Our Journey to a Self-Sufficient Lifestyle
Like any other animal, chickens need enrichment to live a healthy and happy life. For most backyard chicken keepers, that means coming up with creative ways to keep their flock entertained. In a perfect world, your chickens would be able to forage endless acres of land to keep themselves entertained – But you and I …
Chickens are omnivores and do require a balanced diet of all types of foods. In the wild chickens would forage for greens (grasses or weeds), seeds, fruits, vegetables, and -yes- meat (usually in the form of bugs and small rodents or reptiles). A diverse diet will lead to happier, healthier chickens. Always remember treats should …
The pecking order is a very serious social hierarchy in any chicken flock. The purpose of a pecking order is to establish an order of dominance to reduce conflict amongst the flock. Every member of the flock knows where they stand in the hierarchy and once a pecking order is established it greatly reduces aggressive …
We’ve all been there: It slipped your mind to close the coop door one night, or you slept in one morning and awoke to your flock still stuck inside and squawking to get out. For us, this was too often of an occurrence due to long or late work hours and I found that my …
This year we ambitiously bought a couple incubators and hatched our own chicks. While we were successful at a 70% hatch rate, there were still challenges and many lessons to be learned. Some of those lessons were learned while the chicks were in the brooder and even when they graduated to the outdoor flock. One …
This is a very popular topic right now in our area as Winter temperatures are fast approaching. It is time to start making preparations to keep your flock comfortable this winter. The truth is, most chickens can adapt and survive just fine in a colder climate (They are covered in layers of insulating feathers, you …
Winter is fast approaching and if you are like me, you do not have electricity in your chicken coop so heated water dishes are out of the question. I have had to find creative ways to stop our chickens water from freezing solid and this method is the most successful so far. You can watch …
The Fall season is rapidly passing by so it is time to start thinking about preparations for the Winter months. I noticed our chickens are starting to molt and egg production is on the decline, so it’s time to start preserving eggs for the long Winter season. Unwashed farm fresh eggs can last a few …
We just returned from a short 3-day vacation to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary! While it was nice to sit back and relax on vacation, the amount of planning before we left was a bit stressful. As far as I know there are no boarding facilities for chickens so there is always a feeling …
Many homesteaders keep chickens for one obvious benefit – fresh eggs! But have you thought about other ways you can benefit from your backyard chickens? There is one commonly overlooked benefit to keeping chickens – Manure! One chicken will produce approximately 130 lbs of manure in one year. Chicken manure is rich in nitrogen which …