~ Recycled Lumber Chicken Coops ~



My husband built this coop for some friends for a wedding present. Except for the hardware, all the materials used were from recycled pallets. The shingles are left over from another project we had.  It will be delivered today along with four hens and a rooster so that they have eggs right away.

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~ How to Make Your Own Chick Starter & Elecrolyte Water ~

This is what we are using for a chick starter this year. We left the grains whole but soaked them and the chicks are eating them fine. I think we are going to run them through the grain grinder on coarse for the next batch just to make it a little easier for the little ones to eat.

2 cups wheat
1 cup each of oats and barley
3/4 cup greenstuff
3/4 cup lentils or peas, which ever the co-op has
1/4 raw milk kefir
1 Tablespoon molasses
3 teaspoons trace mineral salt
pieces of apple core, carrot peelings, alfalfa,...

We decided to make our own electrolyte mix for their water this year as well.

1 qrt of water
1/2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 tbsp raw honey
1/2 tsp sea salt

We really just wanted to get away from all commercial feeds and mixes so that we can make sure that we know exactly what our birds are getting. We get organic grains and when we mix them ourselves it is also cheaper. Stay tuned for some more pictures, the boys ordered "ninja chicks" for their 4H projects and they are so cute. This post is shared at:

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~ New Babies Have Arrived ~

~ New Chickens ~

We have one broody hen at the moment and come Sunday, we should have about 66 balls of fluff running around. Twenty-five new laying hens, 25 meat birds, 6 chickens for 4H, 6 new ducks and 4 geese. The kids are really excited and so I am. I will post pictures and maybe even a video, so stay tuned.

~ Our Newest Additions ~

While waiting for our chickens to lay eggs, we have been getting some from friends. Sherri called me last week saying that they were moving and didn't have a place for all the chickens and asked if we wanted them, she just wanted a dozen eggs a week in return.

I said sure! What a sweet deal! I'm not really sure I thought this one through. We have 25 hens of our own and just added another 19. That means when they are all laying we will be getting 44 eggs A DAY. Holy Moly! As of tomorrow morning I will have almost two dozen eggs in my fridge. (four of our hens are laying)

I am going to look at this in a positive light, we can all eat as many eggs as we want in one sitting and we will have plenty to sell or share. I wonder if the food shelf can take eggs? I will definitely check on that one.

~ I Really Want Chickens... ~

Light Brahmas I have heard this statement several times over the last few month, especially when people learn that we have chickens. It is not really as hard as one would think. During the first few weeks they are a bit time consuming, you need to check several times a day to make sure they have fresh water and food. After a month, I only check them twice a day. Once in the morning to let them out and give them fresh food and water and once at night to shut their door. They do not have to have an insulated coop as adult birds, even way up here in Northern Minnesota. When it gets really cold we turn on a heat lamp to help them out. We had a few get frost bite on their combs this winter, but they were fine. The part that was frostbitten just fell off and they are less likely to get frostbite again.

This was our first coop. It is the remodeled play house (the one that dad never really finished but was loved anyway). See the little chicks. We used this as our brooder house this year. When the chicks were big enough to free range they went out with the big chickens. With the addition of 65 chicks and 11 ducks this year we need to make a bigger coop. We are still in the planning stages for that project. This is our very simple summer hoop coop. We could winterize it but we want all of the chickens together for the winter. This was made for last years hens so that the baby's could have the other coop.
This is the inside of our hoop coop. There are four boxes in the back with a trap door at the back of the boxes so we can get at the eggs without having to go in the coop. My husband cut down some iron woods for roosts which are attached at the top of the hoop. These next shots are of my little sister coop. They have back yard chickens. This coop is perfect and houses 12 adorable little red hens. It is 4 x 8 with a little run. The coop is split into a top and bottom section. The roof is a clear green house plastic. When it is hot my sis props the top open to let the air circulate. It is light enough to be movable so in the summer months the chicken can always have access to fresh grass. This is a great option for backyard chickens because they will eat all of your landscaping and plants and this way they won't poop in your neighbors yard.

Some cities will allow you to have backyard chickens as long as they are all hens. Four to six little hens will give you a nice supply of eggs. They are great at helping along compost pile with their natural willingness to pick and scratch. So, if you really want chickens, check out city ordinances, find a little chicken house (a used dog house would even work, I have even heard of some people using old entertainment centers) and get some chickens. Beware, they can be addicting.