Filed under: October 2018 | Tags: Backyard Chickens, chicken coop, farm fresh eggs, hens
October 24, 2018
I don’t think there is much better food than farm fresh eggs for breakfast! These ladies keep us supplied. They have the run of their fenced yard along with a spacious coop. The coop I designed myself to look like a “monitor style” horse barn. I built it this way to allow for great ventilation and lots of natural light. It turned out great. It has been in service for many years now. It functions well in all seasons.
The little bump out shown here on the front is where the hens lay their eggs. The eggs can be gathered from the outside without entering the coop. Windows let in light and a nice cross breeze through the screens.
I bed the house with pine shavings. The screen under the feeder catches the feed the hens knock out. I get a second chance to feed the spilled grain. The chickens foul the coop most under their roost. It can be easily cleaned, making best use of the pine shavings.
Gathering eggs is easy and a great reward for keeping a few hens, safe and happy!
Filed under: June 2016 | Tags: Backyard Chickens, corn, draft horses, eggs, pullets, Small Farming, weed killer
June 27, 2016
I parked the skid steer in my son’s barn. He has five pullets just starting to lay. They usually hide their eggs behind an old gate against the barn wall. Apparently, they were looking for a new hiding spot. They found it on the floor of the skid steer, right between the pedals. Lucky for me, I saw them before stepping into the cab.
I laughed a little at the crazy birds, but then thought about my own stuff hidden in plain sight. Yesterday, I was looking for a hammer that I had been using. That thing was right where I left it, but it took me five minutes to find it, laying there on the workbench. I have looked for my glasses only to find them on my face! Okay, go ahead and laugh, but did you ever lose your car keys?
This past week I sprayed my spotty corn field. It is a little field of about five acres. The planter skipped a few places so there are gaps in my corn. The weeds and especially the grasses were choking out the baby corn plants. I sprayed weedkiller on the offending crop killers. I rarely use a herbicide, choosing to cultivate instead, but this year I got overwhelmed. Using a conventional spray, sparingly, was my course of action.
I borrowed my friends sprayer, but used my horses to pull it. A small gasoline engine powers the pump. The horses provide the traction power. We sprayed the field in under an hour. The weather was hot and muggy. The horseflies were biting and the sweat was dripping, but the horses worked steady and quietly.
After just a week, the weeds have been killed or set back. The corn has jumped in size and color. I am sure that I will get a crop after all. You see, the corn was there all along…hidden in plain sight.
Filed under: May 2016 | Tags: Backyard Chickens, draft horses, hens, laying flock
May 17, 2016
I had a piece of lumber left after making Abby’s harness cabinet. I decided to make the hens a ramp for their house. We have been using this coop for over two years, but I never built them a ramp. They hated the little door, because the step out was a long one!
I barely got the ramp in place and the hens were playing on it like a teeter-totter. I had to wait my turn to take this picture. I don’t know what took me so long to make it. It only took me about thirty minutes to make it once the tools were all out. I guess it just hadn’t made it to the top of the priority list until today.
I don’t know if they really need the stair treads, but they look good. The hens seem to use them, so I will chalk it up as a success. Closing the small door that leads to the ramp at night, will keep our girls much safer. I wasn’t always good about closing the man door. The risk is the same for small predators, but the weather changes will have much less impact on the small door.
As for being on the boardwalk, our second episode of the horses and farm aired on RFD-TV today. They did another great job, but it is sure weird to see yourself on TV! Although it is great inspiration for dieting!
Filed under: October 2015 | Tags: autumn, Backyard Chickens, breeding season, deer, ewes, flushing, parks, sugarhouse
Hens enjoying their new park
October 14, 2015
Recently, we built a new enclosure for our laying hens. These pens are often called chicken parks. I want my hens to have outside room to roam but I want to keep them safe as well. This park is a perfect fit for both me and the hens. They will keep the grass and tall weeds in check around their chicken house and the back side of the wash house as well. Now, they just need to lay a couple hundred dozen eggs to pay for it 😮
Yesterday, I was closing gates and moving cattle. The goal is to put the sheep in the sugarhouse paddock again. The grass in that place is deep, green and lush. The lambs will fatten well on it. The mothers will put on a little extra weight just in time for breeding season. I think the grass is rich enough to “flush” the ewes. Flushing them refers to tricking them to think there is an abundance of feed so they will release more ovaries. They have the confidence that there will be plenty of feed to raise their new babies.
Some guys say that flushing ewes is an old wives tale. I know in nature, if deer have plenty to eat in the fall, the does have more twins in the coming spring. I also believe that flushing has worked for me the past fifteen years, so I am not going to quit doing what works. It’s not like I only wear a favorite jacket or socks during breeding season as my ewes head to the playoffs! This is about balanced nutrition. The ewes have access to all they want to eat and drink, along with minerals free choice. This is good husbandry. It’s the way I do business anyway. I think all those sets of twins next spring is the ewe’s way of saying, “Thank you!”.
As I was closing gates and moving the stock, I realized yet again just how much beauty was surrounding me. The leaves continue to get more colorful each day. The growing speltz are a bright green and the grass looks like a green carpet that stretches “wall-to-wall”, from fence row to woodline. In fact, it’s just like a walk in the park!
The sugarhouse nestled in her little valley
Filed under: June 2015 | Tags: Backyard Chickens, chicken, free-range, hens, laying flock, portable pen, wildlife
Our hens inside their portable shelter
June 20, 2015
Our hens are really enjoying this portable shelter. It has very secure sides made from welded wire and conduit. It has a white canvas top to protect them from the sun and rain alike. It has wheels that lift it up when moving is desired and it looks good from all directions. The hens are safe from wildlife and the wayward neighbor dog intent on having a chicken dinner 😮
The white canvass top reflects the sunlight and makes a nice shady cool place for them to graze, rest and run about. They pick weeds and grass, deposit their manure and get fresh air all in the safety of this pen. I move it when the grass gets short or about every 3 days. We only have eight hens, so it takes them a while to glean the pen area.
I am liking this very much. I know the girls are safe and sound from every harmful thing. I can go about my routine without worrying about them. They were about to start into a molt, but the new grass and whatever else they want, seems to have helped them to pick up egg production again. Our birds usually free-range, but I have planted their three acre pasture to speltz. The foxes can sneak in very close in the high grain, so our girls are now incarcerated …but they are happy about it!
RicelandMeadows 