March roared in like a lion with blustery winds, driving rain and icy temps. And eight Key West chicks found themselves a new home, albeit a bit nippier than what they're accustomed. But the chicken house is standing up to the weather, keeping the new tenants warm and dry. They seem happy. (Read more)The hoop house plastic is finally on! I regularly get some strong winds over the ridge, which made it more challenging to install, but the final product looks great. A temperature test taken around noon a few days later registered 81 degrees F. inside and 54 degrees out. I'll be transplanting seed starts into larger pots and moving them out to the hoop house.
We moved the 5-week old chicks into the larger chicken house after cordoning a portion of it off with leftover deer fencing to protect them from the older Key Westers.
Twelve blueberry bushes arrived from Finch Nursery—four each of Tifblue, Premier and Brightwell. We planted them in the orchard near the apple and pear trees.
We also adopted six, 19-week old Barred Rock hens rescued from a factory farm. Their clipped beaks and timid response to us contrasted with the outgoing, free-spirited Key Westers. The hens spent the first three days cowering in a corner of the coop before finally venturing outside. Our black Key West rooster immediately formed his own harem and has the new "girls" following him around.
