ranch adventures
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The J&A Chicken Ranch, the place I call home, is stocked with 2 dogs and 14 chickens. Natural enemies, they are. The dogs live in the fenced backyard and the chickens live in a chicken pen and garden shed close to the backyard. Somedays I like to let the dogs out, and somedays I like to… Read more
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We’ve crossed a milestone here at the J&A Chicken Ranch. The chickens spent their first night outside last night. As one friend said, they made their maiden voyage. Yes dear friends, the little boogers are growing up. They are spreading their wings and getting the heck out of dodge. You mustn’t ever let J-Dub know I… Read more
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I don’t know how many of you are familiar with Hank the Cowdog books by author John Erickson. Good ol’ Hank, Head of Ranch Security, can usually be found protecting the ranch from varmints and keeping everyone safe with his side-kick Drover. Well here at the J & A Chicken Ranch we have our own head of… Read more
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Wild West Willy called the other day. He said he was going to stop by after he milked a goat. My ears perked up at the mention of goat milking. If you’ve been a reader for very long, you might know goats are my next homesteading adventure. Just quick as I get these here chickens learnt good. The… Read more
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Remember this little fellow? Henery Hawk from Looney Tunes. “I’m a chicken hawk and I smell chicken.” His agenda was to catch a chicken. Even though this cartoon was all fun and games, tonight I discovered this is a real life problem in my world. I know there is a hawk around this place where I live. Probably… Read more
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This chickie mama act is turning out to be a harder gig than you might imagine. The chicks are growing faster than hairs out of an old man’s ear. They have outgrown their square box, and I found it necessary to cut two boxes and tape them together at the ends to make a… Read more
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It’s calving season out here on the Golden Spread. Spring is in the air. Trees are budding, tulips are blossoming, and heifers are birthing. Heifers are young cows, first-time mamas. I might even be as bold as to call them teenage mothers. Unwed, teenage mothers. My husband says you have to watch heifers closely because… Read more
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The sweet little chicks aren’t very little anymore. They are growing faster than anything I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if you can tell the difference in their size between the first and second picture, but it’s quite substantial in “real life”. The first picture was their first day with me, the second was taken … Read more
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They, whoever they are, say death comes in three’s. Since I last wrote about my chickens, one more has died, which brings the number of fatalities to 3. It was the little chick I was worried about before. The antisocial black one with a little yellow spot on its head who stood in the corner and stared. She didn’t even get… Read more
Angel Wheeler 