Bocking comfrey for chickens and a giveaway

November 25, 2013 Posts 51 Comments
Autumn comfrey

I wrote over on my homesteading blog about the power of comfrey last week.  What I didn’t mention there is that I splurged and bought two Bocking 4 comfrey plants last fall.  Bocking 4 is reputed to be the best comfrey variety for livestock due to its higher protein Russian comfrey flowerslevels and better flavor, and we want our chickens to have the best.



Even though the Bocking 4
plants will be in our pastures eventually, my new method is to put
purchased pasture plants on the outside of a fenceline at first. 
That way, the plants can get established without being pecked and
scratched to pieces, some parts of the plants will dip into the pasture,
and, after year 1, I can split these plants apart to create lots more
that will actually go into the pasture.

Comfrey along a fenceline

So now it’s time for that
split!  As you can see from the photo at the top of this page, two
little roots grew into two huge plants that filled up a
four-foot-by-two-foot zone along the fenceline.  I’m hoping I can
get at least a dozen babies from these plants and will plant them along
the inner fencelines of our tree alleys
in our new pasture.  The photo above shows how I already planted
out some of my unnamed comfrey variety into that setting.  The
plants look droopy now, but as I learned last year with my terrace experiment, the comfrey will be bushy and thriving come spring with no care on my part.

Do you want to join my in my comfrey-for-chickens experiment?  I’m
going to set aside two starts for one lucky reader.  Just leave a
comment below by midnight on Thursday, November 28 (Thanksgiving). 
I’ll use a random number generator to choose the winner and will
announce here on the blog next week.  So be sure to check back to
find out if you won!

Save up to on chicken waterers

November 22, 2013 Posts No Comments
Save up to 20% off chicken waterers

Chicken waterer and calendar bundleOur new EZ Misers
make great gifts for the chicken-keeper (or chicken-keeper-to-be) on
your holiday list.  But what if  you want to upgrade your coop
as well and can’t afford to do both?



I’ve come up with four holiday bundles,
with savings up to 20% off our normal prices, so you can afford to buy a
waterer for your friend and still keep one for yourself.  We’ve
also included homesteading calendars in some of the bundles — a perfect stocking-stuffer!


As you can tell, I’ve
been spending more time on the computer now that cold weather has hit,
so I also have a couple of opportunities for you to get free
stuff.  You’ll download a free copy of my children’s ebook “Hop,
Step, Peck, RUN!” when you sign up for our monthly chicken newsletter by
filling out the form on the sidebar of this page.  And if you’d
like to know where to start your homesteading self-education, sign up
for my book email list at www.wetknee.com and you’ll get a free copy of “Best Books for Homesteaders.”  Enjoy!

How to tell which color eggs a hen will lay

November 20, 2013 Posts No Comments
How to tell which color a hen will lay“I
don’t see much difference in brown or white eggs, but my wife prefers
brown eggs. Which chickens lay brown eggs? And the best chicken to
survive Vermont winters?“
— Brad Reynolds


That’s a good question, and one I hear a lot so I thought I’d post my
answer more publicly.  First of all, when scientists analyze eggs
with brown shells and compare them to eggs with white shells, the
nutritional data comes up even.  Personally, I can’t taste a
difference either.  However, a lot of people agree with your wife
and prefer brown eggs.

Luckily, it’s pretty simple to find hens that lay brown eggs because
nearly all of the varieties sold to backyard chicken-keepers do
so.  Of all the chickens we’ve raised, only Leghorns lay white
eggs.  One easy way to make sure that the hens you’re buying will
lay brown eggs is to check the color of their ear lobes — red ear lobes
mean brown eggs and white ear lobes mean white eggs.

Winter hardiness is another matter.  In general, the best
egg-layers are the lighter breeds, especially hybrids like Red Stars and
Golden Comets.  But heavier chickens seem to fare better in cold
weather.  A good compromise might be Australorps, who have never
seemed to have trouble over the winter in zone 6 (although their laying
does dwindle), and the related Orpington is another popular mid-weight
breed.  Jenna Woginrich recommends even heavier breeds, like
Brahmas, in cold climates, but you should be aware that all of these
heavier breeds tend to lay fewer eggs and will eat more than their lighter
relatives.

To browse many different heirloom breeds, I recommend this chart. 
Look for snowflakes in the egg column to denote varieties that keep
laying through the winter.  And don’t forget to figure out some
kind of heated chicken waterer — your flock can’t lay without copious water.