- Every chick deserves a mother: one man’s crazy dream for how chickens deserve to be raised.
Follow "A Man and His Hoe" via Email
Sections
- About My Chickens (563)
- Cooking-Roasting Tips (18)
- Happiness (127)
- How Things Grow (507)
- Purchasing Chickens (5)
- Raising Chicks (138)
- Recipes (19)
- Reflections (453)
-
Recent Posts
- Life is Full of Mystery February 27, 2021
- Walking Through a Poem February 14, 2021
- The Trip Home February 9, 2021
- Pandemic Skies February 3, 2021
- Never a Dry Moment January 30, 2021
- Red Sky at Dawn and Dusk January 20, 2021
- More Marvelous Than Fairy Tales January 18, 2021
- Red Dawn January 14, 2021
- Is It Still Winter? January 12, 2021
- Winter Skies January 4, 2021
- Happy New Year! January 1, 2021
- Stories Untold December 28, 2020
- Blink and You’ve Missed It December 22, 2020
- Chatty Mud Birds December 20, 2020
- Getting the Mail December 10, 2020
- Soothing is Good December 5, 2020
- When Life Returns to Normal, I’ll Miss Blue Skies December 1, 2020
- Blue Skies in November November 21, 2020
- Sunshine Is Just Beyond the Clouds November 17, 2020
- Winter Returns to the Hills November 14, 2020
- A Squirrel’s Fate November 8, 2020
- November at Last November 3, 2020
- November 1 and No Swans November 1, 2020
- First Frost October 23, 2020
- Too Wet to Burn October 18, 2020
- Eyes Wide Shut October 13, 2020
- The End of Flowers October 11, 2020
- 20201010 October 10, 2020
- Am I Growing the Wrong Grapes? October 6, 2020
- Fog and Less Fog October 5, 2020
- First Blush of Fall September 29, 2020
- A Perfect Fall Day September 27, 2020
- Blue Sky to Rain to Shaggy Parasol September 26, 2020
- Six Short Weeks September 24, 2020
- 317 Days for a Miracle September 23, 2020
- We Can Breathe Again September 22, 2020
- You Can’t Help But Be Sad September 13, 2020
- Duck Serenity September 6, 2020
- August is Coming to an End August 28, 2020
- It’s Easier with Another August 21, 2020
- Hottest Day of the Year August 16, 2020
- Morning Surprise August 12, 2020
- After the Rains August 8, 2020
- An August Morning August 2, 2020
- August Evening August 1, 2020
- When You Are Insane July 21, 2020
- Summer Is Here July 18, 2020
- It Blooms, It Dies July 15, 2020
- A Cool Start to Summer July 7, 2020
- Each Flower Has Its Own Strategy June 29, 2020
Recent Comments
Baillie on Walking Through a Poem Hippolita on The Trip Home Katrina on Never a Dry Moment amanandhishoe on November 1 and No Swans audreyinsaza on November 1 and No Swans Archives
- February 2021 (4)
- January 2021 (7)
- December 2020 (6)
- November 2020 (6)
- October 2020 (7)
- September 2020 (8)
- August 2020 (7)
- July 2020 (4)
- June 2020 (3)
- May 2020 (4)
- April 2020 (4)
- March 2020 (6)
- February 2020 (5)
- January 2020 (7)
- December 2019 (7)
- November 2019 (4)
- October 2019 (7)
- September 2019 (8)
- August 2019 (6)
- July 2019 (6)
- June 2019 (7)
- May 2019 (5)
- April 2019 (9)
- March 2019 (8)
- February 2019 (13)
- January 2019 (15)
- December 2018 (10)
- November 2018 (9)
- October 2018 (13)
- September 2018 (8)
- August 2018 (9)
- July 2018 (8)
- June 2018 (8)
- May 2018 (8)
- April 2018 (10)
- March 2018 (9)
- February 2018 (8)
- January 2018 (9)
- December 2017 (10)
- November 2017 (10)
- October 2017 (17)
- September 2017 (12)
- August 2017 (11)
- July 2017 (8)
- June 2017 (11)
- May 2017 (10)
- April 2017 (12)
- March 2017 (11)
- February 2017 (11)
- January 2017 (15)
- December 2016 (20)
- November 2016 (15)
- October 2016 (14)
- September 2016 (17)
- August 2016 (20)
- July 2016 (20)
- June 2016 (23)
- May 2016 (19)
- April 2016 (19)
- March 2016 (24)
- February 2016 (22)
- January 2016 (24)
- December 2015 (19)
- November 2015 (19)
- October 2015 (24)
- September 2015 (22)
- August 2015 (26)
- July 2015 (26)
- June 2015 (23)
- May 2015 (30)
- April 2015 (35)
- March 2015 (36)
- February 2015 (31)
- January 2015 (35)
- December 2014 (31)
- November 2014 (34)
- October 2014 (37)
- September 2014 (35)
- August 2014 (52)
- July 2014 (54)
- June 2014 (50)
- May 2014 (67)
- April 2014 (55)
- March 2014 (34)
- February 2014 (23)
- January 2014 (33)
- December 2013 (20)
- November 2013 (3)
Monthly Archives: November 2014
On the Trail Today
A spell of cold, dry weather is conducive to maintaining the trails that meander through the woods. The trails don’t a well thought design. For the most part, I’m widening the trails the dogs make during their regular patrols. In … Continue reading
A Job Well Done
Lucky set her chicks free today. Just yesterday, they were all together, but this morning she was by herself, and her chicks off on their own. All I can say is, “Job well done, Lucky!” What does a mother hen … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
2 Comments
Beauty On a Post
This handful of moss is so lush, you might think I took a close-up of moss at Sanzen-in, but it’s moss growing on the top of a fence post next to my vegetable beds.
Posted in Reflections
Leave a comment
One Head – Two Heads
First there is one head, then there are two heads. There is safety in numbers. Three heads are better than one. With two other chickens paying attention, it’s safe to preen and take your eye off your surroundings. If a … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens
2 Comments
The Color of Rain
What is the color of rain? Trickling through the trees, it forms dazzling jewels on the tips of leaves and needles. But the real color of rain is green. Rain makes the forest possible. It makes the gardens grow. It … Continue reading
A Mother’s Feathers
Little chicks need to feel safe and secure. Of the billions of chickens raised each year just in the USA, just a tiny handful get to snuggle inside their mother’s feathers. For little chicks, there is nothing more important than … Continue reading
Posted in Raising Chicks
Leave a comment
On a Blue Day
On a blue day, the Christmas trees touch the sky. They are so beautiful, they don’t need any decorations. On the ground are wheel barrow after wheel barrow of fallen leaves, waiting to be picked up. In time, they will … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow
Leave a comment
Always Eager to Help
Not exactly helpful, but BB likes to plop his butt on freshly prepared vegetable beds. It never hurts to have a good laugh during the day. A dog like BB provides plenty of laughs during the day. You need a … Continue reading
A Perfect Day … If You Are a Swan
It’s a cool, blustery, wet day … a perfect day if you are a swan. The muddier it is, the more they like it. All winter long, the swans root through fields, finding food to eat. It makes me wonder … Continue reading
From the Tiniest of Seeds
The beautiful pink carnations of summer are dried and don’t look like much. But inside their dried flowers are seed pods with the tiniest of seeds. Carnations have been cultivated for thousands of years. You can propagate them from seed, … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow
Leave a comment
Crimson Surprise
The bed of saffron I planted at the beginning of October is already blooming. I wasn’t expecting any blossoms until next fall. The three crimson stigmas are brilliant. A number of other saffron are setting flower buds, so I may … Continue reading
Mom Digs, We Eat
“Mom digs, we eat” it’s a basic rule little chicks live by. And whatever she digs up, they will gobble down. I’ve seen chicks swallow earthworms as long as they are. Imagine a baby slurping down a two foot long … Continue reading
Posted in Raising Chicks
Leave a comment
Even Ditches Can Be Art Museums
Bicycling up the hill on the way home from the post office, the sight of this sculpted wing of ice caught my eye. It was hanging delicately over a rushing cascade. As I looked around, there was one enchanting ice … Continue reading
Going Places … Or Not
Lucky and her chicks hitch a ride on a wheelbarrow. What are they doing? Resting, or waiting patiently for me to come along and push them where they want to go?
Posted in About My Chickens
Leave a comment
The Right to Grow Food
On September 26, 2014, Governor Brown of California, signed into law, Assembly Bill No. 2561 – Chapter 584, which gives homeowners and renters the right to grow their own food. The purpose for passing this bill, was to encourage people … Continue reading
I Won’t Grow Up
Sometimes around here, it is a laugh a minute. One of Lucky’s two month old chicks still wants to take a nap under her wings. About the only thing he can fit under her, is his head and neck. The … Continue reading
Posted in Raising Chicks
Leave a comment
Frost’s Paintbrush
The last few days of frost have pretty much taken care of the outdoor vegetable beds. Frost is nature’s blanket, telling the plants that it’s time to go to sleep. Each day, the leaves are more curled and closer to … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow
Leave a comment
What Mother Spent the Summer Here?
With the leaves falling off the bushes, it’s easier to see the nests the birds made this season. So what kind of bird made this nest? A goldfinch perhaps? There are many who spend the summer here. A thrush? It … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow, Reflections
Leave a comment
Death Stalks You in the Brush
A clear, dry day like today is perfect for trail maintenance. The chickens don’t need the trails, they can easily dart through the underbrush, even when it is very dense. But if they hear me working on the trails, they … Continue reading
Frosty Mornings Are No Problem
A cold, frosty morning doesn’t stop Miasa from taking her chicks out hunting. At the crack of dawn, she has the little buggers whipped into shape and ready for adventure. With their downy jackets, the cold doesn’t faze the five … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
Leave a comment
