Using Those Ole Chicken Feed Bags!

Main food for the Hen Owners is 25lb bag of Kalmbach Organic layer pellets. I have this on a subscription from Chewy.com to ensure that we don't miss them. It's our preferred feed, the Hen Owners do like it and their eggs have large and orange yolks. The feed bags are rather nice, too and I've been saving them. One project that I started using them for is for planting. This season, I'm planting some garlic in one as some started sprouting in my pantry. I set aside the sprouting cloves until I had enough for a bag.

Then I took a bag and folded the sides down twice. This was to help keep it open and start forming the shape for planting.

Next, I put down the garlic and spaced them out so there's at least 3" between each other.

Finally, I covered the sprouting cloves with soil.

I typically plant garlic in October-December and harvest around July. I'm planting now because of the sprouting cloves. I like how these bags are nice and deep, sturdy, and woven, so water can seep out. It also doesn't take up garden bed space by having it's own container, so if I need to harvest in September that doesn't affect other garden plans.

The bags are aesthetic, too. And should last more than a season! Now to make sure the Hen Owners don't play in these bags when they're out and about! LOL.

#gardeningwithhens #feedbagprojects

Time to Start Garden Planning!

 

#backyardchickens #gardeningwithhens

"Barn Door" Feature Needs a Redesign

 

     

Looks like we have to review the sliding 'barn door' feature. We added the little patio footing, but that seems to have resulted in helping to trap melted snow in the door rail. While it hasn't been a problem during the warmer days and with rain, it seems to be a problem when there's snow and the melting snow doesn't really have anywhere to run off to.

Thoughts on the redesign for this summer:

• Raise the bottom, build a threshold to hold water and dirt.
• Divert runoff at the top.
• Add a drain at the bottom, near the front of the coop.

Right now, after snow, and then temps of 40F, and now below freezing and more snow, those doors are frozen in place. I did put in an effort yesterday to work in their run before I'd be frozen out of the run. At least there is another way to enter in, but this is the preferred entrance.

Perch Bucket!

 The coop has a little corner set aside right in front of the maintenance door. Partly to keep the deep litter in the coop as we maintain the coop (open and close the door / going in and out). There's a bucket in the corner with fresh litter, or pine shavings. To add in as needed. Based on some in-person and camera observation, Yang sleeps on the bucket rim.

Might as well make it more comfortable, and the stash of pine shavings cleaner...

Took a piece of cardboard, put packing tape on one side, and laid it over the shavings in the bucket. Then added a layer of shavings and coop dust. Then topped off the bucket with a perch, made from wood from the 70% off / purple pile at a big box store. And voila! A perch bucket!

Haven't been able to get a good pic of Yin and Yang roosting on it, but they have been since. The surface and edges were sanded down, but that's it for the work.

#backyardchickens #perches #diycoop

Nest Box Updates

We do the deep litter method, where I do a deep cleanout every 4 months or so. As part of this endeavor, I finally fixed up a modular nest box that I pulled out this summer. An egg broke and made a mess. I had to remove the plywood underneath. 

This round, I sanded and painted the nest box, hoping that it'll make clean up a little better next time. As for the bottom, I put cardboard lined with packaging tape for a bit of lasting effect. Cardboard for now. I don't have an ideal area for cutting sheets of plywood. It's laying down 2x4's and cutting over them with a lot of bending. I will eventually do that so I can have bottoms of the nest box lined with tile. But for now, since I'm already bending when I clean out the coop...stapled cardboard!

Now to replace the other solo nest box so that can have some maintenance, then scrape and sand the coop perches, and shovel out the litter.

The last clean out, I put the litter in boxes to burn. I'm still going through batches to burn. This clean out of litter will go into a raised garden bed for overwintering and composting. Hoping to have some good stuff to use in the garden for next season.

The paint color theme? It's one that I'm considering for the main house. So far, I'm liking how things are going with the paint.

#nestboxes #maintenance #deeplittermethod

New Nest Box

Broody can be a pain.

Broody is when a hen has a persistent urge to sit on eggs to nurture them to young chicks. We don't have a rooster. So we really need to collect eggs. When you don't get them in time, or they are allowed to collect, the risk of an egg cracking is high.

The first time an egg cracked, it wasn't too bad. The yolk didn't break and most of the egg stayed in the shell. The 3rd time was terrible. I had to pull out the nest box to remove the bottom. I had to leave for work so the quickest thing was to cut out some cardboard, staple it to the bottom, put in straw, then back in the coop.

The biggest advantage is the modular design that allows me to pull out one box for maintenance and leave others in for them. Well, one other.

I was able to get a new box built this weekend. It's a double nest box. I added 6 inches to the width and then divided it. I found a nice piece of plywood at my local box hardware store in the scrap pile. It was awesome! 2'x4'x1/2" at 70% off! Making it a nice $8.

Then I proceeded to cut my pieces to fit into the space. The width of the boxes drop down from about 11" to 9", since I've seen 2 of them in there for some tandem laying, a 2" drop should be doable.

I got to use my Japanese handsaw to cut off a little bit of the divider.

Then I added some extra vinyl tiles for the bottom, in the event of another cracked-egg mishap.

There wasn't enough plywood left for the walls, but that's okay, I had extra 1.5"x.5" for supports and more cardboard. Voila! A little double nestbox for under $10.

No one went in until I put a wooden egg in each one. And on the first day, 2 eggs were laid in it. Yay! The previous nest box was removed for maintenance.

For now, they seem to prefer one side over the other, but they do have a choice. And Penny can continue to be broody on the other side. (She's sitting on a wooden egg.)

Still in Progress!

Playing around with which plants and stones to put around the coop and run.

For now, we have a variegated lemon, petunia, avocado, and blueberry bush. I want to find larger and the same pots for across that isn't ridiculously expensive.