Fresh Eggs Daily Debuts on HGTV Gardens

I am excited to announce the debut of a five-part series on raising backyard ducks that I am writing for HGTV Gardens! I was invited to be a guest writer and was thrilled to accept.  The premise of the series is 'Ducks are the New Chickens', in response to the growing interest in raising backyard ducks.

I am so honored to be a part of the HGTV Gardens guest writer team.  They have a beautiful new website and blog, so head over and read my articles....then stay and browse for awhile.

Part One: Ten Reason Why Ducks Might be a Better Choice for your Backyard Flock

Part Two: A Primer on Duck Housing, Diet and Health

Part Three: Six Popular Duck Breeds

Part Four: Landscaping for Ducks

Part Five: Raising Ducklings

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Not a Creature was Stirring - Got Mice in your Coop?

~photo source: flickr~

This time of year critters of all kinds are looking for a nice safe, warm place to spend the winter.  For many this can lead to field mice or rats in their coops. I mean, what better place for a family of mice to bed down? Soft bedding on the floor, a convenient food source, a water source, and if your coop is inside an enclosed run, safety from predators. Although chickens will kill and eat mice if they find them, once the chickens are asleep, the mice are free to come and go at will.

Chickens sleep extremely soundly and it's not unheard of for mice and rats to literally chew on chickens' feathers and feet, or pull out feathers to use for nest bedding while the hens sleep, so for this reason as well as the diseases rodents can carry, you certainly don't want mice in your coop!

It's a good idea to 'listen' to your flock. If all of a sudden they seem to not want to go to roost in the coop at night, there's probably a good reason why not. Never force them in. Instead try and figure out why. 

It could be mites - in that case a thorough coop cleaning, scrub down and application of DE is in order - or it could be a family of mice.  Check the corners, raking the bedding away, and also check all the nesting boxes.  If you do find rodents (or evidence of rodents) there are a couple of things you can do. 

NOTE: We DO NOT recommend putting out traps or poison for obvious reasons.  There's just too much chance of the chickens or another animal being harmed by accident.  Instead we recommend taking these preventative measures: 

1) No Openings Larger than 1/2" - Mice, as well as snakes and weasels, can get through a hole as small as one inch. Staple 1/2" hardware cloth over all the windows and vents in your coop and be sure all other holes are plugged.

2) Plant Mint - Mint is a natural rodent repellent. Plant some mint around the coop and run.  Sprinkle fresh or dried mint in the coop and nesting boxes. (I also make an all natural lavender mint spray that I use as a coop refresher and rodent repellent)

3) Get a Barn Cat - Our cat does a great job of keeping our barn and chicken yard free of rodents.  He doesn't generally have access to the run, but just his presence around the perimeter is a deterrent.  A dog can have the same effect if it spends time around your chicken yard.

4) Don't Leave Feed in the Coop - Chickens can't see well in the dark anyway, so they don't eat at night.  Remove the feed from the coop to remove rodents' food source.

5) Make The Roosts Wider - To prevent rodents from chewing on your hens' feet at least, replace your roosting bars with 2x4's with the 4" side facing up. This way the chicken's feet are not exposed - covered by their bodies from the top and the board on the bottom. Having a wider roost also prevents frost bite, so a wider roost is recommended regardless. (Chickens don't necessarily need to curl their feet like wild birds when they sleep, and actually prefer to sleep flat-footed)

Making these few small changes can make your coop inhospitable for local rodents who hopefully will find another place to call home.

~photo source: pinterest~

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This post is shared at The Backyard Farming Connection, Wicked Good Wednesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Little House in the Suburbs, 

A Week in Farm Photos - October 21st - 27th

Another busy week here on our farm. I thought I would share some of the 'highlight's...

  

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Mixing your Own Layer Feed

With the price of everything rising, the chance to save money anywhere you can is tempting. We get asked often about mixing your own layer feed for your flock instead of buying commercial feed.  It's not something I have ever done personally. Having a fairly small flock and a very convenient feed store has made it too easy to purchase feed. 

By mixing your own feed, in addition to saving a little money, you also know exactly what is going into your chicken's diet.  By choosing organic and non-GMO grains and ingredients, you are providing your hens a healthy diet, but mixing feed is not quite as easy as dumping some grains into a pail.  The nutrient content needs to be balanced to keep your hens healthy and able to continuing to lay quality eggs.

The act of laying eggs takes a toll on a chicken's body. If they aren't fed enough protein and calcium, they will start using their body stores to produce eggs, to the detriment of the chicken's health.  Before you decide to give up commercial feed, be sure you do some reading and research to make an educated decision if homemade feed will work for you. 

When you think about what farm chickens ate in the past, free to roam acres and acres looking for food, you realize that greens (weeds, grasses and clover), seeds and protein in the form of worms, bugs and slugs made up their diet. So your goal is to replicate a 'natural' diet as closely as possible.  If your chickens do free range (although realize that roaming your back yard won't provide them as great a variety of food sources as true free ranging on farmland or pastures will), you have a better chance of providing them a well-rounded diet using homemade feed.

Some of the ingredients you will want to incorporate are a variety of seeds, alfalfa, corn, wheat, barley and oats.  Also kelp (minerals), probiotic powder (intestinal health/digestion), fish meal (protein),  food-grade lime or aragonite (calcium), flax seed (Omega-3) and brewer's yeast (B complex) should be included in any homemade mix along with a nutrient blend.

Grinding the ingredients is recommended so your hens don't just pick out the 'good' stuff, although be aware that ground seeds and grains start to oxidize and lose their nutrients fairly quickly, so plan on making only small batches of feed to last several days. Also, be sure the grains you are using aren't moldy because mold produces mycotoxins which will affect productivity and could possibly even cause death.  Purchasing grains at a local co-op can be more economical if you can find one nearby, and sticking with organic, non-GMO grains is highly recommended.  

After doing a bit of reading about mixing my own feed, I think for now we will stick with commercial feed.  Our hens love it, they are healthy and lay beautiful eggs. Until I have more time to do some additional research and a cost comparison, I'll hold off mixing our own.  I do however, supplement the commercial layer feed with a few supplements (detailed in my Breakfast of Champion Layers article), daily greens in the form of weeds and chopped grass usually, as well as the occasional insects and worms.

I hope this has given you food for thought, if nothing else. There is a lot more information in an article entitled Making Your Own Poultry Feed from Backyard Poultry written by Harvey Ussery which discusses exact percentages as well as more of the nutritional requirements you will need to meet in order to provide your flock with homemade goodness.

 How about you?  Do you mix your own feed?  Feed commercial feed -organic or nonorganic? I would like to hear your thoughts.

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Buying sources:

www.nutrenaworld.com

www.organicfeeds.com www.scratchandpeck.com

www.thomaslabs.com

www.omegafields.com

Use the coupon code FRESHEGGS  for 5% off your purchase of Omega Fields Ultra Egg

This post is shared with Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, The Country Homemaker Hop, Eat Make Grow, Small Footprint Fridays, 

Coffee Bean Candle Holders - a Pinspiration Project

I, like many of you, am slowly but surely becoming addicted to Pinterest! If only I had enough time to make everything I have pinned. But I don't.  So I chose as my first 'Pinspiration Project' a quick, easy project that I could make in just a few minutes.  I ended up making two variations and love how they both turned out.  I also love that I was able to put my own spin on someone else's idea, truly using it only for 'inspiration'.  Check it out...

Coffee Bean Candle Holders

~Materials Needed~

One bag of whole coffee beans (the cheapest brand you can find!)

Four tea lights (I chose vanilla-scented)

Four half pint canning jars, mugs, teacups or bowls of your choice

Dessert plate or saucer (optional)

Ribbon, twine or raffia

~How To~

Um, okay, you pour the coffee beans into your cup, nestle a tea light in the center, tie on some raffia or ribbon and you're done. How easy is that?

But just in case you wanted more clear instructions, here's my technique for pouring coffee beans...

And here's how I nestled the tea lights... 

I was planning on just using these cute Ball canning jars that I had in my pantry...

A bit of twine from the cupboard lends a rustic look.

These would make a really neat gift or stocking stuffer since the lids keep everything in place, so they travel well.

Truly happy with my project, I then serendipitously happened upon this great pair of clear glass coffee mugs at Goodwill last week for .55 cents each.   Don't you love when that happens?

I also found two white dessert plates for $1.10 each that I couldn't pass up.  So I decided to make a second version of the candle holders.  I stopped to buy some ribbon on my way home and I love how the whole thing turned out.

The warmth of the candle releases the coffee scent in the beans, but the neat thing is that even when the candles are unlit, you can still smell the coffee beans and vanilla.  Pretty cool right?
I'm thinking these would be perfect on our Valentine's Day breakfast table too!

Here is what inspired me to create my coffee bean candle holders...

Pinterest Pin

here...

Pinterest Pin

and here...

Pinterest Pin

For these and more than 4,000 other great farm-inspired craft ideas, recipes, decorating ideas, farm photos and just plain pretty pins, visit our Fresh Eggs Daily Pinterest boards.

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