Vintage Home and Farm

 One of our peep-ducks passed away this morning.😢 She was about 5 years old. We referred to her as a "peep-duck" because she was raised with ducks. She was one of two Barred Rock chicks that joined us at the same time as several ducklings toward the beginning of the pandemic. Since they were all raised together, the chicks preferred to be near the ducks and occasionally had odd duck-like behavior. The chicks and ducks would snuggle together in their warm bedding. The odd assortment of birds became a family, always together, as close as best friends, brothers and sisters. Above is one of the peep-ducks after we moved them outside. It was hard to tell the two chicks apart. Later, the only way I could tell them apart was by their preference for how closely they hung to the ducks. One peep-duck stays with the ducks at all times, even bedding down in a pile on the floor of the coop with them at night. Meanwhile, the other peep-duck began hanging out with the chickens, and chose t...

This has been one of our most challenging years when it comes to caring for our ducks, bees, and the garden on our little farm. First, Barney, the beloved community barn cat, passed away, and since then, the critters he used to keep in check have taken over the garden and eaten everything in sight. Those critters are voles, a destructive rodent, and we have watched as they've eaten all of our corn and green bean plants before they even had a chance to bear fruit. They also knocked over multiple fava bean plants, snipped the pea plants at their base so the whole plant died, and ate the tops off the onions. I had no idea rodents ate onion greens, but they sure did! They ate the potato plants (the green part that appears above ground), so there I was a week ago, digging up the potatoes growing in the ground to see if any were left. It was hard to find them without a plant above ground to mark the way. Blessedly, we do have many nice potatoes to enjoy. Currently, they're wreaking h...

Hello! Welcome to our little farm where we raise chickens and ducks, watch over an apiary full of honeybees, tend to a garden, and wait for the field of blueberry bushes to mature. If you missed it, be sure to read Part 1 and Part 2 of this three-part series where we introduce you to the birds in our flock! We are proud to introduce... Beaker #2 A few years ago, we had a hen named Beaker who was all gray. She was hatched from an egg that one of our other hens laid (we weren’t sure who) and her father was Captain Rooster . So, her breed was a mystery. The first Beaker has since passed away, and then this second all-gray hen came along last spring when we purchased her from Coastal Farm and Ranch. She was supposed to be a Rhode Island Red. But, as can happen, the chicks got mixed up in the bin and we ended up with Beaker #2. We adore her anyhow. She is very shy and runs away if approached. Chandler & Janice These two golden hens are super friendly and easy-going. They are also good...

Welcome to the second in a three-part series featuring the members of our flock! If you missed Part 1, you can read it by clicking here . Little Red A good egg layer, Little Red is a Rhode Island Red hen who produces healthy brown eggs nearly every day of the year. She has an inquisitive nature and loves to forage. When she is cuddled up on the roost at night, you can pat her on the back and she will make cooing noises in rhythm with each pat you give her. Foghorn Leghorn Foghorn Leghorn hatched from an egg one of our other hens laid back when we had a rooster. The hen who laid on the nest for her is Cheech, a kind mother hen who gets broody every year. Foghorn’s father was Captain, the meanest rooster on this side of the Rockies. Captain lost a battle with a bald eagle that swooped into the chicken run a few years back, which has since saved us from being kicked with his wicked spurs every day. Simon & Garfunkel These two black-and-white speckled hens were purchased from Airpor...

In this first of a three-part series, we introduce several hens in our flock. Our entire flock includes nine mature chickens, six young chickens, and four ducks.  Miss Prissy Fuzzy Bottom May I introduce to you Miss Prissy Fuzzy Bottom, a very special Wyandotte hen with a deformed crop and crooked toe. But don't you worry about Miss Prissy, as these issues don’t slow her down! She is the first to arrive when there are treats. Her crop swings like a pendulum when she runs, almost knocking her over. We find her enthusiasm for life absolutely delightful. She no longer lays eggs, but that's okay. Tony Soprano This beautiful Maran hen’s feathers are super silky, and she even has feathers on her feet. She’s rather timid, so is hard to catch if you want to pet her. She lays dark brown eggs that have a pattern on them. As she is one of the newer members of our flock, we are still getting to know her. Amy A Rhode Island Red, Amy is a good egg layer of brown eggs nearly all year long. Sh...

As you know from an earlier article I wrote about our duck troubles, we have too many male ducks. There are two ducks in particular who are bad-boy ducks. As my husband says, they really love the ladies. But there's too much loving going on, what with them giving attention to the female ducks as well as the chickens. In the absence of any female birds, the boy ducks mate with each other. Big Duck and Poof are the most amorous of the boy ducks, and after separating the three males from the rest of the flock, they turned their attention to the other male duck, Cheese. Poor Cheese. He was getting so much attention that he was limping around. So, we had two rehome the two bad boys. We're happy to announce that Poof and Big Duck have moved to a farm in Onalaska, about three hours away. The couple who took them has a farm where they raise Khaki Campbell ducks. They had put an ad on Craigslist looking for some new male ducks for their flock, and since Poof and Big Duck are Khakhi Camp...

Nine months ago, we offered to become foster parents for the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society. There weren't any foster opportunities then, but we stayed on their list in case they needed help. Then, in mid-July, we got the call. They had a momma cat and three kittens for us to foster. The momma was found in a barn when she was pregnant, and now that she had given birth, the kitties needed a foster family to take care of them. They would be with us for 8-10 weeks, and then the Humane Society takes it from there. It has been a great experience, of course, except I forgot how crazy kittens get when they are big enough to crawl out of their pen. They were only in their pen for about two weeks. Since then, it's been total wild chaos in The Corral, which is the room of the house that they are in. Luckily we have a big enough house that it's not too overwhelming. The kittens love to race like bandits around the room, climbing up the furniture, clawing, and chewing on everything. ...