Keeping Chickens

Silly Guinea Fowl

20 Aug

I’ve noticed that chickens have a pretty good sense of spatial relationships. There are two pop holes in our hen house, and the chickens have no problem figuring out that they can use either of them to get in and out. Not the guineas. Whichever door she exits through in the morning becomes, in her mind, the only one that she can use for the rest of the day. If that door happens to be closed when she’s ready to roost for the evening, she’ll sit outside forlornly looking at the other open door.

Silly guineas.

Missing Chickens

7 Jul

One of our hens disappeared without a trace. The next day we were missing several more. This pattern is typical of bobcat depredation, and there have been recent bobcat sightings in the neighborhood. We modified the chicken paddock so that … Read More »

Chicken Feed

1 Apr

Would somebody please explain why I find this advice plastered all over the internet? “Table scraps are, at best, junk food for your chickens. Scraps should be offered sparingly as an occasional extra-special treat, and the chicken’s primary nutritional requirements … Read More »

My Take On the Automatic Car Antenna Pop Hole Opener

19 Mar

The hen house isn’t fully automated, but I’d like to think Mrs. Tweedy of Chicken Run fame would be impressed with our new automatic hen house door opener. Now we can go on vacation without worrying about whether the chicken … Read More »

We Need More Eggs!

29 Feb

So it finally happened. Our neighbors are buying eggs as fast as the hens can lay them. In fact, one day last week when we had no more eggs to put in the roadside stand, a neighbor carried an egg … Read More »

A Word About Ventilation

26 Jan

I noticed a distinct difference between having the hardware cloth covered with tarps and having them open. The first day all seemed fine. On the second day the coop felt damp and had a stronger earthy smell than usual. There … Read More »

2016 Blizzard

24 Jan

I don’t know how folks who live in real snowy climates manage their birds in winter. We got about 18 inches of snow Friday and yesterday and didn’t even try to get in the chicken coop yesterday. Knowing we might … Read More »

Chicken Poop

19 Jan

We must be doing something wrong. Prior to getting the chickens, I consumed a wealth of information about chicken husbandry from that infallible source of truth and knowledge, the internet. Some of the information was silly (Chicken sweaters? Really?). Some … Read More »