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- Today I gave the surviving hive an "emergency feed" - sugar on a piece of paper. They're out & flying!! I'd better get some bee food ASAP. 27 mins ago
- The good news: this hive is still alive! The bad news: the other is not. http://t.co/9CT3i8qs 2012/02/17
- <taps fingers> Impatiently waiting for the chickens to lay more eggs so we can make cookies! 2012/02/10
- Order before 4:00pm CST today to receive your order by Valentine's Day. @JDWolfePottery http://t.co/m8i8cr1o #pottery #valentine 2012/02/09
- Guess whose lunch this is? (Hint: it's alfalfa and cooked soybeans) http://t.co/0vtFaner 2012/01/31
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Chicken Tunnel Man
Posted in Chickens
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Chef Felisha Interview
I met Felica Wild, a Milwaukee chef and blogger, at the first MKEFoodies Tweet-up in December She came to visit earlier this spring to chat about what we’ll be doing here at Tanglewood Hill. The day she was here, no seeds had been planted, the chicks were delivered earlier that morning, and the bees were still several weeks from arriving. It’s amazing how much has changed!
Listen to the audio interview on her blog, Our Daily Salt.
Posted in Interviews, The Farm
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Greens in the Garden
These are the real superstars of the garden so far: slow-bolting, insect resistant, beautiful and delicious!
Posted in Gardenig, Images, The Farm
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Chooks
–noun1. Australian . a hen.2. Slang . a woman.–interjection3. (used as a call for poultry or pigs.)Also, chook·ie [chook-ee, choo-kee]
Origin:
1885–90; compare British dialect chuck, chook call to poultry.
Posted in Uncategorized
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First Beehive Inspection
It’s been a week since we picked up and installed the bees. I look at them every day. Sometimes I go out early when it’s still cold (no bee suit required) and lift up the feeder pails to make sure they’re eating. Sometimes we just sit and watch them buzz around from afar (“I wanna go see da bees”, says 3yo). I haven’t suited up and opened the hives completely to make sure the queen is laying eggs, though, which is recommended within the first 4-7 days. It’s been too cold or windy to disturb them, but today was a little warmer, so I decided it was time. They seem to be doing well: drawn out comb, eggs in both hives, pollen present, foragers arriving with more pollen. I was a little shocked by the bright orange in the cells, but according to Wikipedia Pollen Source it’s probably dandelion pollen, which makes sense since they are the predominant pollen source at the moment.
I could watch them all day, but they have work do to and so do I. See you again in about 10 days, girls!
- Hive Entrance
- Bees working on a frame of drawn comb. Notice the orange cells – I believe that’s dandelion pollen.
- Bees on drawn out comb – orange pollen-filled cells.
- Partially drawn out comb.
- Pollen loaded bees at the entrance.
- Close-up of the pollen loaded bees at the entrance. Notice the different colors of pollen.
- This is what happens as I pull the frames apart. The bees are connected!
- You can see the honeyconb drawn out toward the edge.
- Babies, people, BABIES! See the little pieces of rice in the botton of the cells? Those are eggs. That means the queen is happy and doing her job.
Posted in Bees
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Whole Grain Chickens
If you know me at all, you know I like to do things differently, and I like to do my research before diving into a project. As I began to research chicken feed, I realized that organic, non-medicated chick starter I was hoping to use was not as readily available as I thought it would be. Internet searches for nearby sources lead me to the idea of mixing my own feed. I came across the Greener Pastures Farm Chick Starter Recipe #3. I did some more research and found this recipe is often referenced in the discussion of home made chick starter. There is also lots of discussion regarding the use of soy free and fish meal free feed. This recipe solves these issues by eliminating these ingredients.
We made a trip to Outpost Natural Foods in Wauwatosa and found everything there we need. When it’s time to make their “grown-up” chicken feed I will consult with some nearby natural food stores to see what they can provide.
Here’s my version** of the Greener Pastures Farm recipe:
- 4 lbs. organic corn meal
- 4 lbs. hard red wheat

- 4 lbs. soft white wheat
- 2 lbs. barley
- 2 lbs. oat groats (aka whole oats)
- 2 lbs. shelled sunflower seeds
- 1 lb. lentils (I used French lentils because they’re smaller)
- 1 lb. split green peas
- 2 lbs. millet
- 1/2 lb. flax seeds
- 1 lb.
seaweed - garlic (several cloves per gallon of water)
- raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, aka ACV (about 2 Tablespoons per gallon of water)
- Daily calcium source = organic milk or yogurt
- Daily protein source = freshly dug worms, organic scrambled eggs or dried mealworms
The cost was just under $40, which is about twice as much as pre-made organic chick starter. Accounts from others with experience say that the whole grains last about 5x times longer due to less waste.
**My final quantities are based on the information I read that says the chicks will consume 1lb. of feed per 10 checks per day. I decided to have ~25 lbs. of feed on hand for the chicks’ first 6 weeks. I converted “parts” into pounds and doubled the quantities of the original recipe.
Notes about feeding our chicks:
- I soak their grains in milk, yogurt or water. They seem to prefer it and it’s an easy way to get them their calcium.
- They get “treats” every day, such as a cabbage wedge or chopped veggies. It keeps them entertained and they really like it. The cabbage is a great calcium source, so I give it instead of dairy some days, and they LOVE it.
- In their box I put paper towel on top of pine shavings. It’s easy to change every day and helps keep the shavings out of their food & water.
- Giving them fresh worms is highly entertaining!


Posted in Chickens
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Open Source Ecology
The Open Source Ecology project (OSE) has ambitious goals of creating a Global Village Construction Set which is 50 different machines that it takes to create a small civilization with modern day comforts. However it is already a terrific resource for farmers with a willingness to build their own machines from scratch. They have prototyped 8 machines and published information for building them in great detail.
The core machine to their plan is the LifeTrac Multi-purpose Tractor (shown above) which would be a welcome tool on any farm and can be built at a fraction of the cost of a similar commercial tractor.
OSE’s main site is at opensourceecology.org and all the details of the various machines can be found at their wiki.
Posted in Hacking, Making, The Farm
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Bee Hacking
Bee Hacker best describes their mission below:
BeeHacker.com is devoted to the cross-pollination of beekeeping and technology. At its core are several evolving projects that benefit the honey bee and beekeepers. This is no ivory tower research lab, no secret skunk works, and no private patent mill. Because good science doesn’t depend on sponsorship by vested interests. This website is a collaborative development effort open to all based on open source and creative common technologies for the benefit of all.
The site documents a number of very interesting projects including How to Build a Portable Hive Scale, Brood Chamber & Environmental Monitoring and even the more esoteric topic of Acoustic Analysis of Bee Behavior. BeeHacker.com inspires me to apply some of my seemingly unrelated interests to beekeeping, I expect to return often.










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