DIY Happy Hens Herbal Mix!

Oh my goodness, it smells so good!  I love mixing up these herbs and giving it to my girls every day.

I have found that the hens love this nesting box mixture of herbs I have concocted with the help of Treats For Chickens.  I purchased their Nesting Box Blend, and loved it so much that I determined to figure out how to make something like it.  It smells so good, and helps to keep away mites, lice, and other pests, like spiders and mice who don't like the scent of mint.  I just sprinkle a pinch or so into their nesting boxes daily. You can also sprinkle it around the perimeter of the coop if you need a little extra protection against those pests.  It's a great little extra I enjoy doing for them just to say thanks when I collect their eggs each day.  Who wouldn't want to snuggle down into a cozy bed of fresh hay that smells of lavender, mint, eucalyptus, etc.?

7 oz. Jar of Herbal Mix

I love chickens!  My hens are special to me.  They provide my family with eggs, plus some extra to sell to help offset the cost of their feed.  Poultry is a fairly easy backyard hobby that can be very rewarding.

Baby Chicks At 24 Days Old!

You Lookin' At Me?

The chicks are growing so fast!  Every couple days it seems that they have just exploded another inch.  They are coming into the stage when their feathers are growing in, and they look rather ragged and prickly as their fuzzy down gives way to feathers.  This chick is one of the more advanced ones with her pretty red colors beginning to show.

Babies at the big girl feeder!

Here are a couple others where you can see the different stages of

Baby Chicks At Two Weeks Old!

Growing fast they are!  Red Star babies are doing well, and sprouting their wings as we speak.  Here is the latest video I took today.

The chicken coop has been cleaned and prepared for the babies.  The three-year old hens have been moved over to the back side of the coop, and Bill and Jim put up a barrier on the bottom of the chicken wire divider wall to make certain the babies can't get stuck in the fencing.  All that is left to do is move the heat lamp out there, they will have much more room to flutter and practice their flying skills.  We will wait as long as possible before moving them.  I feel better as long as I can check up on them as often as I like while they're in the house.  But, they are starting to manufacture a whole bunch of feather dander already!  So, it won't be long now.

Raising Baby Chicks - Part 2

Here's a short video I took of the baby chickens when they were six days old.  They are growing their tiny wings so quickly.  I can see a difference every day.  They sometimes get on top of the feeder and take a running leap whilst flapping away.  If they keep this up, they'll be flying out of the brooder in no time.

Things are going along rather smoothly these last couple of days.  I feed and water them daily, and check on them about every two hours.  I figure if the red heat lamp burns out, two hours is probably the max for them to not be too severely harmed from the cold.  They are being kept inside the house in a separate quiet room.  The house is heated to 68 degrees during the day, and 64 degrees at night.   The heat lamp is keeping them at slightly higher than 95 degrees directly under the light, and the coolest spot in the brooder is around 86 degrees.  They have the option to hang out wherever they are most comfortable.  

Here's a photo I just took today, just four days after the video above.  Just look at

A New Mystery On The Farm!

Mysterious Tiny Chicken Egg?

While collecting the eggs and feeding the chickens today, I found this remarkably small egg in the nest with all the hens eggs.  It's just a tiny bit larger than the malted milk candy eggs you find in the stores around Easter.  The hens have four nesting boxes, but all fifteen of them share one favorite box, go figure.

Check Out These Chicken Butterfly Saddles!

Chicken Butterfly Saddles!

Life on the farm can sometimes be brutal!  I'm not referring to myself but to my poor little hens.  I've been out of commission for quite a long time recently, so my husband took up the slack of doing my chores.  And, I must say he did a wonderful job handling nearly everything by himself, along with the added burden of caring for me.  Around eight weeks ago I finally decided to go under the dreaded knife, and had a total hip replacement.  That was one of the best decisions I've ever made.  Dr. Bruce Cox at Shelby Bone and Joint worked his magic, and I'm pleased to say that I'm more pain free today than I've been for many years.

We Have Eggs!

Yes!  We have eggs, lots of them!  We're getting an average of a dozen a day!  We can't possibly eat all these eggs, so we're trying to sell them.  Please, if you live nearby, and enjoy fresh farm free-range brown eggs, stop by the farm, pick up your eggs and leave your payment in the jar, we're using the honor system. We'll be very happy to sell you some beautiful eggs.  Yes, they're a little more costly than commercially raised and sold eggs, not only is the taste much better, but also the nutritional benefits are well worth the slightly higher cost.

The Roosters of Cluckinghen Palace!

Thought I might share a few photos of our handsome "boys".  This is "Big Guy", a Silver Laced Wyandotte, he's the head rooster.  He's a proud rooster, he crows his pride much of the day, and half of the night!  He looks after the girls very well, and struts his stuff all the day long!

Big Guy!

As a byline, the "girls" are all doing well, they're very sweet, and they're laying lots of eggs!  A happy hen is a productive hen.

Eggs!

Now here is Mr. Black, a Black Australorp, he's a mild tempered guy and so very handsome!  He's very serious about his girls, and makes sure they are all in for the night before he goes inside.  He's most always the last one into the coop each night.

Mr. Black!

Last, but not least, there's Rooster Rudy, a New Hampshire Red. He's the littlest of the roosters, and clearly is not fond of the camera.  He's a wise rooster, he can be observed using his little chicken brain to outwit and outlast his larger rooster companions. As roosters go, he has a gentle nature and the girls like him best, I think.  He doesn't require a lot, and stays off to himself much of the time.  The guineas like him, and can be seen keeping him company often.

Rooster Rudy!

And that is all.  A quick peek at the very handsome Roosters of Cluckinghen Palace!

Carpe Diem! Lil and Bill

Our Meat Chickens Are Ready!

Those are the "thumbs up" of Hannah and Sarah!

I didn't know when we began this journey if I was capable of doing this - raising live creatures for food and then eating them.  Well, I did it, and I didn't have a problem with it.  I kept the mindset from the beginning that this was for food, and never had any second thoughts about it.  As for the chickens, the process was extremely humane.  They are rendered unconscious with a stun gun, it takes a second, then while unconscious the processing begins.  In a matter of seconds they are finished and ready to bag, cut up, or whatever you want.  Quite an operation.  I'll let you know how they taste in another post.

The Chickens Love Their Yard!

Chickens Enjoying Their Yard!

Well, the chickens are just loving their new play yard!  It took them a little while to venture out and explore, but last night as I went to close them up, one of the white roosters decided he wasn't finished outside, so as he was making a run for it, I began to close the chicken door.  He made a fast turn around and dashed back inside.  It was clear he didn't want to be locked out all by himself!  They are learning really fast.  It is quite comical watching one of the white roosters jumping as high as he can trying to get to the blueberries higher up on the bush!  They LOVE the blueberries.

Carpe diem! Lil and Bill

The Chicken Yard!

The Chicken Yard Complete!

After thinking it will never happen, the chicken yard is getting completed. Bill built a frame for the run, it is 12' x 28' x6' high. He put about 6" of wire cloth below ground level and back-filled with rocks and soil to discourage predators from digging under. Then he put the fencing onto the wood frame. Next, constructing the 4' x 6' high gate, then, like magic, it's finished! Our plan is that the chickens won't be able to fly over the 6' fence, but that the guineas will, which will allow them to free roam the yard and garden and eat up all those Japanese beetles we have flying around here! 

Carpe diem! Lil and Bill

It's 102F, The Chicks Are Stressed!

Bill Building A Chicken Run

Wow!  It's 102F outside today, and that husband of mine is out there building a chicken run for the very hot and stressed chicks in the coop.  They were all panting so hard that I brought out a bucket of ice for them to lay beside.  After it melted, I gave them the ice water, hoping they didn't go into shock.  They seemed to know to drink it slowly, but they did enjoy the cold.  Here is one picture I took of the run today, more to follow as he gets more done.

Carpe diem! Lil and Bill

Who's Coming To Breakfast?

More adorable little chicks!

More chicks arrived today!  They are such cute and lively little guys.  The Farm is coming alive with little creatures.  I thought it would never happen!  Looking forward to having some delicious farm fresh eggs in a few months!  Who's coming to breakfast?

Carpe diem, Lil and Bill

The Chickens Have Moved In!

Baby chicks!

The girls have moved into the coop!  This is not just any ol' coop, this is Cluckinghen Palace! We have six Black Australorps, six Silver Laced Wyandottes, and one free unknown rare breed!  Next week we get a shipment of six New Hampshire Reds and fifteen White Leghorns.  The blacks, silvers, and reds are our dual purpose chicks, and the White Leghorns are meat chicks.    These babies are so cute and fuzzy!

Cluckinghen Palace, Completed!

Carpe diem, Lil and Bill

Building a Chicken Coop

Bill hard at work

Building a chicken coop, how hard can that be, right?  Well, we're going on to month three and we're not finished yet!  My husband Bill is engineering this coop so carefully, these hens will be living like little princesses!  And so will I because caring for them will be so convenient!  You think they'll give us bigger eggs?  I'll be posting photos of the inside soon.

Carpe diem!  Lil and Bill