Justin was kind enough to make us this chicken swing... it hasn't had many takers until this little Buff Orpington decided to take it for a ride! Gonna have to move the waterer now!!
Our Lil' Acre
Showing posts with label Chickens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chickens. Show all posts
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Using the Chicken Swing!
Justin was kind enough to make us this chicken swing... it hasn't had many takers until this little Buff Orpington decided to take it for a ride! Gonna have to move the waterer now!!
Chicken Bug Patrol
We are fortunate enough to get some excess fruits and veggies from our local Newtown Farmer's Market. Today we got
several boxes of corn trimmings and we love them!!
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| Our little chicks are having a great time! |
Patrolling the Backyard!! Working hard Girls!!
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| What Can we find? |
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| http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2010/April/CT2217.php |
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| Not sure at first, checking out the goods! Chickens eat bugs, all bugs. The neighborhood has less flies due to the chickens eating the flies. This summer has been very wet and rainy multiplying the insect population. But due to our manure which is filled with fly predators that destroy the fly population by destroying the larva and due to our chickens there are actually less flies in the neighborhood this summer. Our farm is a fly killing machine.
Houseflies and stable flies on your farm can generally be reduced by a combination of diligent clean-up—not letting manure and old hay/bedding build up to create breeding sites--and use of parasitic wasps. These tiny wasps lay their eggs in the manure and their larvae feed on the fly larvae.
Manure and wasted hay should be removed daily from stalls and pens. It can be spread thinly for quick drying, or composted in a covered pile. Properly composted organic material gets hot enough during the fermentation/breakdown process to kill fly eggs and larvae.
https://www.spalding-labs.com/products/fly_control_products/fly_control_for_horses/p/what_are_fly_predators.aspx
Just What Are Fly Predators?
 Is anyone tired of Mr Nosy Neighbor yet? No. You know why? He is helping us educate people! He is such a blessing and a God send. I don't think we could go on without him now. He is the driving force for God's Little Acres Urban Farming group which is reuniting the community and the nation. It is a great resource for support, knowledge, and a way for each of us to educate so many people on the easiness and benefits of doing everything yourselves! https://www.facebook.com/groups/Godslittleacresurbanfarming/ Join today! Be apart of the future and restoring the earth to clean air, clean water, clean soil. God created the earth clean, let's keep it clean!
As new farmers we realize that some people are just ignorant of the natural process of nature. We are willing to educate anyone who really has serious concerns for their child's health. The best thing for the neighborhood is for our neighbors to clear their woods out and drain their creek. Their creek is pooled with all kinds of standing water naturally attracting flies, mosquitoes, and an myriad of different insect into their yard. Most of the flies that are in our area have come from the 1/2 acre wooded area on their property. With all the rain we have had this summer their swamp area inside the woods can not dry up, it gets stagnate and is the breeding ground for the flies. We also have a creek but we keep it free from debris and dug out deep enough to drain the slopes on the sides of it. All our water sources are kept chlorinated to be insect free.  1. Scoop dog poop every day: During warm weather, blow flies breed most commonly on decayed carcasses and droppings of dogs or other pets. They can be found in homes that are near a carcass of a dead squirrel, rodent or bird. WORM-LIKE ORGANISMS IN STOOL MAY NOT BE TAPEWORMS
Worm-like creatures in dog feces may be intestinal parasites, such as tapeworms, but fly larvae, also known as maggots, can rapidly colonize fresh fecal piles, often confusing owners, writes veterinarian Jeff Kahler. Dogs acquire tapeworms from fleas that carry tapeworm eggs, so treatment for tapeworms includes medicine to kill the worms and flea treatment to rid the dog of fleas. Fly larvae in feces are easily prevented — just promptly clean up after dogs, notes Dr. http://www.animalhealthfoundation.net/blog/2012/06/worm-like-organisms-in-stool-may-not-be-tapeworms/
2. Clear the creek out so it flows, and drains properly and quickly. Sunshine and air flow will help dry out the water soaked landscape. Water stagnation occurs when water stops flowing. Stagnant water can be a major environmental hazard.[1] it can cause mosquitoes to breed and reproduce that may lead todengue.[citation needed]  Insects
Stagnant water is the favorite breeding ground for a number of insects.
Health Problems Related To Standing Water
There are many dangers when it comes to standing water. Stagnant water is a favorite breeding place for mosquitoes, dragonflies and flies in general. People rarely disturb standing water which allows the insect larvae to grow into adults.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_stagnation |
Fly Predators are tiny, completely biteless and stingless. They never become a pest themselves. Because of their small size and the fact they live their entire life cycle on or near manure (where the pest fly pupa are typically found), Fly Predators go virtually unnoticed.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
The Garden and Critters Are Growing... Township Circus Continues...
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| Justin's Hand Crafted and Painted New Sign!
Well, Pinky and Twinky, the pigs, are doing amazing!!!
They are fun to watch and both have amazing personalities. They especially love to play with and interact with all the visiting canines through the fence!
Yup, that's Nuala meeting the pigs for the first time. Princess, Zeke,Laycee, Sadee and several others have made their acquaintance. I got to tell you it's hilarious to watch!
Coming Soon!!!! We've got a humorous video coming out to explain the crazy "courtesy" violations that range from silliness to outright lies. But hey, we here at God's Lil' Acre don't squander a moment to chuckle a bit, so look forward to this one! (as they say, if you don't laugh, you'll cry, and it feels a whole lot better to laugh at those who come against you than to crawl up in a corner and cry... )
  
WE HAVE FREEDOM RANGERS!! I ordered 25, but they packed in a few extras. These are our happy, growing meat birds. They just graduated from the above brooder that handy Kansas Matt built (it's a ma-zing!!! THANKS SO MUCH) and now get to roam and begin to forage a bit for some of their food. !They will have much happier and healthier lives than the cramped, indoor only raised birds that end up with broken legs and big breasts that cause them to lay permanently on their bellies. Yuck!! Why We Haven't Seen The Inside Of a Factory Broiler Chicken Farm
Austro is down to 3 healthy babies. A hawk and Jasper each got one, but hey, that's nature. We were sad and shed a few tears but are happy to have the 3!! Austro finally went back into the coop on her own and we've been integrating the 3 chicks in with the big girls. One is not quite so ready to leave mommy!!!
Flowers and plants are GROWING LIKE CRAZY!! We've got giant potato plants, cabbages that shouldn't be this big until July, squashes that seem to grow inches overnight, and strawberries and cherries to pick!!   Ahh... and here is where we are at as of
6-5-2015. The new guy, I guess his name is Brian Elliff, has come in to take Lou's job as township zoning admin. Fresh off the presses, his first day was May 27th. He is on a one year probationary try out. Mmmm,... Not impressed with his first week.
He, however, says he is "impressed" with our "power point presentation" but then referred us to 519.21 section B... oh oh section B. I smile here and laugh to myself, wondering, how these "experts" and professionals get such big heads that they can't see past their own noses. New guy, got to prove his snuff, trying to tell those little farm girls what's what.
Well, I called down to the County Tax map ONCE AGAIN.... *sigh*... to get one more person to tell me exactly what these two phrases mean: (B) A township zoning resolution, or an amendment to such resolution, may in any platted subdivision approved under section 711.05, 711.09, or 711.10 of the Revised Code, or in any area consisting of fifteen or more lots approved under section 711.131 (division without a plat) of the Revised Code that are contiguous to one another, or some of which are contiguous to one another and adjacent to one side of a dedicated public road, and the balance of which are contiguous to one another and adjacent to the opposite side of the same dedicated public road regulate:
ONCE AGAIN, I am verbally told what a "Platted Subdivision" is: a subdivision as you and I know it to be. I am then told that 711.131 could not in any way apply to us as we are a plat. The nice gentleman on the phone then began to tell me that there is a definition for subdivision that can mean any subdivision of property, but I needed to know EXACTLY what was a "platted subdivision," and can I get that in writing? He kindly referred me to a WONDERFULLY nice and helpful lady named Gail at the county planning commission... FINALLY!!! Angels singing... I have the definition in legal writing. Black and white, ain't no room for grey!
We spoke for a few moments as I explained the overview of what was going on. She asked me if I was having a township issue or a neighbor issue and I told her it was a neighbor who was bullying the township. I told her about our neighbor who calls up all the time and makes the ladies up there want to cry. Yes, he's that bad. She completely understood and said "he's just being mean..." and the truth is, that's the bottom line. Some people are just bullies. As my other neighbor pointed out, "If he wants to live in a subdivision, he needs to move." She understood when I told her we don't want to get cancer in our 60's because we digested chemically laden foods. She understood when I told her that there was a secret group of backyard chicken people in Miami Township and I had been pressed ganged into joining them through laced chicken eggs that tasted so good I just had to be able to raise my own! Ha! What a nice lady!!  Okay, ya'll... here it is, the end all, be all... can we all just get along proof...
Please notice where it says Part (1).... this refers to TWO TYPES OF LAND SUB-DIVISION, 'minor subdivision" (also known as lot splits or cut ups) and "platted subdivisions" (also known as formal subdivisions) ...
SEE THE WHOLE VERSION:
This is exactly what the expert at Ohio State told me via e-mail... HIS QUOTE: "Platted subdivisions were often created when a developer linked a bunch of properties together to get them through the zoning process. The properties can be in the country and the properties may not even look like they are connected."
So, where are we at now? I can't really tell you except we are right, the township is under a delusion and now has a vendetta, be it through the "new guy" who wants to prove himself as the all powerful oz, or the neighbor. Either way, God will be glorified and we pray everyday "Lord, thy will be done. We know you are asking us to live as self sufficiently as we can, to educate others to the best of our ability, and to treat your creatures and creation with the utmost respect and honor..." That is the mission here!
I have a call out to Peggy Hall, the top most expert about how Ohio 519.21 is applied, and I will be getting a phone call from someone from the county planning commission to see if they can help us clear things up with the township the easy way...
As Paul said, we are willing to go before Caesar if need be... as the Lord leads. We just want to farm in peace! (BELOW, the farm we get our manure from...so beautiful!) 
Michelle and I have been reading a lot of John Locke recently. He was quoted by the founding fathers only second to the Bible. Locke's views of Nature, Natural Law, and the rights of the Individual, including to their own Property (whether physical or internal), shaped our great nation. Jefferson quoted from his Second Treatise of Government to pen the Declaration, Samuel Adams said that it should be studied and every father teach it to his son and mother to her daughter... The phrase "all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator to LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, is directly quoted from Locke, although, he uses the word "property," and all encompassing word that the founders thought was better represented in the term "pursuit of happiness..."
Yes, 519.21 DOES apply to us. But what of all the others in this country? We fight DAILY, HOURLY, on our knees in prayer for the gross injustice done all over this great nation. Our founders believed in INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, most importantly, the right to own, keep, and do what a man needed to provide for himself and his family on his own land.
I leave you with a quote from our beloved Locke:
" Tis plain in Fact, that human Reason unassisted, failed men in it's great and proper business of Morality. It never from unquestionable Principles, by clear Deductions, made out an entire Bod of the Law of Nature. And he shall collect all the moral Rules of the Philosophers, and compare them to those of the New Testament, will find them to come short of the Morality delivered by our Saviour, and taught by His Apostles."
- John Locke, The Reasonableness of Christianity..
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Monday, April 20, 2015
Mr. Cranky Pants Rides Again... But Come and See Our Broody Hen!
If you haven't read Part 1 of our on going saga, you can see it here: Fox In the Hen House Blog
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Our Very Own Mr. Cranky Pants
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Yes, we are those neighbors... those crazy, God fearing, Jesus freaking, back to nature, going "green", organic loving, animal caring, dirt obsessing neighbors....Maybe it's because we don't like being sad! Researchers have found that dirt makes you happy! For Real! Researchers from Bristol University and University College London found that naturally occurring "friendly" bacteria found in soil may affect the brain in a similar way as antidepressant drugs
Check Out the Science Behind Dirt's Anti- Depressant Qualities
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| View from Mr. Cranky Pants' Yard Into Ours |
Or maybe it's because we secretly hold an evil vendetta against a poor ol' cranky man who has always been quick to get angry but right now is hurting because his wife died. We are so sad for his great loss and love him to death which is why we are trying to take his outburts with a grain of salt and deep understanding.. and harbor NO ILL will or feelings towards anyone!
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| God's Lil' Acre... aka according to MCP "The Jungle" After getting notice that one of our neighbors had complained to the township about our property, we got right out there and worked well past dark to get everything cleaned up. You can read the first blog, Fox in the Hen House, but the 3 things we were cited for were: |
2. "Carport" needing a permit
3. a small pile of cut up wood that looked messy... (yes, I am serious, a 4 by 4 pile of wood was cause for complaint)
GOOD NEWS! We had 3 beautiful days to really make headway round' God's Lil' Acre Spring is here and everything is BLOOMING!
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| Spiffing things up with some mulch |
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| working hard, hope they like it! |
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| Spring is here and the Sour Cherry is blooming |
The wood is cleaned, and we are spiffing things up for our suburban neighbors who moved into what used to be farm land and now expect everyone else to enter the modern age of grocery stores, Chinese made products, and pollution...Well, forgive me for putting my family's health and happiness first.
( see Playing With Dirt is the New PROZAC!
Dear Ol' Mr. Cranky Pants...Yet the saga continues... On Friday, he came over to apologize for blowing his top the day before. (Or so he said that's why he came over.) We were eager to make things right as well and apologized for any misunderstanding on our part. We truly love living in peace and harmony with nature and that means the humans God has put here as well! We were in the middle of "Operation Spring Cleanup," when he came over with his apology. During his "apology" he again told us how he thought the world of us "girls..."
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| what you lookin at willis? |
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| The Apple blossoms smell A MAZING!! |
We were getting along great and he was about to leave and we were ready to get back to putting down our 4th load of mulch (*sigh of relief at this point) when he asked "so I hear you girls are going to get a cow."
Me " Who told you?" ( he is not on fb)
Neighbor "I heard it in the neighborhood."
Me "You didn't just hear it randomly walking around the neighborhood," (only our fb neighbors know we've talked about getting a cow)
It really doesn't matter who told him but when pressed for an answer, we told him "yes," we really want to get a cow.
You might as well have said we wanted to park a full on nudist colony with Vegas strip lights and flashes 24/7. I chuckle to think he might enjoy that better than being punished by having to look at a cow...Yes, he said we were punishing him with our agricultural pursuits and a cow would basically drive him to an early grave. I mean full on, blood boiling, mad... yeah... MR. CRANKY PANTS HAS MAD COW DISEASE! It's a disease that attacks every fiber of those who get mad when seeing cows... ha! |
| newly mulched flower beds all over! |
Well, during our conversation, I tried to explain we were within our rights to get a cow, or a pig, and keep our chickens, and I could show him the Ohio Ag law 519.21 that made sure townships could not zone out ag pursuits for people who were there before the subdivisions all starting being built.Ohio Ag Law 513.21 Explained
He didn't want to hear any of that and kept on yelling "you just know people..."
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| chicken church and steps going down into our large garden |
Actually, we do know people! We know God Almighty who has called upon us first and foremost to be good stewards of the land he has given us. In fact, the very FIRST JOB he gave Adam was to be a GARDENER! He actually made a garden for man... and job to do,
Genesis 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
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And But God has also put so many wonderful people in our life, like our neighbors Cathi and Adrian...
Cathi happened by with her beautiful granddaughter to see the chickens when Mr. Cranky pants was over. I was so happy to see them!!
Here is Eve picking up our friendly Dominique aka the diamond thief. Eve was a bit reluctant at first to hold her but eagerly picked her up on her own for a second time!
Cathi and Eve went all the way home to bring our girls an apple to put on our hanging fruit toy. They LOVED IT! And thank them very much!
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Cathi and Eve went all the way home to bring our girls an apple to put on our hanging fruit toy. They LOVED IT! And thank them very much!
The evening was far from a wash!! We also had another beautiful neighbor family come over with their 3 amazing children Aidan, Aislin, and new baby brother Madden to see the chickens and check out our chicky momma! Aislin is a natural momma herself helping her mom Sarah out with Madden, often getting to him before Sarah does when he cries or fusses. Aidan enjoys challenging Michelle with historical presidential trivia, amongst other things, to which he often proves the wiser, much to Michelle's embarrassment... All in all it was a chicken visiting day!
So, here is a kinda shaky video showing our lil' acre in all it's guts and glory. No, it's not the best manicured lawn in the world and I admit we have areas that need improving, but all in all, we do our utmost to keep things neat and tidy. We use recycled pallet wood, it's free and is better than Lowe's and Home Depot sometimes.
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| Our line of ornamental grasses will grow up to 10 ft tall this summer and make a natural privacy fence. We also planted 200 privets to make a natural screen all around to block any "offending" views of our craziness, and to give ourselves more seclusion after the house behind us was built a couple years ago. Our property line ends at the grasses |
Whew... what a day... we put down tons of mulch and would have finished today but it rained all day annddd, we went to our FAVORITE greenhouse! Grant's Farm and Greenhouse
to pick up some sprightly annuals and a few veggies that didn't take when we planted seeds earlier this year. It was their annual open house and everything was 20% off! We bought the rest of our mulch there to pick up tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get a blog up about our day and provide a link here.
So, more mulch to follow, continued cleanup, and.... the building of our pig pen- IF we can find 2 pigs at a decent price. Maybe it won't happen this year but we keep looking for some unused fair pigs.
Now, about that Broody Hen ya'll want to hear about... I felt she was worth her own little blog post so. Please click here to see our broody hen!
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| It was a rainy but FANTASTIC day at Grant's! |
So, more mulch to follow, continued cleanup, and.... the building of our pig pen- IF we can find 2 pigs at a decent price. Maybe it won't happen this year but we keep looking for some unused fair pigs.
Now, about that Broody Hen ya'll want to hear about... I felt she was worth her own little blog post so. Please click here to see our broody hen!
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