They Are Easily Amused

I installed an upgraded version of their summer water jug this morning and you would have thought it was Christmas.  Silly chickens are so easily amused and they were loving and playing around with their new waterer.  We have found that these sideways nipple waterers are the best and least wasteful.  Very little if any water is spilled out and it of course stays clean and cool in the cooler.  We add ice or ice jugs in the hot hot summer which is pretty much upon us now.

The problem I currently have is that I don't really have the freezer space right now for the freezer jugs (we use 1/2 gal milk jugs filled 3/4 of the way full with water).  The freezer jugs are awesome in the 100-degree weather!  I have an ice maker machine on order because our current refrigerator is absolutely awesome in every way except the ice maker!  It is the worst ice maker EVER!  Something gets jammed or the sensor fails or something and we often run out of ice because it just isn't making any.  The tray is very small to begin with and when it stops making ice because it THINKS it's full, then it is a long time before we actually have any ice.

I'll keep you updated on the ice machine as to whether or not it solves our problem.  From the reviews I've read I am a little concerned that I might be in a similar situation in which we are short on ice.  The machine can make I think about 26 lbs. of ice in 24 hours, but it doesn't store that much and it evidently takes time to produce each batch of ice.  With no place to store the ice that is made, I might have a problem.

On to more projects for the day.  Hope your day is blessed!

So You Want to Get Some Chickens?

I don't know about where you are, but around here it's chick season again.  It's the time of year people are ready to start their flock or add to their existing flock.  If you are new to chickens then you might be wondering where you should start.  There is so much information out there about raising chickens and you will soon find that we all have our "opinions" on the best way to go about doing it.  My best initial advice is to research, research, research.  Then research some more!  Seriously, the more you can find out the better you will be at deciding what works best for you and your "farm."

Be on the lookout for a series of articles coming up where I will try my best to share what I have learned over the past 6 years of raising our chickens.  We started with just 8 straight run chicks and a small 4' x 8' coop and have now upgraded to 5 coops of various sizes and generally 45-50 chickens at any given time.  Oh, and we added 2 ducks last year.  It has been an educational and fun ride and I now understand the meaning of "chicken math."

Using Straw in the Chicken Yard

DON'T DO IT!!  There, I said it, again.  About 2 or 3 years ago I vowed never to put straw down in my chicken runs.  I had used it over the winter to protect their feet from the snow and cold and it worked great at the time.  UNTIL . . . the snow melted, lots of poop, then lots of rain which then turned into LOTS of STINK!!  YUK!  It was a horrid mess and a LOT of work to clean up.  I vowed, never again!  Well, this past winter for some reason our local farm store was having trouble keeping shavings in stock and I went back to putting straw down in the runs after we had a couple of near blizzard type snowfalls.

I am now again reminded of and regretting my decision.  I hauled 6 full wheelbarrow loads of yucky straw and poop from one of my smaller runs. On top of that, I'm pretty sure one of my hens now has a crop blockage (hopefully not impacted) she is dealing with.  She most likely got it from eating the straw, ughh!  I'm treating her but might end up deciding to just cull her.  Yes, some of the chickens are pets but their purpose on our homestead is food so the majority of my current stock is expendable.  Those we have tagged as our pets will stay with us till they pass but freezer camp is the option for the rest as the time arises.

I still have another run to clean out and part of my main coop run too.  Work I would not have to be performing had I just put extra shavings down instead.  I hope I don't forget this again.  It is just so not worth all the extra work to have to haul it away.  Add to that a sick hen who is most likely not laying right now due to her illness.  I hope she pulls out of it.  She is a pretty good layer (Copper Marans) who is just now about 1 1/2 years old.

Straw might work for some, but for me it does not.  Do you use straw in your coop and/or runs?  I just personally prefer pine shavings all around.  It has always done me well and kept my hens and roosters happy and healthy.