Thursday, September 6, 2018

Simple is a Good Thing


…especially when it comes to the digestive system in a chicken! There is so much to learn about Chicken Keeping!

I need simple.

FOUND IT here!


Now I know where to check my girls when I read about an impacted crop! Before I had no clue (actually I thought it was the “other” end)!

Thank you, Tim Daniels, for making it simple!


The side bar of his website/this article gives information how to treat various Chicken digestive problems. A great resource indeed!
 



6 Signs










Although basically an advertisement for a certain product, the article: Is My Flock Healthy? 6 Signs of Happy Backyard Chickens, provides some great information. I’ve raised the girls from day 2 (?) can’t remember for sure! I want them to be happy and healthy!

 Strong Eggshells - exceptionally!
Consistent Egg Production - 5 girls, 5 eggs per day!
Dark, golden yolks - yummy!
Shiny feathers - beautiful!
Brightly colored combs - indeed!
High energy - oh.my.goodness!

So far, so good!

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Feed and Treats

Maybe it's the heat. High today was 97 - again! I don't know for sure, but something's going on. I've noticed lately the girls just don't like their layer pellets any longer. It doesn't seem like they are eating much of it and scarf down the afternoon treats of scratch, oats/mealworms, and birdseed mixture I give them.

I've tried hand feeding them the layer pellets. Nope. Nada. They want something "special". The 50lb bag is half empty. Did the heat cause it to spoil? When I first changed them from chick feed to the layer pellets, they seemed to enjoy it and ate without issue.

Yesterday, our neighbor/friend checked on things while we were away. He collected the five normal eggs we've been getting from our five girls. Today I collected only two.


Yesterday afternoon I wasn't here to give them afternoon treats. Were they pouting? Missing the attention?

Until I can get back to the feed store, I may give them some peanut butter... just a tad... mixed with some meal worm/oats treats. And, I'll scramble their eggs and shells for an afternoon treat of protein! They love that!

Their eggs and shells scrambled with a bit of garlic! They LOVE it!

I'm going to change to crumbles. Maybe they'll like that better.

But, if it is a spoilage issue, what do I do? How do I keep it from spoiling? It's stored in a metal trash can with a tight fitting lid, inside the Garden House. Should I move their feed inside the house? (Not that it's any cooler inside the house when we are out of town!)

I'm doing research on what chickens like (and should) eat. Since our girls cannot free range, I do try to provide them with some things they would find outside their run, like grass clippings, grasshoppers I'm able to catch, and I move the logs inside the run around where they discover BUGS! These girls are FAST! They even catch crickets!!!

I thoroughly enjoy Lisa Steele's article "Healthy Treats for Chickens" and reference it quite often. I'm grateful for her list of Toxic items that can/will harm the girls.

What do you give your girls, crumbles or pellets? What treats do you give them?

 A newbie here, learning as I go!

Sunday, August 26, 2018

It's been a while!


Oh. My. Goodness!

So much has happened since January!

Our babies arrived!





We got the coop and run built! It’s sort of finished… need to finish up the painting!








 Run is done and the girls are in!








They have grown so fast!

Momma got the courage to go inside & hold "Millie"
 


The girls are now laying!




 It's a good day in the Yolk Yard!

Saturday, January 20, 2018

It's a Short List!




We recently completed an inventory of the materials and supplies we have on hand to build the chicken house! I’m thrilled our “need to buy” list is very short!!!

What we need to buy:

Deck blocks (6) like this:



Linoleum to cover a 6’ x 4’ floor (the size of coop we’ve determined we need/want), something like this:



And the glue to hold it down… maybe liquid nail?

Exterior Paint
I haven’t 100% decided on its color. I guess I should make a decision soon! I’m looking at a soft yellow, trimmed in white. Yet there are so many different shades of yellow!!!

I must keep my focus on the upcoming chicken keeping! I’ve failed miserably and have let things outside my control get to me!




Friday, January 5, 2018

Fly By



Spring IS coming! 



This is the year to begin keeping chickens! That’s the game plan anyway. I never “count my chickens” but I do continue to learn what I can while I’m waiting for March’s arrival, and the baby chicks!

While spending time in Dallas with Momma over the holidays, we met my cousin and his wife at our favorite restaurant ~ El Fenix. They have been chicken keepers for about 10 years now. I felt like a sponge, soaking up all the suggestions and advice and tips they offered! I appreciated the first time sit-down face-to-face discussion tremendously!



Shirlene highly recommended reading anything by the “Chicken Chick” lady, Kathy Shea Mormino. I found her website and Facebook page, then went by two brick and mortar stores to buy one of her books. Nada. Thank goodness for one-day shipping through Amazon! I didn’t have to wait any longer. I was thrilled when it arrived on New Year’s Eve!


What an informative book!

Today or tomorrow, I hope Bud and I will sit down together and create the supply list of building materials for our chicken house and static run. I still want to base it on the design I wrote about last time, with only a few modifications to fit our needs.

I hope to seize a few sunny days in the 60’s here and there to make a run over to Home Depot (45 miles one way), then to get it started!!! Time will fly by if I’m not careful!

February is usually our hard winter month. (Yes. We usually have only ONE month of hard winter!) I’m hoping since it arrived early, it will move out early as well!

In the meantime, I’m working on a few weaving projects that will eventually be yard art. I’m also mulling over how to incorporate macramé items in the yard! We’ll need a lot more trees!

I’ll share photos next week of the new yard art!