Keeping Chickens

I love keeping chickens.  I feel like I have a real farm, because I have 

chickens.  They are calming to me and lots easier than horses, which 

we had for a number of years.  Yeah, horses.......I just can't tell you how

happy I am that part of my life is history.  Horses are big work and 

chickens are little work.  I enjoy hearing their chatter in the mornings

when I come to open up their coop and it totally cracks me up to watch

them run.  They just make me smile.  

Of course the best thing about having your own laying hens is the 

supply of fresh eggs.  I'm totally spoiled.  There really is a difference

between factory eggs and fresh eggs.

This is the first egg I collected in 2009.  That was a very happy day

for me.  Since then, I've had a number of different hens.

Last year I lost all but one to predators.  That was a very sad day.

I love the idea of letting my chickens free range around our property,

but that turned out to be a bad idea.  We think they were killed by a 

pack of dogs.  I cried a lot.

One hen escaped and we found her the next day hiding outside our

door.  We named her Lucky.  

Now I have seven hens - a mix of Orpington Buffs and Rhode Island

Reds. They are old ladies and have slowed down on egg production.  I've

been collecting anywhere from two to four eggs a day.  Within the next 

few months, I'll be getting fifteen new Rhode Island Reds who are just

beginning to lay.  I love the big, brown eggs from a Rhode Island Red and 

these new hens will lay all the eggs we'll need (and more) for a couple of years.

Chickens are fairly low maintenance.  They have to be fed and watered 

daily.  When I let them out in the morning into their fenced in pen, I clean

the coop, which takes about five minutes.  When I have time during the 

day, I will check in with them, bringing them kitchen scraps or garden

goodies.  They love lettuce and tomato and any grain product, like old 

bread.  You should see them come running for bread crumbs.   It's a 

good way to use food that otherwise might be thrown away. Rather

than ending up in the garbage, it's eaten by the chickens who then

produce more food - eggs.   A nice arrangement.

Once a month, I do a more thorough cleaning of their coop.  I clean

out all the old shavings and straw and scrape up poop off of the 

floor and shelving.  Poop is a part of keeping chickens.  They poop

a lot and it has to be dealt with.  It makes great fertilizer for the 

gardens.

I clean out the old straw, which usually has had a broken egg or two in it.

I then use this old straw for mulch in the gardens or in the lot for the chickens

to scratch in.

This hen didn't waste any time climbing in a box.  We call her

Broody, because she is a broody hen.  She wants to sit on the

eggs all the time, thinking she is going to hatch them.  It's

definitely not going to happen, because it's not a fertilized egg.

We have to force her out of the box each day, and she doesn't 

like it one bit.  I've recently learned that this particular breed

(Buffs) tend to be overly broody.  With my limited experience,

I would agree.

Before putting down fresh shavings, I sprinkle livestock dust around 

to help keep the mites and other pests away.   

The coop smells so nice when I put the pine shavings down.

And the chickens love to scratch around in the fresh shavings

and straw.

In the evenings, I go to the coop and the girls are usually already

on their roost.

I thank them for the eggs, turn out the lights and head back to the

house.  It's a nice way to end the day.

Chickens are an enjoyable hobby and an important part of our

plan to live self reliantly. I'm very grateful for them.

*MYOF Goals - #18    Work on monthly storage and preparedness goals.