Homesteading Chicken Coop Build, Chickens, Pond, Garden & Projects

Trying to start figuring out Chicken additions this year.... I know I want a few more egg layers... but trying to decide if I want to do more meat birds...

 

.... Actually in all reality... They were just time consuming in the morning and evening... But not over bearing... Plus the two birds I've eatin' so far have been really good. ... but If I do them again... I'll do them a few weeks earlier... As the 4th of July weekend was a hot sucker to slaughter...

 

Mine are in refeathering mode... haven't had a egg since mid December... But traditionally will lose egg production from December to First of February... I've heard it was due to daylight hours... But I also don't give extra light, just let them be natural....

 

If you have a dirt floor, all that poo, shavings, hay ect can be turned for a natural breakdown process, the stink doesn't get to bad and will actually produce a little heat in the winter.

If a wood floor or non dirt floor, having a "poop shelf" under their roosting bars helps incredibly with keeping the coop fresher and cleaner. If they have a run, they will spend the entire day in it, but while in the coop, most of that time is for laying and sleeping at night. 95% of the poo in the coop happens during the sleeping hours. Putting a layer of bedding from the coop floor on the poop shelf keeps it from sticking, after a week or so, remove for compost, replace with more shavings from the floor.

Having a crate or an area you can separate a chicken from the others during injuries or illness ect is a good idea. Accidents happen, whether a door blows shut on a toe, or a pecking order leads to bleeding, then turns into a feeding frenzy of blood (chickens can be piranhas) having some blue-coat on hand will be helpful.

Natural apple cider vinegar, 1 TBSP per gallon of fresh water every so often keeps them healthy imo.

You shouldn't get super cold at winter, but keeping the wide end of a 2x4 so they can roost flat footed sitting over their feet with their feathery warm bodies can keep any frost bite at bay.

Used egg shells can be recycled by crushing them & adding to their feed or tossed in the run or coop to keep their calcium up to make healthy shells or oyster shells can be bought at TSC or your local feed store. This will also help prevent them from eating their own eggs, which can be a tough habit to break. More on that later.....


I'll be adding some more pullets this spring along with a few layer ducks. I can't wait!