Chickens galore

We currently have...lessee...sixteen chickens right now. At least one of those is a rooster. Another four could potentially be roosters or hens. The other eleven are all hens. Six hens and the rooster are about three years old now, our original egg laying group. They're a Speckled Sussex/Ameraucana mix. We have four baby Brahma hens that are now about...a month or so old? They're already getting big, but they'll also be larger than your average bird when they're full grown. We have four Silkies, about three weeks old, that are of an unknown gender for the moment, they could be hens, roosters, or a mix. You can't sex Silkies until they get older because they're really difficult to tell apart. Then we have one little Araucana, Owen's hen Owen, who is only two weeks old, hatched on May 9th. All in all they make a good little group in our chicken coop. I'm very glad now that we separated the two sides of the coop because it allows for us to isolate the chicks on one side without access to the run while not changing to set up for the grown hens. I try to let the chicks out every day to peck in the grass and get some sunshine. Today I fed them a big fat army worm that I found while weeding my berry patch, and the Brahmas proceeded to fight over it and run around the gated area I let them outside in trying to play keep away. It was hilarious.

Grass, it appears, is the bane of my existence. I agree with my mother's sentiment, which is that a weed is something which is neither pretty nor edible. I would also add medicinal to that list, as I use many supposed "weeds" as herbal teas for various ailments. Just the other day I discovered the weird leaves I used to pull up as a child are in reality broadleaf plantain, which is edible.

Yummmm...

I don't care for it, it's very bitter (anyone who has grown their own lettuce knows that homegrown lettuce can also be bitter due to its high tannin content). I don't like bitter, hence me not ever being attracted to coffee or alcohol, but the kids had no problem with it. They happily ate all the plantain leaves I picked with their lunch! I never would have thought that plantain could be edible. I'm debating going on a search for lamb's quarter to use in a salad because I know I like lamb's quarter and it's easy to find. I have a book on foraging that I hope to make use of this summer. I mostly need a good spot to go in the woods where I can find all this without trespassing or illegally harvest on government property. Hrm...