chick area. I will attach a run on one side and cover it.   I am happy with the way it turned out though!  It's insulated, to help keep them warm.  Ventilated in the eve area.

Laying the floor

Insulating,vapour
 barriering (sp ?) and
covering the walls.

 The inside walls are all covered with a thin plywood, so the girls didn't snack on the insulation.  I covered the floor with a heavy duty peel-and-stick tile, so that water or droppings didn't get into the floor and cause mold or too dirty to clean. 

I built some temporary nesting boxes, and put in some perches.  The set up seems to be working well, although they all want to lay in ONE nesting box, of the four.  I threw in the straw and the girls went to work on evenly distributing it all nicely.  We also put in a light, on a timer (recycled from a block heater) so that they get enough daylight.  We gave them a break between October-January so they were ready to get laying again.
They did amazingly well, considering they were uprooted and moved ( location and/or coop) four times in only a couple of months.  They are good little travelers :P

Bridgette started laying almost immediately (she didn't really stop, she had just slowed down).  Hawk-eye and Smokey starting laying almost at the same time about a month later and the day they started, Bridgette stopped.  Still trying to figure out whats going on with her.  Not molting, so maybe just taking a break.

Recipe Day: Oh So Easy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Every once in awhile I like to throw out a recipe that I've created or just plain thoroughly enjoyed enough that I need to share it.  Today is one of those days and today, my friends, I'm going to tell you all about one of my favourite meals at the moment.

Ever find something that is easy, oh so tasty, everyone in the family likes it and you actually have to hold back from making it too often so no one gets tired of it?  Right now, that is where I am with this Roasted Red Pepper Pasta  It is ridiculously easy and has an amazingly short list of ingredients.  At the same time, it really lends itself to helping clear out any crisper drawer inmates that need to be used up before expiration.  It is a guaranteed winner in our house.  How do I know?  Well, if dinner is anything other than a huge flop hubby says 'Good dinner, Dear'.  If he really enjoys it, he'll have seconds and say something like "That was really good".  Well, when I first made RRPP I got "That was amazing. You should make that again".  My son chimed in in agreement.  That is when you know you've hit it out of the park and this is how you do it:

You'll need:

Seriously THE easiest way to cut peppers.

3-4 red peppers.
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 small to medium onion, chopped finely
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1/2 sour cream ( full or reduced fat, your choice)
Boneless skinless chicken breast, if you want to add meat
Pasta of your choice
Goat cheese for topping, optional

Roasting those peppers!

About an hour before you're going to throw dinner together, wash 3-4 red peppers.  De-seed. Place open side down on a cookie sheet and place in the oven set on 500 degrees or broil.  You want them set on the top or second rack height from the top.  Not so close that they instantly burn, far enough away that the juices get cooked well, but still close enough that after a few minutes you notice the skins blistering.  You want to cook them like this until you smell them, and the skins are almost all black. Mine usually take about 20 minutes.  Take them out when done and leave them on the cookie sheet to cool down so you can handle them.

I cooked my chicken first, then added my onion and garlic.
 I removed the chicken for cutting
 before adding the peppers and sour cream

When you are ready to make the sauce, get your pasta going.  Anything works really.  I prefer spaghetti noodles or a small shell pasta.  At this point, heat your oil in a sauce pan, and then sautee the onion and garlic.  If you are adding chicken, it's best to get it cooked up as well.  Either in the pan or in the oven, whatever works for you.

Ok.  Now, peel the blistered, black skins off of your peppers.  Put the fleshy part in a food processor or blender.  Process until it is pureed.  Not too much, but so that there aren't any chunks left.  Pour this into the small sauce pan with the cooked onion and garlic.  Heat it up a bit, add about 1/2 c of sour cream.  Stir until combined.  That's it.  Seriously.  Pour that goodness over your pasta and it is divine.  We really like to crumble goat cheese on top of it.  It really completes the dish.  If you are looking to add more vegetables, my favourite to add is some roasted broccoli.  Its so easy.  Wash, cut, sprinkle with EVOO, salt and pepper and throw it in the oven after you take out the peppers and lower the temp to around 450.  When it is starting to really show its brilliant green, take it out and add it to your pasta and sauce.  Add the chicken at this point as well.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with
Goat Cheese, Chicken and Broccoli

So there you have it.  Probably one of the easiest from-scratch meals and really pretty good for you.  If you were to use a substitute for pasta, it would be really really good for you!  I would even be tempted to say that you could easily use greek yogurt in place of sour cream, if that is what you had in the house.

Enjoy!

Kombucha, My First Brew. Have You Tried It?

So, I promised that while we wait for spring (and the real homesteading fun to begin) I would share lots of fun posts about what I've been up to and perhaps inspire some of your own shenanigans.

Before we left the city homestead, I thought I would try my hand at making Kombucha.  If you haven't tried it before I recommend it.  I like it because it helps me avoid my craving for pop (soda).  It has the fizz, without the sugar and the carbon.  It also is full of beneficial probiotics and antioxidants, like all fermented foods. I also suggest you look up the list of the benefits of drinking it, because there are many!

The reason I decided to make my own kombucha is because around here a bottle of it is about $4-5 a pop.  That can become a costly addiction, very quickly!  To make it is very inexpensive, but time intensive!  Here is the recipe I used:

- Approximately 1 gallon of freshly brewed tea, cooled.  I used around 8 green tea bags, but many people use regular/ black or herbals.
-1 cup of sugar for each cup of tea you have.  I know, I said it isn't full of sugar.  I'll explain soon :)
-1 large GLASS jar or container.  Cleaned, washed and sanitized.  When fermenting its so important to use clean vessels and utensils.
-1 piece of clean cheese cloth.  You can also use a coffee filter or a clean, thin tea towel.
-1 elastic band, or something similar, to keep the cheese cloth in place, covering the opening of your kombucha jar.
-1 SCOBY and a little bit of kombucha from a previous batch.

A SCOBY is a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast.  It is also often referred to as a Mother, because it is comes from the same place as mother of vinegar, which is found in unpasteurized, raw, HEALTHY vinegar, such as raw apple cider vinegar.  I urge you to read more on this!

Now, because this was my first batch of kombucha, I was very lucky to have been in a local natural food store that had some scobys there.  They weren't for sale, but for customers who needed them to brew their own.  If this wasn't the case you can order them online on Amazon quite often (order from a reputable place).  I do know that people have success starting it on their own, by adding some vinegar Mother, so that is an option if you are up for an experiment.

Now, the sugar explanation:  The SCOBY eats the sugar.  By the time you are done fermenting, there is only trace amounts of sugar left.  Amazing, right?

The tea cooling off.

SCOBY added, jar covered.  Now we wait.

So, add your cooled tea with sugar into your glass jar.  Then, add your SCOBY with a clean utensil, cover with cheese cloth and then set it aside in a place that is cool and out of the sun.  I placed it in a corner of my kitchen counter, where the sun never shines, away from heating appliances.

Now, you wait.  I waited aprox. 7 days.  Depending on how warm your kitchen is, it could take a little longer or shorter, but that is the general average.  You will know it's ready when you can smell a sweet vinegary smell and if you take a sip with a straw, it tastes the same; vinegary with a hint of sweet. During this time, your kombucha will likely have grown it's own SCOBY.  At this point, some people drink their kombucha tea.  I, however, like to go for a fruity fizz, so I ferment a second time.  Before fermenting #2, remove your SOBY and put her in a container with a little bit of  kombucha.  She will keep a long time in the fridge this way. Next, I added a cup of pure organic raspberry juice and the same of cranberry.  It has to be the real stuff, not a sugared cocktail you get by the main stream juices.
This is when you get bottle your kombucha.  I put mine in clean, sanitized bottles and mason jars.  Please note that if you are using glass, make sure you don't keep the lids on overly tight AND even then, you need to 'burp' them every couple of days.  Otherwise, there could be an explosion due to building up gases and this is not only dangerous, but a completely waste of delicious kombucha!  Your second ferment can last as long as you want, but usually 3-7 days is good.  The longer you leave it, the less sweet and more vinegary/tangy it will be.  Once you are done, you can put it in the fridge to chill and this will also stop the fermenting.  Remember, don't keep those lids on too tight!

I hope you try out this out and let me know how it goes!  If you haven't tried kombucha, I urge you to check it out.  It is usually sold in coolers at health food stores and with its growing popularity, it seems to be easier and easier to find these days.

My finished cranberry raspberry kombucha

Crochet a Braided Cowl, It's What to do on a Cold Winter's Day

So, as you know I took a little bit of a hiatus from blogging.  I've been posting to my Facebook Page, albeit not as often as a good homesteading blogger should.  New Years Resolution: Be a more consistent blogger!

Since I last blogged things around here have been.... busy. Ok, they've been outright insane. Hahaha.   When I last posted we still lived at the city homestead.  Since then, we sold our home our home in record time, had to get out in record time, were homeless for two weeks (thanks, Dad, for letting us stay with you!), found a new home, moved into said home, half unpacked, had Christmas, built a new chicken coop for the girls and continued to try and get settled into our new country homestead. That might seem like a little bit of a run-on sentence, but honestly, only a run-on-sentence can truly explain how busy we have been.  But it has been a good busy.

I'm going to show and tell you much more about that journey, but I thought I would share with you a crochet pattern that I just finished.  It`s a really easy pattern and the finished product is just so cute!  On the cold days of winter, I love to crochet.  I hope that this time next year I can do some of these projects using my own fiber, but for now I use a variety of yarn.  This particular project called for something lovely, so I used a beautiful Peruvian highland wool, purchased from Cricket Cove in Blacks Harbour, NB.  If you are ever in New Brunswick, you need to check this place out if you are an avid fiber artist!  Luckily, they have stores in Saint John, Moncton, Fredericton and St. Andrews, New Brunswick (although I love the headquarters in Blacks Harbour), so wherever your New Brunswick travels may take you, there should be a store on your route.

Here is a picture of my finished project.  I used the pattern that I found on this lovely lady`s blog: My Hobby Is Crochet.  I highly recommend this for a beautiful piece that comes together quickly.  It would make a great gift!

So, I've been a baaaaad blogger... and we're moving!

What can I say, other than I'm sorry?

Things have been nothing short of chaotic here.  Summer happened, house renos took over my life, the kids were home, my mother came to stay with us for two weeks (she has advanced MS and needs 24 hour care), then back to school sneaked up on us and the house sold. (Sneaked?  I looked it up to confirm: It is in fact sneaked and not snuck....).

Yes.  You read correctly.  The house sold.

Yippee!

I'm happy to report that we were for sale for one month and one week, which is nothing short of a miracle in today's housing market. We owe a lot of thanks to our amazing real estate agent, Andrea Hughes, and also our hard work getting this place market ready.  I'm going to blog about that in a post very soon, because I think its an area where many people looking to sell could really use some insight.  We've looked at quite a few houses in our search for a new homestead, and it seems many people don't understand the art of market preparedness...

So, we received an offer, accepted an offer and are now in the wait mode, soon to enter pack mode.  We are also in 'find a new home' mode, which admittedly has all but taken over my online life.  It's a little stressful when you don't know where you will lay your head in less than 5 weeks.  Oh, did I mention, we have to be out by October 29th?  Oh yes.  That's a crucial point.  Ha!

So, the search continues.  Something homey. Something we can make a homestead out of. Something accessible enough for hubby to commute, yet something out of the city.  It's out there, we just haven't found it yet.  We will!

So, I'll post more about the city-homesteading things I have been up to.  Honestly, it hasn't been much this year because I had to scale way back to be buyer-friendly, which in our case probably didn't make a huge difference, as the purchaser wants to keep our chicken coop ha ha.  Yes!  The Girls will also be homeless :)  I think our houses's future owner is going enjoy this little homestead in the city.

I leave you with a picture of the Girls enjoying some corn on the cob.  This was an afternoon last week, while they happily foraged around the yard.  There is something very satisfying about watching your chickens grazing contently, chicken butts in the air :)

...

Just Checkin`In!

Wowza!  I looked at the calendar and couldn`t be-lieve how long its been since I checked.  So sorry!  My excuse- insanity.

So the past few weeks have been just that, insanely busy... but awesome.  We got `the sign`up on the lawn.  The one that says BUY ME!  What a moment that was, to put that sign on the lawn.  It was bittersweet.  A combination of a weight lifted off of my shoulders because of all the long hours of work we`ve done to get to that moment, a little scary, a pinch of sadness because our boys have grown up in this house, excitement to be putting that step forward in our new direction.. EEP!  Most importantly though, it felt happy.  Since then we`ve had one offer, however as much as they were in love with our house, they weren`t approved for enough and therefore offered what they could, which just isn`t enough for us to accept.  Boo.  But it was a good feeling that someone else loved it, and someone ELSE will too.

In the meantime, I`ve been working the local farmers market circuit, peddling my wares with a friend of mine.  She`s a phenomenal bread baker, and I`m pretty good at the sweets and whole food treats, so we combined forces to take over the world of flour and yeast... like two super heroes.  In honesty, it gives me a little pocket change, a few hours enjoying the fresh air sans children, and it keeps my face fresh in the market scene.  Something that might be useful once we get our homestead up and running.  It`s also nice to see all of the other local vendors and the delights they are offering. It`s special.

Speaking of the new homestead, we are going to look at some houses tomorrow.  I feel like we are going on an episode of House Hunters.  You know, one house below budget that needs work but as potential.  Another house, at the top of our budget that is pretty swag ( do people still use that word? swag?).  Yet another house that falls somewhere in the middle that we could make work.... Oh the possibilities.  Combine this with the fact that I don't ever want to move again for a very long time (read: old woman moving to retirement living), this is a pretty big decision! I'm excited though.  Hubby has also recently taken more of an interest in actually looking at local listings and putting some of his own input in the matter, so that makes me happy.  Sometimes it's like pulling teeth." Tell me how you FEEL!!"  :)

So yeah, that's where we are.  That place between selling and buying, old and new... I'll keep you posted and perhaps throw you a project tutorial or a recipe super soon!

Chicken Treats, An Ongoing Mission

Bridgette, inspecting the goods.

Things continue to be busy here at the city pre-farm.  We are getting oh so close to listing.  Today was 'help a friend move' day, so we are all pretty bushed, but even tonight we are working away.  Hubby laid the sub-floor for the basement bathroom, which is the last big project left. Yesterday, I installed a door stop, put in a threshold, put some trim up, and finished crack filling the bathroom.  Other small things also continue to get crossed off the list each day.

Amidst all the construction, we still have The Girls, as well as the other pets, to think of.  I like to keep things interesting out in our all-girl sorority coop, so I'm always looking for an interesting idea.  A few days ago, I picked up a wild bird seed bell.  It has domestically grown seeds, so I figured although it isn't organic, even we splurge and have take out once in awhile, so the girls got some 'junk food' too. They Loved It!  They had it finished in less that a day.  It was kind of like chicken tether ball as it swung around and they took turns having a peck.

Today, I was on the hunt for a new treat.  I had seen an idea a few months ago about stringing vegetables and fruit to make a treat garland, so I thought I would give it a try.  I bought some brussel sprouts and radishes, hubby helped by drilling holes through them first, and then I strung them together using a darning needle.

The girls were curious, yet cautious, at first.  Bridgette is always the first to get involved in anything you are doing, and this was no exception.  Once she inspects, the others are never long joining in.

She's such a funny chicken.  She just loves people.  She follows us around like a dog, and loves getting right into the middle of any work you are doing... especially if it involves digging... she loves worm hunting!    Try out this easy chicken treat and let me know how your chickens like it!

Official treat inspector, Bridgette, while  Smokey (behind, left) lends a curious eye and Hawk-Eye (hind, right) poses for the camera.