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| Our chicken coop. |
Keeping backyard chickens is a step toward self-sufficiency that Linda and I have always wanted to take. Just for eggs, not meat. And maybe some companionship, too.
However, for various reasons we hadn't taken that step.
We used to live in the city, didn't have a space to put them, and didn't know anything about keeping chickens. That kept us from moving forward on the chicken plan.
Until a couple of days ago.
But first, a bit of background.
A few months ago we agreed to help our neighbours when they said they were getting chickens. It was an opportunity for us to learn a bit about keeping a couple of girls without having to jump in with both feet.
Then, a week ago our neighbours informed us they were moving. We are sad to see them go.
But there was good news, too. They did not want to take the chicken setup with them, and asked us if we would take it over.
We have never kept any kind of pet or animal, except fish (for a short while), so at first we hesitated.
But it turned out to be an offer we couldn't refuse.
Our neighbours offered to move the coop and two chickens from their yard into ours.
Along with the coop and chickens they also wanted to give us a half a bag of pelleted food, a bag of dehydrated worms, a bag of crushed oyster shells, and a big sack of wood shavings for bedding.
It was a complete set up. Almost for free (we initially split the cost for the coop). How could we say no?
So now we are chicken keeping newbies, freaking out a bit that we have a couple of life forms depending on us for their health and welfare.
The first thing we have to do is get them used to their new home. They are used to free ranging, so I am keeping them in the coop for a few days until they get used to their new location.
I am learning that the girls talk, something I find quite appealing. They generally sound content, or at least I hope that is what it means when they vocalize softly.
They are also good listeners.
We have already established a rapport, and we all agree that the four of us have a wonderful adventure in self-sufficiency lined up.
Linda is excited about getting a chicken cam so she can watch them from inside our house.
Hopefully it will be a cluckin' good time for all involved.
Do you keep chickens? If so, do you have any essential advice for newbies like us?
Yay!!! You guys finally got chickens! I'm so excited for you. I love being a chicken Mama. They all have their own personalities and voices and ways of talking lol. They all have preferences on when they lay and you'll probably get to know which egg belongs to who as well. Depending on their personalities you'll find they might all want to lay at the same time, in the same nesting box and they can get quite mean with each other. Our girls sit on top of each other when that happens. They also often announce loudly to the world when they do lay. It's hilarious! Plus, even though we are vegetarians....the chooks really REALLY are not. Good luck to any worm, cockroach or other insect that goes near them. Enjoy the new members of your family :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouragement. I need more chores like I need a hole in the head, but we will see how it goes.
Delete- Gregg The Chicken Tender
Looking forward to seeing some pictures of the Girls. Congratulations! I hope one day I will be a chicken parent as well. Doreen - Florida, USA
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty skittish with me, and tend to run away at high speed as soon as I open their door. But they are beautiful, and I will see if I can get some pics to share.
Delete- Gregg
Yes, I had chickens right in the middle of the city and it was not legal. We just kept it under wraps until they went down the street.
ReplyDeleteI never bought chicken food. With approval of a PhD in Poultry Science, I fed them people food. I took home food from any meal out, any church dinner, and from my kitchen. They had such a variety. The prof said they did not need chicken food with diet I gave them. I dumpster dived, so they had raspberries, strawberries, plenty of green stuff. They love a good piece of bread, but they only could have a half a piece for a treat. I fed them oats as only grain. That did come from Quaker...lol.
When I had someone mow the lawn, I had the bagger dump the bag of clippings into their 10x10 dog pen. They loved pecking and scratching for whatever little critters they found, plus grass. I had a friend rake a strip of pine straw instead of buying bedding. When I let them out, they forage in the pine straw I left under the pine trees.
Chicken hawks got my last two hens. The hens like to scratch under pine trees! Chickens are not vegetarian and are healthier with meat, scraps, raw, or cooked.
They love a good leftover pumpkin from Halloween, one never cut. They also love the seeds if you cut it for them.
The people at the local farmer's market for only local produce would give me a bucketful of produce they were throwing away. The produce stand owner kept a box ready for me to pick up. Tommy picked out all the really good stuff, apples, bananas, and vegetables for us. So, hens and the two of us ate. The guy knew some of it wass still edible, just did not want fruit flies.
I saw my hens catching mosquitoes and butterflies, and moths.
Eating green things, lettuce or weeds, makes the eggs a golden or orange color. Those eggs have more nutrients.
Feed them egg shells. To avoid them being egg eaters, bake the eggshells slightly, enough to disguise the smell of eggs. Mama, who grew up during the Depression taught me this when we had chickens at home. Also, I have seen her break an egg and store it in a cup in the refrigerator. She then wiped her finger in the shell to get the slimy part to use as glue to stick a stamp on a letter. When I was young, stamps had to be licked.
Maybe I overtalked. I love chickens.
Thank you for sharing your chicken keeping wisdom. I was wondering about buying food, something I don't really want to do. You found some very good alternatives. Excellent!
Delete- Gregg
More--once, I got out of the car and stumbled through a corn field weeks after harvest to retrieve corn left on the ground. I gathered in a five gallon bucket, getting a dozen or so battered ears of corn. The bugs were on them and there were maggots or something that the chickens quickly dispatched....more protein, i think. A freind let me have a dozen rotting apples from under her tree. They loved the green tops from strawberries. I put out a mirror to help entertain the hens. They liked to sit and look at themselves and occasionally peck the mirror. I hate fat on meat, so they got all mine from my plate.
DeleteYou don't have to buy bedding, vitamins, or anything they can get from real food. I knew people who worked at a protein factory aka chicken guts plant. They converted those to animal food. The guys swept up cigarette butts, packs, trash and everything to put in the machines that ground it all up for animal feed of all sorts. Yuck for my chickens.
Never feed them anything with mold. Their wings are hollow so they can fly, sort of...lol. They can get mold inside their wings which will kill them.
Don't go out barefoot. One hen almost took off my little toe when I wore sandals. Seriously, a chunk of the toe was missing. As I was wearing knit pants, they managed to de lint those, too.
Tommy like to sit in a chair and shell peanuts and toss them for the hens to eat.
They also pecked towels for the little bits of lint as they were hanging on the line.