Saturday, March 23, 2013

First Chicken Swap

I went to my first chicken swap today. Actually, to my first two chicken swaps. The first was in Franklin, Virginia, at the Tractor Supply Company (TSC) there. The other was at Epps Farm Supply in nearby Suffolk, VA. I had a hankering for two new hens. I wound up with two new Rhode Island Red pullets and a young Beagle.

Lucky for me, my husband, Don, has a soft spot for Beagles!

If you found this post because you are looking for regional chicken swaps, try Pet Chickens of Virginia. I posted a link to its website but it's also on Facebook, which seems more user-friendly. Also check at local feed stores.

For the uninitiated, a chicken swap is an informal event, usually at a farm-supply or feed store, where folks gather to buy and sell poultry, small animals, and other related items. I was eager to augment my micro-flock of three backyard hens, one Delaware and two Buff Orpingtons, with two egg-layers of a different breed. I wasn't sure what I wanted, but I wanted young hens that were laying or pullets that were close to laying. I wanted clean, healthy-looking birds. And I didn't want to go to the time and trouble of hatching and raising chicks.

The monthly chicken swap at the TSC in Franklin has the reputation of being one of the biggest and best-attended around our region, so I set my alarm early and headed over with anticipation. It was fun to see the variety of animals for sale there: goats, turkeys, ducks and ducklings, chicks and chickens, and rabbits. There were also some interesting-looking perches for chickens and even a model chicken-tractor.

It was still early in the morning at TSC, but the vendors were out and so was the crowd of shoppers

This Tom turkey looks as curious about me as I am about him!

Polish roosters looking like rock stars behind bars.

Another view of the Polish roosters. Phyllis Diller would be proud!

A kid (baby pygmy goat) crying for its mother

This is either a model chicken tractor or a design for some really small bantams!

The same builder makes perches for various sizes of chickens.

While the shopping there was interesting, I left empty handed other than for some garden seeds I'd bought from TSC. A few of the birds were dirty and unkempt-looking. Most of the hens there were old, past their prime, and probably destined for someone's soup pot. There were three juvenile pullets that caught my eye, but they were Buff Orpingtons, the breed I already have. Most of the chickens were roosters or straight-run chicks.

Straight-run means they are not sexed. Besides not wanting to raise chicks, I especially needed to avoid straight run babies, because I live in a residential area where only hens (female chickens) are allowed. This is because hens are generally more docile than roosters. They are also much quieter.

I drove about 25 minutes from the TSC to Epps Farm Supply in Suffolk. My GPS took me on a pleasant, windy, back-country route that was fun driving on such a pleasant morning.



There were fewer vendors set up at the second chicken swap, but fewer customers, too. And I met a nice young woman who had two young, female, Rhode Island Red chickens for sale plus a cute bantam rooster. They were in a large wooden box on the ground behind the tailgate of her truck. On the back of the truck in a crate she also had a small beagle that was looking around and shaking uncontrollably.

I found my pullets and something more!

She told me the pullets, female chickens that have not yet laid, were old enough to be on layer feed. They should start to lay in about a month, and they were $15.00 each.

Sold!

"And do you happen to need a dog? He's FREE!" she added when I accepted the terms.

I eyed the dog, still shaking in his crate. "My husband has a soft spot for Beagles. What's his story?" I asked.

She told me something about finding the dog at a local dump, where the dog seemed to have also been dumped. He'd been scavenging for food. She'd been feeding him some kibble regularly, but subsequently found him near her house. Her family's lab bitch had come into season, and that will draw males from miles around, including this guy.

"If I take this dog home," she said, "my mama will kill me! And if he hangs around our property, sniffing around and trying to get to our Labrador, my daddy will shoot him." Her look was earnest.

Don and I had recently lost a dog. I called him and asked if he were willing to rescue a Beagle I'd found. OK, I fudged a little on that part, but not by much.

"Let's try him out," was my loving man's reply. I smiled.

You, Loyal Readers, will know the truth. So does Don, now that I have this dog safely home. If anyone else asks, though, I'm going to say that the farmer's daughter got such a good deal from me on her two pullets, she threw in a free Beagle!

In case you're wondering whether he found a good home, he'll be getting Blue Buffalo premium brand dog food, a choice of Kuranda beds to sleep on, a doggy door and fenced in yard to relieve himself and get fresh air at will, a doggy seat belt in the car, walks, romps in the woods with Don, you name it...

Yeah, we spoil our chickens, too!

He'll be going to Dr. Virginia Vaughan at Veterinary Clinic of Chesapeake sometime this week for a checkup, shots, and an appointment to get neutered.

So here they are, our current menagerie, except for our house cat. So far the Beagle is getting along with everyone. We haven't named him yet, so suggestions are welcome.

Our two Rhode Island Reds in quarantine

Here's our rescued beagle. He stopped shaking around the time we put him in my car

Our new Beagle with our elderly Labrador mix

Our new Beagle with our Treeing Walker Coonhound

Athena, our Delaware hen, is the queen of the flock and rather put out by the pullets' presence

Our two Buff Orpingtons, Minerva and Nike, seem curious about the new chickens
Our beagle boy has one last thing to say to the folks who dumped him to fend for himself!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Mattawoman Creek Farms CSA

Don and I already belong to the Coastal Farms online food co-op and have been very happy with it. It's a type of community-supported agriculture, or CSA, program. We pick up or orders every Thursday from our favorite local restaurant, the Cutting Edge Cafe. The food there is fresh and wholesome, and the owners, Matt and Melanie, are active in the local foods movement.

So when Melanie informed me that their restaurant was going to be a new drop-off station for Mattawoman Creek Farms, a USDA-certified organic farm on Virginia's Eastern Shore, I had to bite--pun intended! Unlike the online co-op, Mattawoman's program is a true farm share. We pay for our share of a season's produce in advance, and each week we pick up a huge bag full of vegetables, whatever is fresh and seasonal that week. We do get a day or so's notice about what is coming, along with pictures, storage, and recipe tips.

This type of CSA is for adventurous eaters like Don and me. It's not for the reticent or picky. The food is fresh and delicious, but we need to be willing to cook and eat whatever comes along. Luckily for us, I have a lot of cookbooks, including Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

I'll  leave you with some pictures of today's order as well as what I've cooked with it so far. I still have kale, lettuce, arugula, a few carrots, and bunching onions to cook up later in the week.

This week's share next to a gallon bottle of vinegar to judge the size

We've been getting lots of kale and other cabbage-family plants. This kale is fresh and SWEET!

We were pleased to get some carrots this week

A few bunching onions will add flavor to salads and other dishes

A baby cabbage is the perfect size for a batch of coleslaw

We received two beautiful heads of lettuce and will be eating healthy salads for lunch!

Purple Osaka (mustard) was new to us

Purple Osaka mustard leaf. It's so spicy when raw, it made my eyes water!

Some of the kale and Osaka mustard made a nice salad along with some quinoa

The cabbage and some of the carrots and onions combined with a black radish I had on hand to make a spicy slaw

A salad spinner is great for washing, drying, and even storing greens like this salad, which features lettuce and arugula

There's almost no waste in our home. Our chickens will eat these trimmings. We also vermicompost
The smallest share at Mattawoman is meant for a family of four. Don and I are two people, so eating this many vegetables is a commitment on our part. It's a commitment that pleases the palate, though. We'd had a neighbor who was thinking of buying half our share, but it didn't work out. I wish it had!

Maybe we should invite her over to dinner.