Predators vs. Optimists (Spoiler: we win.)

By Karly Golojuh of Kayak Farms

My husband killed a skunk last night. In the dark and pouring rain, he laid on the ground in our chicken pasture, and found the skunk who had killed five of our chickens. We thought raccoons were responsible for the three dead birds we found Tuesday, but that night by flashlight, I saw the skunk snuggling right on top of two more carcasses. There is a learning curve to this business of farming and this was one more lesson. Skunks will rip the heads right off live chickens, eat them, and drink their blood like creepy little vampires. And once they find a food source they will dig in and make themselves at home.  

Mostly Delawares.

This is our first year raising meat birds. We raised heritage breed Delaware chickens, along with five dozen other breeds of laying hens. Shortly after our 11 dozen birds arrived, when we were supposed to be building their quarters and fencing their pasture, my husband was bit by a spider and contracted acute Lyme disease. (Yes, spider, not tick.) He was literally deathly ill, and his entire face became paralyzed for weeks. On our 13^th wedding anniversary, my husband could not smile, could not kiss me. In fact, he could barely speak, eat or drink. The man who never gets sick was suddenly out of commission. 

Wary eggers.

It was the worst possible time to have 130 rapidly growing chickens in our basement, and nowhere to put them. I bought a midsize coop off the lot at a local farm supply store. We put up a temporary fence around the coop so the birds could range outside all day and eat grass and bugs. Unfortunately, some of the birds got into the habit of roosting under the coop at night. I was out there several nights moving 80-100 little chickens into the coop by hand because they’d fall asleep outside, and there was a group of maybe 20 birds that simply would not be coaxed out from under the coop by any means. 

With the clock ticking and Lyme beating us up, (in another fun twist of fate, I was diagnosed with chronic Lyme this summer) we abandoned our own building plans and had a large coop built and delivered. When we moved the birds to their new quarters on an acre of pasture, we assumed they’d all happily roost inside now that there was a ton of space. Nope. Same group of birds would roost under the new coop at night. Fortunately, since the skunk episodes, everyone now roosts inside at night, even my flighty campines and appenzellers. I can close them in safely, and sleep soundly. 

Appenzellers

We now have 40 Delawares in our freezer (we ate several), and 82 birds left for laying, with a few roos peppered in. I can say without hesitation that this whole experience has been amazing. With so many obstacles this summer, you might think otherwise. But we grew our own food! I know each bird lived its chicken life to the fullest. Even the end for the meat birds was so calm and swift that it took me a minute to realize it was happening. And that was the part I worried most about throughout this whole process. The meat from the heritage birds is absolutely gourmet-- the best chicken I have ever tasted, well beyond my expectations. The eggers started laying at 19 weeks and we're getting about a dozen eggs per day. This summer taught me how doable this really is. There's nothing to fear. I am so proud of us! We can't wait to do it again next year, BIGGER!

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