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,…
After several weeks of battling our broody Australorp and about a week and a half in solitary confinement, I think we’re in the clear! The laying of eggs (being a telltale sign that a chicken has forgotten her broodiness) began about a week ago. After a few days and a…
Happy Monday, everyone! I am incredibly happy to report that this week has brought us a variety of small and delicious harvests! But first, let’s look at how a few things are growing… The cucumbers and bush beans are doing very well! The cukes aren’t yet reaching for their support,…
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…
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…
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…
Yesterday, while my best friend and I painted the Nursery upstairs, Tool Lady worked on fixing up the coop. There was chicken wire and bird netting to be replaced, shade cloth to put up and a new structure to hold up the shade cloth and bird netting so we can…
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…