This week, I have updates on my hives, gardens, and broody hen, and then I’ll be talking about English Orpingtons, a supremely fluffy and sweet natured heritage breed of chicken. Listen over on Podbean, or wherever you get your podcasts!
First, an announcement: I’ll be taking September off from the podcast. No new episodes, no reposts, a complete hiatus. There’s a possibility I might take October off as well but I don’t foresee that happening at this time. I’ll still be active over on Instagram and Facebook, and you can contact me there, through my website here, or at homesteadhensandhoney@gmail.com
Homestead Updates
A few days of extremely heavy rain caused a number of tomatoes to literally burst on the vine, and a few of the plants haven’t really recovered from all that wet weather. That said, I am still getting bountiful harvests from my cherry tomato plants, which is absolutely delightful. Even though I have had issues with my plants bursting out and over their cages, overall this year has been a success! And I now know what to plan for next Spring.
Speaking of successes, I finally harvested my corn! Not a huge amount; about 6 ears all told but this is a huge improvement over last year’s 2-3 mini cobbs that were so tough I gave them to the chickens. It was an absolute pleasure to harvest and eat them fresh, and I am going to expand that bed again next year in the hopes of an even better harvest.
There are 2 pear trees on our property, next to the apiary, which were here when we bought the place. I don’t really like pears but I wanted to keep these trees in good shape and so pruned them last year as I felt that they were unbalanced. I must have done something right because the pears they are producing this year are much larger and more attractive than previous years. I couldn’t bear to let them go to waste so I have been bringing them in once they’re ripe. My original plan was to cut them up for the chickens and to give the rest away but I had some suggestions over on Insta to make pear sauce and pear alcohol! So I’ll be looking into recipes for those ideas and will see what I can do. Should be fun!
I can’t remember if I mentioned it or not but my husband and I each picked up a small horned frog (aka Pacman frog) a couple of months ago. We’ve had bad luck keeping this species alive for some reason (we suspect something to do with the water we had used) but decided to try again now that we have more experience. They were very young when we got them; had just dropped their tails so I was worried about them. So far, though, things are going well! They’re eating almost everything we put in front of them, and are noticeably growing. Fingers crossed we have finally figured this out!!
My husband’s carpet python babies are now ready for sale and a few have already moved on to their new homes. They’re absolutely gorgeous already, which is unusual at this age, so I am very proud of them and our breeders.
The baby skinks we had imported from Germany are all doing well! Even the runt seems to have turned a corner and is beginning to catch up with his/her siblings. The larger 2 are extremely defensive and huffy, with a surprisingly strong bite! I’m confident they’ll calm down as they get larger, though. That’s usually the way.
I need to consider letting one of my 2020 holdback skinks go to a new home but I just can’t decide! I know 1 of the 3 is definitely a male and I love his pattern and colouring so I definitely want to keep him. Of the remaining 2, one is leaning female in appearance and the other male. I don’t need 2 males from this litter but if I end up with 2 females, I would like to keep both. Thankfully, we have the space now that we have put up a heavy duty shelving system to hold all the enclosures so I can take my time on this decision.
Hive Updates
In Episode 50, I mentioned how varroa mite levels were low in my colony but the 2 nucleus colonies that I sized up into 10 frame Langstroths (and merged with my queenless split) were badly robbed. I was worried the queens might have been killed in the skirmish because it was so bad but I didn’t want to risk exposing the survivors by opening up the colonies again. I was finally able to safely get in there last week and I was able to confirm that both queens survived!! However, these colonies were hit super hard by the robber bees. One has been reduced to just 3 frames of brood, eggs, and a little food. All the other frames in this hive were picked clean and the wax is all ragged from where the robbers ripped everything open. The other colony that was hit is doing a little better; they have 6 frames, including a full frame of honey. I’ll be heavily feeding both these colonies in the hope that they can build up strong enough to survive the winter. Worst case, I cull one of these queens and merge the two colonies together before winter hits. We shall see!
My overwintered colony (queen Calleach, Sask/OH genetics) is the strongest, which is what I’d expect to see in a second year colony. They are low on honey due to the nectar dearth, and the queen’s egg production has slowed down in response, but their overall population is booming, and they even have a few drones hanging around (unlike my smaller colonies that kicked all of the drones out already!). I will be putting a small feeder on for this colony because I want them to have every chance.
The nucleus colony that I purchased from Mueller Honey Bees (OH queen, who I named Olwen) is the second strongest of the Lansgtroth colonies. They had a strong start and are holding steady, even in the face of the dearth. They’re even trying to draw wax despite the heat and lateness in the season! I’ll also be feeding this colony, just to make sure the dearth doesn’t hit them too hard, and to help with the wax build.
For future reference, I renumbered my hives now that the nucs have sized up. Hive #1 is my overwintered Sask/OH queen, Calleach. Hive #2 is the purchased nuc with an OH queen, Olwen. Hive #3 was nuc #1, made from frames of Hive #1 (Queen Flora). Hive #4 was nuc #2, also made from Hive #1 (Queen Melissae).
My top bar hive colony continues to do well! Wax production has slowed dramatically, which is to be expected for this time of year. They have 14 bars of comb, which I am a little worried about, as I am worried this isn’t enough to get them through the winter. They are backfilling as egg laying slows down but they obviously feel strong as they have the most number of drones of any of my colonies. I will be offering them syrup as well to be on the safe side.
Syrup is 2:1 (sugar: water), which is recommended for Fall. I don’t know if this is considered early to feed, really, since that is so dependent on the weather and local climate. My thinking is that 2:1 syrup requires less water to be removed for storage, which means less work for my bees.
Mite tests have been extremely heartening so far. All colonies have remarkably low levels: 3-4 mites per 300 bees. The one exception is my top bar colony. Interestingly, they had a mite count of just 1/300 at the beginning of August but now have a level of 11/300. Perhaps because of how many drones they still have? We know that varroa mites prefer drone brood and this colony is still raising drones while the others have long stopped. I went ahead and treated with oxalic acid, using the dribble method. I did this on August 29th so don’t have much to report yet but will be checking their bottom board for dead mites every few days, and will do another mite test in 2 weeks to make sure the levels have dropped.
I did not test the two smallest colonies as I don’t believe they can spare the bees. I will test them in September when they have had more time to build up. This is a calculated risk on my part, which I hope pays off.
Broody Hen Update
I'm sad to say that this update doesn’t have a happy ending, and I’m still upset about it. Please be aware that I will be discussing animal death in this section, including emergency euthanasia at home, so please skip ahead if you do not want to hear that. If you're listening to the podcast, I will put the timestamp in the episode notes so you know where to jump ahead to.
I mentioned in Episode 50 that Cheddar, my Jersey Giant rescue hen, had ‘gone broody’, and I was leaving her to it. Well, Cheddar continued to sit on her eggs and seemed to be doing very well; she had lost weight but wasn’t looking too thin or too raggedy. On Monday, August 23rd, I went out in the morning to check on them, and I heard the sweet peeps of a newly hatched chick! Sadly, I also found a dead chick that had been pushed out of the nest. I couldn’t see anything wrong with it; it appeared to be perfectly formed, no wounds or deformities. I suspect it failed to fully hatch and was kicked out by Cheddar in order to keep the nest clean. So I disposed of that little body and took delight in listening to the surviving chick. I was able to get Cheddar to stand up long enough for me to see the chick, which was still a little damp from hatching, and was a beautiful black and yellow cutiepie. Since Cheddar was being very defensive, I decided to leave her to it, especially considering that she had eggs she was still sitting on.
I then left for the morning, and came to check on the new mama and chick around 1pm. Immediately, I knew something awful had happened. The nest box was askew and I could see the chick lying prone. I went to pick it up and there was blood and other fluids all over it; I thought it was dead but it was still breathing and occasionally cheeping. My heart was breaking. One look at the situation and I could see what had happened: Cracker wanted to get into the nest box to lay and Cheddar had tried (and failed) to fight her off. During the scuffle, the chick had been stepped on and it's delicate skin had torn open. The worst part was that it was partly disemboweled and yet still alive.
I called my husband for a second opinion because part of me was desperately hoping that we could somehow save this baby, even though I knew it was a lost cause. He confirmed my suspicions that the kindest thing to do was euthanize. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done and I’m still upset about it. I called Cracker a hateful bitch when I snatched that baby up and I was so angry at her. It’s not her fault; she’s a chicken and will do her chicken things but it’s just awful to come home to something like this. And this is exactly why I tried to move Cheddar and her nest to the crate early on in her broodiness; to keep the other hens off her eggs. But she rejected the eggs for a full day after the move, which is why I let her back into the main coop and the ground nest box. I considered moving her and the baby but, again, I was worried she’d reject the eggs again, or even the chick. In hindsight, I wish I’d prioritized the hatched baby but I really thought she would protect it, as she was fierce with me when I tried to get a look that morning.
Anyway, after this awful experience, I moved Cheddar and her remaining eggs to the special needs coop with Meatbutt and Agatha. Only Meatbutt still lays on occasion and always chooses the same corner of the coop so I knew she wouldn’t force her way into Cheddar’s covered nest box. Agatha doesn’t lay at all anymore so she isn’t a concern either. As I feared, Cheddar rejected the eggs once they were moved. I gave her 2 full days before I let her out to join the main flock again, and then I disposed of the eggs. All were cold but every single one was fertile, and a few were relatively far along before they died due to improper temps. Cheddar is no longer broody, though I have not returned the ground nest box just incase that causes her to want to incubate again.
So what have I learned? What will I do differently in future?
Well, first, if you want to raise chicks, I recommend incubating them indoors to be able to fully control the situation. There are a number of incubators available on the market now with some being very affordable. If I ever really want to hatch eggs, this is what I’ll do.
Second, if I ever have another broody hen, and I decide to let her sit on the eggs, here is what I will do: she will be moved to the quarantine coop as soon as she starts to sit. I won’t wait for her to collect a full clutch; I’ll move her on the first day she sits. Hopefully, this will make her less likely to reject the new location. I can always collect eggs to put under her but, clearly, it is vitally important to isolate the broody hen ASAP. If moving her breaks the broodiness then fine, no chicks. But, clearly, I cannot allow a broody to raise her young around other hens without risking chick death. Lesson harshly learned.
Operation Pullets, and English Orpingtons
Onto happier news!!
If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen that I put ‘Operation Pullet’ into action on Wednesday, August 18th, and brought home 6 adorable new babies!! I originally planned to purchase from my local hatchery but they mainly had leghorns and barred rocks available, neither of which are my favourites. My first hens are a mixture of rescues and barnyard mixes so I really wanted to choose the breeds of my new flock. I reached out to some local people and was considering a mix of Easter Eggers and Brahmas, and then I came across a Craigslist ad for English Orpingtons.
Now, I’ve always been a fan of this breed, both because they’re an English heritage bird and because they are extremely attractive; large bodied and fluffy! They come in a variety of colours, and I was able to purchase one each of the following: black, blue, red, lavender, lavender mottled, and white splash. The woman I purchased them from brought the original breeding flock over from England in 2012 and has been producing them ever since. Her birds are just gorgeous and I had no issue driving an hour to meet her.
The pullets are quite skittish but also extremely curious. Although they still startle if I move, they are beginning to associate me with delicious food and so are slowly growing more brave. I am optimistic that they will tame nicely as they get larger, which they appear to do everyday! They’re constantly eating and foraging and into everything. I love to watch them chase bugs! They also love their dust bath and I have great fun watching them in there. They won’t be introduced to the main flock until they’re full sized so as to, hopefully, avoid bullying.
English Orpingtons are a heritage breed, which basically means they’ve been around for a long time (centuries!) and have remained almost entirely unchanged since their original creation. Other heritage breeds include Rhode Island Reds, Delawares, and Plymouth Rocks.
The English Orpington was created in the 1880s in the village of Orpington in Kent, England, by William Cook and his (unnamed) daughter. At this time, dual purpose chicken breeds were gaining popularity in America but were failing to take hold in England due to the bird's yellow skin. At the time, white skin meat birds were vastly preferred by the British. In response to this, William Cook decided to make a dual purpose bird with white skin, and he did just that by breeding Black Minorcas with Black Plymouth Rocks, and then breeding their offspring to clean legged Langshans. The result was the black English Orpington; a sweet-natured breed that produced a good size carcass for the table and was also a prolific egg layer. William Cook introduced this breed to the poultry world in 1886 at the Chrystal Palace Poultry Show, where his black Orpington pullet won the grand prize.
The Orpington grew in popularity and it’s sweet nature and appealing fluffiness led to it being hugely popular for showing. As a result, many breeders started to focus on form over function and egg laying declined. Today, the English Orpington is considered a good layer (but not as prolific as production breeds) that produces light to dark brown eggs, and is known for being winter hardy, continuing to lay through some of the colder months. It is supremely fluffy and full bodied, attractive to the eye, with an almost spherical appearance due to the layout of their feathers.
Breeding for showing also led to new colours being introduced. Today, you can find the English Orpington in lavender, black, blue, red, white, buff, and mottled, although only buff, black, white, and blue are currently recognised by the American Poultry Association. A bantam (small) version has also been developed.
A standard male weighs around 10lb/4.5kg with hens weighing in at 8lbs/3.6kg, while the bantams weigh a mere 38oz/1.1kg for males and 34oz/965g for hens.
They are prone to broodiness and said to make excellent mothers, which is a blessing for those who want a self-sustaining flock.
With thanks to my sources:
Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, by Carol Ekarius
The Illustrated Guide to Chickens, by Celia Lewis
‘5 Heritage Chicken Breeds Our Grandparents Kept’ by The Frugal Chicken
The Orpington Chicken by The Livestock Conservancy
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And that’s it for this episode! Thank you so much for listening. September 5th will be the 2nd anniversary of this podcast. Can you believe it’s been 2 years?? I suppose it’s a gift to myself that I’m taking the month off to reset and recharge. I really appreciate you all so much for listening/reading and following along with my adventures in chicken keeping, beekeeping, and homesteading. I hope things are going well for you, and I’ll speak to you all again in October!