(Originally posted Sept 2011)

Processed five more chickens today! And picked about 4 more pints of blackberries. That brings the total to about 12 pints of blackberries and 11 processed chickens. Plus there are 5 more chickens on tap for tomorrow, I just ran out of light today.

Bought an old shipping crate, to make the chicken coop. A few more 2x4s from Lowes (creativity got 8 foot boards into the CAR, even!), and we can start building it tomorrow. It will be 8 feet wide, almost 4 feet deep, almost 4 feet high, and will house 6 chickens.

Out of the 16 free chickens, I’m keeping 6. Four Buff Orps, and two Barred Rocks. The RIRs laid eggs but were egg eaters, the “mutt” chickens laid eggs but were egg eaters, and the other four Buff Orps never laid an egg at all (although they did not eat the temptation egg I put in with them). The 6 I’m keeping have all had at least a couple eggs in their enclosures and as far as I can tell haven’t eaten any. Here’s hoping I’ve picked the right ones!

The grapes are all sweet tasting, but still have a little bite to their aftertaste. I’m hoping they sweeten up a little bit more, and get larger. Guess when the birds start eating them that’s my cue!

Got LOTS of free downed apples from a lady via Craigslist today. They fill about 40 gallons worth of plastic bins. They were blown down on her yard, so all have some bruising and insect damage to varying degrees. Some will go straight into compost, but a lot of them look like half the apple or more might be salvageable. (The buggy parts can go to the chickens, for sure.)

Update: Lots of applesauce in the freezer! Who knew making applesauce was so easy? Slice apples, add to a bit of boiling water, boil it all down, add seasonings or leave plain. Yum!