Nineteenth century chickens

March 26, 2010 Posts 2 Comments
Woodcut of White Dorkings, Poland Fowls, Creoles or Bolton Grays, Cochin Chinas, Gray Game Fowls, Hamburg Fowls, and Bantams

Over on my homesteading
blog, I’ve been reviewing a fun pamphlet about
early
New England gardens. 
In the process, I started looking
through images on Old Sturbridge Village’s website, and came across
this grouping
of chickens from 1866
that I just had to share.  The key lists the varieties as follows:


1.
White Dorkings
2. Poland Fowls
3. Creoles or Bolton Grays
4. Cochin Chinas
5. Gray Game Fowls
6. Hamburg Fowls
7. Bantams



The artist seemed to
like chickens with fuzzy heads — I have no clue if that was
widespread at the time, but it sure looks funny.



The past is fun, but
don’t forget those modern conveniences.  Our automatic chicken water
ensures that your flock has clean water, even if you go out of town for
the weekend.

Appalachian ecology ebook hot off the virtual press

March 25, 2010 Posts No Comments

Sugar Hill: A Microcosm of Central Appalachian EcologyAs you can probably tell from
my tendency to post far too much, I like to write.  Last year, I
put out an ebook about how to create
a microbusiness that will pay the bills without taking over your life.

My newest book spans 300
million years, with tales of chemical warfare, murder, and sex
changes. 
Due to its epic scope, I guess I should be pleased that it only took me
fifteen years to research and eighteen months to write and polish.



Sugar Hill: A Microcosm of Central
Appalachian Ecology
is one part trail guide and two parts stories about our local ecology,
flora, and fauna.  The book is now available for $7 in ebook
format…or you can just read the whole thing for free on its
website.  Even if you never plan to visit southwest Virginia, I
suspect the book will explain at least one mystery relevant to your own
ecosystem.  I hope you’ll check out the related website and let me
know what you think!

Chickens are the dumbest animals in the world…

March 24, 2010 Posts 2 Comments

Homemade chicken waterer using a hoseDrew
emailed me to let me know that he’d put some photos of his version of
our homemade chicken
waterer up on his
website.  I
like his elegant use of aquarium-type tubing, and his description of
why he wanted to switch over to the Avian Aqua Miser:

 

Unlike
bees, chickens are the dumbest animals in the world. I would put them a
step under goldfish. Give them a bowl of water and they will take a
drink out of it, then stand on the edge of it until it tips over, and
then terd into it. It has been a constant battle between the chickens
and I to keep them with fresh unfecaled water. I have been searching
for some time for some sort of solution that would solve the problem
once and for all, and I found it. The Chicken
Nipple. I
got a piece of tubing from lowes and a few fittings and made a five
gallon waterer that they will never knock over. So that solves my
issues with them for now…

 


Thanks for sharing,
Drew!  I also loved the description of your farm, which sounds a
lot like ours.