In Praise of the Older Hen

Share
Barred Rock chickens in the chicken tractor.

The older hen in your flock might be laying less, but don’t be too quick to sell or cull. Commercial chickens are typically called at around two years because their sole purpose is to lay eggs. Feed costs begin to outweigh profit at the two-year point. In a backyard flock, however, getting fewer eggs is not a disaster. And if you want to raise some chicks, the older hen is a clear winner. Even if you don’t want babies, those senior citizens can still be useful.

Older Hens are Healthy

Older birds survive to get that way because they have good immune systems. Take avian influenza – wild birds are the reservoir for that disease and many others. A backyard flock is not in a biosecure facility, so wild birds interact with the flock. Chickens that are older have survived infections or didn’t get sick in the first place as their bodies fought off the pathogens. Good immunity in the hen is particularly important if you want to raise your own replacements.

In my experience, the Australorps set better than the Barred Rocks.

Broodiness and the Older Hen

Broodiness – the tendency to “set” and raise chicks – has unfortunately been bred out of most modern chickens. Even in breeds that are supposed to set, my experience over the last 40-odd years is that fewer of them actually do so. However, I have found the older hens are more likely to become broody. By older I mean at least two years old. My Cochins tend to hit that sweet spot around three. Older hens are also more successful brooders and mothers as they have experience raising chicks.

The Educational Factor

Young chickens learn a lot from the older members of the flock. Obviously, mama is the one who teaches the new babies the basics, such as what to eat and drink, when to go to roost and so on. But I’ve watched older hens teach pullets how to build nests, brood eggs or find the coop again after a day of free ranging. The older hen is often the first to try an unfamiliar food and teach the young hens to eat it. She also models behavior, teaching young hens how to act with higher-ranked members of the flock.

Incubator chicks.

Other Benefits

Since she doesn’t have to take time to lay eggs, the aged hen can focus on activities such as eating bugs. Her food costs go down because she’s foraging. Put her in a small mobile coop (chicken tractor) and move her frequently to help control pests. She can also help you get a garden bed ready as she scratches for her food. If you make pets of your chickens, the aging hen will often become more affectionate with you. Some older hens become good sentries and alert the flock to danger. So don’t be too quick to eliminate the older hen.

Share
Posted in Farms, Food, Gardens | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Birds are Disappearing

Share
These days we’re lucky if we see 10 wild turkeys in a flock.

The bright orange and black of the Bullock’s Oriole, the swoops and falls of blue-black barn swallows. The plaintive call of cranes overhead. One of the signs of spring is the return of migratory birds. In California, the swallows of Capistrano return so reliably that the town has welcomed them since the early 1800s and holds an annual Swallow Parade in celebration. Here on the ranch, we track other migratory birds – geese, cranes, orioles, meadowlarks, swallows, hummingbirds and many others. But the birds are disappearing.

Spring Without Birds

Orioles and meadowlarks are usually the first songbirds to show up. They usually arrive in March, some as early as late February. When we moved to the ranch 18 years ago, we typically had at least eight pairs nesting on the property. Last year we had one pair; this year we have none. Meadowlarks were so common that you would see a male nearly every 10 feet on the roadside fences, warbling away. Now I might see one every 200 feet or so. Cranes would go over in waves a few days apart for about six weeks. I’ve only heard two flocks of cranes this year. And I have yet to see any swallows. Nor have I seen any Rufous Hummingbirds at my feeders.

Birds by the Numbers

Yes, birds are disappearing. According to the State of the Birds Report, North America lost thee billion breeding birds between 1970 and 2022. Bird numbers are declining in every type of habitat except wetlands. There are multiple reasons, but the two biggest are probably habitat destruction and climate change, particularly as related to extreme weather events. In addition to the effect on birds, both of these also affect the insects and plants upon which birds depend for food. Pollinator insects are hit as well, so those birds that rely on flower nectar or fruits for sustenance have experienced disruption in food availability. And of course there are ripple effects up the food chain, as the predators that depend on the bird lose out on meals.

No Man is an Island

Nor does any one species of plant or animal exist in isolation. We are all connected by the invisible gossamer threads of the web of life. We should be paying attention to the bell that is tolling for our fathered friends. It is also tolling for us.

Share
Posted in Farms | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Calf Share Milking

Share
Mama was nearly knocking him over with her enthusiastic washing.

Anyone who has ever owned a milk cow knows that you run on her schedule. There are times when her schedule will collide with yours. Maybe you’re not a full-time rancher and have off-farm responsibilities such as a job. It’s just possible you might even want to take a vacation once in a while. As a ranch wife who’s been juggling cow and human schedules for many years, I’m here to tell you about a couple of helpful strategies. The first is once a day (OAD) milking and the second is calf share milking.

Traditional Milking Schedules

Tradition holds that cows must be milked twice a day. Many traditionalists also hold you have to milk at dawn. I suspect the latter tradition grew out of the need to have daylight hours for fieldwork. You could take a lantern to the barn to milk the cow, but in the days when horse power reigned, you worked fields when you could actually see something. I suspect the other reason was so the ranch wife could get started first thing on making butter and cheese. The tradition was reinforced for those dairies that shipped their milk by rail, as those milk cans had to be on the siding early to get to the town during business hours.

Once a Day Milking

I’ve talked about OAD milking in more detail in this post, but here’s a quick recap. Cows typically stay healthier on OAD milking and can often produce without grain supplementation. The milk has less water in it, but the same amount of milk solids and butterfat. Once cows get used to OAD milking, their total production is typically only about 10% less compared to the traditional twice a day. Conception rates improve and the cows stay in better condition. If she doesn’t have adequate body fat, you have less cream for things like home-made butter and cream cheese. You can milk any time of day as long as you are consistent.

Calf Share Milking

Calf share milking is just what it sounds like – you and the calf share the cow’s output. What we usually do is let the calf run with mama full-time for the first couple of weeks. This helps establish their bond and gets the cow settled into her lactation. Then we pen the calf right next to mama for a few hours. After we milk, Junior goes back with mom until the next day. If we have a real high production cow, we may just leave them together and milk her completely out once a day. Within a couple of hours she’ll have enough milk for the calf again. As the calf gets older, time on his own increases to about 12 hours. We milk in the morning, then let them run together and separate the calf at night.

As with so many other things in this world, there are some traditions that are truly valuable and should be continued. There are others in which “we’ve always done it this way” could be making life more difficult or may even have a negative effect on animal health and time management. I suggest you experiment and decide what works best for you.

Share
Posted in Farms, Food | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment