This brings me to a seldom discussed feature of the African guinea hen. I'm talking about the reason guinea fowl have spots. I mean sure, they're pretty....but WHY do both male and female guineas have the exact same color pattern?
Showing posts with label Top Post. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Top Post. Show all posts
Why do guinea fowl have spots?
Today it was finally warm enough to let everyone out of the coop! I came back from making a rooster delivery to hear a loud ruckus from the trees. The Guineas were all perching in one big tree! Apparently they decided that while they loved being outside in the sun, they could NOT touch the snow. Their unique coloring blended so perfectly with the tree branches that it took me forever to find them.
This brings me to a seldom discussed feature of the African guinea hen. I'm talking about the reason guinea fowl have spots. I mean sure, they're pretty....but WHY do both male and female guineas have the exact same color pattern?
This brings me to a seldom discussed feature of the African guinea hen. I'm talking about the reason guinea fowl have spots. I mean sure, they're pretty....but WHY do both male and female guineas have the exact same color pattern?
13 reasons not to raise chickens
Obviously I have chickens and love them, but chicken keeping isn't for everyone. I had a lot to learn when I first started raising chickens and I really wish someone would have told me what I was getting into! There are quite a few reasons why you shouldn't raise chickens and if you're not aware of (and prepared for) the issues ahead of time, it can make the whole experience rather miserable.
I wrote 14 Reasons why you should not raise guinea fowl back in 2014. They were not a real popular type of poultry back then and I had learned a lot about raising the quirky birds.
All these years later I think it's high time I explain exactly why chickens may not be a good idea for everybody.
Of course I think everyone needs some chickens in their life. They just come with a few uhhh, surprises!
I wrote 14 Reasons why you should not raise guinea fowl back in 2014. They were not a real popular type of poultry back then and I had learned a lot about raising the quirky birds.
All these years later I think it's high time I explain exactly why chickens may not be a good idea for everybody.
Of course I think everyone needs some chickens in their life. They just come with a few uhhh, surprises!
The 9 worst mistakes a chicken keeper can make
We all make mistakes in life, and usually you just learn from it and move on. When it comes to chicken keeping mistakes though, some of them can be deadly. There are a lot of small chicken keeping mistakes like running out of feed and having to cook them something, or buying a waterer that's too small and having to fill it constantly. I'm talking about the big mistakes though...the ones chickens don't live through.
I've made several of these mistakes over the many years that I've owned chickens. I've had predators I underestimated, health problems I missed, a coop that wasn't as secure as I thought and a kid that thought making sure all the chickens were in the coop at night was optional. *sigh*
There is definitely a learning curve to keeping chickens!
A lot of these chicken keeping mistakes are simple to prevent so hopefully exposing my mistakes will prevent your flock from having the same issues!
I've made several of these mistakes over the many years that I've owned chickens. I've had predators I underestimated, health problems I missed, a coop that wasn't as secure as I thought and a kid that thought making sure all the chickens were in the coop at night was optional. *sigh*
There is definitely a learning curve to keeping chickens!
A lot of these chicken keeping mistakes are simple to prevent so hopefully exposing my mistakes will prevent your flock from having the same issues!
Raising mealworms for free chicken feed
Over the years I've raised mealworms for chicken feed many many times. In fact, I do it almost every spring/summer. It's when winter hits that I never wanted to bring them into the house so I'd give them all to the chickens. My chickens love the mealworms, and raising them is much more frugal than buying them...so last year I finally started raising them in the house during the winter. It's not so bad.
Mealworms are small, quiet, don't smell, don't take up much room and require only a few minutes of time every few days once established. A mealworm farm can be kept in an aquarium or plastic tote.
You don't have to worry about them getting out since mealworms cannot climb up the sides of glass or plastic containers.
But lets talks about the free feed aspect which is one of my favorite topics! A container of mealworms is around $5 to get your mealworm farm started. You'll need oats (dollar store) or wheat bran for bedding and some fruit or vegetable scraps for food.
They get all the moisture they need from their food so you won't need to give them water.
I use plastic bins from the dollar store, but an old aquarium or rubbermaid tote works fine too. As you can see it's pretty cheap to set this up. I spent around $10 to start my current mealworm farm and it's been producing treats for my chickens and ducks for almost 18 months!
I would have fed my chickens at least 2 bags of mealworms by now, and at about $25 a bag....that's a big savings!
Mealworms are small, quiet, don't smell, don't take up much room and require only a few minutes of time every few days once established. A mealworm farm can be kept in an aquarium or plastic tote.
You don't have to worry about them getting out since mealworms cannot climb up the sides of glass or plastic containers.
Cost of raising mealworms
But lets talks about the free feed aspect which is one of my favorite topics! A container of mealworms is around $5 to get your mealworm farm started. You'll need oats (dollar store) or wheat bran for bedding and some fruit or vegetable scraps for food.
They get all the moisture they need from their food so you won't need to give them water.
I use plastic bins from the dollar store, but an old aquarium or rubbermaid tote works fine too. As you can see it's pretty cheap to set this up. I spent around $10 to start my current mealworm farm and it's been producing treats for my chickens and ducks for almost 18 months!
I would have fed my chickens at least 2 bags of mealworms by now, and at about $25 a bag....that's a big savings!
200 Free chicken feed sources, the ultimate list!
Saving money while raising chickens is one of my favorite topics with feeding my chickens for free being my ultimate goal. (I know, talk about this a lot!) Of course cheap chicken feed ranks pretty high on my list of favorite things too! Everyone wants to feed chickens without buying commercial chicken feed, right? But what do chickens eat besides chicken feed?
I went in search of every free and cheap chicken feed source I could find and I found a lot of common advice and several outside the box amazing ideas for feeding the chickens for free, or cheap!
Many of us have the same free chicken feed ideas and some of the advice I saw often was:
These were the methods that everybody had tried and had great success with. Of course I already use those ideas, so I was looking for new substitutes for chicken feed.
I went in search of every free and cheap chicken feed source I could find and I found a lot of common advice and several outside the box amazing ideas for feeding the chickens for free, or cheap!
Many of us have the same free chicken feed ideas and some of the advice I saw often was:
- allow the chickens to free range
- give them scraps and leftovers from the kitchen
- cook extra eggs for the chickens
- grow fodder for the chickens
- ferment layer feed
These were the methods that everybody had tried and had great success with. Of course I already use those ideas, so I was looking for new substitutes for chicken feed.
Keep flies out of chicken coop
If you have a chicken coop, then you have flies. Flies are attracted to things like fresh poop and wet bedding so they just love hanging out in the chicken coop. Luckily there are a few very effective ways to keep flies out of the chicken coop!
The first step in reducing the fly population is to stop attracting them. They especially like fresh poop and wet feed. By cleaning up under the roost each morning and allowing my chickens to free range all day, the amount of fresh poop inside the coop is minimal.
When chicken feed, water and bedding mix they form a nasty smelling fermenting mass that flies seem to love. Leave it too long and you'll see maggots in it. Gross.
I use a pan under the water bowl for easy cleanup of spills, plus it keeps the floor from being wet all the time. Also remove any treats (like fruit) that the chickens haven't finished since rotting food is a favorite of flies.
Now that we've removed the things that attract the flies to the coop, here are the steps I use to keep them from returning.
The first step in reducing the fly population is to stop attracting them. They especially like fresh poop and wet feed. By cleaning up under the roost each morning and allowing my chickens to free range all day, the amount of fresh poop inside the coop is minimal.
When chicken feed, water and bedding mix they form a nasty smelling fermenting mass that flies seem to love. Leave it too long and you'll see maggots in it. Gross.
I use a pan under the water bowl for easy cleanup of spills, plus it keeps the floor from being wet all the time. Also remove any treats (like fruit) that the chickens haven't finished since rotting food is a favorite of flies.
Now that we've removed the things that attract the flies to the coop, here are the steps I use to keep them from returning.
How to remove rooster spurs (the easy way)
As far as chickens go, my least favorite part of the rooster is the spur. I bet you're not surprised at all by that little confession. Spurs are actually quite useful though, as they are a roosters main line of defense against predators. However when they're used against people or are hurting the hens, then it's time to remove your roosters spurs!
Spurs are actually an outgrowth of bone covered by a sheath of horn. A spur grows from the base outwards. Like an animals toenail, there is only a blood supply at the base and the tip can be easily trimmed. Spurs continuously grow and can get quite long.
To control the length of a roosters spurs you can either trim each spur, or remove them. When you remove a spur you leave the base and only take off the hard outer covering. Removing spurs on a rooster is fairly easy to do. It requires very few tools and only takes a few seconds to remove each spur. In fact it's so easy to do, I once did it by accident!
Spurs are actually an outgrowth of bone covered by a sheath of horn. A spur grows from the base outwards. Like an animals toenail, there is only a blood supply at the base and the tip can be easily trimmed. Spurs continuously grow and can get quite long.
To control the length of a roosters spurs you can either trim each spur, or remove them. When you remove a spur you leave the base and only take off the hard outer covering. Removing spurs on a rooster is fairly easy to do. It requires very few tools and only takes a few seconds to remove each spur. In fact it's so easy to do, I once did it by accident!
How I saved $450 on chicken feed last year (you can too!)
A few years back I wrote a post about my farm expenses for the year. In those expenses I had spent a whopping $1140 for chicken feed! That is a lot of money for chicken feed! Of course you can't have chickens without feeding them so it is a necessary expense. That is a lot of money to spend on chicken feed though, don't you agree?
I love to save money and I knew I could do better so I set out to save at least half of my feed bill. Unfortunately, I failed. I only managed to save about $450. However I did learn a lot in the last 2 years and by using these methods, I'm on track to save over half of my feed bill for this year!
I love to save money and I knew I could do better so I set out to save at least half of my feed bill. Unfortunately, I failed. I only managed to save about $450. However I did learn a lot in the last 2 years and by using these methods, I'm on track to save over half of my feed bill for this year!
11 Reasons why your hens aren't laying
You have a full flock of hens but your egg basket is regularly empty. What gives? There are a lot of reasons why your hens might not be laying. From age to illness, almost anything can go wrong and cause a hen to stop laying. Luckily, many of these issues are easily fixed!
If you're not sure how any eggs you're getting regularly or if egg production is off at all, you might want to start tracking it. Here is how I keep track of my hens eggs. Print that the free chart in that post to keep track of your flocks egg laying year round.
Here's my list of 11 reasons why your hen is not laying eggs, starting with the easiest and most common reasons. Make sure you read all the way to the end to see my bonus 3 reasons why you may just think your hens are not laying...and where the eggs may actually be instead.
If you're not sure how any eggs you're getting regularly or if egg production is off at all, you might want to start tracking it. Here is how I keep track of my hens eggs. Print that the free chart in that post to keep track of your flocks egg laying year round.
Why your hens aren't laying eggs
Here's my list of 11 reasons why your hen is not laying eggs, starting with the easiest and most common reasons. Make sure you read all the way to the end to see my bonus 3 reasons why you may just think your hens are not laying...and where the eggs may actually be instead.
1) Hens are too young to lay:
Many chickens look full grown before they actually are. Depending on the breed, your hens may not start laying till they're almost 8 months old! I've heard of Silkies that didn't lay till they were 9 months old. While most hens will start laying between 4 & 6 months old, it might just be a little too early for your hen to lay. Hang in there a few months, she should start laying in time.2) hens are too old to lay:
Egg production in most hens slows down after age two. As they age from there, the amount they lay can decrease each year. My oldest hen is 8 years old and lays about 5 eggs a week for maybe 2 months in summer. Some will lay more than this, and some will lay much less. This can also depend on breed.4 coop additions I can't live without!
Admittedly, I have a lot of chicken coops. 5 to be exact. I have all different sizes and shapes of coops. In all my chickens coops I have my favorite features in each one. Each coop has things about them that I love and things I absolutely hate, but there are 4 additions we've made to our coops that I just can't live without!
Whether it be ease of cleaning, predator protection or a time convenience, every one of these 4 coop additions makes taking care of my chickens just a bit easier.
Now don't get me wrong, I like extras like sitting areas in the coop and window boxes but those aren't really things I need...these are!
Whether it be ease of cleaning, predator protection or a time convenience, every one of these 4 coop additions makes taking care of my chickens just a bit easier.
Now don't get me wrong, I like extras like sitting areas in the coop and window boxes but those aren't really things I need...these are!
How I make $1,000 a month from 15 chickens!
Chickens can be expensive. Even if you don't count the coop, the feed and bedding are monthly expenses that add up a lot! I decided a long time ago to have a no freeloaders policy and I make all my chickens earn their keep. I've tried many different ways to make money from my chickens but the most profitable way just fell into my lap!
When I started raising chickens, I decided to hatch the chicks from eggs I ordered from a breeder. When word got out that I had hatched chicks, I started getting calls from people who wanted to buy my chicks. As soon as my chickens were full grown, I hatched their eggs!
The calls kept coming and I kept hatching. Over the years I've had as many as 90 chickens and as few as six. I've realized that by setting things up the right way I can make up to $1,000 a month on as few as 15 chickens.
Of course you could sell eating eggs, feathers and even chicken poop to make money from your chickens. I'm not knocking that at all, because it is a good way to make extra money. In my opinion though, the best way to make money off chickens....is by breeding chickens for profit.
Now, I'm sure you thought of that. In fact I'm pretty sure you're sitting there now saying "well yeah, but I can't make $1,000 selling chicks!" I promise you though, that you can do it. You just have to follow the money.
When I started raising chickens, I decided to hatch the chicks from eggs I ordered from a breeder. When word got out that I had hatched chicks, I started getting calls from people who wanted to buy my chicks. As soon as my chickens were full grown, I hatched their eggs!
The calls kept coming and I kept hatching. Over the years I've had as many as 90 chickens and as few as six. I've realized that by setting things up the right way I can make up to $1,000 a month on as few as 15 chickens.
Of course you could sell eating eggs, feathers and even chicken poop to make money from your chickens. I'm not knocking that at all, because it is a good way to make extra money. In my opinion though, the best way to make money off chickens....is by breeding chickens for profit.
Now, I'm sure you thought of that. In fact I'm pretty sure you're sitting there now saying "well yeah, but I can't make $1,000 selling chicks!" I promise you though, that you can do it. You just have to follow the money.
How long do chickens live?
Have you ever wondered "How long do chickens live?" This question came up the other day while I was feeding Sally her favorite treat, mealworms! Sally is an Olive Egger hen and she came from one of the first eggs I hatched in an incubator.
I realized a year ago that Sally was the last chicken left from that first hatch. That makes Sally almost 8 years old. That's a bit old compared to the average lifespan of a chicken.
There are various reasons why we no longer have the other chickens from her flock. Most of the boys became dinner, we had a fox issue one year, one hen fell sick etc etc. 8 years later, only Sally remains. This is not unusual in the history of chickens.
Until recently people only kept chickens for food or their food producing capabilities so it never really mattered how long chickens live, till pet chickens became a thing.
Now that chickens have entered the backyard pet world, more and more people are wondering just how long they can expect their chickens to live for.
According to The Guinness Book Of World Records Matilda the hen was the first chicken to receive the title of World's Oldest Living Chicken in 2004. She died almost 2 years later at age 16.
Matilda was a pet chicken and even toured as part of a magic act! Matilda was pretty cool for a chicken!
I realized a year ago that Sally was the last chicken left from that first hatch. That makes Sally almost 8 years old. That's a bit old compared to the average lifespan of a chicken.
There are various reasons why we no longer have the other chickens from her flock. Most of the boys became dinner, we had a fox issue one year, one hen fell sick etc etc. 8 years later, only Sally remains. This is not unusual in the history of chickens.
Until recently people only kept chickens for food or their food producing capabilities so it never really mattered how long chickens live, till pet chickens became a thing.
The world's oldest chicken
Now that chickens have entered the backyard pet world, more and more people are wondering just how long they can expect their chickens to live for.
According to The Guinness Book Of World Records Matilda the hen was the first chicken to receive the title of World's Oldest Living Chicken in 2004. She died almost 2 years later at age 16.
Matilda was a pet chicken and even toured as part of a magic act! Matilda was pretty cool for a chicken!
6 Ways to dispose of coop bedding
This time of year we go through a lot of bedding in our chicken coops! Not only is our population at its yearly peak but with summer rains we're often shoveling out clean coop litter simply because it's wet. We use wood shavings in some coops, but hay and straw in others. That can add up to a lot of stinky bedding to get rid of.
The coop litter situation gets real bad in the spring when it's time to clean out the coops that use the deep litter method. Those only get cleaned out once a year, but that's a lot of dirty bedding!
Add the smaller coops and brooders to that and you can see I have lots and lots of poopy coop litter to get rid of.
So how do you get rid of all that chicken poop?
Plus the chickens will start digging through for anything they missed and turn it for you.
Here's How to compost chicken poop from Hobby Farms.
You already have them and don't have to buy garbage bags
Feed bags are really sturdy and can be really loaded up without ripping.
The coop litter situation gets real bad in the spring when it's time to clean out the coops that use the deep litter method. Those only get cleaned out once a year, but that's a lot of dirty bedding!
Add the smaller coops and brooders to that and you can see I have lots and lots of poopy coop litter to get rid of.
So how do you get rid of all that chicken poop?
How to Dispose of Coop Litter
1) Compost dirty coop litter
Dispose of the chicken poop by putting it in the compost pile. It's full of both the browns (litter like wood shavings) and the greens (poop) you need to build a good compost, so into the compost bin it goes! With the right additions you'll have black gold in no time.Plus the chickens will start digging through for anything they missed and turn it for you.
Here's How to compost chicken poop from Hobby Farms.
2) Dispose of coop litter in the garbage can
Be polite, bag it up so the retrieval guy doesn't get covered. For very small coops or flocks that live in the city, this litter disposal method might be the best option. Reuse your feed bags to bag up the litter for 2 reasons...You already have them and don't have to buy garbage bags
Feed bags are really sturdy and can be really loaded up without ripping.
3) Sell old coop litter/chicken manure
Gardeners will pay for chicken fertilizer even if they have to compost it themselves. Believe it or not, lots of folks are doing it and boy was I surprised to find that out! Advertise it in local farm groups, online bulletin boards or hang signs on bulletin boards at garden centers. Stick it in empty feed bags and sell it by the bag.How to get your hens to lay fresh eggs year round
This is a problem for chicken keepers everywhere. The winter egg production drop off issue. It goes from gathering several dozen eggs a week in summer to nothing in winter. Some of us have even resorted to buying eggs from the store in winter. Yuck!
I stumbled upon a trick that keeps me in fresh eggs year round. The best part is, I don't have to add supplemental lighting. My electric bills don't go up. I don't do anything fancy and I get farm fresh eggs year round.
This method takes a tiny bit of forethought but it's one simple move that will keep you in farm fresh eggs from your own happy chickens....even in winter!
Are you ready for this? You're gonna ask yourself "Now why didn't I try this before?" It's this simple, quit getting your chicks in the spring! That's it. Whether you hatch or buy chicks, just do it a few months later then normal and you'll have eggs in winter.
Let me explain.
I stumbled upon a trick that keeps me in fresh eggs year round. The best part is, I don't have to add supplemental lighting. My electric bills don't go up. I don't do anything fancy and I get farm fresh eggs year round.
This method takes a tiny bit of forethought but it's one simple move that will keep you in farm fresh eggs from your own happy chickens....even in winter!
Are you ready for this? You're gonna ask yourself "Now why didn't I try this before?" It's this simple, quit getting your chicks in the spring! That's it. Whether you hatch or buy chicks, just do it a few months later then normal and you'll have eggs in winter.
Let me explain.
How often should you collect eggs?
How often do you collect your farm fresh eggs? In an ideal world we would all skip out happily and gather eggs into our aprons several times a day to use in our fresh baked breads and desserts. However, we all know that's not the real world.
We hope all the chickens are done laying by the time we feed them breakfast and a once a day egg collecting will suffice. Then suddenly you hear the egg song at 2pm and that idea goes down the drain. *sigh* So, how often should you collect eggs? How often is enough? How often is too much and just a waste of time? Why?
Well, it's been bugging me lately. I like to grab the eggs in the morning and again at night, and now I'm wondering if that's right or wrong. So I once again started researching and it turns out I am right! Well.....almost!
Fresh eggs need to be collected daily. Eggs should not be allowed to sit in the nest boxes for several days. Twice a day seems to be the a good number of collection times to shoot for. In average weather conditions that should suffice.
However in the heat of summer or the very coldest of winter, eggs that are left all day could become unsafe to eat.
Turns out, how often you collect eggs from the chickens really depends on the weather.
We hope all the chickens are done laying by the time we feed them breakfast and a once a day egg collecting will suffice. Then suddenly you hear the egg song at 2pm and that idea goes down the drain. *sigh* So, how often should you collect eggs? How often is enough? How often is too much and just a waste of time? Why?
Well, it's been bugging me lately. I like to grab the eggs in the morning and again at night, and now I'm wondering if that's right or wrong. So I once again started researching and it turns out I am right! Well.....almost!
Fresh eggs need to be collected daily. Eggs should not be allowed to sit in the nest boxes for several days. Twice a day seems to be the a good number of collection times to shoot for. In average weather conditions that should suffice.
However in the heat of summer or the very coldest of winter, eggs that are left all day could become unsafe to eat.
Turns out, how often you collect eggs from the chickens really depends on the weather.
13 Reasons why you should raise Guinea fowl
Guinea Fowl aren't for everyone, that's just the straight truth. They are loud, annoying, funny looking and dumber than you can believe. However they have several redeeming qualities that make farmers and backyard poultry keepers alike big fans of this silly looking bird.
I started raising Guinea fowl a few years back because of our tick problem. I've decided you either love guinea fowl or you hate them. I happen to love them and have found a whole bunch of reasons why I think everyone should get a few Guineas.
When you start to hear really loud Guinea fowl sounds, it's time to look out the window because something is up.
I started raising Guinea fowl a few years back because of our tick problem. I've decided you either love guinea fowl or you hate them. I happen to love them and have found a whole bunch of reasons why I think everyone should get a few Guineas.
Why you should raise guinea fowl:
1) Tick control
Yes, chickens will eat ticks that are in your yard and so will Guinea fowl. Guineas though, will forgo personal safety and enter the brush and woods to hunt out these minute pests which will help keep your kids and pets safer from tick borne illness like Lyme disease.2) Watchdog
Ever hear a flock of Guineas "go off"? It's like someone tripped the alarm system! It's pretty darn loud but it's a good indication that someone drove down the driveway, the neighbors dog is in the yard, a hawk is overhead etc etc.When you start to hear really loud Guinea fowl sounds, it's time to look out the window because something is up.
14 reasons you should not raise Guinea fowl
Guinea fowl are interesting birds. They are poultry, but not really. They kinda look like feather covered helmets with clown face makeup on. Guineas act like idiots and eat ticks and snakes like it's their job. Well, I guess it sort of is their job since most people get them for their insect control talents.
In fact, guinea fowl have become really popular in the 9 years I've been raising them! When I first decided to get guineas I had a hard time finding some to buy and an even harder time learning to raise them. I kinda had to learn as I go.
If you're interested in raising guinea fowl you'll soon found out that there are 2 types of people who have raised guinea fowl: they either love them or hate them.
I love them.
I think guineas are about the coolest bird I could get. I never have a health problem with them and they keep the ticks under control in our woods. They're funny and quirky and a whole lot of entertainment!
In fact, guinea fowl have become really popular in the 9 years I've been raising them! When I first decided to get guineas I had a hard time finding some to buy and an even harder time learning to raise them. I kinda had to learn as I go.
If you're interested in raising guinea fowl you'll soon found out that there are 2 types of people who have raised guinea fowl: they either love them or hate them.
I love them.
Raising Guinea Fowl
I think guineas are about the coolest bird I could get. I never have a health problem with them and they keep the ticks under control in our woods. They're funny and quirky and a whole lot of entertainment!
10 Chicken Supplies from the Dollar Store
Chicken keeping can get expensive! There is always something else they need and buying everything from the feed store...or even the big box store can get expensive. There is no reason to spend that much money. In fact, I do everything I can to save money on chicken supplies!
I buy lots of chicken supplies at the dollar store (I prefer Dollar Tree) Many are the same exact item and others need thrown out and replaced so often that I feel like I'm just throwing money away!
Here are 10 things I always buy at the dollar store and why. Keep in mind that even though many dollar stores are raising their prices now in 2025, it's often still cheaper to shop there for many of these items than grocery stores, Walmart, Target, Amazon etc.
I've added comparison prices and links if you want to order them online. Since many dollar stores have changed prices but many are still just one dollar, I highly suggest you take a visit to the local dollar store before ordering to compare prices.
I buy lots of chicken supplies at the dollar store (I prefer Dollar Tree) Many are the same exact item and others need thrown out and replaced so often that I feel like I'm just throwing money away!
Here are 10 things I always buy at the dollar store and why. Keep in mind that even though many dollar stores are raising their prices now in 2025, it's often still cheaper to shop there for many of these items than grocery stores, Walmart, Target, Amazon etc.
I've added comparison prices and links if you want to order them online. Since many dollar stores have changed prices but many are still just one dollar, I highly suggest you take a visit to the local dollar store before ordering to compare prices.
Growing fodder for chicken feed (cheaply)
I'm sure by now you've seen all the posts about growing fodder for chicken feed. You've probably also read (or participated) in the countless forum threads happening on various chicken sites. I'm not going to bore you with the details you've probably already read. Instead, since I'm frugal I'm going to show you how to do it CHEAPLY.
I've seen some beautiful fodder systems, but many of them seem to be either very expensive to build (yes, I said build) or they happen to have access to a lot of raw materials that most of us don't have. I have to say I am mighty impressed with the automatic watering systems some have set up, but I can't wire a darn thing to save my life!
So let's start with the easy-peasy cheap way to do it.
I've seen some beautiful fodder systems, but many of them seem to be either very expensive to build (yes, I said build) or they happen to have access to a lot of raw materials that most of us don't have. I have to say I am mighty impressed with the automatic watering systems some have set up, but I can't wire a darn thing to save my life!
So let's start with the easy-peasy cheap way to do it.
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