No Free Ride

Chickens are a useful addition to a home. In addition to providing the usual eggs and sometimes meat, they can also be put to work to make your life a little easier. We are a breeder of several chicken breeds and have a number of pens and over 100 birds. I expect that many birds…

A-FRAME COOP/RUN WEEK 10

This weekends project was to get the ends of the run closed off so I can get the chicks outside and into the run. They have been growing like weeds and are ready to venture outside a bit. The shopping list this week is small, just a few odds and ends. This weeks materials list…

Chicken Goals

When my first chicks ordered from a hatchery arrived over a year ago, I had no idea the adventure they would be. I enjoyed watching them grow from cute chicks to young pullets. I was thrilled to get my first egg and dealt with having too many roosters. We put three of the original five…

A-FRAME COOP/RUN WEEK 6

We left off last weekend with half the wire up on the run and the coop a bit more stabilized. This weekend the plan was to add a few more center supports under the coop and get the wire on the other side of the coop. I needed to get some more screws, poultry staples and…

A-FRAME COOP/RUN WEEK 4

Much of this weeks shopping list was unplanned materials to reinforce the coop floor. It was not very sturdy and would not hold me when I was standing on it. Also picked up was some hardware cloth and the tin for the roof. We will not be adding the roof for a bit, but I…

A-Frame Coop/Run Week 2

This weekend we wanted to finish framing out the run for the coop. We are going to add three sections that are eight feet in width. Weekend Two The second weekend materials list: 5 – 2″ x 4″ x 10′   … @ $4/each   …. $20.00 18 – 2″ x 4″ x 8′   … @…

A-Frame Coop/Run Week 1

Living alone has some nice perks. You don't have to ask any ones permission to do things like put in a garden or to get a bunch of chickens. Your finances don't get messed up by another persons lack of control and every day you come home to peace. However, there are times when having another set…

Chicken Math

I absolutely love my chickens. I enjoy sitting out with them in the morning and watching them scratch around in the ground. I laugh at their antics and like to buy them treats.  Initially I thought I had a lot more chickens than I needed. I ordered hatchery birds and there is a minimum order…

Cock-A-Doodle … Don’t

At the time of year I wanted to get my chicks there was a 15 chick minimum. I decided to get 14 hens and one rooster.. and the free one they would throw in I expected to be a rooster. My research showed two roosters to 14 hens was a decent ratio and if either rooster got…

Steak, potatoes and Aleve..

I got my wood chips on Tuesday and had to work all week and dream about where I was going to put them. I had so many plans I could not wait to get started moving them. I needed a wheelbarrow so did some comparison shopping online at Lowe's, and decided I  liked the Kobalt 6 cubic…