Tips for Reducing Flies in the Coop

Flies are a constant nuisance, especially in backyards where you have livestock  Chickens don’t attract a huge amount of flies when compared to larger livestock like cattle or pigs, but they will still attract flies  Thankfully, there are a few simple ways to keep the annoying flies at bay

One of the first steps to reducing flies is to keep the coop and run clean  Flies are scavengers and feed on feces, decaying things and anything gross  If you keep the coop cleaned out, you’ll reduce the feed supply for flies around the coop  Remove poop daily  Poop in the

The Perfect Dust Bath

Have you noticed your chickens laying around in a dusty spot, kicking dust all over themselves? Chickens love to roll around in the dirt and dust  It may sounds backwards to ‘bathe’ in dust, but chickens have good reason for rolling around in the dirt  When chickens cover themselves in dust, they are doing so in order to take care of their feathers and skin  Chickens can easily become infested with external parasites like mites, fleas, ticks and other insects

Most of these insects prefer to hop onto patches of clean skin that they can easily gnaw through to get

A Beginner’s Guide to Canning

One of the best parts about homesteading is the garden-fresh produce that you’ll grow  Have you ever heard someone say “nothing tastes better than a home-grown tomato”?  That couldn’t be more true  Produce that you’ve grown yourself always tastes better than what you can buy in the grocery store or even at a local farmer’s market

But what do you do when your garden grows a little too much?  We have a saying in our family about the fact that your garden can never produce too much  When you find your refrigerator overflowing with fresh vegetables from your garden, it’s

Planting Fodder for Chickens

Chickens are omnivores, which means that they eat both plants and animals  Well, mainly insects rather than animals  Although chickens have a need for protein sourced from animal tissue, they also need plants to eat

 

If your chickens are able to get out of the coop and forage, then they’ll have access to grass, seeds and other plants  But what if your chickens can’t leave the coop?

 

Fodder is a cheap and easy way to get your flock the plants that they need to stay healthy  Growing fodder is simple and requires minimal time, work and equipment

Ways Chickens Benefit a Garden

Are you raising chickens and trying to grow a garden?  Don’t get hung up on trying to keep your garden and chickens separate  Instead, try to think about how you can make them work together  Chickens can be extremely beneficial for your garden  In fact, before chicken coops were a thing, many homesteading families relied on their chickens to help in the garden

 

Benefits of Chickens in the Garden

  1. Chicken Manure  Did you know that many farmers spend a lot of money each year to put chicken poop on their fields?  Chicken litter, or chicken manure, is a wonderful fertilizer

What Type of Floor Do You Want in the Run?

As a long time chicken owner, I’ve had many different coops over the years  In fact, when I think about it, there are seven different coops that I have housed chickens in  I’ve experimented with all different coop designs, changing up the layout, structure and interior of the coop to see what works the best  This includes the flooring that is in the run of the coop

The run of the coop is the portion of the coop setup that is outside  It’s usually a fenced off area attached to or underneath the coop itself  The

Planting Herbs for Chickens to Eat

Chickens are omnivores, which means that they need to eat both plants and animals, usually in the form of insects  Eating both plants and insects is critical for healthy chickens  But did you know that herbs are also beneficial for chickens? 

Over the years, herbs have become increasingly popular as home remedies for both humans and animals, including chickens  Using herbs to raise healthy chickens isn’t just a fad either; there is a ton of research showing the health benefits of feeding herbs to your chickens  You can use herbs to replace antibiotics, prevent disease, treat

What Do You Need In Your Coop?

Your chickens are here and you want to provide them with the best possible life  But, you may feel overwhelmed with all of the coop equipment that you see  What do your chickens need and what’s a waste of money?  Let’s talk about what your chickens need in the body

A Feeder

Your chickens will need a feeder  Although you could get by with an ice-cream bucket full of feed for a while, eventually you’ll want to invest in a good quality feeder  Look for a feeder that is easy to clean and will last a long time  Stainless steel feeders

Tips on Keeping Your Coop Clean

Your chickens may be pretty and clean themselves, but without your help, they probably won’t keep their coop clean  Cleaning the coop doesn’t have to be a major ordeal though  There are a few things that you can consider when designing your coop that will help to keep it clean  There are also some things that you can quickly do each day that will take less than five minutes

Coop Design

Are you thinking about building a coop from scratch or modifying the one that you have to make it better?  There are a few things that you can do inside

Composting

Raising chickens and gardening go hand in hand  You may know that you can improve your garden with your chickens, but have you tried composting to improve your garden?  It’s a simple way to reduce your waste and make your garden better, all at the same time

What is composting?

Composting is a method of reducing waste and turning it into something that gardeners like to call ‘black gold’  When you compost, you take kitchen and household waste and allow it to break down  Many waste materials, especially from the kitchen, contain valuable nutrients that plants need  With enough compost, you