Playing Chicken

Playtime for chickens? Sounds really odd. But, it is definitely something we will be trying over the next few weeks. I want to try the small plastic container with treats and will be hanging some cds up, I have a ton that I don't listen to anymore. I think we might see about a swing or some extra up and down area for them.

Chicken Toys


I love some of her ideas. As we work on our coop, I can imagine our flock will be getting some of these toys as well to have in their run. Probably try and keep them (the toys) in the run instead of all over the yard like my other kids do!

Speaking of my other kids... gotta be Mommy and show off a bit.  Here's my 2 favorite kids in the whole wide world!!!

 

Today's work

Got some pictures to share with everyone... We started around 10am with

Then

 Added the end walls and wiring next

 Then wire across the back top

 Open nest boxes, hopefully they'll use them

 Their old roosting posts

 Door is crooked but secure!

 Ramp to the back.

 Ramp when closed

 Side Angle view

 Happy, slightly confused chicks... enjoy a treat of some chick starter.

 And we are proud to say that we didn't buy any of the materials that we used. They were all parts from the previous coop plus stuff found in the yard and house. We have 2 nests with straw/leaves, and then 2 other nest with a top that have grass clippings in them. Going to see which the hens like the best, since they are used to laying in the yard. We finished this in about 6 hours, not too bad since we didn't get to prepping it all like we should have before hand. But, our chicks are happy and safe!!!!

Ag Extension Office

 This is Georgia's office site, with a listing for each county office. The extension offices will help you to determine which crops and which animals are allowable where you are and which will do best where you are. They also have different programs for kids and adults that can help further education on all kinds of subjects.


Extension Agency (Georgia)

Different Crops?

A national site dedicated to alternative crops and enterprises for suitable for small farms. This is mostly a listing of what can be done, but there are some helpful links to different states and their extension offices who can help even further when deciding what crops to grown in your region.

Alternative crops

Backyard Chickens.com

These are some of the places I head to when looking things up that are chicken or garden related.

Backyard Chickens

The Best, in my opinion, chicken site I have found. There is SO much information on that site, from getting started with chicks to swapping and selling them. Plus, there is an entire forum full of helpful folks that can and will give you their opinions on any subject matter you bring up. For the visual folks, many pictures of different breeds as well as random shots of folks, their flocks, coops and everything in between.

Welcome

Welcome to our new spot on blogger :-) 

We are hoping to share our adventures outdoors with 2 children, 3 cats, 1 dog, several chickens and the wide world outside our house. We are currently building a new home for our 3 hens that we have and will be adding some chicks and hopefully a rooster soon, stay tuned for pictures! 

The garden is planted, now it's the waiting game for sprouts. All from seeds this year and smaller so that we can handle it better. I'm fairly certain that I see sprouts for tomatoes, cantaloupes and pumpkins. Hopefully, here soon we will see more tomatoes, watermelons, green onions and all the herbs. I'll add pictures as it all grows. 

  The beginning of our garden.

2 of our hens, the third was being camera shy. We have one Dominique, and 2 reds.

Reuse it tips

These are tips I've found mostly online, I'll share them with ya'll and give credit where it's due. If it's not accurate or you know of something better, definitely let me know please. n







Ecomarket Tips

Bloomin’ heck
The nutrients in coffee grounds and tea bags can really help your houseplants bloom. Use the more acidic coffee grounds as fertilizer for tomatoes, carrots, roses, azaleas and rhododendrons. These plants love a bit of acid. For everything else, rip open a used tea bag and tip into your watering can and sprinkle away. Tea is slightly less acidic but just as nourishing for your greens.
Also, coffee grounds are reported to help keep bugs from plant areas.