If you have
not yet experienced the joys of raising chickens - allow me to enlighten you - they are
wonderful. Not only are these fiesty fowl the deliverers of tasty farm-fresh eggs, they offer a powerful boost to your compost and a natural remedy for pest control in the garden. What's more, they are available in beautiful varieties and are an aesthetic asset to any backyard or farm.
Feeding: The chicks must be fed medicated feed for the first 2-3 months. When they are of age, it is good practice to begin feeding them egg-producers feed. It is available at any local feed store, and is also available in organic varieties through online retailers, such as LionsGrip.com. However, I would recommend mixing your own organic feed if you are able. A good resource is
http://organicchickens.homestead.com/ChickenFeedRecipes.html.
Egg Layers: Hens will begin to lay at 4-6 months of age. A good way to encourage them to lay is by placing a fake egg in their nesting box, (a tip shared by our local ag-teacher). Different breeds of chickens lay different color eggs. One of my favorite egg colors comes from the Barred Rock chicken. They lay the prettiest robin egg blue/green egg. Almost too pretty to crack and eat...almost. When the hens begin to lay, you must collect the eggs promptly. I recommend creating a schedule of when to check the hen boxes. They must be rinsed and then refrigerated. Farm fresh eggs are perfect. They have a wonderful taste, and their yolks are slightly more yellow than store-bought.
For Composting: Their hen boxes are stuffed with gritty chopped hay, that when cleaned out once per week adds much needed nutrients to the compost bins. (I use chopped hay because it absorbs the chicken waste quicker and then decomposes at a faster rate in the compost bin.) Additionally, their cracked egg shells, once spent in the kitchen can go right back out to the compost bin. They add calcium to your new earth.
For Garden Pest Control: Free range chickens will get the job done in the gardens with no work from you, all you must do is provide them access. Coop kept chickens are a horse of a different color. Once the chicks become young chickens and are used to their coop, you may open the door and release them during the day. They will put themselves back in the coop at night, all you will have to do is make sure they are safe from predators during the day and remember to shut the coop door for them at night :-).
Coop Building: For ideas on how to build a chicken coop and well, just an all-around good resource, visit Backyard Chickens at
http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.htmlBenefits: Raising chickens is very satisfying and enjoyable. They are of little work and of great reward. Furthermore, it brings you and your family a healthy and natural food source without chemical treatments and packaging, and in doing such brings you just a little bit closer to sustainability.
The photo above is of Gracie, our beautiful and productive Delaware Hen. Below is our gorgeous bounty of eggs.
So, I needed a pretty gift to add to a gift basket for a friend's new baby boy. Monkeys were her theme. I love monkeys and my favorite monkey of all is the classic sock monkey. When I want to make something nice, I hit my favorite fabric store: Houston Street Mercantile. To my local Tolarites, and Granburidians: if you have neglected to visit this store as of yet - plan a visit very soon! Okay, no more monkeying around, on with the story....so...sock monkeys. I found Houston Street carried the sock monkey prints by Moda - yay! I paired these lovely prints with some nice "boy" plaids. I also purchased some of their all natural batting, which I love. Long story short, for $39.00 and 2 hours of my time, my dear friend got a one of a kind gift...with love in every stitch. My dependency on Walmart wains.....
