Posts Tagged ‘Chickens’

The Cherry Mead stopped bubbling this week, so it took about 4 weeks to ferment completely. Any time now it can be transferred (racked) into a glass carboy and allowed to clarify. It smelled great while bubbling, so I have high hopes for it.
The chickens started laying the week before Christmas. I brought the chicks home [...]

I just picked up 26 baby chicks.  Aren’t they cute…

We built a house for the chickens a few years ago, similar to the cattle panel hoop house, except it was covered with tarps instead of clear plastic. Here in Michigan it doesn’t provide enough protection for a year round coop, but we let the chickens use it during the warmer months as a [...]

Chickens and skunks do not mix well. Not too long ago, I was surprised to find a skunk in the chicken house. It was after dark and I had my flashlight and just as I shone it into the chicken house, there he was, nosing around, looking for something to eat.
I tossed a [...]

If you raise chickens you will quickly learn that you need an isolation space for chickens that are sick, injured or are just too aggressive.
Originally, we put together spaces as needed using straw bales and chicken wire.
We needed our isolation space often enough that I decided to make something permanent.
The henitentiary has two separate spaces. [...]

My wife, the Gardening Goddess, found “Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance: Reflections on Raising Chickens” by Martin Gurdon at the local library and I just had to read it. Partly because my dad and brother were both reading “Zen and the Art of motorcycle maintenance” one summer and partly because Ericsprojects.com used [...]

While we haven’t hit the big harvest in the garden, things are already slowing down in the chicken yard. The hens were averaging 18 eggs per day, now they are below 12.
I’m not too supprised. The sun is rising a little bit later each day and the temperature is in the 70s. [...]

We rented a roto-tiller a few weeks ago. We wanted to turn the soil over and that is what we have always done. We usually rent it late on a Saturday and return it early Monday. The rental shop only charges us the day rate, so we can take our time using [...]

This weekend’s project was a new chicken feeder. This is our fourth feeder design. The chickens think it’s our best.
The first feeders were made 3/4 inch pine, screwed together to form a V. Boards were screwed onto the ends to form legs. These were too low to the ground and the chickens [...]

Winter Solstice. The longest night and shortest day of the year. The hens need more than 12 hours of daylight, per day, to lay eggs on a regular basis. This time of year in Michigan, they aren’t going to get it.
Our hens have only been laying about 2 to 3 eggs per [...]