Skip to content

Posts from the ‘Chickens’ Category

Oct 18

3 Comments

Toys For Your Pet Chickens – Cabbage Balls

Oh my word, I read this comment from One Hundred Dollars A Month reader Jesse {about what to do with red cabbage}, and ran outside to try it.  She is a genius!

“You can drill a hole through the head of cabbage, hang it by a string from a branch about 12″ higher than your chickens and watch them jump for it all day!

That is actually recommended when introducing a new bird to the flock because it keeps them all distracted.

Was that what you had in mind for using your cabbage?”

Ummm,

#1 Jesse you are awesome.  Thank you for the great idea.

#2 No.  I was not thinking of doing this with my cabbage… LOL.

#3 The chickens LOVED  their cabbage ball.

Wahoooo!  Now there is one less cabbage to eat.

♥ Mavis

 

Oct 12

5 Comments

Raising Backyard Chickens – Baby Chicks 5 Week Check Up

{Black Fatty, Squireely, Martha, Sqeekers, Jersey}

Well, I finally did it.  On Monday afternoon I set up a little fenced area within the chicken run and let our baby chicks outside for about 4 hours.  On Tuesday I had them outside for 6 hours, and on Wednesday evening, I snuck the baby chicks into the chicken coop at dusk while the other chickens were settling down for the night.

And you know what?  It worked.

On Thursday morning I opened the coop.  And as all the older hens came flying out for breakfast, I resisted the temptation to open the egg hatch and take the baby chicks out.  I made them find their way out of the coop all on their own.

After about 30 minutes or so, they had all figured it out.

Tough love, that’s what I’m talking about.

Last night was the baby chicks second night in the coop.  Since they are still too small to hop up the ladder and get inside themselves, we’ve been gathering them up and placing them in the nesting box each night with Black Fatty and Piggy so they stay nice and warm.  So far, so good.

{Martha showing Picasso who’s boss}

Besides the occasional nip from one of the older chickens, everything seems to be working out fine. But there is one thing I have to remember.  Always feed the older chickens first.  Otherwise, they freak out and scare the babies off and steal their food.

Raising backyard chickens is fun, there is certainly a learning curve to it, but once you get to know your birds, and what they’ll tolerate, you’ll be fine.

Have you ever had to introduce new chickens to older ones?  How did it go?  Did you have any problems?  Do YOU have any tips for the newbies out there?

~Mavis

Read More Chicken Stories

Have you been thinking about getting a few chickens for your backyard?  Check out the book A Chicken in Every Yard: The Urban Farm Store’s Guide to Chicken Keeping By Robert Litt.  Amazon currently has the book on sale for $12.03

*Amazon prices can change at anytime.

Oct 9

4 Comments

Chicken Coop Ideas – Turn a Kids Playhouse into a Chicken Coop

One Hundred Dollars a Month reader Katie sent in some AWESOME pictures of an old kids playhouse she and her family turned in to a chicken coop.  How cool is that?

Here’s what Katie had to say about her coop.

“Its small, but the girls are mighty!  We have 2 Red Stars, both 10 months old.  We converted our kids playhouse for the coop and used an existing fence to support the run.”

“The girls {Cinnamon and Polly} are living the sweet life with plenty of fruit and vegetable scraps.  We are quite close to our neighbors and living in a neighborhood with an HOA.  Its been 2 months since we’ve had them and no one has noticed and/or cared. 

The girls are quiet and free eggs for the neighbors doesn’t hurt either.”

“It may not be fancy, but this baby cost us less than $100 to build including the birds, which we bought from a free range farmer for $12 each.  Love that we are teaching our kids about where their food comes from.  Plus, who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner once a week.”

I don’t know about you Katie, but I think the faux fireplace will come in handy during the winter months. It’s a good thing you installed a roosting bar so they don’t get too hot. HA!

Oh, and the refurbished play house also works as a great time-out spot as well.

Well done Katie, well done!

~Mavis

*If you have a garden, a chicken coop or anything else super exciting and would like to be featured here on onehundreddollarsamonth.com, simply send in your clear, well lit photos to onehundreddollarsamonth {at} gmail.com, along with a brief description of your pictures and I will try and get them posted.

Want to learn more about raising backyard chickens?

You can read about all our adventures raising chickens over HERE.

Thinking about getting a few birds? Check out The Joy of Keeping Chickens: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit By Jennifer Megyesi. Amazon currently has it in stock, and ready to ship.

Sep 28

6 Comments

Raising Backyard Chickens – Baby Chicks 3 Week Check Up

Poor Pablo and Picasso.  They are counting down their days together until Pablo’s first crow.  Once the first crow happens, he’ll be shipped off never to see his woman Picasso again.  It’s tragic, but this is suburbia, and no roosters are allowed.

{Silver Laced Wyandotte}

I think Pablo knows too.  He likes it when The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird holds him, but refuses to let me hold him.

{Silver Laced Wyandotte}

And Picasso won’t even look at us.  She’s totally ticked we are taking away her man.

{Australorp}

Black Fatty on the other hand is happy and ready to take on the world.  She loves to go out to the garden and scratch around while I work in the garden.

{Easter Egger}

Peanut is still rather jittery.  She seems like she’s just doing her time here as a bird.

{Easter Egger}

Matilda is a total nut.  She will look up at us with her glam eyes like “Pick me up, Pick me up,” and then she’ll run around the chicken box like a total crazy pants.  She’s super fun, but she’s definitely hit awkward teenager look.  We think she aspires to be an opera singer.

{Easter Egger}

Ahh Hilda.  Hilda is my BFF.  Every time I walk in to the garage or pull my car in, she hops up to greet me.  She loves me.  I can’t wait for her pretty blue eggs.

{Rhode Island Red}

I’m still not sure about Maroon’s personality.  Anytime I’m near the chicken box she just glances up like “Oh, there’s the lady with the food,” and then looks away like she’s total uninterested.

{Rhode Island Red}

And finally there is my favorite bird 5.  I carry 5 around my shirt when I’m in the garden.  She is the best chicken ever.  I still think she has an inner ear problem because most of the time her head is titled slightly to the left, and when she sleeps her neck is all weird.  I’ll have to try to snap a photo next time she’s sleeping so you can see what I mean.

For the most part, everything with this round of baby chicks is going really well.  Except the rooster part.  But other than that, they are healthy, and growing into strong little birds.  I can’t wait until all our birds start laying eggs next spring.  I may just have to open a cupcake shop to use them all.

~ Mavis

If you are thinking about getting a flock of your own, check out the book Homemade Living: Keeping Chickens with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Care for a Happy, Healthy Flock. Amazon currently has the book on sale for $10.33.

Sep 23

20 Comments

Raising Backyard Chickens – How Do You Tell If a Baby Chick is Male or Female?

Houston, we have a problem.

According to Elizabeth and Destini’s comments on last weeks Backyard Chickens post, Pablo is a boy.  This is VERY bad news, as there is absolutely no way on earth Pablo can stay in our backyard. None.  Not only would my neighbors freak out, so would the Handsome Husband.

In fact, I wasn’t even going to tell the Handsome Husband about Pablo being a boy, but apparently he has taken to reading my blog lately {so I can’t get anyway with anything}.  What a sneak!

This is what Elizabeth had to say “I think Pablo is probably a Roo, so soon it will be easy to tell them apart. Early reddening of his comb is one of the signs. The girls don’t redden up until they are getting close to laying eggs.”

This is what Destini had to say “Ok please dont be mad at me but , Pablo, I think is a baby rooster not a hen. I only say that because when I got my chickens this year I was super paranoid about a rooster ( had a very mean one as a kid). I have a silver laced wyandotte. I researched and researched gender clues and having white patches on the wing was one. BUT the big one was early reddening of the comb and wattles. But they say wyandottes are tricky so I hope I am wrong.”

And I found this on my pet chicken to see what they had to say an “Comb size and redness can be one indicator, but is not usually reliable. In fact, it’s one of the worst indicators you can use, as comb size varies by breed and even individual. For instance, one of my hens has a larger comb than any of her sisters of the same breed, and a larger comb than any of my roosters, too.”

Well, I’m not taking any chances.  As soon as I can find a good home for Pablo, he’s out of here.  Sorry Pablo, but no boys allowed in this backyard.

What do you think?  Is Pablo a rooster or a hen?

Please add your 2 cents in the comment section below.

Thanks,

Mavis

Rubber ChickenPurse ~ Amazon

All the cool peeps are carrying them these days.

Sep 21

18 Comments

Raising Backyard Chickens – Baby Chicks 2 Week Check Up

For the past 2 weeks the baby chicks have been living out of a box.  First it was 1 banana box, and now they are currently residing in 2 giant spinach boxes The Girl connected and taped together from Costco.

Lately they’ve been chillin’ on the top flap, and every time we pull into the garage they fly up, sit on the ledge and greet us.  It is seriously the sweetest thing ever.

Black Fatty Jr. {Australorp}

As expected, black fatty is The Girls favorite bird.  She loves to fly and sit on The Girls lap.  I love australorps, they are such a calm bird.  It’s a great choice for little kids.

Peter {Easter Egger}

I don’t think Peter likes us.  Or anyone else.  She’s kind of a jittery bird so far.  It will interesting to see how she progresses.

Hilda {Easter Egger}

Hilda totally loves us.  She’s pretty happy go lucky and always has a smile on her face {if that’s even possible}.

Matilda {Easter Egger}

Last week Sarah said Matilda looked like a “Glam” chick with her black painted eyes.  I couldn’t agree more.  She is a bit of a little Diva too.

Maroon {Rhode Island Red}

The jury is still out on Maroon.

5 {Rhode Island Red}

5 is my favorite chicken out of this bunch.  She hung out with for 2 hours the other day when I accidently locked myself out of the house.  She was a real trooper and happily pecked in the dirt while we waited for the Handsome Husband to come rescue us.

Pablo {Silver Laced Wyandotte}

Pablo is extremely feisty and does not like to be held {yet}.

Picasso {Silver Laced Wyandotte}

Picasso doesn’t like to be held either.  She needs her space, just like a true artist, so we are making allowances for her temperamental behavior.

I was having a hard time trying to figure out how to tell Pablo and Picasso apart, then The Girl pointed out the at Pablo has a dark red comb, and Picasso does not.  Finally now I can tell them apart.  Yay!

I love, love, love raising chickens, and I still to this day am not sure how we talked the Handsome Husband in to first getting them years ago, but I’m sure glad we did.

Birds are the coolest.

For more of of adventures with raising backyard chickens, head on over HERE.

Have YOU ever raised chickens before?  If so, what has been your favorite breed, and why.

I think my favorite is the black australorp.

~Mavis

Have you been thinking about getting a few chickens for your backyard?  Check out the book A Chicken in Every Yard: The Urban Farm Store’s Guide to Chicken Keeping By Robert Litt.  Amazon currently has the book in stock.

 

Sep 14

10 Comments

Raising Backyard Chickens – Baby Chicks 1 Week Check Up

Last week The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird picked up some baby chicks at the feed store, and then a few days later I couldn’t resist bringing home two more.

The chicks all seem to be happy and healthy and their personalities are starting to really show. So far 5, Fatty H ilda and Matilda really like being held, while Pablo and Picasso absolutely do not. * We think 5 has an inner ear problem because her head is always tilted to the left.  She’s my favorite of course.  So sweet!

We have 3 Easter Egger chickens this time around so we are hoping for some very colorful eggs from our chicks in about 20 weeks.  I wonder if one of them will lay the highly coveted pink eggs?

This is the first time we have had baby chicks in the fall so we are pretty excited.

Hilda the Easter Egger still totally looks like an owl.  I brought her home because I had never seen a grey chicken before.  Go HERE to see what she is suppose to look like when she gets a bit older.  What a beauty!

For some reason The Girl and I decided all brown Easter Eggers should be named Peter.  Don’t worry, she’s a hen, not a rooster.  No boys allowed here.

Silver Laced Wyandotte Chicks look like little penguins if you ask me.

Ahh baby chicks!  I love you.

I would fill my whole house with them if I could.  But I’m pretty sure the HH would have me committed if I did something like that.  Plus it would stink quite a bit.  Okay, so maybe I’ll just dream about it for now.

~ Mavis

Hey – Did anyone else out there pick up baby chicks this fall?  What is your game plan for winter?

 

 

If you are thinking about getting a flock of your own, check out the book Homemade Living: Keeping Chickens with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Care for a Happy, Healthy Flock. Amazon currently has the book on sale for $10.33.

Sep 7

9 Comments

Raising Chickens – Meet Hilda and Matilda our Newest Araucana Chicks

I’ll admit it, I am a total sucker for baby chicks. So yesterday when I stopped by the Garden Sphere in Tacoma for a few packets of Crosby’s Egyptian Beet seeds for my late fall garden, the words “do you have any baby chicks?” flew out of my mouth before I could close it.

I don’t know what happened, but I instantly fell in love with two baby chicks in particular.

This is Matilda.  I had never seen a yellow and black Araucana {Easter Egger} chick before so of course I had to bring her home.

Hilda was also very unique looking.  When The Girl came home from school yesterday and saw the chicks she fell in love with them.  Before I could tell her their names she said, “We should name the grey and black one after the owl in Winnie the Pooh.  What was the owl’s name?”

“Owl.”

“Oh, maybe that’s not such a good name for a chicken.”

Ha!

The only downside to picking out baby chicks is having to leave so many of them behind.  If it was up to me I would gladly take ALL of them home {well, all the hens anyway}.  Someday I will live on 10 acres and have 100′s of chickens {and a few lambs}.  But for now I have to exhibit a little self control because I live in suburbia.  Which is really a shame, because raising chickens is so much fun.

Thanks Lisa for helping me pick out my chicks!  It was fun to see you again!

P.S. If you are local and looking for chicks, The Garden Sphere has them in stock.

GardenSphere {253.761.7936}
3310 N Proctor
Tacoma, WA 98407

Go HERE for More Chicken Updates

Sep 4

13 Comments

Raising Backyard Chickens – Baby Chicks

I sent The Girl to the feed store for a 50 pound bag of chicken feed. She came back with the feed alright, but she also came home with a 50 pound bag of chick starter, and a heating lamp.  Oh, and 6 baby chicks. What a stinker!

She was very upset over the recent loss of our chickens, and had made up her mind that it was a result of the boys not closing the gate early enough while we were out of town for 7 days.

And although I suspect that may have been the case, I said nothing to her about it.

Needless to say the Handsome Husband is going to flip out when he gets home, as the new baby chicks are currently residing in his parking space in the garage.

Row 1 – Pablo and Picasso  {Silver Laced Wyandotte Chickens}

Row 2 – Maroon and 5 {Rhode Island Red Chickens}

Row 3 – Fatty and Peter {Australorp and Ameraucana Chickens}

* The chickens were named by The Girl and The Boy Scout.

Even though there arrival was a bit unexpected, I couldn’t be happier.  The outside coop is now secured and we are looking forward to introducing the baby chicks to the hens once they get a little bigger.

Wahoo!  We have babies again!

If you would like to learn more about raising chickens, check out The Joy of Keeping Chickens: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit By Jennifer Megyesi. Amazon currently has it on sale for $10.17 and it is a great resource to have.

Aug 8

56 Comments

Raising Backyard Chickens – A Raccoon Ate Our Chickens. Now What?

Well, unfortunately there were some casualties while we were away.

A record number of casualties to be exact.

According to the Handsome Husband, White Fatty was killed by Ricky {the evil} Raccoon on the first night we were gone.  He didn’t have the heart to tell us while were we away, so he waited until we got back.  Monkey Boy buried her.


As The Girl and I were walking towards the backyard, we began to notice a few more chickens were missing as well. Crazy Fat, Blondie and Buffy were gone too.

Within about a 2 week period, we have lost 5 chickens {Peanut went MIA 2 weeks ago}.

40% of our flock.

Now I know these things happen from time to time, but still, 5 chickens in 2 weeks?  Not cool.

Not cool at all.

The strange thing about all of this, is out of the 5 chickens we lost, only 1 of their bodies has been discovered.  Which is unusual for Ricky the Raccoon.  It almost makes me wonder if he has a buddy, or a partner in crime helping him.

I suppose it doesn’t really matter.  It won’t bring our sweet little chickens home.  But I’ll tell you one thing, we are headed to the hardware store this afternoon to buy some more bird netting.  This time we are going to put a double layer on the top of the entire chicken yard.  If that doesn’t work, well, I guess we will have to add chicken wire to the top or something.

Anyway you slice it.  Raccoons suck!

~Mavis

Page 5 of 13« First...34567...10...Last »