I have wanted chickens for years and have saved loads of egg cartons for the day. This year my boys and I just happened to go to the feed store on February 14, the day the baby chicks arrived. They were one day old and it was love at first sight. We were mesmerized. I promised the boys that we would go home, prepare a place and come back to get them the next week. So we did.
This blog is our chicken story and a look at "The Good", "The Bad", and "The Ugly"of what we have learned through this wonderful adventure of raising backyard chickens.
I hope we can inspire you to raise your own backyard chickens or purchase your "Eggs" from those who do so that we collectively can decrease the demand and put an end to "The Ugly" in the chicken industry.
Please join the discussion in our new Forum Thanks for reading, Dorothy
This is a good recipe for "Meatless Monday". I made this soup from
Taste of Home yesterday and it is really good. Three out of four kids approve and one ask for seconds.
I will surly make it again. I used fresh pumpkin instead of can and added a can of small red beans.
Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups fresh or frozen corn, thawed
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) vegetable broth
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons lime juice
Directions
In a large saucepan, saute onion and red pepper in butter until almost tender. Add the corn, jalapeno, garlic and chili powder; saute 2 minutes longer.
Stir in the broth, pumpkin, salt and cayenne until blended. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Yield: 7 servings.
Just bought a chicken tractor that I found on of craigslist for fifty dollars. I have been planing on building one but not quite sure how to do it. It would cost at least $50 in materials to build one so I am thrilled with my purchase. Thank you Frances and John. Can't wait to let my girls try it out.
A chicken tractor is basically a coop and run on wheels so that you can wheel it around the yard for the girls to have new ground to scratch and still be protected from predators.
I have lost seven hens to the local coyote and bob cat who decided that I had opened up a fast food chicken restaurant for their dinning pleasure. I don't let the hens out without me being with them now so needles to say they don't get out daily. I do try my best but there are days when I don't make it home in time or it's just too cold. When I am out with them and I run indoors or they loose site of me, the little ladies head to the front porch to wait for me. Their still scared. I think Mabel is the most afraid because the last hen lost was her best friend Dori. Now Mabel is the first to head to the coop when we are out and she hides up on a shelf in the corner till the other two come inside then she will join them on the roost.
Check out the new tractor below. I will try and take measurements to post because it is so hard to find instructions on how to build a chicken tractor online. The last picture shows where their ram hit the tractor. Needs a little repair but not too bad. Frances and John chickens run free because they have Great Pyrenees who protect them. I have been researching guard animals and will post my finding at a later date.
FedEX just delivered the Diatomaceous Earth or (DE) that I purchased online to sprinkle in my chicken feed. I feed my chickens an organic feed that does not contain any chemical wormer, so I want to give them a natural product to get rid of any parasites that they may get. DE is a natural product composed of ground diatomaceous earth. It's a powder that is even safe for humans to consume.
Apparently it has a number of health benefits to humans including helping with the absorption of calcium which is something that I need. There are several forms of DE so if you decide to try it make sure that you get the "food grade" DE. There is some that is used for swimming pools and you shouldn't give this to your animals or use on yourself.
I haven't given it to the chickens yet but I have tried it myself and have given it to our dog. She is another reason that I bought the DE. Libby has had an awful time with skin problems. I am hoping that this DE will help her. Here is a video that I found on youtube that tells about DE.
Meatless Monday website
According to this fun brief video 1.1 billion animals will be saved from factory farms if we all pledge to go meatless on Monday. I have made the pledge! Will you please join me?
