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Breakfast for Chickens | Decrease in Egg Production
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 — Sybil and Rosie — continued to lay. But I was lucky to get one egg a day which would not do! Every morning I eat two so I decided I had to do something. I did 2 very simple things and it’s February 4th and I collected 6 eggs today! All it took was Breakfast for Chickens and supplemental light! #1, I provided them a bit of supplemental light in the morning. I use a Christmas light tube…
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Chicken Breeds & Egg Color
There’s a lot to research as a new chicken keeper. Chicken breeds and egg color will be discussed below. 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 easily. Our chickens are more like pets to us; pets with a purpose. They all have names (most named after Downton Abbey characters!) and they all have personalities that charm and surprise us. I had another…
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DIY Chick Brooder
See below step by step instructions on how to build a cat proof DIY Chick Brooder for your baby chicks. Please also consider enrolling in my new e-course! E-course | Chicken Keeping Basics | Order Now! Chicken Keeping Basics | How to Get Started Raising Backyard Chickens (Enroll Now for $99) Baby Chicks need 3 things: #1 A Safe Place to Live In preparation for my first flock of chicks I built this DIY chick brooder. I had no idea what to expect or how fast my chicks would grow but this was quite sufficient for the first 3 weeks. I searched for the largest tote I could find and…
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Chickens & Winter
Chickens don’t love the snow. They tolerate the cold well but the snow turns them off. They don’t like to walk in it. This was the first snow my chickens ever saw. They stayed on the only grassy area they could find under the big pine tree. Of course every winter its the same — they don’t leave the coop if there’s even a dusting of snow. Continue reading about Chickens & Winter below. Winter Modifications to the Coop Typical winter modifications to the coop and run are easy. You need to: Protecting Chicken Combs in Winter During very cold temps you may notice your chickens combs becoming purple and…
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Chicken Feed Storage
Rodents can be an issue in chicken coops. They are attracted to the chicken feed. Chicken feed can also attract larger predators — in our area Black Bears. It’s important to have a dry, rodent proof/predator proof Chicken Feed Storage container 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 liner. I keep this inside my chicken coop so it stays completely dry and protected from the elements. Chicken Feed Storage project only requires 3 supplies: 20 gal…
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Automatic Chicken Feeder
Making this Automatic Chicken Feeder 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. To make a large feeder you need: 1 4in PVC Wye fitting 1 4in PVC pipe about 24in long 1 4in PVC pipe about 6 in long 1 4in PVC cap fitting 1 4in knock-out or separator piece PVC primer and cement Steps to making an Automatic Chicken Feeder: 1. Lay all the pieces out in the order shown 2. Cement…
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Chicken Coop Construction: How to Build a Predator Proof Chicken Coop
(Backyard Chickens 2017 2nd place Coop Contest Winner!) In this article you will find: 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 chicken coop construction. I 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 very small and didn’t look very sturdy or predator proof. We have 20 acres of woods behind our house predator proof was a must. And so it began — turning the sad playhouse into a safe place for our hens. As…
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Meet the Chickens
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
