Two Dogs Are Better Than One

We adopted Dante, our chihuahua mix, last summer and I think it only took 2 months to decide I wanted another "because two dogs are better than one." And while that reasoning does seem a bit juvenile, there is some truth to it. Dante is home alone during the day while we're work and surely he gets lonely. Dogs are naturally pack animals so being on their own isn't ideal. Having two dogs doesn't necessarily mean double the work. You're already taking one out for walks and to do their business, what's another tagging along? At some point in the past few months Chris agreed that a second dog would be a good idea...

Meet Dexter!

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Happy Halloween! I already posted about all the treats I was making for myself, so today here's a little something festive for all the puppies in our lives. Emily made Dante homemade dog treats last year for Christmas and he went berserk for them, which says a lot because he is extraordinarily picky about his treats. The one store-bought treat he loves is a duck jerky, but unfortunately there's been a lot of warnings going around about harmful chemicals used aging the jerky made in China and making many dogs very ill. Yup, ours is made in China, into the trash it goes!

When I was in the pet store looking for new treats I saw a stack of pumpkin puree for doggies. I read the label and it's meant to be good for their digestion. The ingredients read: organic pumpkin puree. Hmmm, why would I pay extra for this can because there is a cute dog on the front? I went home and baked these with the canned pumpkin I had, for humans. These are easy enough to make for the baking impaired, like myself.

Nancy Rose: Photographing Squirrels

I just thought I'd share these adorable photographs by Nancy Rose because it's Friday (woohoo) and they make me laugh. Need I say more? Rose creates these itty bitty sets in her backyard and waits for squirrels to interact with them. Here are the results of some genuine craftiness and a whole lot of patience...

Even though squirrels are one of the lesser favorites in the animal kingdom, I love them. I find them hilarious to watch when they're not deciding the best way to get hit by a car.

I actually miss our college campus squirrels who were so fat and brazen from a diet of cafeteria food, they'd scurry right up to you and ask for hand-outs.

Squirrels are now few and far between at our house with our ferocious nine pound chihuahua on the prowl, (or it's more likely the chickens that scare them off).

I can't believe I have this much to say about squirrels.

An artist and her muse. Damn, I wish I could get a squirrel to eat a peanut on my arm.


*All photos credited to Nancy Rose

Backyard Chickens and Your Dog

Our nine pound Chihuahua, Dante, loves our backyard chickens. In fact, he loves them so much, he wants to eat them! Well, I guess dogs will be dogs...

I thought I'd share how the chickens have been fitting into Dante's life, as well as our own. I think I was secretly hoping that Dante and the chicks would miraculously be BFFs, but like most things in life, their relationship is taking more time and patience, ugh, there's that "p" word again. So if you have a dog and you're thinking about getting some backyard chickens, here's some things that I've learned.

The chicken area of the yard is still under construction, I'm hoping the girls will just eat all the weeds for me!

1. Consider where your chickens will live in relation to your dog. We're in the process of fencing in a portion of the yard so that the chickens can free range in safety with their coop. Currently there's no fence, just a thin chicken wire barrier. The holes are perfectly sized for a little Chihuahua mouth.

2. Introductions. Don't bring your chicks home at midnight and put them in the basement until the coop is built. That's unfortunately how Dante first met them, tiny feathered intruders in his home! He picked up on their presence in seconds, tore down the stairs and starting barking and nipping at feathers. When we finally built the coop we went about it a much better way. We made sure Dante had a long walk and was good and tired. Since he was still leashed we approached the chickens very slowly and gradually. It's also a good idea to have a favorite toy with you to distract them every so often. They have to learn that the chickens aren't a threat, and don't need to be the focus of attention when he's in the yard. After awhile we took him off the leash and played fetch. He played for a bit, then remembered about the chickens and ran back to start the process all over again.

3. Patience! Take the dog out on the leash frequently to see and sniff them until they seem calm around the coop. If your chickens will always be in a coop, then you're good to go. Eventually the dog will just get used to them and won't even feel the need to watch them. But since we'd like our chickens to free range, we have to go a little further with training.

4. Meeting face to face. The other night we not only let the chickens free range without the fence up, but we brought Dante out too. He whined a lot, but soon tired himself out and laid down. The funny part is that the chickens could care less about him. I thought they would be skittish, but maybe they're just not that smart.

Lemme at 'em!

The chickens don't really stray too far from the coop anyway.

At this point Dante has given up on a chicken dinner.

Welcome Home, Stormegeddon

I'm going to tell tale of how an innocent family outing ended in thievery and deception...

Last year Chris and I went out for dinner with brothers, sisters and significant others. We were the only table seated outside the restaurant huddled by the blazing chiminea, amongst a multitude of tchotchkes, and drinking multiple pitchers of Margaritas despite the March chill. After much discussion about the amount of garden accessories that surrounded us, somehow, we ended up taking a giant wooden rooster that was seated near us. (I know, I know). That night there were heated arguments about who would get to keep the pilfered item. Since we were at Jeff and Kelly's apartment they proudly displayed it on their mantle. I don't really remember who stole it first, but since then it's been a sort of a "game" to steal it from each others homes. 

The only rules are...

1. He needs to be openly displayed and attainable 
2. If you are caught red handed you have to put him back. 

This is now our second possession of Stormegeddon, yes it is a Doctor Who reference, well done! Chris was thinking on his feet last night at Emily and Chrissy's as we left and put it in an empty tote bag on our way out. And they had only just recently stolen it from Jeff and Kelly's at Jeff's birthday party. So now we must keep constant vigilance over him! But secretly it's fun to scheme how to steal it back again. And it's nice to have family traditions, especially if it requires plotting and a good amount of tom foolery!

Stormy wanted to check out the coop this morning.

Keep those hens in line, Stormegeddon!

A Doggy Weekend

Dante was picking up all the ladies of Phoenixville Friday night.

Dante and Carl at Jeff's Birthday Party.

Cousin Colin

Where does Colin end and the blanket begin?

Just-In-Time-For-Easter Chicks

No too long ago I posted about having "Chicken Envy". Little did I know, all I needed was a trip into Lancaster County to get my chick fix. Last Saturday morning we had big plans to go to the Shady Maple Smorgasbord in Lancaster. Did the term "smorgasbord" pique your interest? Yes, it's a buffet like no other, because all the food is local and freshly prepared: meats, eggs, potatoes, danishes, pancakes, fruit, everything of the Pennsylvania Dutch variety. We started off the morning right, with a giant breakfast. Next on the agenda was shopping excursion at the nearby markets where we stocked up on canning supplies, seeds, and other outdoor can't-wait-for-summer items.

The Chicken Adventure began when we randomly stopped at a Tractor Supply Company, and spoke to a very knowledgeable woman about owning and caring for chickens. I learned a great deal speaking with her. Most importantly...

1. I can have up to 6 chickens where I live (no roosters)
2. I can have one goat (gasp)

It didn't take me long to decide we were going home with chickens. Unfortunately that store didn't have any chicks available. Fortunately, she told us where to go to get them and where to go for goats, because as I've said before, I kinda want a goat too... First stop was checking out the goats, because we definitely weren't taking home a goat today. This guy was also extraordinarily friendly and helpful, explaining the needs of a goat. Which really aren't much. In our climate he said all they need is a little shelter, and will eat anything in your yard, hopefully not Dante. Then we can enter him into the SlyFox Goat Race! But I shouldn't get ahead of myself. No goat today.

Onward towards getting some chicks! We arrived at another Tractor Supply Company where they had big containers of chicks peeping up a storm. We bought 2 Red Pullets, and 4 Speckled Sussex. (I was later informed by fellow blogger and self-proclaimed "crazy chicken lady" that the Red Pullets are Rhode Island Reds). The Sussex are "straightline" so you can't tell the sex until they're older. So, if any turn out to be roosters, we'll sell them or trade them for more chicks.

• 6 Chicks $12
• Giant bag of pine shavings $5
• Giant bag of chick food $20
• Food and Water Feeder $10
• Heat Lamp and extra bulb $10
• Backyard Chicken Magazine $5

Because there are six of them, well, we couldn't resist naming them Rachel, Ross, Joey, Monica, Chandler, and Phoebe...

Joey

Rachel

Now I should mention that Emily and her roommate will be going "halvsies"  on the chickens. How? Well, they will be brooding our chicks for the first month since Dante seems a little too curious about the chicks. Then when they have all their feathers they'll live in our yard. And of course we'll be splitting the delicious eggs they produce. And there you have it! Chickens! Now we have a month to build a coop...

Chicken Envy

Photo Credit: Joe Sartore

I have self-diagnosed Chicken Envy. It's nothing serious, yet. It seems as though the whole Suburban Homesteading movement is taking hold, and with it are a bunch of adorable chickens living in peoples backyards. Chickens aren't just for farms anymore! I want to join in the fun so very much, but a few things keep cropping up like,

• Do I really have time to care for these?
• There are a million and one other home projects that should take time/money precedence
• Technically speaking it's not legal to own farm animals on less than 2 acres in my Suburbia

But still, I want chickens! I love the thought of fresh eggs and just having some more animals around besides Dante and my husband (badum pshh). About a year ago we put an offer in for a parcel of land in the Mojave Desert with the intent to eventually move and live sustainability "off the grid". You can view the mini tour here. Maintaining some livestock was obviously in the planning, but even though that California Dream fell through I still would like to have some chickens. And a goat or two. And bees. And a Tilapia pond. But I digress...

Chickens! No loud rooster, just tiny bug-eatin', compost-makin', egg producers. Sigh. So while I lust over others' chickens I will continue to do research and plan. We'd probably build our own coop, but here are few designs I like, from simple to elaborate (for super posh chickens).

Chicken Direct Aston Chicken Coop

Williams-Sonoma Rustic Coop & Run

Williams-Sonoma Alexandria Chicken Coop & Run

Country Living Chez Poulet - Comes with plans to build your own

Here are some of the chicken rearing resources I've been looking at:

The Chicken Chick

Backyard Chickens

My Pet Chicken

Community Chickens

Scratch Cradle

The Garden Rooftop

UPDATE: We got some chickens weeks after writing this post, chicken envious no longer.