Molting Chickens & Fall Harvest Basket

I went out to the chicken pen and it looks like a fox or something got one or more of my chickens.  There were feathers everyplace inside their hen house and along the fence where the wind had blow them.  After counting chicken heads and looking at them closely, I realized that it wasn't a fox, but it is molting season.

Chicken molt once a year and it takes around 4-8 weeks for the process to take place depending on their breed.  They gradually loose their feathers and grow new ones.  Molting can be a very stressful and energy intensive time for chickens.  One important thing that I keep an eye on is bleeding. 

Chickens may occationally, peck on a fello chickens spot that looks a little red.  That is their nature and they keep pecking and pecking that other birds spot until it starts to bleed.  That hen needs to be isolated immediately until the wound has heeled and feather have started to grow back.

Most chickens stop laying eggs during the molting period or the production is very low.  I have read that during this time it helps to provide extra protein to their diets during molting time as feathers are 85% protein.  No more than 16-24% of added protein should be added to their diet.

Alfalfa Hay, Sunflower Seed, Cooked Eggs, Peas or Beans, Pearl Millet, or dry Cat Food {not dog food which is high in grains compared to cat food's protein coming from animal protein} are ways to add the protein.  We recently disked our fields so I have let my chickens out to forage all those yummy bugs to add extra protein.

Over the many years that I have raised chickens, molting time is when I will normally have my old chickens die, sad to say.  The weather is changing getting colder at night; the stress on their bodies of molting and their age is what does it but most of my chickens lead a wonderful life of free ranging, fresh scraps from the gardens, good grains and very little stress of wild animals getting into their hen house.  Most of my old hens live to be 7-8 years old.  I don't care that they may not lay eggs any longer, it is nice to have them around and being the "seniors" with the other younger chickens. The older girls seem to keep the law and order with the others and teach the pullets how to forage; are the ones who alert the flock when a hawk flys over; and teaches the pecking order of who sleeps where in the hen house at night.

Just when you think they couldn't loose any more feathers, they are all fluffy and covered all over again and the eggs start appearing in their nesting boxes.

We delivered our last Fall Harvest CSA basket this week.  In the basket were Hachiya and Fuyu persimmons; pomegranates; kiwi; onions; Granny Smith and Fuji apples; walnuts; 3 colors of bell peppers; banana peppers; green and red tomatoes; cherry tomatoes; Egg plant; mini guavas; Meyer lemons; and baked goods. 

It was a full and rewarding farming year and we are so thankful for our wonderful CSA members and other customers that come and buy our produce.  And we are thankful to all those people out there in blog land and Facebook land that hear about what we do and lend their comments and support even though they may be states or even countries away from our little farm here in Gridley.

Until next time-

Pomegranates & Persimmons Are Here, Fall Harvest CSA Basket

Talk about weird weather!!!  It is cool at night but it has been in the 80s for weeks and each day it is getting warmer.  I had shut off the water last week to our yard and to the gardens, but I turned them back on again yesterday.  Things are really looking dry.
We picked the persimmons and the rest of our pomegranates this week.  We have the Hachiya persimmons and the Fuju persimmons. 

Hachiya persimmons are mouth-puckering tart unless absolutely, supremely ripe. Ripe hachiyas are unbelievably soft - and are often almost liquefied into a silky smooth pulp inside. They are elongated and oval shaped. They will ripen once picked, so you can let them soften on the kitchen counter until ready to use.  Hachiyas are thought of as "baking" persimmons and are commonly peeled and pureed into a pulp to add to baked goods. They add stable moisture and a mild, pumpkin-like flavor to cakes, puddings, and other treats.

The Fuyu persimmon is native to Japan and originally came from China.

The fruit fits in the palm of a hand, slightly smaller than an apple and looks like a mini-pumpkin.  It is eaten with skin on or peeled; can be added to fresh vegetable or fruit salads or eaten as a snack.  Right now with the pomegranates ripe, I put the Fuyu persimmons AND the pomegranate seeds into a vegetable salad, the very best and so healthy!!!

We also dry them: slice them with our mandolin, lay them out on our dehydrator shelves and dry them for about 10 hours.  Then I bag them up into zip lock bags to eat as snacks (like chips) or place them in the freezer to be eaten later.

These fruits always mean to me that nature constantly gives us wonderful fruits to eat almost all year round. 

The Meyer lemons are almost perfect, ready to be picked and the mandarins are plumping up and starting to have some color.  And the oranges are still green but getting huge in size.

It is hard to believe, but I am still getting cherry tomatoes and some medium sized tomatoes and there are lots of green tomatoes.  I have egg plant and the peppers just do not want to give up giving.  I really should be pulling up all of the garden so it can be tilled by Frank but I just do not want to waste any of it or my flowers.  Maybe next week as we are delivering our last CSA basket for the 2013 season.  It is called the Fall Harvest Basket.

In the basket we will have peppers, tomatoes, egg plant, onions, apples, pomegranates, pumpkins, persimmons, lemons, Swiss Chard/parsley/basil, and a few baked pumpkin cookies and mini cakes.

After that, it will be time to prune, clean up leaves; disc; pull up some trees that were split this spring; clean out the sheds; clean up all the garden tools; cut back grapes; winterize the chicken coop-the list just never ends when it comes to farming.

Until next time!!