What do you get when you keep your own chickens? Sweet imperfections and great diversity. Extra calcium (deposits) included. I find that, despite keeping backyard laying hens for the past few years, I am continually amazed by how beautiful and how different each individual egg is. The colors, the shapes, the funkiness of the occasional egg simply amaze me. And…
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As the Program Manager for a very intentional, very busy Summer Camp, I am constantly looking for new ways to show our Facilitators how much we appreciate all of the work they do with our campers. Luckily, we have established a few “old stand-bys” that seem to find their way into the fold each year regardless of what else gets…
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One of the details we didn’t really think through when we first got our laying hens a few years ago was what they would eat, how much it would really cost and whether or not we would always have the option of organic chicken feed for the Ladies. Luckily, our local Feed Bin carries Ranch Way products and luckily, Ranch…
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Well, it looks like Spring brings broody chickens. A few weeks ago, one of our Black Australorps went broody on us. She even plucked her belly feathers to help incubate her unfertilized eggs. Luckily, she’s been much more docile than our broody Ameraucana last spring and there have been no attacks or bloody toes! We’ve removed her from the…
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A couple of days ago, when I wrote about all the work Tool Lady did on the chicken coop, I completely forgot to mention the most exciting upgrade to the whole darn coop! Ever since we built the Chicken Mansion, my biggest frustration has been having to push and shove my way into the coop every time I had to…
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Tuesday, after an incredibly long day at work, I walked through the yard, gathered eggs, put on my muck boots and headed into the coop to feed and water the chickens. I grabbed their water and turned on the hose, then went to the scratch bucket to give the ladies some treats before filling their feed bin. Then, inexplicably, I…
