Inexpensive Food Storage Expansion – Day 2
Day 2 Came Bright and Early Where We Left Off On day one of building an inexpensive food storage pantry, we left off with all the framing done, the sheetrock up, and the door runner hung. All that was left was to finish up the cosmetic work, such as sanding down the edges, filling nail holes, and making sure everything was ready for primer and paint. It still amazes me that we moved so quickly with this pantry, with only 2 people working on it. While hubby Charles can do all types of crafty things around the house, carpentry is not his forte. So we hired Scott to help him out, especially when it came to hanging the doors. Now I can’t say enough good things about Scott; dependable, affordable, and very good. So, if you need some odd jobs done around the house, Scott is the one to talk to (he even lets husbands help him). I found Scott on Angie’s List, listed under Scott’s Handyman Service. He farms for a living, doing this on the side, so you may have to wait a little bit, but his service is so worth it. However, he was only 1 week out when we scheduled ours. Ready for Finishing The hard part is done, the walls have two coats of primer, it’s time for shelving, paint and trim. And the Final Product Giving up my desk, which I never used, was a worthwhile sacrifice. Losing a space that was not really big enough for a desk, gave us a pantry 3 times larger. If we had done all the work ourselves, we would have saved even more. However, using recycled, reclaimed, and seconds, our material cost was around $500. [ultimatetables 4 /]
Inexpensive Food Storage Expansion – Day 1
It was called a pantry, but as small as it was, I called it a broom closet for food. The Broom Closet Pantry Before Homely little thing, isn’t it (and I stress little)? Not to mention, barely enough room to store a month’s worth of food. Actually, I love to cook for family and friends, and that requires storage room, which I didn’t have. And did I tell you, I also love to can and preserve food in various ways? So What Did We Do? I Gave Up My Desk 3 years ago, I made the move from desktop to laptop. With that switch, came the unused desk, aka “catch-all”. Built into the wall next to the pantry, the desk served its purpose, for a time. It did give me some small cabinets above, but nothing to write home about in the storage for food issue. When I came home from work, about 6 months ago, my husband met me at the door and said, “I just had a brain storm.” Now, I don’t know about you, but when my husband says something like that, I want to run. All I could say was, “Uh oh!” His answer? “Don’t worry, it’s a great idea.” Uh oh…….. Needless to say, I was wrong (thank goodness). He had a great idea for an inexpensive food storage expansion by removing the desk, extend the pantry; so simple yet ingenious. So I picked up a couple extra freelance jobs, we bought the material and off we went. Step 1: Tear it Down Going, Going, Gone I think this was the hardest part about the whole project, mainly because it was so messy; sheet rock dust everywhere. But, I must admit, it was kind of fun taking a swing at the wall. Step 2: Framing it In Framing Going Up The framing was completed the first half of day one. It surprised me how quickly it went up and it was relatively easy to do. Step 3: Now the Walls Sheet Rock Walls are Up Track for Sliding Barn Style Doors This was the last job at the end of day one. It went a lot smoother than we anticipated and much quicker. Look for my “Day 2” post to see the final results and a rundown of what we spent. With a little research and some creative ideas, it cost a lot less than what you might think.
Raising Show Chickens
Raising Show Chickens and What I Need to Know Backyard chicken farmers raise chickens for various reasons with two of the most common being eggs and pets. However, with the rising popularity of raising show chickens, we need more information about this hobby. First Things First My best advice to anyone wanting to raise show chickens is: research—research—research. Besides reading articles on line and in poultry publications, talk to your local extension and 4-H offices. First you need to find out where the shows are and what criteria you’re required to meet. Show chicken judging uses various criteria and fixed standards for the breed includes: [ultimatetables 3/] Show Chicken Breeds There are many show breeds to choose from, but I am only going to list five of the more popular ones. Start with this list and research the judging criteria for these chickens. Roosters are normally chosen for show poultry because of their feather and coloring characteristics. For beginners, start out with only one or two breeds and don’t add another until you gain experience with these. This is the best advice I can give you yet many ignore it, eventually setting themselves up for failure. Silkie – Fluffy, silky feeling plumage, dark blue flesh and earlobes, and five toes on each foot, makes this chicken a favorite at poultry shows. They come in several colors including, white, buff, black, gray, blue, red, and mottled variations. They are the most docile with a calm and friendly temperament, making them ideal pets and show chickens. Something to consider before deciding to show Silkies is their high maintenance, making them less ideal for the beginner. Polish – Known for the crest of feathers adorning their head, the Polish were originally kept as egg layers but today are primarily kept as show birds. These tame chickens are timid and easily frightened because of limited vision caused by the crest which covers most of their head. This limited vision can impact their temperament. Houdan – Native to France, the Houdan is an attractive bird with many distinctive features. Like the Polish, the Houdan has a crested head and five toes. Their earlobes and wattles are small and hidden by the feathered bearding and crest. They come in two colors, white and mottled (black with white spotting). Silver Spangled Hamburg – This is a beautiful show bird with trim, stylish, and delicate features. They are good flyers and active, making them less suitable to confinement. As well as the silver spangled, Hamburgs are found in gold spangle and silver pencil color variations. Seabright – A true bantam, or miniature bird with no large version of the breed, is a beautiful ornamental chicken. Seabright is strictly an ornamental chicken, and boasts a specialist club for enthusiasts. The plumage on all Seabrights has lacy black edges on a silver white or dark gold base. Their legs are unfeathered with slate-blue skin while their combs, earlobes, and wattles are bright red. Seabrights are tame but males may become protective around hens, possibly turning on their owners however, this can happen with any rooster breed. My best advice if you plan to raise show chickens—always buy chicks and buy from a knowledgeable and reputable breeder. Hatcheries breed for quantity and their birds are not show quality. Your local extension and 4-H offices can help you find a breeder. Picking Your Show Chicken When deciding which of your chickens to show, good fit stock is essential. Always look for: Overall fitness and condition—sound plumage and good physical traits. Conformation or shape—comply with breed standards. Color—comply with breed standards. [callout title=Tip]When showing chickens, especially for children, it’s always good to have backup show birds. Sometimes, molting season comes during a show so backup birds of the same breed can fill in.[/callout] Family Fun As the cost of living rises, more people are looking for alternative family fun, moving away from expensive movies, concerts and other high priced events. With the rise in urban backyard chicken farming, raising show poultry is quickly gaining popularity. Raising show chickens is fun for the whole family and gives parents and kids some all-important bonding time. It’s a great, inexpensive hobby with competitions on the local, state, and national level. If raising backyard chickens interests you, then you’ll love the striking plumage, bright colors, and even some of the weird features of show chickens. Look for future posts about raising show chickens including how to bathe your chickens. Visit The “Chick” Boutique.
Raising Chickens as Pets
When you consider getting a pet, your first thought is a cat or dog. However, keeping chickens as pets is growing in popularity as people become aware of the advantages to having a small, backyard flock. Advantages to Pet Chickens Chickens are fun and educational: more interesting than TV. Like other pets, chickens have varying personalities. They provide hours of enjoyment as they interact with each other and their surroundings. Did you know you can buy diapers for your chickens so they can come in the house? Many breeds are easy to manage and tamed by hand-feeding and handling regularly. Some roosters, which many associate with aggressiveness, are tamable with proper handling. I don’t recommend getting a rooster until you’ve had chickens for at least a year and are comfortable with handling them. Besides the entertainment and educational value, chickens offer several advantages to their upkeep. Inexpensive—Chickens cost less than you think. Your biggest expense is setting up to house your chickens and that can be done relatively cheaply if you use your imagination. Follow our progress as we build a new coop and pen for $200 or less. As well as kitchen scraps, chickens need feed. Most feed costs between $10 and $15 for a 50 lb bag. Depending on how many chickens you have, one 50 lb bag may last for one month. I also provide mealy worms as treats in the wintertime. You can get a container for around $5. Chicks range from $3 to $10 and $10 to over $50 for grown chickens. The price of chickens depends on what you’re raising them for. I have seen grown show roosters go for $50, but for the average backyard chicken farmer, your chicks will cost around $5 each for good laying hens. I buy online from eFowl. They are located in California and have great service and healthy chicks. I just received a shipment of 15 new chicks: Orpingtons and Ameracaunas. They’re healthy, adorable and so much fun. Shipping is free for orders of 25 or more and only $9.99 for less than 25 chicks. Eggs—The best known advantage to raising chickens as pets is their eggs. What other pets do you know that feed their owners? Farm fresh eggs from chickens allowed to forage provide healthier eggs with lower cholesterol and higher amounts of Omega-3s. Allergies—If you can’t own a dog or cat because of fur and dander allergies, consider chickens. Pest Control—If you try to avoid chemicals and toxins for pest control, then chickens are your best bet. Chickens love bugs and quickly rid your yard of unwanted pests. It’s fun watching them play tag with their latest find; as soon as one drops the bug, the next one has it and the chase is on again. Natural Garbage Disposal—Don’t throw leftovers and out-of-date food away. Chickens will eat almost anything: vegetables, fruits, melons, greens, and bread to name a few. Never give them meat, eggs or anything moldy. My chickens are especially fond of beet greens (cooked) and melons. Mow Your Lawn—Do you have a spot you hate to mow? Let your chickens forage in different areas you want weed control; they’ll take it bare dirt for you. The Black Gold of the Chicken World—Chicken poop is the best fertilizer for gardens. Properly composted poop provides most of the nutrients your soil needs. We compost in the chicken pen. We place scraps, grass clippings, leaves, etc. in one corner and by the end of the day the pile is flat. We continue adding clippings and food stuff throughout the week then on the weekends, we rake the entire pen move everything outside in our composting pile that is close by then start all over. Chicken poop needs to set for at least six months before using or you will burn your plants. Start your compost pile as soon as your chickens move outside and you will have a nice fertilizer by the next growing season. Great Hobby—You can’t go wrong with raising chickens for a hobby. It’s easy and helps teach children pet ownership responsibility. Children and adults find interest in raising show chickens. There are many clubs and organizations offering competitions. It’s a hobby the whole family will enjoy. The breed of show chicken depends on your interest and the age of the person handling the chicken. If your children are going to show them, I suggest small breeds like the Bantam Cochin. If you have fancy in mind, try some of the Japanese breeds. Always practice proper sanitation and hand washing when handling chicks or any other pets. My Top Pet Breed Recommendations Not all chicken breeds make good pets. However, some are friendly and if well cared for may offer you 8 to 12 years of companionship. I advise avoiding roosters until you become an experienced backyard chicken farmer. In some breeds, roosters are aggressive and can hurt you or the other chickens in your flock. Ameraucana/Easter Egger This is the first of my two favorite pet breeds. Thought to have been developed in the United States, much of their popularity comes from laying blue or blue-green colored. Their non aggressive behavior makes them excellent pets for children. Ameraucanas are sometimes confused with the Araucana. Both have pea combs and red earlobes and lay blue/blue-green colored eggs. The Ameraucana is a different breed and recognizable by their facial muffs and beard, full tails, and slate or black legs. Ameraucanas come in large and bantam varieties with eight officially recognized colors by the American Poultry Association: White, Black, Blue, Blue Wheaten, Wheaten, Buff, Red Brown, and Silver. Most hatcheries only offer a mixed color selection. The ones that do offer a color choice are slightly more expensive. A full-size hen weighs 5 ½ pounds while a bantam hen only weighs 26 ounces. The large cock weighs in at 6 ½ pounds compared to its bantam counterpart at only 30 ounces. Orpington Named after Orpington, England the Orpington chicken is kept for
Heat Stress and Keeping Your Chickens Cool
The snow is gone and warm weather is returning; it’s time to start practicing hot weather care for your backyard flock. Knowing how to prevent and treat heat stress and exhaustion is important during the hot summer months. Heat stress and exhaustion is one of the top causes of chicken death. For those new to backyard chicken farming, it is important you learn to recognize the signs of this serious condition and how to keep your chickens cool and hydrated. Chicks, especially, need extra attention to help them remain healthy. For a flock of laying hens, knowing how to prevent heat exhaustion and treat a chicken suffering heat exhaustion is important to preserving their health and the health of their eggs. Once your chicks are old enough to move outdoors, remain vigilant for signs of heat stroke, especially if it’s mid to late summer. Heat stress comes on quickly so it is important to watch them closely. Even older birds need supervision during the hot summer months. Signs of Heat Stress Like dogs, chicks and grown chickens pant to keep cool—the first sign they need shade and water. With heat stress, they are open mouth panting while spreading their wings and squatting close to the ground. They are trying to lose heat by adjusting their feather position. • Gasping and panting • Spreading wings • Lethargic and droopy acting • Extremely pale cones and wattles • Closed eyes • Lying down • Drop in egg production • Reduced egg size, egg weight, and poor shell quality • Increased thirst • Decreased appetite • Lost body weight • Increased cannibalism Laying hens are susceptible to heat exhaustion. Water is the main content of an egg. Laying eggs requires a lot of fluids so keeping your hens hydrated and comfortable is important. Egg layers also require large amounts of calcium to avoid soft eggshells. When hot, your hens may not eat as much so calcium consumption is low. Try adding small amounts of apple cider vinegar to their water 2-3 times a week. This helps to level their pH, making calcium absorption easier. [callout title=WARNING]Never give heat stressed chickens apple cider vinegar. Only give to chickens with no signs of heat stress. [/callout] Tips for Keeping Your Chickens Cool • Fresh, clean water access—I urge you not to use nipple style watering systems as the only water source, summer or winter. Chickens have a natural pecking order with those higher in the order blocking others from the water. Always have many water sources available. Use automatic waters or open pans of water. I prefer hanging the water slightly above the ground when possible to avoid dirt and debris from dirtying the water. • Cool the water down—Add ice cubes or blocks of ice to their water. This helps lower their body temperature. We use empty, gallon milk jugs for blocks of ice. These help cool the water for several hours. • Fruit cubes—Besides placing blocks of ice in their water, we place strawberries and red grapes in ice cube trays, fill with water, and freeze. We then pour the ice cubes in their water pan. They love pecking at the colorful cubes at they float in the water. • Watermelon—Our chickens love watermelon. During the hot part of the summer, I buy them a watermelon once a week. Watermelon is mostly water so it goes a long way to keep them hydrated. • Get a mister—For between $15 and $20, you can get a cobra water mister. Just set around your pen and the wind will carry a fine, cooling mist over your birds. • With the Oklahoma heat topping 100+ degrees for several weeks at a time, we invested in a large, high velocity fan. We connect an extension cord then place the fan under a nearby tree and point toward the chicken pen. Several of our chickens lay as close to the fan as possible, letting the air ruffle their feathers. Try positioning it so the air blows across your frozen water jugs. • Since our night temperatures aren’t much cooler than daytime, usually averaging 80° F, we place frozen water jugs in the chicken coop. We use 4-5 frozen jugs, and the hens like to lay close to them. We usually place them close to the roost and nesting boxes. • Feeding—As with people, chickens need a lighter diet during the summer months to help preserve a lower body temperature. Never feed your chicken scratch grains as just the act of digesting scratch increases body temperature. Their diet should consist of lots of fresh greens, fruits and vegetables. • Water is not enough—Providing water is not enough if your chickens are heat stressed. Water intensifies the problem by stimulating the loss of electrolytes: birds drink more increasing wet droppings which causes electrolyte loss and hastens dehydration. You must include a balanced electrolyte solution by supplying homemade electrolytes or Pedialyte or Gatorade with their water. Electrolyte Solution Found in The Chicken Encyclopedia: ½ teaspoon salt substitute 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon table salt 1 tablespoon sugar 1 gallon water Note: Find salt substitute in the spice aisle of most grocery stores. Give the electrolyte solution for four to six hours each day for a week. Do not give to chickens that are not showing signs of heat stress. Find this recipe and instructions in The Chicken Encyclopedia by Gail Damerow. I strongly urge all backyard chicken farmers to add this book to their library. Gail discusses heat stress as well as giving her readers lots of useful information for raising chickens. [callout title=Tip]If you live in a hot climate, buy heat tolerant breeds. The same goes for people living with harsh winters, try keeping cold tolerant birds. [/callout] [ultimatetables 1 /] Visit The “Chick” Boutique.
New Chicken Coop and Pen on the “Cheep” – Step 2
If you haven’t noticed by now, we bargain hunt, dumpster dive, repurpose and reuse; from Craig’s List to raiding dump piles along our back roads, anything is possible. Nothing is more obvious of our money saving ideas than our quest to build a new chicken pen and coop for $200 or less. I’m happy to report, we are meeting that goal. Craig’s List Find and the Plan of Action I must tell you, I’m addicted to Craig’s List; it’s a bargain hunter’s paradise. However, when using, always take extra safety precautions. We only meet sellers during daylight hours and we never go alone. A couple of weeks ago, we came across an advertisement for a Rubber Maid storage building: Like new condition with all parts including the instruction booklet…$100 or best offer. We offered $75 and have a nice, nearly new building for our chicken coop. The panels are slightly warped but will straighten out once we have the brackets and screws in. Our plan of action is simple, or at least we hope it is. The foundation of the coop is plastic pallets from hubby’s job: no charge. It has a plastic floor bottom making spring and fall super cleaning easy; just muck out then hose down. [callout title=TIP]When putting something together, read the instructions, it makes things much simpler. It’s amazing how easy it goes up when you put it together correctly.[/callout] There are four skylights in the roof, windows in each door, and vents in both the front and back peak. This will allow light for cleaning and egg gathering as well as providing ventilation. In the winter, we will cover the vents to keep it warm inside. Of course we have our supervisors during this procedure…meet Rocky, our Polish rooster. Rocky is part of the new chicks we added to our flock this year. Rocky likes to strut his stuff, but as you can see, the girls just ignore him. He isn’t crowing yet but I’m sure when he does, it will be impressive. We weren’t going to get any roosters, but Rocky and one other Polish were in the batch. We love Polish and couldn’t resist taking both of them. Cher is the female Polish (not pictured). She doesn’t have a large topknot of feathers yet like Rocky does. She is a beautiful reddish blond, much darker than her male counterpart. With the help of our excellent supervising team, we were able to get the building up in one day. Of course, if we had read the instructions first, we probably would have saved a couple of hours. Our next step is level it out so the door hangs properly, cut a hole in the side and add a ramp for the chickens to enter. The building is about 3 inches away from the fence so we need something to cover the chicken’s entrance to the building. We have an idea and will share that in our final post. We also need to finish the inside: add nesting boxes, a roost, and hang the waterer and feeder. Coming soon (hopefully next week) our final phase of Chicken Coop and Pen on the Cheep. [callout title=See How it All Began] Chicken Coop and Pen on the “Cheep” – Step 1[/callout]
Reasons for Not Raising Backyard Chickens
Anyone who knows me, knows I love my backyard chickens. What’s not to love? The happy clucking of a small flock as they peck around the yard or the delightful squawks as an unlucky worm is spotted for a midday snack. Then there’s the bliss of fresh eggs with their orange yolks and wonderful flavor. However, raising chickens is not all wine and roses; there are some distasteful aspects you should consider before jumping into backyard chicken farming. Consider Costs While we tractor our chickens to different places and feed them table scraps, we still have to supplement their diet with organic layer pellets. More costly than traditional pellets, organic will set you back about $20 for a 50-pound bag. With a flock of 10-15 hens, this will last about a month during the summer. In the winter, when fresh pickings are scarce, expect to double the amount. We prefer knowing their food is pesticide free making organic our only choice. Chickens are what they eat, so consider that before making the choice between organic and conventional laying pellets. Special Diets Throughout the different stages of their life, chickens need specialized diets. Without the proper nutrition, they will develop health problems like soft shell eggs or breaking feathers. I urge you to buy Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow and The Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerow and Jeanne Smith DVM. These books are great reference books for beginners and experienced backyard chicken farmers alike. Early Risers Have you heard the saying, “up with the chickens”? Chickens are early risers; going to bed willingly at dusk while rising at first light, eager for their daily foraging. Since they are easy prey for predators, you must close the chicken coop door closed each night at dusk and opened the first thing each morning. If this cramps your style, consider getting an automatic chicken coop door opener. Just set it to open at dawn and close at dusk. Garden Chaos Many backyard chicken farmers let their flock free range. It produces healthy and nutritious eggs and meat, while giving you happy chickens. When free ranging, they forage for food just about anywhere including the garden. Besides mowing your lawn, they love to scratch through mulch to uncover hidden treasures underneath. Chickens can decimate a garden in a matter of hours. I suggest directing them to your compost pile as they are great for turning and stirring up your mixture. My best advice: anything you don’t want eaten, fence in. Necessary Cleanup For being so small, it’s amazing how much waste a small flock of chickens produce. It’s necessary to clean out your chicken coop weekly. So what do you do with all that chicken poo? With a NPK rating of 1.1-.80-.50, chicken manure is an excellent fertilizer when composted for 8-9 months before using. Using raw chicken manure will burn your plants when not composted. Natural Mothering Instinct Whether you have a rooster for fertilized eggs or not, hens have the innate need to nest; known as being “broody”. When not nesting, hens display a phantom motherhood with fluffed feathers and protective attitude. In their protectiveness, they often lay eggs in hidden places making egg gathering difficult at times. Your chickens may even develop an egg eating habit so it’s important to look for eggs twice a day more often if your egg production declines. Easy Dog Targets Dogs are a chicken’s worst enemy; with a born preference for killing chickens, dogs rarely eat their kill but do it for the sport. Having a fenced yard or watchdog is important for keeping neighborhood dogs out. Egg Laying Strikes Sometimes it seems like your hens are on strike with few to no eggs laid as they lay around in cool patches, not producing. I guess when you think about it, laying eggs is hard work and everyone deserves a break every once in a while. This is common for most chickens and laying resumes after a day or two. However, in the winter months or hot weather, your hens may not lay at all. Regardless of these reasons for not raising chickens, I can’t imagine not having such wonderful creatures share our homestead. They provide our family with nutritious eggs and meat, are a natural pest control, great composting and fertilizing machines, and provide hours of entertainment. The good we get from our chickens outweigh the bad. I urge anyone considering a backyard flock to fully weigh the pros and cons of being a backyard chicken farmer. It’s vital you know ahead of time what raising chickens actually entails.