Chickens preparing my garden area

We are very excited to be home and have our chickens again.  Now, we are planning to use those chickens to prepare our garden area.

When we moved back, we tore down a lot of the wooden chicken houses because they were rotting.  At one time, I had about 120 chickens so I had chicken houses galore.  I think we tore down five 4×8 houses and two 4×4 houses.

The great thing was in two areas, we had this nice area where the houses sat and there was no grass so I threw a tarp down on the bare ground for the winter so I have two garden areas all but prepared.  I will till it up later and add fertilizer and build some four 4×4 raised beds.  I love to build simple things so I am excited to build the beds.

We have the chicken’s yard in the back left-hand side of our property where there is plenty of shade.  But, not a lot of sun during the winter months which could hinder egg production.  So, to kill two birds with one stone, we are going to move the chickens to the area we want to have a garden which will provide plenty of sun.

We have a wire cage that is 4×8 by 6 ft tall that we put a 4×8 sheet of plywood on top for a roof.  It is fairly easy to move with a dolly.  It has a door on it that we can lock up the chickens at night,   A guy in our town makes these cages made of chain link fencing and they are very sturdy.  We put fencing on the ground and sit the cage on top of it so no animals can dig in and kill the chickens.

So we will move the cage to the area we want a garden and fence it in.   We will make sure we leave the gate at least 5 ft wide to get the cage back out once Spring comes.

The chickens will destroy the grass and fertilize the soil.  And living in Florida, it never gets really cold.  We do put tarps around the cage/house to block the wind and keep the chickens dry.

When we take the chickens and the house out of the yard, the garden area will be fertilized and no grass.  So smart, don’t you think?  Ha Ha  I am sure others have done this before me, but, I was thrilled figuring this out for myself.  And it will be fenced in to keep the rabbits out of the yard, too.  I let my chickens free range on my property during the day for at least four hours a day.  Once the garden is planted, I don’t want them in there either.  And the leaves and rotted veggies will go to the chickens as well.

I want to grow some field corn this year for my chickens, too.  I don’t want to overwhelm myself and my sweet husband so I am thinking I better not go too big and burn him out on the idea of a garden.

We have discussed just buying veggies from the flea market and we will do that for some.  I want to can as much as I can this year.  It is hard to believe how expensive food is at the grocery store.  Buy on sale and stock up, people.

Right now, I am thinking of making a couple raised beds for strawberries, onions and potatoes.  I am pretty much a meat and potato kind of girl and don’t like a whole lot of vegetables.  I wish I did. My daughter-in-law, Brooke loves all kinds of veggies and I just wish I were like her. I have wondered if I got hypnotized, could I learn to love veggies?

Anyway, the basic foods for gardening this year will do.  I am getting blackberry plants from my daughter, Bonnie.  I don’t really care for blueberries but I want to grow some of them, too.  Strawberries are always great, too.  I love no hassle plants/bushes.

I hope this gives you some ideas for your garden and makes you realize how valuable those chickens are to you.  I have been raking out the chicken houses and saving the dirt/poo/straw/leaves in the 50 lb bags that the feed come in.  Cheap fertilizer.  I remember how well my blackberry plants grew around my chicken house in Missouri.

Enjoy preparing your beds now and it will pay off next year.

Getting ready for chickens again

We are so excited to be back in Florida on our two acres and getting ready for my daughter, Bonnie to bring me 26 chickens from her flock.

We spent hours and  hours yesterday tearing down our rotting chicken houses after being away for 27 months caring for my mom in NC.  We hauled five loads to the dump which was over 1000 pounds.

We now need to rebuild chicken fencing and houses.  But, we are excited to get our chickens and feel a need to get it all done.

We use landscape timbers as fence posts.  Yes, they will rot away eventually but on sale they are about 2 bucks and I like the way they fade into the background instead of sticking out like the green metal posts.  As our timbers start to rot at the base, we actually have put the metal posts in between the landscape timbers to hold them up until the timbers go on sale.

We saved all our fencing when we took it down so that will save us money.  When putting the posts up, we use a string or rope to make sure the fence goes up straight.  We put one post up in a corner and then figure out how far out we want the fence to go and put a post in there.  Then we attach a string from one post to the other.  I can eye it pretty good but the string makes it perfect.  We usually put the posts in 8-10 ft apart.

We decided to salvage one of our homemade chicken houses for the bigger chickens but needed another 4×8 sheet of plywood to replace the rotted roof.   Then for the other chicken houses, we have two chain link cages that are 4×8 and one is 4 ft tall and one is 6 ft tall.  Just needed to add a 4×8 sheet of plywood on the top of each.   The cages have a door that can be closed and we can even lock them up at night.   Additionally, we are putting fencing on the ground and sitting the house on top of it so animals cannot dig in while the chickens sleep.

Back to work!

 

 

Getting back in the chicken business

Very excited that we are going back to Florida by the end of the month.  My daughter has four Silkie hens for us and she just hatched out 9 Silkie chicks that we will also be taking home with us once they get a little bigger and we get our chicken houses and yards in order.

Still debating on what larger breed chicken we are going to breed and raise.  I will check to see if  my family and friends are going to want fresh eggs before I decide on the size of my flock.  My daughter sold a lot of eggs to her fellow co-workers but has quit her job and follow other dreams so now she has to find others wanting fresh eggs.  She had many dozens of eggs in her refrigerator last time I was at her house.  I got four myself and was so happy.  I can barely stand store bought eggs.

Well, I hope all my fellow chicken lovers are enjoying the benefits of the raising chickens.  I can’t believe how much I have missed chickens for these past two years.

Passing the chicken “torch”

Now that I live in a condo taking care of my mom, I cannot have chickens.  Fortunately, my daughter took six of my chickens and now has the “chicken bug.”.   Bonnie lives about two hours away so I still get to share in her joy.

She and Brooke ordered 23 chicks thru the mail and kept them in her second bathroom until they were a couple months old since it was so cold outside.  My husband and I went to their home and helped them build a duplex chicken house.

Putting up fencing, building coops, and learning how to care for and protect your chickens can be a lot of work but the rewards far outweigh the efforts.  You get exercise caring for the chickens and the eggs are so much healthier for you than store bought eggs.  They really are pretty good pets because you don’t have to walk them or take them to the vet.  You can leave them for days if you leave plenty of food and water out for them.   If it is warm outside, you can get someone to collect the eggs or just throw them away or feed them to the dogs.   If it is cold outside, the eggs will be fine.

I got so tickled when my daughter said, “I had no idea I would enjoy chickens so much.”. They are addictive.  I started out with a handful of baby chicks and had as many as 120 at one time.  I loved having baby chicks hatching out.

Update:  Bonnie is getting plenty of eggs now and since they are fertilized, she let a broody Silkie hatch out two eggs which were Buff Orphington/Barred Rock most likely.   The addiction continues.

Finding homes for my chickens

Well, I think the time has come for us to move to NC where my side of the family lives.  My mom and three sisters are there.  We are looking at September for a move date.

So, now I need to find homes for my chickens.  I gave away  my nine Americaunas and two male Silkies.  Then I took two hens to my daughter in NC.  So now I am down to 32.  I am looking at taking the four chicks to my daughter, too.

It could be difficult to find homes for the chickens that are older and no longer laying eggs.  I gave away 9 hens with the understanding that only three or four are actually laying.  Guess that would be the way to find homes for the others.  I would hate to think someone is going to kill them and eat them but once they leave my yard, I can’t control the situation.

I am a member of a local animal swap/sell forum called Northeast Florida Farm and Garden Swap.  That’s where I found someone nice to take the other chickens.  Guess I will check back with that site when I want to find homes for the rest of them.  I just got a beautiful Barred Rock rooster recently and hatched a few of the eggs out.  The chicks look great and i was looking forward to starting a new flock of young hens.

I am going to miss having chickens.  My sister said maybe I can keep a few on her property.  We will see.