Category Archives: Chickens

Wimpy’s Big Day

Wimpy (so named because of an unfortunate incident in which he was picked on by bantam chickens one tenth his size) is my gorgeous, mild-mannered Black Orpington rooster. His gentle nature might not do much good in the barnyard, but it makes him the perfect bird for public appearances.

Cover Down to Earth

Today, in honour of National School Library Day, Prospect Lake Elementary School invited me to give a couple of farming-themed talks relating to my most recent book, Down to earth: How Kids Help Feed the World.

Wimpy the Black Orpington rooster steals the show...

Wimpy the Black Orpington rooster steals the show…

I may have had a few things to say, but the star of the show was definitely Wimpy, who happily snacked away on his grain for the entire presentation and never crowed once (though he did, occasionally, mutter something to himself).

Many thanks to the staff, students, and parents at Prospect Lake School for inviting me to come and speak and a huge shout out to the wonderful teacher-librarian, Pat Miller who did such a fabulous job of organizing today’s activities, which included an amazing session of ‘Drop Everything and Read’ during which students, parents, teachers, and administrators all stopped what they were doing and grabbed a book to read and share. What better way to celebrate School Library Day?

Almost Done the New Chicken House!

Because we don’t have a lot of land, I rent various nearby fields so my creatures can graze and forage. This means I rely on having portable pens and shelters to keep everyone safe at night no matter where they happen to be camping.

This new chicken coop is pretty fancy! Built on a chassis we bought on sale, it can be moved by one person on level ground or hauled around by my riding mower when the terrain is a bit trickier or the distance longer. Recently, we’ve had some problems with egg eating hens, so the nesting boxes in this coop have sloped floors that lead to a covered collection trough. Dad has been busy, busy, busy working on this creation which should be ready for new residents very soon!

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Poll: Future video stars?

Bill – with his girls

A pretty good resemblance, hey?

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Inspiration is everywhere – meet Bill

Bill is our Light Brahma rooster, a fine protector of hens and father of a lovely crop of pullets and cockerels, the latter who have been gracing our table over the past few weeks. Bill is also handsome, a trait which Dad captured perfectly in this portrait. Dad’s website has more samples of his work, if you are curious about what he does.

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