Life With A Yard: Chicken Update

Lots of things have changed for the chickens in the past couple of weeks! Poop Chicken has finally started laying eggs! [Hooray for me, I truly thought that she was never going to start producing] but not only did she start laying, but she lays them in the nesting box in their coop. I was a little nervous after reading stories about how chickens lay all of their eggs randomly throughout the yard like a little Easter bunny.

Popcorn Chicken

Poop Chicken

Our First Egg!

Poop Chicken

So, eggs. We're getting 1 a day at the moment, but I'm sure that may change when it finally starts to cool down around here. Here we are December 4th and it's 73 outside. Wonky weather!

The chicks are growing so quickly! We definitely have a rooster too! One big splash I've named Mr. Splash. He's a big, goofy, gentle guy who is scared of his own shadow. I'm sure he'll come along as he grows.

Bella Chasing Thor

Loki Napping In The Sun

The Babies At 2 Weeks Old

We have another batch of eggs coming. This way I have better pickins come spring when it's time to turn Mr. Splash loose on the hens. I will be selling hatching eggs from them, but I only want the best looking chicken stock for breeding. No shoddy hens here. The eggs are due to arrive yesterday, so I assume they'll be here today, which will make them due to hatch Decemeber 24th/25th. Christmas babies. We'll have to name them things like; Noel, Angel, Snowflake, Icicle, Fruitcake, you know...stuff like that.

I've also converted that raggedy old shed into a massive chicken coop/chicken palace. It took two full days of work by myself but it turned out awesome. The only change that I want to make in the future is to install a window for better ventilation, or at the very least, a grate at the top of the coop. For now, I'm just leaving the doors open all day to air it out, plus the babies like the sunlight and they lay sideways and stretch out their legs and wings like little sunbathers.

The Babies Greet You At The Gate

The Entryway with Fence & Gate

Fence with Chicken Ladder [For Roosting At Night]

Oh yeah! [See, I told you that lots of stuff has changed for the chickens] I am researching and testing out fermenting the chicken feed. It's better for them, they require less feed, it aids in digestion and will get them nice and fat. I'm getting my stuff together for it now. The hardest part was finding the unpasteurized apple cider vinegar with the Mother in it...Walmart sells it, but I definitely stood and stared at the wall of vinegars for 10 minutes before I found it...but, I'll have an entry on that after it ferments and I try it out with the hens. Everyone has said that once their birds get a taste of the fermented feed [FF], that they look at the regular food like it's poison. I can't wait to try it out.