This is our family’s story of how we transitioned through loving our backyard chickens to ultimately culling them
after they stopped laying.

For us crazy chicken people it’s *finally* time to place our orders and prepare for our hearts and homes to be overrun with cuteness and chicken poop. We pick up our new girls next week from EggPlant Urban Farm Supply and we can’t wait!

But this story is about our Old Girls, our first flock at this home, because although no one likes to talk about it- even those adorable baby chicks get old. My advice is to have a plan BEFORE you bring them home. It’s helpful to know what you’ll do once they stop laying, get sick, or just really old.

Truth Talking

This was a more emotional experience than I was prepared for. Much more so than when I’d had them in a farm setting, or that one time we had to cull a nasty rooster. We had 4 hens in our backyard chicken flock which my oldest son named Netty, Betty, Stella, Bella. They were regularly carried around, hand fed and in general, doted on.

I need you to know that for our family,
two things can and do co-exist:

1. I loved raising and tending to my girls; from fluffy baby chicks, to their awkward adolescence, molting, bumblefoot, vent gleet, even on -15F days where I had to change their water multiple times a day. They’re really endearing animals. Tending to their needs and completely spoiling them was our pleasure. Getting those eggs was awesome too!

2.I loved knowing where this meat came from: When the time came, we knew the girls had enjoyed a life far better than any of their counterparts who end up in a grocery store come from.

Now, I still get an occasional emergency rotisserie from Costco- but on average I really like knowing where my food comes from.

So, for us- once we got over the emotional roller coaster, the answer was clear. We’d be butchering our hens before Winter set in.

How We Decided it was Time

My family hadn’t gotten more than an egg a week from the girls since the end of August. I think I was in denial for quite a while…

After almost 2 full years of happily laying in the nesting boxes I began to find eggs scattered in the backyard. This was likely related to the Japanese Beetle ‘feeder’ I had made for the girls. They became so obsessed with the beetles that they didn’t return to their nesting boxes to lay their eggs in fear of missing the next bug!

The Perfect Storm

Two of our four hens contracted bumble foot in late July and I figured the ‘no eggs’ was directly related to them taking their sweet time healing from that. Also a shout out to my dear friend, Nicole- a vet tech who helped with the initial backyard surgery. I owe you one girl!

Then one of the Ameraucana’s went into a full molt, then a Black Australorp followed. Hens usually slow down or stop laying while molting because feathers are all protein, and that takes A LOT to regrow your whole feather duster.

Egg Eaters

As I mentioned earlier, the hens weren’t going back to their nesting boxes to lay, so they were laying in the yard. Eggs laying around usually leads to one thing; egg eating. They were likely all eating eggs by the end. I only ever found a few remnant shells, but all four hens wouldn’t stop laying at the same time.

We tried many things to deter egg eating, and encourage laying in the coop. Replacing their finely crushed egg shells with oyster calcium in case that was the issue. Placing ‘false eggs’ for the nesting boxes and continuing to use the herbs that I grew to help promote laying and keep/get them healthy.

Since we had an egg eater, we couldn’t give them to a farmer to enjoy their retirement only to wreak havoc by teaching a new flock of hens to eat eggs…

It was Time

So, I guess once the molting was over, I had to ask myself a hard question. Was I going to keep a flock of non-laying hens through a cold Minnesota Winter? Cold winters can mean boredom for the girls. I’ve used lots of ways to combat boredom before- from scratch blocks, hanging cabbages, new roosts, swings etc., but this time it didn’t seem like a good trade off.

The idea of doing all that work without return didn’t sit well with my homesteader heart.

it was time

Having “The Talk” with our Kids

We talked to our sons about it at length. My husband and I reminded them of our discussion back when we first got the baby chicks that they would have to say goodbye to our backyard chickens at some point.  Our one son was fine with it, our other boy cried for hours when we first brought it up. He was sad about losing them for weeks.

Eventually, the butchering day came.

After a major refresher (thank you YouTube) we prepped for it and had a day when our boys were going to be gone for a 5 hour stretch…

…Afterwards

Not going to sugar coat it; that was difficult. I was sad. I kept trying to remember that we gave them a good life. Then, as there was work to be done, I just kind of came to terms with it.

The birds have now all been stewed and souped on. Even my boy who swore he wouldn’t eat any of the meat, chose to and really liked the soup. And I have to say the bone broth was really amazing.

So, love it or hate it; that’s this Suburban Homesteader’s story.

This time around my boys are just as excited to get our new baby chicks. If anything, we’re all wiser, and if anything we will lavish even more love on this new generation of backyard birds because of our previous girls. We are definitely more appreciative of the meat we eat because of this experience.

If you are (still) interested in raising backyard chickens, read my Chickens in the Hood blog for more how to info.

One thing I know for sure; I’ll never judge another person’s decision on anything like this. It is such a personal choice. One that I am proud our family made.

Those girls will always have a special place in my heart, they were good teachers in so many ways.

I’m curious; if you have chickens, what are your plans for when they stop laying? Obviously, no judgment here

I can’t wait to share photos of my new fluffy babies with you all!

-Michelle

The post Fresh Eggs to Chicken Soup appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

I love seeing metal buckets and blue bags hanging on trees around town this time of year! Those bags are the symbol of two things I love dearly: Spring + Maple Syrup!

I’ve noticed that these buckets and bags have been multiplying in recent years! I hope the trend continues, because maple sugaring is such a simple way to forage your own food, reduce your carbon footprint, add nutrients to your sweetener—all while adding another homesteading skill to your list. Bonus: there’s very little that can go wrong; it just takes some time.

*This post contains affiliate links. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.*

Drill In!

The maple sugaring process is easier than you think. And I’m sharing tips on how to make the process smooth like Sunday morning (pancakes).

Tool Time

A Spile (#1) gets ‘tapped’ into the tree, and brings the sap outside so you can collect it. There are a few different ways to collect sap, but for most backyard enthusiasts, sap sacks or buckets are the way to go. We use this 3-part sack system. You wrap the blue bags (#2) around the collars (#3) and slide into the holder (#4). There’s a hole in holder that fits tight to the notch in the spile. Once you get the sap sacks on, be sure to tug down to make sure the bags are nice and tight (I’ve had one bag get full and work its way off—lesson learned after one bag!). Some people have a hose running right from the spile to a closed bucket, but for us these sap sacks work great.

You can find my favorite maple sugaring tools on my Amazon page!

The only ‘modification’ we’ve had to make is because of the squirrels. One year they must have gotten a taste of the sap and wanted more, so they chewed a hole in the bottom corner of a sack! Saddest sap collection morning ever. So we took a page from the squirrel vs. bird feeder wars and put coconut oil and cayenne pepper on the outside bottom ridge of the bag. After that, they never bothered the bags again.

Tips and Tricks

We’ve been tapping our maple tree for nine years now, learning something new each season. Mostly, each sap run is SO DIFFERENT, and that is definitely part of what makes it so fun!

Some things we’ve figured out so far:

• Each tree is different. Our tree gets her juices flowing later than most—a true late bloomer.

• We are wood-fire lovers and will forever boil sap with a wood fire source.

• Wood ash in your sap doesn’t affect the final flavor …much.

• Straining sap through cheesecloth, or a ‘maple sap filter,’
  helps keep the final product clear.

• Our one big old maple tree with two taps in it *almost* yields enough syrup for our family of four for an entire year.

But by far the coolest and trickiest thing about maple sugaring we’ve learned so far is how to condense maple sap without ALL the boiling…

Freeze Maple Sap Before Boiling

Using the “Freeze then Fire” Technique

We collect the sap in sacks and pour that off into 5 gallon buckets, then use our chest freezer (or just leave it outside if it’s dropping below freezing) to freeze overnight or longer. After freezing, we transfer the frozen sap to a ‘draining bucket’ (another 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom) and let that sit at room temperature until about a third of it has melted. The melted portion has dripped through to the bottom bucket (usually ready by evening if we take it out in the morning)—that’s the precious sugary portion. 

Toss the still frozen ice outside and put the condensed sap back in the freezer for a repeat freeze-thaw cycle, this time keeping the first half of the melted liquid.  The result should be a liquid that has increased from 1–3% sugar to 5–16% sugar. This means a MUCH shorter boil time!

Tip: I use a wine corkscrew to screw into the frozen sap and lift it out of the bucket!

Sweet Success

I love this method because it allows us to hold large amounts of sap all together even if the weather gets too warm to keep it outside. It also helps with sap flow starts and stops and not losing any sap to getting too warm for too long. *You’ll know your sap has turned if it starts to look cloudy. This happens if the sap is held above 40 F for very long. We had to toss two full buckets our first year; it was heartbreaking!

Tap those Trees!

Yes, you can tap other trees besides maple trees.

All maple trees have the potential for syrup, with Sugar Maples coming in with the highest sugar content in aw sap—2.0%. Our Silver Maple is estimated to have about 1.7% sugar content. Other native Midwest trees that can be tapped include box elder and paper birch. There are lots of trees that can be tapped depending on where you are; here’s the LINK to the best list I’ve found so far.

I’ll also throw out there that apartment and condo dwellers can ask their associations if they can tap trees on the land surrounding their spaces. How about a Spring Syrup Social to bring us out of hibernation!

Why So Sappy?

Basically, it is the freeze-thaw cycle that gets the tree’s internal pressure pumping. Specifically, according to Botanics in the Kitchen article,

“Three primary processes can cause xylem sap to flow:  transpiration, root pressure and stem pressure.” Umm, have I mentioned I love nature lately?!

Time to Gear Up for Maple Sugaring

Lots of places have equipment for collecting sap, ranging from your simple taps, brackets, and bags to buckets and tubing galore. My online pick is Tap My Trees. Locally, Fleet Farm and Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply have got you covered. Egg|Plant has great staff that will talk you through any specific questions!

Want to see what tools I use? I rounded up my favorite Maple Sugaring tools on my Amazon page.

We love our maple sap for so many reasons… Pancakes taste better and my Crunchiest Granola Recipe wouldn’t be the same (or as cost effective) without homemade maple syrup. We also bake with it often, and use it to sweeten tea. And there are so many other trace elements and benefits to be found in that bottle of liquid sugar.

Burn Baby Burn

But first you do have to boil the heck out of it! Making syrup from sap means condensing sap in a ratio of about 40:1. That means it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Like I said, lots of boiling! We started with a very rudimentary setup (it looks ridiculous in the photo, but it worked for us. We burn wood that would otherwise sit around rotting, and we put basically no money into the blocks or stand (we use old shelving standards for cross pieces). It is not the most efficient way to do things, but it is the way that makes us happy, and the kids LOVE keeping the fire going!

We always finish off boiling the sap down inside on the stovetop. We go by a consistency and temperature reading from a candy thermometer. You want to aim for 7 degrees above boiling, so we shoot for 219F.

Professionals will tell you it is not syrup unless you can tell the brix (sugar content) is at 66%. But I’m simply too cheap to buy a hydrometer, and my taste buds thoroughly enjoy anything close to 66% sugar content in my maple syrup. I do store mine in the freezer, and it sometimes freezes a little… also a sign of less than perfect sugar content. Again, my taste buds never complain and it stays fresh a full year out.

Sweet Homestead Skill

My advice with maple sugaring is to start small, because once you collect it you have to boil it. Kind of like with all things homesteading, talking with someone who has done this before if you have questions along the way helps you take that first step. And I’m all about taking that first step; whether it’s drilling into your first tree or digging into your first garden. Ask away if you have any questions. Another great online community is the Facebook Group: Minnesota Maple Syrup Makers, just ask to join if you’re interested. This is a fun process, but it does take time to boil all that sap down!

Drill In,
Michelle

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In order to add the amount of growing space we wanted fast, we went with a well known no till option called “Lasagna Gardening”. Just one growing season in and I’m amazed at what a great addition these beds have been!

In The Beginning…

When we moved in 10 years ago our backyard had spruce trees, overgrown bridal wreath and an almost dead hydrangea. And a lawn of mostly creeping charlie. No garden in site. Needless to say, we’ve added A LOT of perennials, bushes, trees, chickens, pathways, and yes- Gardens. Of course the creeping charlie will forever be part of our landscape as well… But let’s focus on the Vegetable Garden here. 

You can see the old garden fence to the back , boy we had a lot of wood to split and chip!

We had a happy 24’ X 20’ fenced in vegetable garden for years, where I grew a good amount of food, and enjoyed learning more about organic gardening practices along the way. We changed part of the space into 3 raised beds a few years back. Each  bed measuring 4’ X 8’ with a large strawberry patch in front and open edges for potatoes and pots.

But as most gardeners know, you eventually outgrow your space. And then once you start looking at how to change one part of the garden you can quickly move half your yard around. Hence the ‘musical gardens”. And, if I do say so- we rocked that tune!

Down to Earth

We started the project by removing a dying spruce. This would allow more light to an otherwise shady part of the yard.

Chipping the branches gave us a great source of carbon to decompose in the raised beds- and to add the the pathways.

We ended up fencing in 24’ X 50’. The fence was a must for us, our yard is home to a myriad of bunny families. This new safe space accommodated the 4 raised beds, room for row crops along the edges, some pots, and a garden table. The design always included some kind of arch/pergola/trellis, but not until we started building it did we know exactly what and where it would be! I am very lucky my husband is a carpenter and doesn’t shy away from hard work! OK, I love the physical labor part too!

Little bit of everything, keeping good ratios of green to brown along the way.

We filled the four new beds using the ‘lasagna gardening’ technique. This means a quick no till start to the bottom layer. I did ‘fork’ the compacted lawn to get more air flow in the top layer (and invite worms to venture upwards). We started with layers of cardboard and soy inked newspapers. Then a hefty layer of our compost to get things moving. I can’t wait to add some ‘worm poop’ next spring from our very own “Vermicompost”! On top of that, wood ships, leaves, wood ashes, and plant clippings etc that I would have thrown into the compost pile along with spent chicken coop straw all got layered up!

Halfway point for loading the compost from the yard waste site.

Then we went to the Ramsey County Yard Waste Site with a friend’s trailer and shoveled in a WHOLE LOT of finished compost- for FREE. This is a great service both for dropping off yard waste and for the amazing free compost they offer. A quick google search will find your county’s info.

Then, luck struck again, when a friends who’s parents’ offered up their used straw bales from their Summer’s Straw Bale garden. The partially decomposed straw bales were like gardening gold to me! (Thank you Mark and Theresa Moe!)

That is true joy on my face, loaded straw bales ready to bring more life to my home gardens!

Garden Evolution Notes

And like most projects that you jump into feet first; I learned a lot about what not to do! Like, if I had it to do over again, I should have put the straw under the top compost layer! And maybe even followed this permaculture expert’s recipe for lasagna garden building instead. What I do know is that even though there’s some heat generated from the decomposition, it doesn’t compare to the sun’s rays on black dirt! As a result my straw-topped beds warmed much slower than my older prepped and previously tilled beds.

Topping off the garden beds before winter!

But wow the lasagna gardening made easy work of  creating great soil over weedy lawn. Not having to till and weed out that nasty, hard packed ground was worth it! I was able to plant in those beds in early May (with a row cover over b/c you all remember that crazy late blizzard this year, right!?) on compost I had layered in early October!

The proof is in the produce!

Suburban Homesteading

We feel like we’re getting there. Joining the ranks of other folks who enjoy growing more of their own food on their land, even if they have a regular sized lot. We’ve got a slightly larger than normal lot size, but this is a far cry from the acreage of a farmstead. We still have so many possibilities – dreams to be planted and bear fruit here… and each season we learn more, grow more, and become more deeply rooted to this beautiful place we call HOME.

After I ripped out 3 Eggplant, 2 Bell Peppers and a patch of Okra – AND dug up the potatoes that were in this space. VERY productive garden soil!

This year (like all years) is unique and beautiful and challenging and rewarding… all rolled into fabulous meals, and a freezer bulging with bags of frozen goodness. Shelves stocked with mason jars of Summer harvests.  And a pantry bursting with dried herbs and teas. Those, along with our home made maple  syrup, venison and eggs keep us eating local long after the tomatoes have stopped. And with the seeds I’ve collected from the gardens, I’m halfway back to my starting point next Spring.

I hope my ‘real world’ story helps you decide if you’re ready to help your gardens evolve and grow too. It has been a lot of work but, for me- the rewards are worth every drop of sweat equity! Let me know if you have any questions, or suggestions about adding growing space in your yard.

Get your forks in the dirt!
Michelle

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