Inspiration for home and garden
We have many predators in our area including fox, coyote, racoons, and even the occasional bear. But we have never had any issues with them interacting with our chickens, until 2 days ago. This past Saturday was my sons 6th birthday party and as the festivities died down it happened. My chickens were attacked by a … Continue reading Hawk attack!
December came, the days got shorter and my hens all stopped laying! It happened overnight and I was horrified that I would have to buy STORE BOUGHT eggs. Luckily my superstars -- Cybil and Rosie -- continued to lay. But I was lucky to get one egg a day which would not do! I eat two … Continue reading Breakfast for Chickens
When I chose the breeds of chicken that I wanted to raise many factors came into play. My top priorities: Cold/winter tolerant Temperament and friendliness Rate of egg laying (at least 4-5/wk) Egg color (I wanted a colorful egg basket) It was also important they all look different so my kids could tell them apart … Continue reading Chicken Breeds & Egg Color
In preparation for my first flock of chicks I built this brooder. I had no idea what to expect or how fast they would grow but this was quite sufficient for the first 3 weeks. I searched for the largest tote I could find and settled on a Rubbermaid 54 gal tote. I cut the … Continue reading DIY Chick Brooder
My chickens don't love the snow. They tolerate the cold rather well but the snow turns them off. They don't like to walk in it at all. This was the first snow they ever saw and not one set foot in it. They stayed on the only grassy area that was left under the big … Continue reading Chickens & Winter
It's important to have a dry, rodent proof storage container to store chicken feed but I also wanted it to look nice. So I came up with this: The metal trash can is completely rodent proof but I've read it can leach metals into the chicken feed so the plastic trash can serves as a … Continue reading Chicken Feed Storage
This was overall a very easy project and required only a few supplies. Once you find the supplies assembly should take less than an hour. The large feeders hold about 12 cups of feed and the smaller feeders I use for oyster shell and grit. The entire feeder is made out of pvc. To make … Continue reading Automatic Chicken Feeder
Our chicken coop began its life as an old, sad, playhouse that we considered demolishing several times. When we decided to get chickens I began researching coop construction and fell in love with the idea of having an adorable and functional space for my flock. Most of the pre-fab coops you can buy online are … Continue reading Coop Construction
Cybil, Easter Egger Cora, Silver Laced Polish Mary, White Crested Black Polish & Mrs Hughes, Light Brahma Chick-a-lick, Dominique Boo-boo Chicken, Buff Orpington Anna, Black Copper Marans Rose, Olive Egger