used my tax return to get some chickens and a coop. Was meaning to do this for a long time but I have been very busy. Chicks are still very young so I won't get eggs for a while. I need to learn how to process chickens still, but it's intimidating :0x . I am so obsessed with these chickens! Lol! I have six, which is the max I'm allowed to have here in the city.
Got it! Supposedly these are female chicks, but I am leaving room for the possibility of some being roosters. They are super addictive so nobody would have to push me very hard to buy a few more chicks, lol! The coop was made by a man here in wa who builds them for a living. I am NOT handy, but I didn't want something flimsy. Another woman and I were able to bring it in to the yard using a dolly, but if I have to move it again I'm going to get a few big guys to help out.
All good suggestions. I would recommend drying the egg shells in an oven that has just finshed baking / roasting. This should kill off any bacteria lurking around in any yolk residue and will make the shells more brittle, and easier to grind, either in a coffee grinder reserved for the purpose, or ground using a mortar and pestle.
Good Job! I do think you need a nicer coop though, maybe one with a Jacuzzi and a Wet Bar! I have about 40 chickens and 15 Turkeys, with a batch of 20 eggs expected today. Big Bang for the buck. They eat about the same amount but Males hit 20 lbs in about 8 months and the females about 12-15. The gobble is much less annoying than the crowing. Just a thought.
I just added a jacuzzi but the chickens aren't old enough to drink yet lol. Wait do you keep the turkeys for eggs? I can't even have roosters in my city because of the crowing, so I have to eat or sell any Roos I end up with. I am really wanting to get out to the country, I need to start saving my pennies.
No, they only lay about 40 eggs if you take the first clutch of 12-20 away they'll lay more, then they sit them.They can be eaten, my Dad told me their better than chicken eggs, but I think its a waste when they produce a 15-25 lb bird to eat. That's about, a lot of meals!! Just have fun with what you can do now. Get some raised be gardens going and Meat Rabbits, they are quiet and you can get away with as many as you can handle, fast turn around and their selling for around $8-10 a lb right now. I have about 80 and love it!
Yes rabbits are in my list. I am growing a few easy things in the garden this summer and I will expand on it next summer if I am still here!
Hahaha I was just about to ask about keeping ducks for eggs. Very interesting! I had no idea they were better layers.
Congrats on the new chicks. I save all my egg shells, then nuke them for about 30 seconds to finish drying them out. Once a week I'll put them in a small grinder and turn them in to powder. I then make a "treat" for my girls. Cheap, regular yogurt, blackberries (we picked these from our BOL, so no cost other than our time), ground flax seed, & the ground egg shells. In the summer this is a cool treat to help the chickens stay cool, along with putting a few ice cubes in their water. I did the chicken tractor, now it's a stationary coup with a fenced in pen. I got tired of needing to move it every day (the "run" area of the tractor was 4x10, the coup was 4x4) and the birds would dig down into the dirt for dust baths making the yard pitted and hard to keep moving the tractor. I will now occasionally open the pen and let them roam the yard (like on weekends when I'm home)
My buddy got some chicks a coupla weeks ago. He and his boy are already smitten. He thinks he has a rooster. I say eat him. He says "rehome' him. LOL
Yeah we are totally obsessed :0x . My girls love sitting in the chicken coop and my middle girl made her science project about chickens. Lol!
You can teach chickens to come when you call. When you feed them just bang on the bucket or pot and call them the same way every time. Soon they will be climbing the fence as you approach and call. I used to sit in the back lawn in a chair and hand feed them. Wife thought I was crazy talking to them---Hmmm, come to think about it-lol. Did you know you can lay a chicken on its back, rub it's tummy, and it will go to sleep?
Lol! Yes we almost have them trained to do it. Hey do recognize that red bag of meal worms and come running when we shake it!