Love my new chicken watering bucket!

This is what I used to have to water my chickens with.  I didn't like it.  It was heavy & hard to hang up.  Inconvenient to refill.  Mildew would grow quickly in it.  It would often come undone just as I was hanging it, spilling the water all over the coop.  And worst off all the chickens would get their droppings in where they drink out of.  You can't leave it that way or they may get sick.  So we were having to clean it almost every day!  I especially hated that in the winter when the hose water is turned off, & I had to do it in the house!

Now I have something more like this that I bought locally.  (I've noticed since then that IFA has started carrying these as well).  The chickens peck at the red nipples & get a drink that way.  Hooray!  No more droppings getting into their water supply!  We can refill the top with a pitcher of water, so I don't have to try to rehang a heavy bucket.  This has way cut down the work on taking care of our chickens!

I also bought one of these bird bath de-icers.  It fits nicely in the bucket & keeps the water from freezing in the winter.  It runs only when the temp falls below 35, so it doesn't watse a bunch of power.  It can be submerged in the water.  With these 2 things, our chickens we so easy this winter!  Love it!

egg brush

When I got chickens, I'd heard of egg brushes to wash the eggs.  I kind of figured that was unnecessary, & spent the first year washing them by hand.  But once in a while there was one that was more soiled, & I hated to just throw it away.  But you can't really "scrub" eggs by hand without breaking them.  So I bought one of these when I needed a bit more to get to free shipping on amazon.  I love it.  It cleans the eggs in a jiffy & is so easy!  I should have listened in the first place!

Let the kids do the labor!

I know you're probably thinking, "I don't have time to do chickens, pick raspberries, dry fruit, can chicken, raise rabbits, etc".  That's what your kids are for!  And it's great for them too!  My son mows our lawn.  When we can chicken he puts the meat in the jars while I put the broth & lids (we can get 18 lbs in the canner in under 20 min).  He completely takes care of all our animals.  They're under his stewardship & he gets their food & water every day.  When we can or dry peaches he takes the peels off while I do other stuff.  He goes out & picks the raspberries & strawberries.  The work goes much faster than I could do by myself.  And imagine if I had more than 1 child!

Sure, you have to train them to help.  At first it might seem easier to do it yourself than hassle them into it.  But now my son is just used to helping as part of his daily routine.  (ok, he still complains sometimes about mowing the lawn, but he does it).  And he's only 8 years old.  Kids can usually do a lot more than we think.  He's been doing all the mowing since 7.  He started taking the peels off the peaches & tops off strawberries at 4.  Don't waste these great helpers you already have!  It's in their best interest too.  And they can take such pride in the peaches they helped can, fruit they helped dry, & "their" animals!

Chicken moat

I've often heard the debate of letting your chickens into the garden or not.  On one hand they eat pests & can help with insect control.  On the other hand, they might eat your garden too.  This site has instructions for building a chicken moat.  Basically it's a double fence that has your chickens all around the perimeter of your garden, but keeps them out of the actual garden.  The author claims it saved their garden when their nearby neighbors gardens were destroyed by grasshoppers.  The chickens apparently kept the grasshoppers from getting into their garden.  The article mentions benefits protecting from other animals as well.
It looks like a bit of work, but I'm at least glad to know the idea in case I ever need it.  We may be without pesticides someday, & it could be life saving to have a way to control the insects.  Now I'm just wondering if I need to store the materials!
http://www.motherearthnews.com/sustainable-farming/1988-05-01/garden-pest-control.aspx

Stock up on light bulbs for your chickens

I had a realization today when thinking about the regular light bulbs being outlawed soon. You can't use those other bulbs to help keep your chickens warm in the winter; they don't put out any heat! I only had to give my chickens heat for about a week last winter, but it was sure an easy way to keep them warm when it got down to zero. I've been stockpiling bulbs for use in the house, but I'm going to add some for my chickens!

Preserving Eggs without refrigeration

I mentioned this on my chickens post, but thought I'd do it's own for those who weren't interested in chickens. You can preserve eggs for at least 9 months with no refrigeration. I know, I know, I didn't really believe it either! But I tried it last winter & it works! It was great to take all my extra eggs & have them saved all winter; without filling up my fridge!

And for those who don't have chickens, you can still buy eggs when there's a deal, & "put them up" for later. It's also cheap & easy!

All you've got to do is warm up the mineral oil slightly (it spreads easier) and slather it all over your eggs. Put your eggs back in the carton, with the narrow tip facing downwards, and then store them in a cool, dry, place. As an added measure for taste and texture, flip over the eggs every 30 days. It takes very little mineral oil to do this.

Another option:

Store the eggs in a finely ground preservative such as salt, bran, or an equal mix of finely ground charcoal and dry bran or finely ground oats. You can store the eggs layer upon layer, so long as you they don't touch each other, metal, or wood. Be sure you have enough finely ground preservative to pack them in.

Chickens!

I'll admit, I was very scared to get chickens. People told me taking care of them would be easier than taking care of the cat, but I didn't really believe them. Finally I took the plunge. I built a coop I got the plans for online called the "coop-de-ville". It looked great! I shopped around & got the chickens. And guess what?! They really are easier than the cat! We fill the food & water about every 5 days. Twice a year my son cleans the coop. During the winter I put the coop on top of my garden so it's getting fertilized. And we gather eggs every day! I feed them a lot of my leftovers that would go to waste, to cut back on feed costs.

One of my favorite things I learned was how to store eggs all winter without refrigeration. You coat the eggs in mineral oil, put back in carton, & store in a cool dark place. I stored mine for 9 months last year & they were still great!

So why would I want chickens & how do I learn more?

Here are a few of the most frequently expressed reasons people raise chickens:

Easy and inexpensive to maintain (when compared to most other pets, much easier than our cat.)

Eggs that are fresh, great-tasting & nutritious

Chemical-free bug and weed control

Manufacture the worlds best fertilizer

Fun & friendly pets with personality (yes, you read that right) I have a friend who's neighbor kids come over & ask to watch "chicken TV". They love watching the chickens.

www.backyardchickens.com

Has everything you could want to know about raising chickens. They wrote the books "Raising Chickens for Dummies".