New Purple Coop Cuties!

Soooo sweet!

Straw Bale Gardening Experiment

We like the idea of growing plants in bales of hay or straw. It makes an economical, low maintenance raised bed. 

A quick search online will reward you with a wealth of information on bale gardening. Most sites recommend pre-treating your bales over a 2 week period prior to planting. Naturally, that made us wonder what would happen if the bales were not pre-treated.

We planted some of the plants in the bales and the rest in the ground so we can compare them.

We will post updates throughout the growing season.

To begin our bale gardening experiment, we recruited a strong, willing helper. We were really fortunate because our helper seemed to be a very knowledgeable gardener.

However, she did slow down our progress every time she saw an earthworm. She would pick it up  and say "Awww, it's sooooo cute".

We made a small opening in the bale. Notice the technique :)

We added a handful of potting soil.

And then the plants. We planted cabbage, red cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons (I wasn't present for this executive decision) and marigolds.

Moving on to ground planting where all the "cute" worms live.

So... the experiment has begun!

Don't forget to check back for updates.

We wish you a bountiful garden this year!

Ducklings and Chickens Crochet Bunny Ears Hat and Scarf Pattern

I'm sure most of you have been searching for a crochet bunny ear hat pattern to fit your poultry, well your search is over! 

Perfect for a photo prop, a Halloween costume, Easter celebration or whenever your duckie or chickie is feeling bunnyish.

Please DO NOT leave your feathered friend unattended while wearing this outfit!!

And...yes, I know bunnyish isn't a real word.

Bunny Ears Hat Pattern:

Materials - Size E crochet hook

                  Small amount worsted wt yarn - gray and white

                  Small amount #10 crochet cotton - pink

                  Sewing needle

                  Scissors

                  2 - 2" pieces 20g wires

                  Wire cutters

Using gray yarn, make a magic ring.

Round 1 - 6 sc in the magic ring. Join with a sl st in the first sc. 6 sc

Round 2 -  Ch 1. 2 sc in each sc around. Join with a sl st in the first sc. 12 sc

Round 3 - Ch 1. 1 sc in the first sc, * 2 sc in the next sc, 1 sc in the next sc *. Repeat from * to * all the way around, ending with 2 sc in the last sc. Join with a sl st in the first sc. 18 sc.

Fasten off, weave in ends and tighten the magic ring. 

Bunny ears - First ear - fold the circle in half and attach gray yarn with a sc at the edge of the circle.

  Work 2 more sc along the fold, working towards the center. 3 sc in total.

Row 1 - Row 5 - Sc in each sc across. Ch 1, turn. 3 sc

Row 6 - Sc 3 sc together. 1 sc. Fasten off. Weave in ends. 

Second ear - Repeat the first ear, working along the opposite side.

       

Hat ties - Attach white yarn at the outside bottom edge of an ear.

Ch 20, fasten off. Weave in ends. Repeat for the second tie.

Ear centers - Fold the 2" 20g wire in half and place it in the front center of an ear.

Using the pink #10 crochet cotton on a sewing needle, tack down the top of the wire.

Now stitch over the wire down to the bottom of the ear. Then stitch over the stitches back to the tip of the ear.

Fasten off. Weave in ends. Repeat for the second ear.

Scarf - Using gray yarn, ch 4.

Row 1 - Sc in the second ch from hook and in each ch across. 3 sc

Rows 2 - 47 - Sc in each sc. Ch 1, turn. 3 sc

Row 48 - Sc in each sc. 3 sc. Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Scarf fringe - Cut 6 2" pieces of white yarn. Fold each in half.

Insert the crochet hook into the first sc on one end of the scarf. Place the center of a folded piece of yarn onto the hook and pull it half way through the sc. Insert the 2 loose ends of the piece of yarn into the loop and pull the ends tight.

Repeat for all 3 sc along the edge of both sides of the scarf.

All done!

A few final thoughts:

* I cannot stress enough - do not leave any living creature unattended while wearing this hat or scarf.

* You do not need to use wire in the center of the ears. I used the wire so I could shape the ears.

* I used 20g jewelry wire because as a jewelry artist that's what I already had available. Any wire will work as long as it's strong enough to hold shape.

* You can sew a small piece of elastic on each side of the hat and eliminate the ties.

* You may sell your completed items (you don't even need my permission) made from this pattern. However, please do not sell the pattern. I want the pattern to remain free for everyone.

* Please leave any questions in the comment section or through email at hiveandbeakfarm@gmail.com.

Thank you for visiting!

      

Preparing Egg Shells For The Chickens

Hens need a calcium rich diet in order to lay eggs with strong shells. 

We provide our hens with oyster shells along with their own shells to boost their calcium.

The hens LOVE the shells and contrary to what some say, it has not turned our hens into "egg eaters".

There are many different ways to prepare the egg shells, this is the method we use.

We rinse the shells with plain warm water and place them on a layer of paper towel to dry.

Drying the shells makes them easier to crush.

We lay them cracked side down for a couple hours. 

Then we turn the shells over and allow them to finish drying. 

Once the shells are dry, we place them in a storage bag, a few at a time.

Next, we crush the shells by hand. We crush ours fairly small.

We just continue adding and crushing shells.

And that's it! All done and ready for the hens.

Ducklings!

Diy Chicken Bath or Dust Bath

Do you want deliriously happy chickens? If so, just make them a dust bath!

There are many different ways to make a dust bath, this is our version.

Materials:
1. Something to surround the bath. We used tree limbs that were on the ground due to a storm.
2. Sand - research will tell you to use construction sand while more research will recommend play sand. As a compromise, we used play sand and added a gravelly dirt we dug up.
3. DE - diatomaceous earth
4. Wood ash

Once we selected the fallen limbs for our bath, we cut them the lengths we needed.

We arranged the limbs in a triangle.

Then we simply added the play sand and gravelly dirt. We sprinkled on a handful of DE and will add the wood ash once it arrives.

Lastly, we used a rake to mix everything together and smooth it out.

BATH TIME!!