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 {Read more about 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. {Read more about 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 {Read more about How to Hold Baby Chicks}
The Non-Gardeners Gardening Strategy
Gardening doesn’t come naturally to me. When someone asks me a question about my garden, it makes me laugh, because I feel like a pretend gardener. With trial and error, I’ve had some successes but mostly because I’ve learned what doesn’t work first. I only like to plant hearty herbs and vegetables that are practically {Read more about The Non-Gardeners Gardening Strategy}
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 {Read more about Baby Chicks}
Three Easy Herbs to Grow
This should really be titled, “Three Fool-Proof Herbs to Grow” because these herbs are easy to grow even if you’ve never gardened before. Growing herbs is an excellent way to get started gardening because you don’t need fancy tools or special equipment to do it. All of these herbs can be grown in the ground {Read more about Three Easy Herbs to Grow}
The Love Honorable Mentions
Now that we’ve completed the “14 Days of Things I Love” series, there are a few items that I really like but, for a variety of reasons (as you’ll see below), didn’t quite make the list.
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 {Read more about Fall in Love with Backyard Chickens}
Growing Vegetables in Alaska
As much as I love living in Alaska, one of the things we have had to give up is good produce. Beware; our grocery store produce is subject to change. When you do buy, best to eat it within a week or it’ll be bad. Up here we have green and then brown, not much {Read more about Growing Vegetables in Alaska}
Growing Vegetables from Saved Seeds
Remember the seeds I saved from our vegetable garden last year? The seeds that I kept in these little bowls with high hopes of planting them this year and watching them grow? Well, I’m pleased to share that growing vegetables from saved seeds is going quite nicely. Pumpkins, squash, and arugula have all come up. {Read more about Growing Vegetables from Saved Seeds}
Growing Vegetables in Small Spaces
We live in the city and have very little space when it comes to gardening. I’m always trying to find space to grow more vegetables. I try to carve out small spots in our yard that I can grow vegetables up instead of taking up lots of ground space. would be very proud of me. {Read more about Growing Vegetables in Small Spaces}
Saving Seeds from Your Garden
Sometimes I try a do it yourself project and it works. Sometimes, not so much. These are seeds I gathered from our vegetable garden last fall. Pumpkin, squash, pepper, and arugula. Saving seeds is supposed to be simple. These seeds are ready to plant. I think. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I’ll keep you {Read more about Saving Seeds from Your Garden}
Raised Garden Beds
Growing your own vegetables is very satisfying. Eating food that you’ve grown in your own garden is a wonderful way to embrace the idea of farm to table. Many homeowners don’t have much space to devote to growing their own food. I definitely fall under this category. We live in the city with a small {Read more about Raised Garden Beds}
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 {Read more about Fresh Eggs From Our Backyard Chickens}
