Found 113 hits.

Compost In The Chicken Run – FAQ – Housing

...sturdy piece of fencing blocking it off, but left openings on both sides. The two exits ensure that the hens don’t get trapped in a corner or bullied and the fencing keeps the compost from being kicked by chicken feet into the rest of the run. In the Big Barn run, using metal fence posts and chicken wire, we built a compost that forms the letter C. It’s round shape keeps the hens from getting hassled by aggressors. The girls go in and out easily, and yet it keeps the materials contained so that the rest of the run stays...

What To Feed Your Chickens – FAQ – Health and Behavior

...Your hens will eat what they like and shred the rest. I don’t give them grass clippings, as that can cause impacted crops. The same goes for long scallion stalks. But, it’s not a good idea to simply throw kitchen scraps and garden waste into the run, as it will become a mess. To keep everything tidy and healthy I have a compost bin in the chicken run. What the hens don’t eat gets churned into tiny bits and quickly turns into good dirt. It’s an easy, healthy system. In the winter, when the compost bin is frozen, I hang...

Coop Dimensions And Design Criteria – FAQ – Housing

...coops have them on the floor) or the exterior covered run space. Interior air space: Chickens need to roost at least 30 inches up off of the ground, and have head space to do that comfortably. Roosts: 6 inches per hen. I prefer rounded roosts. Hens have special ligaments in their legs that lock in place when they sleep. This is how they can sleep without falling off the perch. To do this, they need to be on a round roost. Roosts should be at least 18-inches off of the floor to allow the hens to breathe clean and dry...

Chicken Manure Management – FAQ – Housing

...pile in the chicken run. I put kitchen scraps, weeds and leaves in it, but I don’t include the manure. Internal parasites, like roundworms and tapeworms, shed eggs and/or body parts in the chicken manure, that then require intermediary hosts to survive. These hosts are usually insects, like dark wing beetles, that live in damp, dark places near the chickens. By removing the manure front the pen, I’ve stopped the cyle. I’ve never had to worm my hens. I run fecal samples so know that I have never had a problem. Chicken manure cannot be put directly onto your garden...

Introducing New Hens to an Existing Flock – FAQ – Health and Behavior

...next to the existing coop and run. Keep the new hen there for few days until no one pays her any mind (at first there might be chest thumping and pecking along the fence line.) Then, have the new hen explore the coop and run without being bothered by the flock (let them free-range, or have them out in the pen while she checks out the coop, and vice versa.) Let the new girl look around so that she can discover where the food, water, roosts, etc. are. Then, if you can, let everyone out onto the lawn where they...

Bare Butts, Feather Loss and Feather Picking – FAQ – Health and Behavior

...just look unkempt. For more about molting, see this post. When a hen goes broody, she’ll pull out her breast feathers so that her skin is in contact with the eggs. If you have a bad-tempered, bare-chested hen sitting in a nesting box, she’s healthy, but broody. One clue to what is amiss is where the bare spots are. If you have a rooster, you’re likely to see feather loss around the neck and back, due to the rooster pulling out and shredding feathers when he treads the hens. Sometimes the rooster favors one hen, so that her saddle (back)...

Hot Weather Care for Chickens – FAQ – Housing

...Amazon Links: No products found. http_request_failed: A valid URL was not provided. URL: https://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?SearchIndex=All&multipageStart=0&multipageCount=20&Operation=GetResults&Keywords=B001EJHTAA&InstanceId=0&TemplateId=MobileSearchResults&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US Cache: AAL_8b61a32f79bd492502e483b1789151aa for their chickens, and cool off their coops by spraying water on the roofs. I don’t have to do that where I live, but when it’s in the high 90s, I’ll hose down the dirt in the run, which brings some relief. Besides, the chickens are fascinated by running water! Your chickens must have shade. My hens hang out in the compost pile, which is shaded by the barn and trees, and where the dirt is moist and cool. If you can’t site your...

Cold Weather Care – FAQ – Housing

...claimed a toasty place in a patch of sun. In the winter, sunlight ebbs and some people chose to use a lightbulb in the hopes of increasing egg laying. I’ve written a post about that here. Chickens need to be high and dry. If your run gets muddy, dump in a few bags of coarse sand to give the hens a place to roam above the muck. Outside roosts are welcomed by the flock. I also give mine some logs to stand on. Chickens have scaly, bare feet. They don’t like walking on snow or ice. They’ll do it, but...

Setting Up Your Own Camera – FAQ

I often get queries asking for advice on how to set up a system like The HenCam, after all, doesn’t everyone want to be able to keep an eye on their chickens when away, and share the fun of their animals with others? However our system is not easy to replicate – it’s technically challenging (I know because my IT Guy/husband is frequently working on it), nor is it inexpensive to run. But we love having the HenCam, and really like sharing it with all of you out there. I honestly have no clue how it all works, and I...

Automatic Chicken Coop Door – HenBlog – Tuesday, June 25, 2013

...I'm definitely not an up-with-the-sun person. During the summer, our girls want to roost in the run at night so we are usually going out to say goodnight and move them into the coop. That's fun with the 3 but would be not so much if we had a bigger flock. I'm still fiddling with the roost height in the run and want to put another window in the coop so that the coop will be more enticing at bedtime. Even though our run is thoroughly encased in hardware cloth and dug into the ground 10", I am still afraid...

The Broody Hen and the Bunny – HenBlog – Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Broody hens looks so content and motherly, fluffed up on their nests. Just DO NOT disturb them. That puts them in a BAD mood. A broody hen in a bad mood wants to take it out on someone. But not on someone that might peck back. They still respect the pecking order. A broody hen in a bad mood is likely to do something that that very same hen, if not broody and if not in a bad mood would never do – like attack the innocent rabbit. Eggers has been broody for weeks. She sits on everyone else’s eggs...

Good Outing/Bad Outing – HenBlog – Tuesday, March 8, 2016

...soil into a wide swath of flying dust? The chickens say, the more the merrier. I call that bad.   The Goat Boys had an outing. Eating weeds and thorny runner vines in the meadow? We all agree that is good.   Scratching itchy heads on the peach tree trunk is good, too.   Eating the decorative cherry bush? That’s bad. At least I say it is.   Lano says that rolling in the dirt is good. His owner has another word for it.   Tonka says that a walk in the woods on such a day is as good...

The Three Nursing Home Hens – HenBlog – Thursday, June 26, 2014

The Nursing Home Project began with five hens. I was concerned that five were too many for the space, but I also thought that there’d be losses. I was right on both counts. Clementine, the favorite hen, died of internal laying. Beulah, the Black Star, decided that her flock mates were too close to her and she was too bored, so she got into the bad habit of feather picking. I brought her back home, where she is reformed. The nursing home flock is now down to three. Three hens are just right. They all get along. They’re busy, and...

Chickens Get Bored – HenBlog – Friday, June 28, 2013

Chickens are charming because they are innately curious, busy-body birds. They’re in constant motion, investigating new things (is this shiny droplet food?), socializing, scratching, pecking, dozing, and chasing (each other and anything small that moves that might be edible.) Unless they are outside in a large and complex environment, they get bored. Boredom, as with all animals, leads to trouble. With chickens, that trouble leads to bad behaviors, like pecking each other, and pulling out feathers (their own and others). Chickens that would otherwise be high-status hens become bullies. Chickens that would otherwise be wallflowers are cornered and pounded on....

Dangerous Heat – HenBlog – Wednesday, July 7, 2010

...before setting out. Or, simply fill with ice cubes and water. If your coop is in the sun, you might want to hose it off. I know poultry people in Texas who keep a mister in the run during the hottest days of the summer. Evaporation lowers the air temperature, and the water keeps the dirt damp and cool. Give your chickens plenty of leafy greens. Reduce the amount of scratch corn – which raises body temperature (good in the winter, bad in the heat.) Heat-stressed chickens pant, and I think they have panicked looks in their eyes. If your...

Why I Don’t Use Deep Litter – HenBlog – Thursday, December 5, 2013

...do agree with the advocates of deep litter that earth and compost contains healthy microbes, and that loose dirt to scratch in provides necessary activity and also protein from the bugs that are consumed. But, you don’t need deep litter to provide these things. I have a compost pile in the chicken run. It does all of the positive things of deep litter, but it also keeps the run and coop dry and tidy. My compost in the chicken run is a modified deep litter. There’s soft earth for digging, healthy microbes, and bugs. I toss in garden refuse, bedding...

Protecting the Hens From Predators – HenBlog – Tuesday, July 12, 2011

...They complained, too. The HenCam run has netting stretched over the top. It keeps the taloned hunters out. But, it won’t keep out raccoons. Once, ten years ago, a raccoon climbed the six-foot fence, ripped off the netting and entered the coop. The next morning, three of my chickens were either gone or in shreds. I’ve learned my lesson, and at night the hens are inside and the door is latched. The Big Barn run is protected from predators a different way – I’ve run string back and forth and hung shiny CDs. A hunting hawk wouldn’t dare enter and...

Maintaining The Chicken Run – HenBlog – Wednesday, July 25, 2012

...Natalie, the Chickenblogger Thank you. Sara I just watched the Polish do synchronized dust bathing. Adorable! Should be an Olympic sport. Missy Therapeutic. Chickens and all that goes with them is a fun hobby. They are hilarious and sweet. Anna In terms of run maintenance do you use anything on the earth? Any kind of disinfectant (Stalosan??)? Or do you find if they have sufficient space it's ok? Terry Golson I don't use disinfectants. I am rigorous about raking and removing manure, and keeping the run dry. Brigitte If older hens don't scratch. Can you plant anything in their run?...

Agatha’s (Mis)Adventure – HenBlog – Tuesday, September 13, 2011

...hawks, fox and coyote. I had to get them back into their pen. Agatha thought about stepping down onto my arm, but even standing on a stool, I was too far off. I was just able to reach up to poke their chests and push them back into their run. Their landing wasn’t exactly elegant, but it didn’t hurt, either. Now, there’s just one compost bin in the run. I’m putting more string up, too. If bulky, awkward Agatha can get out, a hawk can fly in. They’re safe. For now. But who knows what Agatha will think up next?...

Sand in the Coop Run – HenBlog – Friday, June 20, 2014

...enjoys that sand the way Pearl is, you may have your holes dug back up sooner than expected! :D jaye Clever girl, Pearl! I like watching hens dustbathing - they're hilarious. Thanks for the tip on run maintenance. I will be doing the same thing in my run this weekend, because last week my white Silkie took a dirt bath after two days of rain, and she looked just awful afterwards. Terry, do you ever throw any DE in the run in addition to the sand? I have been throwing a little in their preferred wallows from time to time....

Coco Joins the Flock – HenBlog – Tuesday, November 11, 2008

...been my plan, since that barn has a lot more space.) So, instead, Ginger, who used to live with some of these hens in the big barn was switched over. I felt bad for her, kind of like when the teacher in school makes the good kid sit near the bullies, “to be a good influence.” Anyway, Ginger can hold her own, and didn’t even get a feather mussed in the transition. Yesterday I put all the chickens out on the lawn again, but this time I put Coco in the Hencam barn run. I made sure that she knew...

Rabbits and Chickens – HenBlog – Monday, April 13, 2009

...it is moved to the side of the coop, where it is always shady. Rabbits can suffer heat stroke, so in the worst of the summer weather, I put her in the spare stall in the barn, where she can stretch out on the cool concrete. I bought a typical rabbit hutch. I’d never keep a bunny outdoor if that’s all the room available – rabbits need to sit up, and run, and stretch out and leap about. They are curious and need mental stimulation – places to explore and new things to see. Candy gets the full run of...

Compost IN the Chicken Run – HenBlog – Monday, March 12, 2012

...girls love it, they now get all excited when they see the shovel because they know whats coming. They get lots of juicy earth worms - one Bard Rock is always right there where the spade is going in, and is usually the first to get the worms. Fun to watch. lauren scheuer I followed your lead, and started piling compost in the back of the run. It's worked beautifully! Also followed your suggestion of putting sand in the muddy areas of coop and run. It has made ALL the difference. Terry Golson So pleased it works for you, Lauren!...

Chicken Run Maintenance – HenBlog – Monday, July 8, 2013

Even a spacious chicken run will turn to dirt, and over time that will become so packed down that water can no longer drain through. I rake the manure and remove it from the pen weekly, but still, much gets worked into the ground, and eventually the surface of the run will become hardpan. For the chickens, it will be like scratching on concrete. An algae bloom appeared on mine, along with weeds that no one wanted to peck at.   When this happens, manure becomes a slick and nasty coating on the surface. There are few nice places to...

Asparagus Bed – HenBlog – Tuesday, June 7, 2011

...leftover from the veg garden construction. Steve bought some lumber and built a 6 X 6 bed. Today I layered it with newspaper to kill the grass. And then I began filling it. The compost area in the HenCam chicken run has been due to be emptied. An asparagus garden was the perfect use for this: Ever since last summer this corner of the run has had garden waste, shavings and manure from barn cleanings, and kitchen scraps tossed in. The chickens do all the work of shredding and turning the material. The wire keeps them from kicking it all...

Annual Chicken Pen Maintenance – HenBlog – Monday, October 19, 2015

Despite the fact that hens have strong and active dinosaur feet, and that they use them to dig holes and scratch the ground for hours on end, the dirt in the run does get packed down. Although I frequently rake up manure, much of the hens’ waste sinks into the earth, but it doesn’t disappear. The soil becomes compacted and over time as hard as cement. Pathogens accumulate. Once a year, I turn it over with a Auto Amazon Links: No products found. http_request_failed: A valid URL was not provided. URL: https://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?SearchIndex=All&multipageStart=0&multipageCount=20&Operation=GetResults&Keywords=B00EQ053G6&InstanceId=0&TemplateId=MobileSearchResults&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US Cache: AAL_d32801666be38241299550bf6ee72264 . Not only does this improve...

The Flocks Meet – HenBlog – Tuesday, March 15, 2011

...shavings. Is she overweight? (I'm sure you read the post about the 14 pound hen.) Have you run a fecal and checked for worms? Claudia Hi Terry, Enjoyed your post and photos. I wonder whether you stay out with your chickens when they are allowed out of their runs to guard them from predators. I recently lost one of my chickens to a hawk while she was out walking in the yard and unfortunately I was in the house. Now I am back to staying outside with them every minute...Thanks. Terry Golson I do worry about hawks, and in fact...

Good Broody / Bad Broody – HenBlog – Thursday, July 5, 2012

Pearl and Beryl are both broody. Both are fluffed up and hot. Both think that they have to hunker down in a nesting box in order to incubate (non-existent) eggs. But that’s where the similarity ends. Beryl is in an angry, bad mood. Pearl sits placidly on the nest. Beryl can’t bear to be moved. When I let the hens out to free-range, I disentangle the two broodies from their boxes and toss them outside, too. Beryl chrrrrs in frustration and runs back inside. Pearl goes for a stroll and takes a half-hour to scratch and eat. Broody Pearl on...

Phoebe’s Choice – HenBlog – Tuesday, July 2, 2013

...that she was given a ramp into a nesting box. She’s now laying an egg in there every three days. Not bad for an 8-year old hen!   Phoebe said, The chickens are welcome to it! She saw no reason to go into the hutch during the day. Rabbit pellets are uninteresting to her compared to what else can be found. There’s usually greens and woody things to chew on in the compost pile.   Inside are more greens in the treat holder.   There’s room to run, which gets the goats going, too.   Like Candy did, Phoebe uses...

Beulah Returns – HenBlog – Monday, February 3, 2014

...best but is overcome with rage when Twizzle runs madly in front of her trying to get out in the morning. P.S. I have a pattern for a chicken sweater if you ever ned it Terry Golson I'm sorry that you had to deal with feather lice. Was the outbreak in your flock limited to just the one chicken? I'd think that it would have spread as lice are mobile creatures. Betsy doesn't have feather lice, and in fact her feathers are in rather good shape. Vent gleet is a yeast infection that causes a runny, bare, raw bottom. If...

Compost – HenBlog – Friday, April 24, 2009

An average large laying hen eats 1/4 pound of feed a day, drinks about 4 ounces of water and produces 1/4 pound of manure. Chickens, like other birds, don’t pee; it all comes out in one, fairly solid, glob. Chicken poo is smelly, but a well-cared for coop and yard is not. The trick is to keep it picked up and compost the waste. I’m rather lazy about my compost. I don’t bother to add water, or microbes, or turn it. I let the chickens and time do the work. I have a three-step system. Kitchen scraps, garden refuse and...

Thanks, IT Guy! – HenBlog – Thursday, July 23, 2015

...making. This camera has replaced the GoatCam. I know that many of you will miss seeing Pip and Caper’s furry behinds, but there’s a limit to the number of cams that we can run, and this view of the Gems’ outside run is something that I’ve wanted to share.     The installation of the OutsideCam is the first step in a number of improvements that you’ll be seeing here in the coming weeks. You read my writing, but you see Steve’s work. We’re both excited about what’s to come.   My writing has never paid the mortgage (it’s the...

The Goat Exercise Plan – HenBlog – Wednesday, May 25, 2011

...trend in workouts it to do short, intense twenty-minute sessions. Accomplished! Once the goats were put back in their paddock, the chickens shooed back into their run, and Lily rewarded for not turning goats or chickens into shredded toys, I took another look at the fencing. It appears that the goats figured out how to pull the tab that unlatches the chicken run’s door. It’s still a mystery why they closed it after they left. In any event, I’m sure that my goat trainers are thinking up new exercise routines. They wouldn’t want me to get bored with my workouts....

Winter Dust Baths – HenBlog – Thursday, March 3, 2011

Chickens require dust baths for health and happiness. But, right now it’s 20º colder than usual for early March, there’s 18 inches of snow under the bushes where they usually take late winter dust baths, and there’s several feet of snow in their run. There’s no dirt, let alone loose, warm earth to get under their feathers and next to their skin to kill parasites. So, I went to K-Mart and purchased two kitty litter pans, and filled them with sand, fireplace ashes (all hardwoods) and food-grade diatomaceous earth. There’s a spot of sun in the HenCam run, so I...

Why I Don’t Use Avian Vets – HenBlog – Monday, December 17, 2012

Last Friday I had a long conversation with a friend of a friend about her experience with a deadly infectious poultry disease. As horrible as that was (I’ll talk about it in another post) what struck me was how the veterinary care that she sought out made her year with chickens expensive and unnecessarily guilt-ridden, and didn’t, in the long run, help at all. Backyard chicken keepers rarely come from a farming background. If they have any experience with animals it is as indulgent pet owners. They believe that solutions to health issues will be handed to them by a...

Keeping the Girls Busy – HenBlog – Wednesday, June 6, 2012

...hawk sped out of the woods, and swooped low over the hens. Hawks are that brazen. It was only fifteen feet above them when my arm waving and screeching, and pell-mell running at it, convinced the raptor to give up on it’s planned chicken lunch. The hens are back to being confined, but I have a few tricks to keep the girls busy and happy. I have a small birch log in the Big Barn run. Every few days I move it to a new spot. The ground is damp and buggy where the log was, which keeps the girls...

Euthanizing a Hen – HenBlog – Tuesday, October 28, 2014

...the theory, that Its just the central nervous system shutting down, that the heart actually runs on its own set of nerves and blood supply from the brain and the hen isn't actually feeling anything. But I am always distressed in case it is not so and that is the worst thing about chicken keeping, I hate it, I always feel like I have done something very very bad. My girls are all between 3 and 6 years now so I know I have quite a bit of this to come. I am not getting any more chickens because I...

Pecking Order – HenBlog – Thursday, July 19, 2012

...can circle around it and no one gets trapped in a corner when trying to eat. Add a second waterer outside. When providing treats, set them out in several places. Chickens get bored, and hens kept in small dirt pens will get in trouble. That’s why I don’t give treats like corn that they quickly gobble up, but instead provide a compost in the run so that they have an interesting place to scratch for hours. That’s also why I give them pumpkins in the fall, hang a cabbage in the run when they’re closed up due to snow, and...

Grape Arbor For The Hens (And Me) – HenBlog – Tuesday, April 3, 2012

...your idea works and the chickens don't undo all your work:-) Terry Golson Denise, we use a shade tarp for Candy. I'm glad you mentioned sunshine. I don't like seeing the coops with runs that are 100% covered. Chickens need and enjoy bright sunshine. (In the coop, too! Coops should have windows!) Where the Big Barn is sited facing southeast, even if the arbor grew over the fence, the sun would still reach in. Terry Golson Do they eat it? Ken At least your hawks don't sit on the run fence post and peer in and terrify your hens. I...

Social Feather Picking – HenBlog – Monday, March 24, 2014

...see stressed hens, in fact, everyone is laying. Yesterday, each of the six Ladies laid eggs, as did six of the ten Gems. I’m observant. If it escalates, I’l know. If a hen is harmed, I’ll know. But, I doubt it. It’s a bad habit that doesn’t seem to bother anyone but me. I’ve made peace with the feather picking. I don’t think it will ever fully stop, bad habits rarely do. But, I’m ever hopeful that when the snow finally melts away and the hens have dirt to scratch and wallow it, bugs to find, and sunshine to bask...

Feather Pecking Update – HenBlog – Wednesday, June 18, 2014

...who is not dominant, is a vicious feather picker. She can reduce the other 3 to bloody tails in a few hours. I've tried separating her in visible quarantine and reintroducing her and she was worse if anything. She is isolated now completely since she is too aggressive to reintegrate. She is very skittish by comparison and generally hard to handle. Is there something you can recommend to reform her? She is a lovely bird and I would hate to have to cull her if I can reform her. I can't knowingly give away an aggressive bird... Not sure if...

There’s Always One in a Crowd – HenBlog – Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The other chicks are content to run about in the brooder and perch on the branches in the coop. Not this one. She’s discovered the HenCam mount and very much likes the view. I wonder if she’ll be a “top hen” and lord it over the others when full-grown? So far, pecking order seems to be entirely about size. But, I haven’t sat and watched for any length of time, so there’s probably more going on than I’ve noted. I’ve been concerned about spreading the mycoplasma to the chicks and so do my chores quickly and leave them alone. However,...

How To Make Your Hens Happy – HenBlog – Tuesday, August 25, 2015

...week to turn the dirt over. When they see me walking towards the run carrying a shovel, the squaking starts. They love going over the turn-over dirt looking for all sorts of bugs, like kids in a candy store. Lately, one of the buff had been chasing some mice that shows up in their run. Lo and behold, she actually nailed a couple of them already. I had to grab the dead mouse away from her. I just wonder if this is good or bad for her, having a taste of mouse blood? Terry Golson Chickens do eat meat, so...

Hens in the Garden – HenBlog – Tuesday, February 2, 2010

...plus degrees everyday for two weeks and not even a frost at night... Ken from St Louis Mine have the same routine has yours Terry. I too let them roam in the spring in summer while I'm out but they can be sneakly little biddies. I look away for a second and one of them are in a flower bed!!!! Cindy Oh, Terry, how refreshing of you to post the 'green' garden photos of last summer at this cold, icy-blue time of year! You are right. The hens can't discriminate between the 'good' and 'bad' bugs and just like my...

Chickens in Orchards – The Vintage Hen – Tuesday, July 31, 2012

It’s peach season. I have one tree. This year’s crop was not only sparse, but also wormy. After cutting away the bad parts (and feeding to the chickens) I had only 2 small bowls of peaches for breakfast. This afternoon I’m going to a farmers market to buy peaches, as the season is fleeting and I need some for eating, and a bushel to freeze for pies this winter. Starting this fall, I’m going to try a new method of peach borer worm control. Chickens. A few of my vintage poultry books detail how to integrate a flock into a...

Integrating One Hen Into A Flock – HenBlog – Tuesday, February 4, 2014

...your animals is to spend quiet time observing them. This often doesn’t happen in winter when the temps are well below freezing. Within a half-hour of watching, I discovered a serious problem. Misty is a feather picker. I saw her walk up to Owly, who stood there placidly, while she pulled feathers out of her neck. Misty did the same to Beatrix and even to the higher status Nancy Drew. Bad behavior is not always accompanied by commotion, so this had been going on for awhile without me knowing it. Feather picking is very bad, and I’ll write about it...

An Early Molt – HenBlog – Tuesday, August 10, 2010

...everywhere, and yet she looks as sleek and glossy as ever. Some girls are like that. Never a bad hair day for her. Some hens don’t molt until the cold weather settles in. They’ll look partly naked, their skin will show, and you’ll worry about them. Don’t. They always seem to do fine. New feathers will appear. The feathers will look like porcupine quills, and the hen will be all prickly with them. It looks uncomfortable, way worse then stubble after shaving, but the chickens don’t seem to mind. Hen keepers never look forward to the molt. The coop is...

Preparing for the Chicks – HenBlog – Tuesday, April 5, 2011

...until they are fully feathered out. Terry Golson Thank you! Scholastic has declined the next Tillie book because sales weren't big enough for them. Maybe after this springtime sales season they'll reconsider. Ken My uncle whose brooder house and pen was in the run of his laying flock use to till in garden grade lime about a month before he allowed his new chicks into the brooder run. He opened the gate and allowed the older hens in early or late fall. He said it was a good disinfectant. I never tried it. Terry I hope you end up with...

How To Stop a Broody Hen From Brooding – HenBlog – Monday, June 6, 2011

...breast feathers, so that her skin (which, by the way, elevates in temperature when broody) has direct contact with the egg. They’ll flatten out. They’ll be in a VERY BAD MOOD. Once a day they’ll get off the nest, leave a humungous stinky pile of poo, eat, drink, and go back on the nest. If you want the fun of hatching eggs and raising chicks, a broody hen will do the job. But most of us don’t want that. We want pleasant hens laying eggs, not feathered furies occupying the nesting boxes. I have two bantam White Leghorn hens. They...

Wrongly Accused – HenBlog – Thursday, September 19, 2013

I’ve been concerned that one of the Ladies is eating her eggs. Once in awhile a pullet’s first eggs are thin-shelled or just a membrane. They’re easy to break, and no hen can resist eating runny yolks. Sometimes, a young hen doesn’t know how to settle into a nesting box, and breaks the eggs that are there. She quickly learns to stomp on purpose and eat the eggs. Sometimes a pullet lays an egg while out in the run, while on the run. The egg falls onto the hard ground and cracks. The other hens learn to look for eggs...

Recycling Christmas Trees – HenBlog – Monday, January 12, 2015

REVISED! Only feed trees that you have cut yourself. Trees are often treated with colorants that are toxic to goats. Don’t risk it. It’s that time of year when you, your friends and neighbors, are tossing out Christmas trees, In some towns they end up in the trash and are incinerated. Others go into the landfill. In our town they’re piled up at the DPW (Department of Public Works) where they’re eventually run through a chipping machine. I can barely make a dent in the mountain of discarded trees, but I do my small bit. Or, I should say that...

Grapes for Chickens – HenBlog – Wednesday, July 16, 2014

In the early spring of 2013 I planted grapes. I ordered three varieties, all seedless, all of which were supposed to thrive in my growing zone. They have.   They came bare root. They looked like supple twigs. Optimistically, I had Steve build an arbor over half of the Gem’s run. (You can see in this photo from last year how the hens crowded into their small bit of shade.)   The idea was that the grapes would protect the hens from hawks*, as well as provide a shady and cooler spot to hang out. The grapes do all of...

Saving Clementine, Part 3 – HenBlog – Monday, March 31, 2014

...loner’s life. Do not use the flock’s behavior as an excuse to make a house chicken out of her! The returning hen can and must be reintegrated into the flock. The first thing to do is to make sure that the coop and run are ready for her. Your coop should meet all of the basic criteria – plenty of space, sunlight (the hens need to see inside of the coop!), outside and inside roosts, etc. If the space is cramped, then a hen can be cornered and injured. Fill the feeder and waterer. If the ground is hard and...

Chicken Coop Dimensions and Design Criteria – HenBlog – Wednesday, March 6, 2013

...coops have them on the floor) or the exterior covered run space. Interior air space: Chickens need to roost at least 30 inches up off of the ground, and have head space to do that comfortably. Roosts: 6 inches per hen. I prefer rounded roosts. Hens have special ligaments in their legs that lock in place when they sleep. This is how they can sleep without falling off the perch. To do this, they need to be on a round roost. If possible, have roosts at varying heights because that helps with flock dynamics. Windows: Sunlight is essential in a...

An Improved HenCam – HenBlog – Saturday, July 13, 2013

...bevins Terry, in reference to your post about how well behaved your gems are; well my girls are not gems. I love them as if they were my own children, but they are a rowdy bunch. I cannot go into the run with shorts on. I have two dark brown freckles on each leg just under the knee. They wait for them. They peck and Luna even twist her head back and forth trying to tear it off. I fly out of the run, because when one starts they all jump in. Hubby and me have given them all kinds...

Highflying Hen – HenBlog – Wednesday, December 11, 2013

...how to post it here so it's on FB Carol Caldwell My run is topped with a double layer of chicken wire and has a large bush and an apple tree inside. My girls jump to their coop roof and fly into the bush and tree, I know I would lose them if their wasn't a top on my run. They fly the length of the run and they jump from the ground to my shoulder when I am in with them. They are a mix of pure breeds, hybrid and bantys. They are all excellent at flying and jumping....

It’s Cold In The Coop But… – HenBlog – Friday, December 13, 2013

...the coop into a lean to shelter and back and forth. But they aren't really venturing into the run to walk on the snow covered crust in my run. Stay warm and dry and enjoy the weekend. Lesley S I live in a temperate climate as well and 5 of my hens only recently decided to leave their outside run roost for the coop. The temp was down to -4 celsius or so for almost a week and windy and yet my other 2 birds remained up in the rafters of the outside run to sleep at night as they...

What Chickens Don't Eat – HenBlog – Wednesday, September 24, 2008

...at any danger. Despite the fact that chickens are always hungry and always on the look-out for something wiggly, they won’t go near these. Buffy pecked at one and then walked away. Perhaps the sawfly larvae taste as bad as they look? Does anyone know about a chicken’s sense of taste? The girls also refuse to eat fuzzy caterpillars, which means they aren’t helpful with the tent caterpillars either. The bantam hens don’t like tomato horn worms. Too big. Luckily, the large hens in my flock fight over them. We tend to think of chickens as indiscriminate eaters. But they’re...

Why Outside Roosts – HenBlog – Monday, July 13, 2015

The other day, a small drama played itself out in the Little Barn’s pen. Veronica, the Marans hen, has gone broody. Midday, she took her bad-tempered and ruffled-feather self out of the nest to eat, drink, poop, dust bathe and preen. Broody hens look different – their feathers not only stick straight up, making them look larger and of a different shape, but they’ve often pulled some feathers out of their breast (the better to incubate those eggs that they deludedly believe that they have.) Different is not welcome in a flock. The other hens pecked at her head and...

A Cause of Odd Eggs – HenBlog – Friday, June 14, 2013

...an on-going basis as I've read studies that show problems associated with that calcium and protein high diet. My chickens will ignore the oyster shell, and then go through a bout of eating it. It will look like they're not touching it, and then I'll notice that it's gone. Terry Golson I also put crushed eggshells in the compost in the chicken run. At the least, it will eventually be good for the garden. I don't bother cooking them. Terry Golson The cam setup is explained in a FAQ. It's complicated and time-consuming to maintain, and expensive to run! Which...

Chickens and Dogs – HenBlog – Wednesday, May 28, 2014

...ignored puppy on a farm, she learned to hunt and eat rabbits and such. Added to that history is her highly reactive temperament. When she sees movement, she chases. She tears off like a streak first, and thinks later. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The local coyotes, herons, hawks, raccoons (and the list goes on) stay clear of our backyard. But, a dog with such a strong prey drive can’t always distinguish between a chicken scratching in the woods and a squirrel.   Some big dogs are fine with chickens. My late, great Nimbus, was the ideal dog to...

Keeping the Girls Busy – HenBlog – Wednesday, October 6, 2010

It’s raining. It’s pouring. All of the sensible hens are indoors (that leaves Lulu and the Polish out getting soaked.) Being indoors is boring, and that can lead to problems. Bored hens peck each other. If blood gets drawn, they’ll keep pecking and it can get so bad that they’ll kill. You’re more likely to have issues if the indoor space is tight. Many of the prefab coops on the market claim to be suitable for a certain number of chickens – but, that’s assuming that the hens also go outside. Often these chicken tractors and small coops have indoor...

Their Eggs and Our Eggs – HenBlog – Tuesday, August 31, 2010

...item that claimed that the salmonella outbreak could have been prevented if the hens had been vaccinated, which is yet another example of how factory farming would like to rely on drugs and not good husbandry. Even federal health inspectors admit that one possible reason that the eggs were bad is that the housing was unsanitary (to put it mildly – the hens lived in rodent infested, manure-packed chicken houses.) At a time when communities are trying to change regulations to allow for the urban and village hennery, it’s very important that the distinction between what we do and what...

Lucky – HenBlog – Wednesday, July 11, 2007

...me run past the asparagus bed to save the chicken. I grabbed Lily’s collar and yanked her off of her feet. Perrie came up with her, clamped in my dog’s mouth. I pried Lily’s teeth open and Perrie hit the ground running towards her flock. Feathers swirled around us. I shooed Perrie into the pen and dragged Lily into the house. I went back out and found Perrie hiding in a corner of the coop. I was surprised to see her standing. I picked her up and felt all over. I fully expected to find puncture wounds. Not a scratch....

Winter Care for Chickens – HenBlog – Tuesday, December 8, 2009

...you have to provide heat. Also, some hens, and often roosters, have big combs, prone to frostbite. Slather on some vaseline if you know the temperature is going to drop. Chickens appreciate a bright and sunny coop. Here’s my aged Eleanor, who has claimed a toasty place in a patch of sun. Chickens need to be high and dry. If your run gets muddy, add a few bags of sand, or put down wood chips, to give the hens a place to roam above the muck. Chickens have scaly, bare feet. They don’t like walking on snow or ice. They’ll...

Sick Hen – HenBlog – Wednesday, July 22, 2009

...chicken door. I looked at her eyes. Clear. Her breathing. Fine. But she walked with a hitch. I picked her up and turned her over. No sign of external parasites (lice are a first indication of illness.) No swelling or heat on her abdomen. A bit of runny manure on her vent. I put her back down. Nothing dramatically wrong. I went inside the house for breakfast. I checked on her about a hour later. Alma is not a friendly chicken. She is almost impossible to catch. When I walked up to her she stood but didn’t run away. I...

In or Out? – HenBlog – Monday, January 28, 2008

When I looked outside this morning, I was surprised to see that none of the hens were outside in the run. Sure, there’s a new dusting of snow on the ground, but it’s not deep. Usually most of the girls go outside at first light. I spread some hay on the ground, but still the girls decided to stay indoors. Candy is delighted to have fresh hay and the run to herself, and unlike me, she doesn’t worry a tad about why the hens aren’t milling around. Sometimes chickens stay indoors because they’ve had a fright from predators, but I...

Lauren’s Coop – HenBlog – Monday, May 11, 2015

...built this chicken tractor to shelter her girls while out on the lawn. Note – this is NOT a coop. It’s for daytime use only. (Read my FAQ on Coop Criteria to learn why this is not suitable housing.)   The hawks are also why Lauren has a covered run, and also a play area with plants that the hens can run under for protection. These doted on hens are happy, indeed.   Like Lauren’s art? Take a look at her book, Auto Amazon Links: No products found. http_request_failed: A valid URL was not provided. URL: https://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?SearchIndex=All&multipageStart=0&multipageCount=20&Operation=GetResults&Keywords=1451698704&InstanceId=0&TemplateId=MobileSearchResults&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US Cache: AAL_4236bfc2d77c45f4c2ecf2c3f3e53646 ....

Writer’s Procrastination – HenBlog – Thursday, April 14, 2011

...way, I feel as if I’ve accomplished a lot, even if I haven’t gotten to the one, very hard thing, which is the writing. Today I noticed that my curtains were looking winter-dusty. Down they came, were run through the wash, and then set outside to whiten in the sun. With the curtains down, I noticed that the windows needed washing. These are big windows, which require me to climb on a ladder – something I don’t enjoy and so felt very productive. What a difference clean windows make! It’s now so cheery and sunny inside! The goat’s paddock needed...

Blizzard Ready – HenBlog – Monday, January 26, 2015

So it looks like all of that storm prep that I did a few days ago was just a practice run. This is the most recent map of the impending blizzard. Do you see the bright yellow splotch to the right of Worcester? I live there, right in the epicenter of the storm.   Once again, I’ve cleaned the coops and added fresh bedding.   The goat stall was a particular mess. The goats eat second cutting grass hay. Not timothy. Not alfalfa. Not first cutting. Second. We recently bought a few bales. We were told it was second cutting....

Goat Yoga – HenBlog – Monday, October 8, 2012

I’ve been told that yoga will help my bad back. I’m not a yoga sort of person. I’ve tried classes before and I have to say that so-called calming meditation makes me tense. However, slow yoga stretches do help. I’ve signed up for another class starting in November. I’m hoping that the instructor doesn’t ring chimes and talk in a monotone. If that class doesn’t work out, maybe I have a yogi right in my backyard?...

Who’s To Blame? – HenBlog – Friday, February 25, 2011

...it's pointless to blame ones the servants when the weather is bad. They just make sure they get the most comfortable bed possible and stay there all day until time for supper (which the servants will serve on time of course) Celia Georgene from Florida Perhaps a sweater and matching chicken hat for Lily ?! Yes, what happened to the temp gauge on the hen cams ? We are a breezy 78 here in Florida and running the A/C at night. Your snow is so beautiful and refreshing to look at ! Surely warm weather isn't far away for you...

A Scary Day – HenBlog – Friday, August 14, 2015

...the wrappers :) Too bad some of the things that are bad for them still get eaten! Robin SO GLAD Pip is okay. I saw rhododendron and didn't want to read anymore. I just had to put my hamster down and didn't want more death. But I also 'had' to know, so like Deanne, I had to skip to the ending. Whew! {{{HUGS}}} to you and yours and Pip. Tori McKee Oh my goodness - I'm so sorry you all went through that! So very glad to hear Pip came through it okay! judy n. thank goodness, I was going...

Coop Cleaning Routine – HenBlog – Monday, October 21, 2013

...  I’m careful to keep Phoebe in. She checks where everyone has gone to.   Buffy gets carried onto the lawn and set into a warm patch of sun.   The goats get closed out of their stall, otherwise they will “help.” Have you ever tried to wield a shovel and bucket around a goat? Unless you’re a comedienne developing a slapstick routine, I suggest you don’t.   Although the goat stall doesn’t look too bad,   it does need shoveling up and airing out.   I also sweep and shovel up the manure that piles up in their outdoor...

Thank Yous – HenBlog – Sunday, May 1, 2011

lauren scheuer So fun to read the story of the BFF's! Lis Lovely story about BFFs. (Total shot in the dark, but camp TW? Me, too, three years in the late 70s.) Jen Sounds like a great two days.... it's so wonderful that spring/summer are beginning which means a plethora of events like Green Fair! I appreciate four distinct seasons, but I love the growing/harvest time the best. I never realized you were a horse person (or I forgot). Anyway, I had the great pleasure recently of working on a documentary about the real-life horse whisperer Buck Brannaman and I...

Feather Picking – HenBlog – Wednesday, February 5, 2014

...she is also an overly assertive hen who had become too pushy. She’s now in with the Gems, who I’m hoping won’t let her near them to get a feather or peck at a comb. (I’ve been watching, and she’s tried to feather pick. It’s too early to know how this will play out.) I’ve fortunate to have the Gems, a sensible and calm flock of hens who don’t put up with nonsense. They reformed Edwina, who was a bully, and would have killed Buffy if she could have, but in with the Gems she is a polite old lady....

Storm Preparation for Chicken Coops – HenBlog – Friday, January 23, 2015

...be inside for at least a day, and I want to make sure that their coops are dry and fully stocked.   Water is more essential than food. We don’t have running water in the barns in the winter (the pipes would burst, and so they’re drained and turned off in November.) But, there is electricity. So, instead of hauling water out daily, I’ve installed a Auto Amazon Links: No products found. http_request_failed: A valid URL was not provided. URL: https://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?SearchIndex=All&multipageStart=0&multipageCount=20&Operation=GetResults&Keywords=B000HHQ2YY&InstanceId=0&TemplateId=MobileSearchResults&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US Cache: AAL_87f82f0d9878a2d9f728e0ea29b4d1c4 for a water source. It’s so much more convenient to fill the waterers from this than to...

Onyx’s Egg – HenBlog – Thursday, June 13, 2013

...I haven’t found many of Onyx’s eggs. She’s laying infrequently, and when she does produce an egg, it could easily be broken. Making fewer, and less than sturdy eggs, is not unusual for hens in their second full year of lay. Even with an excellent diet, shells thin and production drops. (I’ll be writing about this more in a future post.) The danger to the hen is when the shells thin out so much that they break inside of her before laying. The trouble for the henkeeper is when chickens find broken eggs, they get into the bad habit of...

Old Hen Update – HenBlog – Tuesday, December 4, 2012

...is incurable and is letting it run its course. Siouxsie continues to eat and seems oblivious to her ailment. She could keep on like this for quite awhile. I’ll be trimming her top knot back again. It wouldn’t hurt for her to be able to see where she’s going. Her sister, Tina, is breathing fine, but the bumblefoot is back. It’s not as bad as when it first appeared, and today I’ll soak her foot in epsom salts and see if I can alleviate some of the swelling. But, it doesn’t seem to be bothering her. Here Tina is standing...

Black Bean Soup – The Vintage Hen – Friday, January 10, 2014

...I knew that no rocks were lurking. However, I did immerse the beans in a bowl of water. Bad beans, and bits of husk, floated to the surface, which I skimmed off. I then gave the beans a quick drain in a colander and tossed them into the slow cooker. I poured in two boxes of organic chicken broth, stirred in two teaspoons of ground cumin and a touch of a hot pepper flakes (grown by my friends at Sweet Autumn Farm) and tucked in the ham hock. I didn’t add salt because I didn’t know how salty the hock...

A Life Transformed – HenBlog – Tuesday, December 17, 2013

...was going to be transformed. I could hear! My husband was there with me, and when Steve spoke from across the room, I could hear him. I could hear every word! Too bad Steve sounded like Darth Vader’s wimpy cousin. It is not like putting on new glasses, when the world suddenly comes into focus. The brain has to figure out what those inputs mean. I gave my brain lessons. I listened to slow and steady narrators of wildlife documentaries on my iPad. I listened to audio books with clear-voiced actors. It had been years since I’d been able to...

A Rainy Day – HenBlog – Thursday, September 8, 2011

...in all the way to the hand with room to spare. I fear them getting a foot caught and breaking something. Water seems to do no good. I guess I could run sprinkler 24/7 but $$$ Terry, also, I wonder do the Gems have a roosting hierachy on your ladder roosts? In other words, do certain hens always get the top rung and on down the line? Terry Golson Right now the Gems all crowd the top two rungs of the ladder and it is impossible to see a hierarchy. I'll try to get a photo. Also interesting is that...

Black Gnat Season – HenBlog – Wednesday, April 30, 2014

...can rub his ears. He’s not a show horse, and so I leave his ears fuzzy. Still, a few gnats manage to bite and make him itchy and bloody.   The gnats aren’t too bad in his paddock, but when I take Tonka out to graze, those insects swarm. To protect his ears, Tonka wears a little crocheted cap.   I think that he looks quite dashing in it. When we go for trail rides, he wears it under his bridle. I’ve seen photographs from a hundred years ago, when carriage horses wore hand-crocheted fly protectors, draped from ears to...

First Snow – HenBlog – Friday, October 28, 2011

Viki in Grass Valley CA BEAUTIFUL!! But why could pecking at ice give them the runs? I have an ongoing battle with one of my girls and the runs. Terry Golson They're simply taking in too much water. Sunday gorgeous! i've never lived in a place with snow...i wonder if i could handle it? i certainly love the idea :) Donna I have been watching the bear cam in Minnesota and they said they had the biggest snowflakes they have ever seen! I am with Scooter..wake me when it is over! kristen I am ready for the cold weather! BUT...

More About Roosting – HenBlog – Tuesday, June 18, 2013

...Young whippersnapper. Ken Terry could not be more right on this one. Need to discourage this habit as soon as possible. Sometimes it is boredom that will cause this. My hens must be confined to their run so to help with boredom I always have bale or two of straw on hand. I throw a flake or two around the run, throw a little scratch grain in and it keeps them busy most of the day scratching it from one end of the run to the other. Scratching all day long couldn't be more natural for a chicken. Terry Golson...

Egg Stomping – HenBlog – Wednesday, September 1, 2010

...in pieces, a yolky mess in the shavings. She doesn’t eat the egg. If she was an egg-eater, she’d be gone. That sort of bad habit is picked up by the other hens, until you have broken shells and not much else for your chicken-keeping efforts. Sometimes, hens lay thin-shelled eggs that break easily – then the hens learn to eat them. However, that doesn’t appear to be the cause. The smashed eggs that I’m finding look normal. I wish that I had a camera in that coop to spy on the hens. I’d like to know the culprit and...

Asparagus Season – HenBlog – Thursday, May 5, 2011

...was eating the spears for mid-afternoon snacks. Then, one October, I made the mistake of letting Candy into the vegetable patch. I let her in the garden to have an outing with the hens, while they did the autumn bad bug clean-up. I thought she’d like a hop-around. I wasn’t paying attention. She dug a tunnel under the asparagus and ate the roots. All of them. My asparagus patch was felled by one bunny. I’ve started another asparagus bed. Rabbits are banned. For now, though, I have to buy local asparagus. It’s just coming into the market. This is my...

Feather Picking – HenBlog – Friday, October 21, 2011

There’s always a hen at the bottom of the pecking order. That’s just the way it is. The chicken on the bottom of the totem pole will be the last to get the tossed treats, will wait to eat from the feeder until the boss-hens are done, and will, literally, rest on a lower rung of the ladder. In the HenCam barn, Betsy, being a tiny thing, is told, by the other girls, to “shove off.” Betsy might be at the bottom of the pecking order, but she’s no wimp. She darts quickly out of the way of stabbing beaks,...

Compost Bins and Chicken Manure – HenBlog – Wednesday, February 22, 2012

...might contain bits of internal parasites, and it might harbor the intermediary hosts of those parasites. It also smells. Bad. That pile of poo is about 75 % water. It will eventually shrink, but it while it is dehydrating and breaking down it has to go somewhere. I keep compost piles in my chicken runs. It keeps them busy with things to shred, scratch and eat. Much of my kitchen and garden scraps go there. But, that’s not where I put the manure. I don’t want the hens mucking about in their own waste and possibly ingesting parasites. I want...

Alfalfa For Hens – HenBlog – Monday, January 7, 2013

...but knew that most grain stores would have it. The first feedstore that I went to had bales of it for sale that weighed 125 pounds each and were the size of small sofas. I didn’t buy one. But, Erikson Grain had a more manageable bag. The alfalfa looked coarse, but a close inspection showed much dried green leafy matter. I shook the hay over the ground in the outside run. The hens, who had been clucking loudly at me, all went quiet and immediately set to eating. Even Agatha (she’s the Speckled Sussex on the far right) stopped being...

Animal Update – HenBlog – Monday, May 30, 2011

...I don’t feel too bad about the trade. (And he’s still talking to me, so I think all is settled.) Meanwhile, the little blue chick (who will likely be named Little Blue because that’s what everyone calls her) is still weak and still half the size of the others. She walks funny, too, and I think it’s her cochin feet feathers tripping her up, so I trimmed them. It seems to help. I know Little Blue is okay, though, because no one picks on her and she has no trouble being with the others. See? I still don’t know what...

Hungry Goats – HenBlog – Wednesday, December 15, 2010

The goats stopped eating their hay. If you recall, they didn’t like the coarse first cutting hay that I had, and so I bought four bales of second cutting. They liked the first few flakes, but then they turned up their noses at it. The hay looked okay, it was green and leafy, but when I shook it, dark dust flew. Mold? If so, it didn’t smell bad yet. However, Pip and Caper, the goat gourmands, pulled the hay out of the rack and piled the rejections on the floor. Look at the deep bedding. Expensive deep bedding. Also notice...

Egg Smashing, Egg Eating, Broody Hen – HenBlog – Friday, June 10, 2011

Betsy is the sweetest little hen. I take her to preschools and forty children line up to pet her. See? I don’t even have to hold her. She sits in my lap. But, Betsy has been crazy-broody. Angry, raspy-voiced, flattened in the nesting box broody. It’s been hot. I’ve ignored her. Which was a mistake. Animals have the uncanny ability to get into trouble when you are running out the door and don’t have time to deal with them. Yesterday, about ten minutes before I had to pick my son up at school, I checked on the flock. It was...

Darth Vader’s Hens – HenBlog – Tuesday, January 11, 2011

My cochlear implant was turned on yesterday. From now on, I will be hearing via electronic stimulation of my auditory nerve. I was told that at first, everyone would sound like Donald Duck. My audiologist was wrong. It’s more like voices have gone through one of those voice-changing machines that the bad guys use when they leave ransom messages. My chickens sound like I imagine chickens would sound like if Darth Vader raised them. Does this look like a hen from the evil empire?...

Frozen Combs and Small Coops – HenBlog – Thursday, February 28, 2013

...But, I wasn’t being asked about roosters. I was hearing about bad cases of frostbite in winter hardy hens that have modest-sized combs. That simply shouldn’t happen. Over the years I’ve kept a range of hens with combs of various sizes. Temperatures here can stay well below freezing for weeks. As you’ve seen this winter, we’ve had snow, freezing rain, sleet and even a blizzard. I don’t use heat. My hens, and their combs, are fine. So, why were other people having problems with their flocks? The culprit is the housing. I have been railing against small, poorly ventilated coops...

Where To Put The Brooder – HenBlog – Sunday, March 24, 2013

Fluffy little baby chicks need to be kept warm in a safe container. This housing is called a brooder. The first week of their life that brooder needs to be at about 95 degrees F. Each week thereafter, as the chicks grow, the temperature is dropped by 5 degrees. Many people, especially those who get only a handful of chicks, like the idea of keeping the chicks in the kitchen where they can keep an eye on them, and get the full dose of their adorableness. For several reasons this is a bad idea. First of all, although those chicks...

1916 Eggs – HenBlog – Thursday, January 6, 2011

...about these places. This is worse than those labs that test on animals. They need to be nicer to other animals they are not worthless. Some happen to be so intelligent we are baffled by them Jam I think the people that run those chicken farms and see them and ignore how bad that is and how cruel just letting them die. I think they should go to jail on animal cruelty charges. I will be so grateful for an egg now knowing what they go through to give that egg thats there life i think those farms should be...

Rooster Tea Kettle – The Vintage Hen – Thursday, August 16, 2012

...collection of chicken items. Keep sharing. I love to see what you have. Terry Golson In all of my years of collecting, I've never seen another or anything else close to this kettle. Glad you liked seeing it! karen robinson Hi Terry, here's one similar (don't know how to make the link "blue up") http://www.etsy.com/listing/98919061/vintage-kamenstein-rooster-chicken?ref=sr_gallery_5&ga_includes%5B0%5D=tags&ga_search_query=rooster+kettle&ga_ref=related&ga_page=1&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=rooster+kettle&ga_view_type=gallery I should like to own it but it is in the US and I think shipping it to me (UK) will cost more than the kettle! Also, I am spoilt with an electric one: I am bound to forget and be up the garden or...

Essential Coop Equipment – HenBlog – Thursday, October 17, 2013

...the morning, and he spends his day in the coop and run, eating the girls' food and snuggling with Peaches, my big Welsummer and his beloved BFF. One night I went in to close up shop and found him on the poop board, snugged up under her roosting fanny. He's ridiculous. And very happy, if somewhat grubby. Terry Golson How charming! If a bunny were to have a BFF chicken, it'd be a Welsummer. Such nice birds. Neither Candy nor Phoebe have that type of hen friendship, but my rabbits have enjoyed the company and the melee in the barn....

Gail Damerow Visits The HenCam (and a giveaway!) – HenBlog – Thursday, March 15, 2012

...on mean kicks, and if so, how best to accomplish that feat? Does she know of some helpful techniques? Diane Burnham I would have asked...I am just starting out with 4 chickens and 1 frizzle rooster. I converted a portable horse stall into housing and the outside run is a 10' x 10' dog run. This seems to work well but now that spring is here I want to clean their pen. Is there anything that I should use to clean or sanitize the dirt area that they use? I want to keep them healthy but not sure what to...

Pushmi-Pullyu Hen – HenBlog – Friday, May 24, 2013

...Doctor Dolittle", are free through Kindle. If anyone is interested. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=doctor+dolittle#/ref=sr_st?keywords=doctor+dolittle&qid=1369426536&rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adoctor+dolittle&sort=price jonathan Lol I thought it was conjoin twins.. at closer look I can see its two sepetate birds LOL I can be a fool sometimes!!! Cindy B Yes, revisit your early library bookshelf. The more time goes by, the more early memories remain perfect. Do settle in with a copy of Dr. Doolittle on this cool, misty weekend. You won't regret it. P.S. I am enjoying the energy and activity of the pullets in the Little Barn run. Cindy B Yes, Sue ~ I, too, still have and enjoy...

Nothing Goes To Waste – HenBlog – Wednesday, December 12, 2012

...joy when they see me coming w/ that little plastic tub. Helen I jump for joy at the thought of you putting veggies in your bowl, and then in the compost pail. Candy's holding out for a jujube. Terry Golson I'm too lazy to separate out the stuff they like and the stuff they don't. That's one reason why I have the compost pile in the chicken run. (Check my FAQs for a post about that and pics.) Even so, they recognize that metal bucket! Terry Golson My Nespresso machine. LOVE. I once saw Lulu swallow a baby garter snake....

Pearl Gets A Bath – HenBlog – Tuesday, November 29, 2011

...demeanor, Pearl is at the bottom of the pack. That isn’t a big deal in my flock, as it is a peaceful group of girls, but it does mean that Pearl sleeps on a lower rung of the roost. The roosts are ladders, propped up against the wall. Somehow, I installed them at just the wrong angle – the hens above poop onto the backs of the girls below. The other hens, with their tight feathering, were able to shake the messes off, but the manure sank into Pearl’s pillows of down. This past weekend, in the midst of making...

Horse Friendships – HenBlog – Friday, October 24, 2014

Ginger Lange Such an educational and sweet story! Kim Perkins Maggie looks very sweet! What a good feeling you must have knowing that Tonka has companionship when you aren't around. When I take my gelding out of the pasture I also have to bring his lady friend to her stall or she will run herself ragged even though she can see other horses in adjoining paddocks. Tonka still looks fairly sleek in the coat department. Here in Maine, my Tennesee Walker is looking like a teddy bear already! Elaine What a sweet story! I wish them many, many happy years...

Pies! – HenBlog – Monday, November 30, 2015

...quiche! I haven't made quiche in a bit. Hmmm... maybe for dinner one night this week... I made your quiche recipe for Christmas last year. My BFF is a vegetarian so I always cook something she can eat. She liked it! Do you think the recipe will hold up if I use mushrooms in place of the herbs? Terry Golson Mushrooms weep water, so saute them first and drain before putting in the egg mixture. Enjoy! Robin Thanks! I may have to make one of these before Christmas just to make sure it isn't 'bad', ya know? :D Tracy A...

For the Birds – HenBlog – Thursday, August 19, 2010

...out, make a filling and bake it, but, honestly, who wants to bother with all of that work in this heat? So, on the way into the house with my basket of vegetables from the garden, that big lunk of a zucchini got tossed into the chicken run. Without the hens, I’d have brought that squash into the kitchen, where it would have sat on the counter for a day, challenging my cooking skills and making me feel like a slacker of a cook. Then, it’d be hidden away in the refrigerator, where it would take up valuable space, go...

Steamed Eggs – HenBlog – Wednesday, March 2, 2011

...be watching thrift stores and garage sales for those old egg cookers. Kit They do have modern egg steamers for those who can't make it to flea markets, http://www.eggsteamer.com/ and I found these on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=egg+steamers&x=18&y=16 and some people suggested using rice cooker or steamers as well http://wize.com/rice-cookers-and-steamers/t10457-egg Terry Golson Click on the photo and it links to the blog I found this picture on. I wouldn't trust that cord, even if I could plug it in! Terry Golson Glad to have it confirmed! Terry Golson Thanks for these links. I have a rice cooker, but it doesn't have a...

Good Things – HenBlog – Wednesday, June 15, 2011

...step around her. Running things. The boys have been grazing in the back meadow. Lately they’ve been avoiding that area, despite the tall grass and briars that they so love to eat, because it’s been too wet and buggy. But today is a grazing day. Still, when they hear me by their stall they come running. I might have popcorn. Popcorn trumps all. Old friends. Edwina is my regal old lady. New friends. There’s always one in a lot that distinguishes herself. Agatha Agate, of all of the new birds, is the friendly one. She’s calm, she sidles up to...

Digging Dandelions – HenBlog – Wednesday, April 18, 2012

...especially the goats. Caper is so vocal. I see him with his mouth open way more than Pip. Silly goat. Veda http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-1399-Deluxe-Telescoping-Remover/dp/B005D6NX8M/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1334799647&sr=8-9 My husband uses a telescoping weed remover all the time. He love it and it's easy on the back. There are different brands out there. It really works well. Pam R. The little blue flowers, one of my spring favorites since I was a child, are Bluets, Houstonia caerulea. My husband watches for the first dandelion of the year. This year I believe he saw one at the end of February, here in Western Mass. Martina in Newfoundland...

Blowing Out Eggs – HenBlog – Monday, January 28, 2013

...the white and yolk out? Jaye Re: hanging eggs, how about using ornament findings? You can buy them here: http://www.amazon.com/25-Ornaments-Findings-Supplies-Decorating/dp/B006E924WS/ref=pd_sim_k_4 I think you could use a glue gun to apply them to your eggs. M.E. We used to do this when we made pysanki (sp?)--Ukrainian Easter Eggs. That's a great gadget, btw. Blowing out those eggs is TIRING. Our jaws used to ache... Missing the bunny. Suzanne The egg-blowing kit comes with an egg holder? Or is that another find? Can you make a larger hole, so that the yolk comes out whole? Suzanne Oops, I took a second look...

The Best Winter Barn Boots – HenBlog – Wednesday, December 18, 2013

...The Muck Boot Company brand, that are warm, and most of our farm supply stores seem to have them on sale quite often. Mine aren't as tall....But I was able to get pink and black checked ones! Laura Terry, nice feet togs! I just wanted to say that Tonka does indeed have a beautiful, kind eye, just like you said. What a gem. Jaimie These cost more than yours, but they have so many cool patterns and fun colors! http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Classic-High-Print-Color/dp/B0071COO6Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1387404736&sr=1-1&keywords=bogs Lee Ann Those are a great find. My husband and I live on a small farm/ranch and got boots this...

The Complaint Line – HenBlog – Friday, February 14, 2014

...outside today in a covered coop but are cackling so loud, I wish they would stop because here in Plainville, CT. chickens aren't allowed...I hope no one hears them. :( Deborah Pruden How funny! Reminds me of this children's story, one of my all time favorites. Tell the ladies the kids and I check in on them daily. We hear them! Deborah http://www.amazon.com/Agathas-Feather-Bed-Another-Goose/dp/1561450960/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392397897&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=agatha%27a+feathered+bed Robin Ooookay. Just finished reading about Freezing Fog and Ice Fog. I'll pass, thank you very much. Stay safe! Beatrix is on the top of the roost poofed up like a ball, raising up and down on...

Dandelion Control – HenBlog – Thursday, May 14, 2015

...before! Terry Golson I'm glad that you mentioned this. My hens don't eat the entire plant either - but the activity of finding things in the attached soil, the shredding of the leaves, etc. keeps them busy and healthy. The ear cover on Tonka is to keep the flies off. Not a new idea. People have used crocheted fly sheets for hundreds of years. He's fussy about anything tickling/biting his ears, and that little cover protects him. Terry Golson Not as much as other plants, which has surprised me, but they're all individuals! Charlie Hey Terry, check this out. http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Uproot-Weed-Root-Remover/dp/B0030MIHAU/ref=pd_sim_86_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=05RCQ6TN84MFGVSGMD68...