PVC Waterer

Along with getting new chicks next week, I installed an automatic PVC chicken waterer last week before I left for a couple days on Spring Break.  I got the plans from various sites and modified them to fit my needs. I then had my boss make it for me while we were working.   I'm really happy with how it turned out, although it does leak in one spot where the pipe connects to the bucket.  I think I can fix that with a little bit of silicone but now everything's frozen again and I have to wait for the bucket to empty and it to warm up a little. 

So far the chickens understand how to drink, I don't know that they prefer it to a standard drinker, but I've had both in the run because it is still in the 20's in the morning so the nipples freeze up easily.  They seem really happy when they drink from the bucket and attack the nipples angrily, but that could just be my weird take on things. 

Monthly update for March

There has been nothing done in the garden since October.  We still have so much snow and I can't even walk out to the garden. 
The chickens laid 175 eggs last month, which is an average of 5.7 a day!   Toward the end of March they slowed down a little, I got 5 eggs for the last 4 days and 4 eggs the last day.  The last 2 days I've gotten 5 and yesterday 4.  I don't know why they're slowing down, maybe their age?  I'm excited to get new chicks in a couple weeks. 

The chickens did spend a couple days outside in the snow/sunshine and I planted some seeds indoors to speed things along when it finally thaws. 

Seeds of the Month Club Updates

I've gotten a couple more shipments from the seeds of the month club. I'm excited to plant a lot of new variates. 

Blue Flax Annual
Crimson Clover
Virginia Pickling Cucumber
Cauliflower
Carrots (Danver)
Melon (HoneyRock)
Coriander
Asparagus

I am very excited about the asparagus seeds.   I have planted them in my dirt pods and in three years I hope to be enjoying delicious asparagus. 

I ordered Onion Sets and potato seeds from Grow Organic, along with some seeds for sprouting.  I'm excited to get things started. I've mostly decided on a cinder block garden bed this year, as opposed to the wood raised bed.  It will be hopefully cheaper and last longer than the others. 

Egg Count for February

In the 28 days of Feb. the chickens laid 155 eggs.  That is an average of 5.5 eggs a day!  That's SO MANY eggs!  I believe the fermented feed is working! 
It has been colder than cold this month again, only going above freezing one day.  We still have feet of snow, and no relief in the forecast.  March is my favorite month, so it better shape up soon. 

Feed changes and additions

I read a pinterest post about fermenting chicken feed in mason jars.  It looked easy, so I thought I would try it.  It has worked so well, I am very happy I tried it because it really is SO EASY.  Fermented chicken feed has been rumored to increase egg production, and I can say I used it for a week, and got 6 eggs 5 out of 7 days, and 5 the other two.  I took a week off, because I wanted to see if that made a difference and because the feed was freezing before they could eat it all.  That week I only got 6 eggs one day, which may have been leftover benefits from the week prior. The other days I got 4 or 5.  So, Scientifically I can't prove it, but I believe Fermented feed does increase egg production.  The chickens seem to enjoy it, and I can add warm water to make it a warm breakfast for them in the morning. 

The main reason I like it is because I feel like I'm increasing my food by just adding water.  I start with a half full jar of food, and end up with a full jar of eatable food that looks and smells better than the dry feed.  So, here is how I do it:
In a quart size mason jar, (I have used spaghetti and leftover jars without problem,)  fill half way with dry chicken feed.  Add filtered water to the top and kind of poke it down with the handle of a spoon.  It should be fairly easy to get the water to the bottom.  You want all the feed wet.  It looks like a lot of water, but I have found that more water is better than less.  After 3 days, your jars should be full with the feed fluffy and still moist.  You can see all the components of the feed that absorbed the water, corn, wheat, oats, and there's still calcium in there.  I use Organic Layer, which I like better because I can actually see what's in it as opposed to the grower feed I was using that had everything ground way down.  I feed half the jar in the morning and the other half at lunch when I change their water. 

I have also started raising mealworms for extra treats for the hens.  It's actually been pretty interesting seeing the lifecycle of a mealworm.  I have just had them for a month and already have seen three stages of development.  I am supposed to wait three generations before I start harvesting them for feed, but I think I am going to just get another package of 100 to speed things up a little.  They are really easy, and I have to believe if I am feeding them organic fruit and food scrapes (along with the organic substrate) they will be organic mealworms?  Maybe that's not so important.  

Egg Count for January.

The 31 days of January are over, which means spring is so much closer.  It also means my first full month of collecting eggs is over!  My awesome chickens gave me 142 eggs over the month! That's an average of 4.5 a day.  There were 4 days where I got 6 eggs, that's 100% (I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT MULTIPLE D'S IN MATH! I'm so good at this now!)

We have also just finished the worst winter month I can remember.  We got SO MUCH SNOW. The temperatures were never above freezing.  But those chickens, they were awesome.  Laying the eggs,  eating all the time, staying alive. 

Coconut did get frostbite on her comb, but a couple days in the basement with some ointment and she's all healed up.  Well, not completely healed but good enough to be back with her friends.  She did not like being in that carrier.  And the basement started smelling like a fair.  It wasn't cool. 

winter is overrated.

We are waiting for another big storm tonight/tomorrow/the next three months/forever/this winter will never end.  So far this has been the worst winter I can remember as far as snow accumulation and ongoing negative temperatures.  Yesterday felt like bliss and the high was only 33.  Tomorrow the high is going to be 2 with sustained winds and a wind chill of -50. We will be in a "POLAR VORTEX."  Doesn't that sound fun?  What a winter to start having chickens.  My garden is so full of snow I can't even see the boxes, and the fence I didn't have time to take down is slowly coming down on its own accord. 

I'm preparing the chickens by adding lots of shavings to the coop, and I got a cool thermometer I put in there to see how cold they are staying.  So far, pretty cold.  I added some straw to the run to stall their boredom today and get them outside, seeing as they will be locked in the next two days. 

Yesterday I got 4 eggs for the first time!  Two Isa Brown and Two Barred Rock eggs.  The barred rocks are much smaller and lighter color.  Except this one, which is XLarge on the egg scale.  All the other of this breed have measured small so I'm curious as to what's in there! 

This morning I found a soft-shell egg in the boxes, well the yolk, whites, and a thin shell membrane.  I couldn't tell what breed it was but I read that it's common at the beginning or end of a laying cycle.  It can also be a Vitamin D deficiency, which is not surprising because the sun hasn't shone in weeks.  I added some Vitamin D gel to the inside waterer, but I'm not sure how much of that they drink since it freezes so quickly.