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Update on the C. Everett Coop
Most of the 14 chickens are doing well. Our one rooster appears to have a broken leg, however. I am puzzled by how this could have happened, but boys will be boys. I thought about holding him down and splinting it. I have been advised to cull him (a nicer word for killing him), but so far, he seems to be handling his disability. Granted, he is hopping around, but he does seem to be getting to the food and water. Today, he seemed to be getting used to his mobility challenge. Besides, he can fly.
Chickens will eat just about anything; anytime. I started out with the standard chicken feed. So far, they have polished off about a hundred pounds. I am now using hen scratch with more cracked corn. I have a vegetable garden, so they will eat my weeds, the older (bitter) lettuce, and some of those gigantic zucchini that got out of control. Last night, they ate some leftover noodles and pesto, some overripe tomatoes, some apples, and whatever else we cleaned out of the vegetable drawer of the fridge. Chickens can really eat, like vultures.
Chickens are also quite adept at pooping. I have cleaned out the hen house and chicken yard a few times already. I have a working compost pile, so that chicken manure will really come in handy to enrich the mix. By next spring, maybe I will get a better garden thanks to the free manure.
I know that chickens scratch around, but I was not aware that chickens dig. They are probably just looking for bugs, worms, etc. I am constantly filling in holes. Maybe they are trying to escape? One did get out the other day and I had to catch her in a net. A free-range chicken in our area would quickly be an endangered species, since we have so many hawks circling around. Not surprisingly, there are more hawks now than in the past. I am even seeing more rabbits and deer which really should have nothing to do with the chickens. The deer ate all of my pumpkins.
Chickens also seem to be attracting yellow jacket wasps – my own personal nemesis. I have a history of two anaphylactic reactions to bee stings, so I made sure my EpiPen supply was up to date. The wasp traps are literally teaming with them. One year, we killed most of the wasps, only to be overrun by these insects that drop a honey-like substance all over your cars. Apparently, I created my own ecological imbalance, not unlike the dingo dog / rabbit issue in Australia. The way I looked at this situation is that I can always wash the cars, but having a life-threatening allergic reaction is not how I want to spend my day.
The chickens are still too young to lay eggs, but I do have a new appreciation for what it takes to get eggs. I expect I may see the first eggs sometime in October. If my calculations are correct and all goes as planned, I will be giving away more eggs than I could possibly eat – about five dozen a week. I do have some anxious neighbors waiting to help me out. I won’t sell the eggs, but I will accept chicken feed in return.
Chickens will eat just about anything; anytime. I started out with the standard chicken feed. So far, they have polished off about a hundred pounds. I am now using hen scratch with more cracked corn. I have a vegetable garden, so they will eat my weeds, the older (bitter) lettuce, and some of those gigantic zucchini that got out of control. Last night, they ate some leftover noodles and pesto, some overripe tomatoes, some apples, and whatever else we cleaned out of the vegetable drawer of the fridge. Chickens can really eat, like vultures.
Chickens are also quite adept at pooping. I have cleaned out the hen house and chicken yard a few times already. I have a working compost pile, so that chicken manure will really come in handy to enrich the mix. By next spring, maybe I will get a better garden thanks to the free manure.
I know that chickens scratch around, but I was not aware that chickens dig. They are probably just looking for bugs, worms, etc. I am constantly filling in holes. Maybe they are trying to escape? One did get out the other day and I had to catch her in a net. A free-range chicken in our area would quickly be an endangered species, since we have so many hawks circling around. Not surprisingly, there are more hawks now than in the past. I am even seeing more rabbits and deer which really should have nothing to do with the chickens. The deer ate all of my pumpkins.
Chickens also seem to be attracting yellow jacket wasps – my own personal nemesis. I have a history of two anaphylactic reactions to bee stings, so I made sure my EpiPen supply was up to date. The wasp traps are literally teaming with them. One year, we killed most of the wasps, only to be overrun by these insects that drop a honey-like substance all over your cars. Apparently, I created my own ecological imbalance, not unlike the dingo dog / rabbit issue in Australia. The way I looked at this situation is that I can always wash the cars, but having a life-threatening allergic reaction is not how I want to spend my day.
The chickens are still too young to lay eggs, but I do have a new appreciation for what it takes to get eggs. I expect I may see the first eggs sometime in October. If my calculations are correct and all goes as planned, I will be giving away more eggs than I could possibly eat – about five dozen a week. I do have some anxious neighbors waiting to help me out. I won’t sell the eggs, but I will accept chicken feed in return.
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