I like the lack of poo but I miss them meandering the yard and I know Henry misses chasing them. I let them out to eat grass for a few hours in the evening, but it's not quiet the same. I'll keep this set up through the winter too though because it is working well.
I'm getting 6-8 eggs a day. Chickens lay according to the hours of daylight they get, so I'm not sure how things will change as they days get shorter, but I need to read up on what they need for the winter.
There you have it, a lovely little update on the hens at my house.
Thanks for letting me gab about the ladies! Are you convinced you need your own yet?
And if you're new and liked to see more of our backyard chicken fun here are some links:
The day we bought the chicks.
The hens (and me) during those awkward teenage years)
Getting bigger!
Moving into the coop. - The prettiest backyard chicken coop ever 🙂
And my very first egg.
Doni
Hi Melissa! I just found your page-- Enjoy all the pics and story. and we do have chickens now! I bought a great book, " Barnyard in your back yard"---before we bought teen age hens at the nursery here in town. Each spring you can buy either chicks or hens. I didn't have a place, or the patience for chicks. But the hens are great. In cold weather, just put a light in the coop---not too close to the roost, or it will be too hot for them. If you don't want to go to the expense of electricity in the coop, a battery powered bulb will do. We put ceramic eggs in the nests, so they knew where to put the eggs when they started laying. It worked! --Suggest you go to the library and get a couple of books--Great evening reading!
Carlene
Hi Melissa; New to your blog. So far, I've read only about your chicken adventures as well as your precious kids. You make it sound so fun!! As for as you having trouble getting them to lay in the great hen house that you built. Great job, btw!! ☺ Maybe, take a tip from your first layer- regarding where you found your first egg "under" the sticks in the yard. It's been my experience, they require more of an enclosure where it's dark, secluded and shaded. You may consider enclosing the entrance to the nesting boxes (more privacy;-) with lots and lots hay. I'm no expert, I'm just passing on info I've observed growing up in the south. Visiting the country where everybody and his brother has chickens. Also, lately I've found YouTube has great vids and tons of info. I'm too have been bitten by the "wanting" my own chickens bug. 😉
Melissa
SUCH good advice! We moved this year to my husband's hometown and we have the hens on an acre lot with our garden. I'm so scared to let them free-range much because I don't think I'd EVER find the eggs on such a big and over grown lot 🙂 Silly birds... Thanks for the great comment.
magilmer
I just started my chick adventure, coop 100% made of recycled material except the chicken wire (total cost of mine $25.00 plus 1 hinge). My friend suggested that I make curtains for the nesting boxes because they like to be secluded. I've made some curtains for my brooder, now to the coop!
Rob and Marseille
i heard chickens eat spiders...is that true? did they eat your black widows? i hope so!
Melissa
I know they eat quite a few bug, and I have watched them enjoys lots. Black widows like it dark and secluded and I often find them in the wood pile, so I bet the chickens didn't eat them because they don't hunt *that* hard for food since I feed them all of our delicious scraps 🙂 I bet they would if one was out and caught their eye though.
Heather
Thanks for the update on the ladies. I am sure they are just nervous to lay in such a fine establishment such as your fancy coop. Come winter, they might change their mind.
Lizzy Do
I love that you have chickens!! Fresh eggs at your disposal...how marvelous! Funny about your chicken's behavior...at least you know their two favorite laying spots 🙂
Cami @ You Seriously Made That
In my life, I will probably never own chickens... Heck, we may never even own a dog. That being said, I LOVE your chicken posts. It's fun to read about something new to you 🙂 I may never need to know how to bake egg shells, but it's kind of fun having the knowledge 🙂
BeccaMarie
I love your chicken posts! I would love more! We've been wanting chickens for a long time and reading these just gets me more and more excited 🙂
athomeinhope.com
I so want some chickens! I can't wait until we're out of the "apartment" and in our own place again. We've been talking about raising chickens for years.
Steph @ Crafting in the Rain
They'd go perfectly with our goats 🙂
Bobi Jensen
I enjoyed this update...and yes, I'm kinda starting to want to have chickens.
Bobi
http://westernwarmth.blogspot.com