Keeping Your Flock Safe From Predators
Chickens are a wonderful addition to any farm or backyard Chickens, however, attract not so wonderful critters to your farm or backyard You may realize that chicken feed will undoubtedly attract mice to your feed shed But have you thought about the predators that will be attracted to your chickens? Chickens that aren’t secured in a coop make an easy meal for predators like raccoons, foxes and hawks Here’s how to make sure that your birds stay safe
A coop is a must have
You cannot keep your chickens safe without a coop At night, chickens roost
Keeping Water Liquid
Like humans, chickens enjoy sipping cool refreshing water They drink a surprising amount, even in winter, and it’s essential that they always have it available
There’s a problem Winter! When the temperature plunges below freezing water soon becomes ice A chicken’s beak is a versatile organ able to snatch up even the tiniest morsel, but it can’t chip a hole in the ice to get a drink or substitute snow for water Fortunately, there are ways to keep water liquid through the nastiest cold spell
Old Fashioned Bucket Brigade
Buckets are the age-old way to
Showing Our Flocks Some Love
Few backyard experiences are as rewarding as bringing newly laid eggs from the coop’s nest box into the kitchen, but well cared for chickens give their owners more than the makings of a delicious breakfast Hens readily provide hours of amusement with their antics in the coop and run, add a touch of color to the yard from their varied features, and donate droppings to create the world’s best garden fertilizer Here’s how we show our flocks some love…
A flock of chickens deserves respect and kindness in exchange for all they give their owners Expressing appreciation
Week 11 With Rudd Rangers
This past week, our Rudd Rangers have been truly enjoying their new found freedom!
Every morning, I walk out to their tractor and pull it onto a fresh spot (Might I add that you will not want to keep them too close to your house as they do poop a lot!) Next, I open up the door and all the excited chickens come running out! I fill up their feeder with pellets and fill up their 3 gallon water tank, and forget them until evening comes In the past, we kept our meat
Week 9 With Rudd Rangers
This week marked another first for the Rudd Rangers; they experienced freedom!
It was brief, it was supervised, but it was freedom! It was really hilarious to see them running and FLYING out of the tractor door! They were very excited!
However, the possibility of losing one to a predator scares me to death, so I usually end up corralling them back inside after an hour or two Since they have grown up in the chicken tractor, they do not stray to far from it When the sun is gets
Coop Spring Cleaning
Spring never seemed to arrive this April throughout the Midwest Waves of snowstorms and cold swept across vast areas of the American heartland, but finally toward the end of the month warmer weather eased in
Warm spring weather means it’s time to do a thorough coop cleaning The tasks are messy and completing them makes the coop a comfortable home for the flock as warm weather arrives and a pleasant place for folks to visit So, don your old clothes, put on work shoes, and slip on gloves and get that coop spruced up
Neighbors, Neighbors, Neighbors
A century ago most Americans lived on farms or in small towns That’s changed
Today’s people either live in suburban neighborhoods or big cities and are far removed from cattle, hogs, and chickens that produce their animal based food
That can be a problem for a family wishing to raise chickens in a small backyard As suburbs grew following the Second World War, many city councils believed that chickens were noisy, smelly, dirty animals that only belong on the farm and not in town They passed ordinances banning them Fortunately, the trend is reversing Ordinances are being
Week 10 With Rudd Rangers
This week, the Rudd Rangers are officially 2 months old!
They have made it about 2/3 of the way through their time here on our farm It seems like a lifetime ago that they were fluffy chicks in a delivery box!
Big storms were due to roll in Sunday night, so we decided to move the Rangers into a more secure coop The chicken tractor is fine for rainy days, but it is very lightweight With the threat of strong winds and possible tornadoes, we decided to move all 13
Preparing for Chicks to Arrive
The most important part of raising your own meat birds is preparation We begin preparing well in advance, so when the baby chicks arrive, all that is left to do is put them happily in the brooder
My husband is the mastermind of our setup and has built everything by hand There may be considerable cost up front, but many things are a one time build and can be used again and again
Before the chicks arrive, I already have the brooder ready We use an old square shipping container with