Composting, Chickens and Rats: Oh My!
This reader’s question is from Bobbi, who recently became a faithful reader of Go Gingham. Bobbi shared with me that she’s ready to get disciplined about being frugal and is on a financial cleanse. Love it, Bobbi, congratulations and great job! Bobbi writes, “We started chicks this year and we are having fun. Here are {Composting, Chickens and Rats: Oh My!}
Moving Pullets to the Hen House
Our little baby chicks have turned into teenagers over the last few weeks and with night time temperatures close to 50 degrees, we decided it was time for moving our pullets to the big house. They were also outgrowing their brooder and had escaped one evening while we were at our neighbors. Moving pullets in {Moving Pullets to the Hen House}
Chicken Coop Basics
There are so many designs to choose from when it comes to chicken coops. When we built our coop, we didn’t follow a particular design. We were trying to use up all of our leftover building supplies from rebuilding our garage as well as fit it into our small backyard. Chickens aren’t particular when it {Chicken Coop Basics}
How to Set Up a Brooder for Chicks
Once you’ve determined that backyard chickens are right for you, the next step is to set up a brooder for baby chicks. A brooder is a little box or tub with just the right temperature for your baby chicks. It’s doesn’t have to be fancy at all. Your chicks won’t notice if it’s an old {How to Set Up a Brooder for Chicks}
The Good and Bad of Backyard Chickens
There are good points and bad points when it comes to having backyard chickens. For us, the good outweighs the bad and we love keeping chickens on our urban homestead otherwise known as our small backyard in the city, but it’s a good idea to know what you’re in for.
Are Backyard Chickens Right For You?
If you’re thinking about keeping chickens on a small urban homestead, otherwise known as a backyard, there are several points to consider. Chickens are sweet pets, will give you delicious eggs, and provide you with entertainment but before heading out to pick out your chicks, you’ll want to have a few things lined up first. {Are Backyard Chickens Right For You?}
How to Hold Baby Chicks
When we have baby chicks, all the kids on our street want to come over and hold them. It’s great watching the kids be gentle with the chicks or overcoming their fears of grabbing them and holding them. When the chicks are held closely, they feel calmer and many times their eyes will close and {How to Hold Baby Chicks}
The Best Ever Egg Salad Sandwiches
When our backyard chickens first began laying eggs, we were so excited. For those little creatures to produce an entire egg almost everyday was somewhat of a miracle. Every egg was tallied (and still is) and we joked about how our chickens, who were finally laying eggs, were laying golden eggs because if we calculated {The Best Ever Egg Salad Sandwiches}
Baby Chicks
We have baby chicks at our house and they’re doing just what babies do – eating, pooping, sleeping, and growing. I think they’re drinking water but I can’t tell because I never see them drinking. They’re so adorable when they’re cute and small. They’re starting to lose their downy fuzz and grow feathers. They’re turning {Baby Chicks}
A New Roof
I’m happy to report that our new roof is installed and finished. I’m even happier to report that I didn’t have to do anything for it. Well, I take that back…I spent 2011 telling my husband that 2012 was the year of the roof and that we were going to pay someone else to install {A New Roof}
Fall in Love with Backyard Chickens
I love keeping chickens in our backyard. The fresh eggs they provide, eating our kitchen scraps, and giving us great material for our compost bins can’t be beat. Chickens are very funny creatures and can be quite amusing. During the summer, we like to sit in the backyard and watch our chickens. If you were {Fall in Love with Backyard Chickens}
Chicken Diva
Photo credit: Benjamin Brink, The Oregonian In case you don’t live in Portland, Oregon and aren’t a daily reader of The Oregonian or you’re not a fan of Go Gingham on Facebook, you may have missed this. Our backyard chicken, Caddie Woodlawn, was in the newspaper earlier this month. She’s rather shy and demure and {Chicken Diva}
Betsy’s Best Brownies
We had to get rid of one our chickens this week. This was not an easy decision as we have come to love our backyard chickens. They’re our pets and we’ve named them all, even though many experts say not to. You don’t want to get too attached to your hens. Betsy Ross was part {Betsy’s Best Brownies}
Fresh Eggs From Our Backyard Chickens
By far the biggest benefit of having backyard chickens is getting eggs. Chickens don’t normally lay in the winter months, unless they receive enough light on their eyes. This is why many chicken coops are lit. We don’t light our coop so we don’t get eggs in the winter but we do miss the fresh {Fresh Eggs From Our Backyard Chickens}
Backyard Chickens: Chicks Gone Wild
Since our chickens are taking a break from laying eggs for the winter, I thought I’d share a video from this past summer. The chicken coop was being cleaned and our chicken, Millie (the dark one), was busy laying when the door was opened. Surprise!! Honestly, I think she was mad that she had been {Backyard Chickens: Chicks Gone Wild}
