You raise chickens? In your yard? HOW?

Since I talk so frequently about my chickens I get questions and odd stares (I assume those are the judge-y types) but most are like, "hey...do you sell your stuff?  I want in!"

Our yard is mostly cleared and the house sits closer to the street than to the back property line and the yard is completely surrounded by a wooded area.  I can only see one neighbor's house from the backyard and she is an older lady that throws scraps in her backyard as she likes to watch my chickens roam through her yard.  My ladies are happy to oblige.

We have both meat birds and egg birds.  Meat birds are bigger meatier birds that get big really really quick.  Our lesson learned is that meat birds reach sexual maturity and begin crowing before they reach maximum dress weight.  Lesson learned...only hens next time.

Our goal is raise our own chicken meat and then have enough eggs to sell to pay for the rest of the operation.  This started as a project business for the kids in budgeting and responsibility.  They all have an active part in some function of the process and eventually will reap part of the earnings to add to their allowance. 

This is a panoramic from our back door - the green dome in the right middle is my greenhouse.  More on that later.

When we get new chicks (meat or egg laying) they start off in the garage or the shed in a chick playpen.

Nifty Playpen

At this age it is important to keep them free from drafts and predators.  They are supposed to be kept at 90 degrees for the first week.  I don't do that.  Actually...I am not careful at all.  I didn't wash my children's binkies when they fell to the floor either...unless it landed in something worse than their mouths.  Which is pretty hard to find.  I watch the chicks to see if they are all clumped up trying to get warm...if so I turn the light on.  If they are gathering under the light I lower it until a few are escaping the heat of the light.  Which is at about 82 degrees for about a week then we only had the light on at night.  

Baby chicks are about as helpless as a toddler.  They can feed themselves, walk around, play and hurt themselves pretty easily.  Tidbit: baby chicks can also drown in their drinking water. 

Looking back up at the picture of our back yard..after they leave the playpen they go to the romper room which is the green 'tractor' that can be moved around for them to have fresh grass for scratching and to keep disease out of the picture by them not walking around in their own poo.  A 'tractor' is any portable chicken enclosure that can be moved to provide fresh grass to chickens.  The 'romper room' also has a heat light built in to the lower back part so they can have heat at night.

Romper Room

Inside "Romper Room"

After the romper room...meat birds go to the flat which is the second from the right.  It is a flat box that is 12*12 with food and water.  Half of it is covered on top and about a quarter has blocked sides to provide them a place to sleep where predators can't look in.  I followed the Joel Salatin model.  Interesting tidbit...meat birds aren't supposed to roost as they are too big and it leaves bruises.  The flat gets moved around the yard and they scratch, eat the weeds and poo.  Which fertilizes the ground that I plant grass seed on right behind them as I move the 'tractor'.  Pretty simple operation.  Meat birds eat a lot as they go to 10-14lbs (undressed) in 80 days.  I raise Red Rangers as they are "more" of a heritage breed than the Cornish Cross and they take longer but it is a much more humane process.  In my opinion.

"The Flat"

After the romper room for egg layers they go to the condo which is second from the left.  They have a roost and two levels for sleeping and hanging out during the day.  It is covered as well.  The ladies in the picture below are about 6 weeks old and will move in a few weeks to either 'Momma's Coop' or 'Pax Pullum'.

"The Condo"

Right now the condo is full of egg layers.  They will be moving to Momma's coop (to the right of the shed) and "Pax Pullum" all the way on the right.  Momma's coop is the one I built for our Hen who hatched out eggs from the Amish man in the Spring.  You can hardly see it from the house.  Good design, eh? 

"Momma's Coop"

The Big House. "Pax Pullum" which took us almost 8 months to finish in between gutting the kitchen and living room of our house.  The run is about 135sqft which they spend the morning hours in before they are let out in to the yard to free range.  If you lay an egg... and I like you...you have the privilege of living here.

Last but not least.  The "Penalty Box" or the "Broody Buster" as the "Chicken Chick" calls it.  It has one occupant in it right now.  I let her out every day (she has food and water in there) and she goes right.back.to.the.egg.box.  So far she is on day two...I am hoping she will give up soon.  The cool air is supposed to return her body temperature to a normal level and then she will stop being broody.  Supposedly.  I think she is just looking for a baby daddy.  Clearly, she doesn't read my blog.  If she did she would know all of the roosters are in the freezer.

This was our first hen house and since then we have used it for an injured hen that we nursed back to health and trying to unbroody hens. 

That is it.  We pray one day that we will be blessed with the stability of living in the same place long enough to purchase 20+ acres for a real farm!