Coop maintenance, small coops

This summer we decided to finally get around to doing some coop maintenance on the goose coop. First it was hauled over to the driveway. (warning...don't try this at home! We did it with 2 people and a hand truck. Bad BAD idea! My back hurt for 3 days after!) 

Power washing and staining the coop

Once the Goose house was removed we raked up all the hay, scratch and DE that had somehow gotten underneath and put down a base of pebble gravel. Then the coop was power washed. Once it was spotless it was allowed to dry overnight before we stained it. One more night to dry and it was moved back into place. This time we lifted it with the tractor. Better idea, MUCH better idea! 

The geese were overjoyed to get their house back where it belongs since for two nights they've been sleeping in it while it was in the driveway. This was quite confusing to the little honkers! 

We do this kind of maintenance very rarely on these smaller coops because of the poultry that live in them. Geese are in this one, ducks in another....both are wet on the bottom but not very messy up top. They don't require internal power washing since the bedding is very thick (changed weekly) and they don't roost. 

Roosting birds tend to splatter poo everywhere, but that's a different post! We only power wash the outsides of coops when it's time to stain them. Stain should last a few years, so hopefully this one won't need done any time soon. I hope not....for my back's sake!

~L

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Can chickens eat scrambled eggs?

Confession time, my chickens are spoiled. It's true. I really pamper them, in fact....I cook for my chickens. No no, I don't cook my chickens, silly! I cook them breakfast! Usually it's what I call scrambled yukky eggs. Bear with me here because its not quite as gross as it sounds!

I have a few hens that like to hang out in the nest boxes longer then they should. I also have a few banty hens that like to sleep in the nest boxes. It's only makes sense that sometimes a bit of chicken poo winds up in the nest boxes. I clean them out in the mornings, but if someone already laid an egg by the time I get there....yuck! 

That one goes straight to the 'yukky egg basket'. Now, I know that many people just scrape or wipe off the eggs and use them, and for eating that is usually fine. However, I hatch most of my eggs and I have a fear of introducing bacteria into my incubators. It could ruin a whole hatch if an egg would spoil and explode during incubation.

There's a reason they're called stink bombs! Anyway, since I incubate most of our eggs, this leaves me with an often full 'yukky egg basket'. Also in winter if an egg freezes and splits it's not safe for humans to eat, so those get cooked too. 

If I get a particularly bloody eggs (as far as blood spots go) I'll cook that one for the chickens too. Basically they get everything we won't eat!

Feeding pumpkin to chickens

Carving Pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns is the sure sign that Halloween is almost here! I had great fun carving a chicken into mine this year. (ok, I do that every year! lol)

We cleaned and roasted the seeds for snacking, but what to do with all that orange goo that's left over? Feed it to the chickens of course! 

The best part about feeding fresh pumpkin to chickens is that you don't have to cook it or even carve it really.

In fact, if you use real pumpkins for Halloween decorations your chickens may have already taken a few bites out of them! 

If you want though you can cut the pumpkin up for the chickens. You can also puree it, but that takes more work.

Why feed chickens pumpkin?

Well, why let it go to waste, right? Besides, pumpkin is one of the healthiest treats you can give chickens! 

Pumpkin is high in Vitamin A which is an essential vitamin for chickens. Vitamin A deficiency in chickens can cause pale combs and wattles, nasal discharge, poor growth and poor feathering among other problems.

Pumpkin also contains vitamins B, C and zinc which can benefit chickens. Pumpkin seeds contain vitamin E.

Pumpkins with personality!

It's that time of year again.....pumpkin carving time! I'm sure everyone here has a basic knowledge if pumpkin carving....so I won't bog you down with details! I ordered a pumpkin carving kit last year so I just drew on my design and used the assorted knives and scrapers in the kit to carve it out. This year I decided to carve a rooster in my pumpkin. I drew a picture and voila! Lol

Halloween chicken pumpkin!

I added a candle and placed it on the front porch just in time for Frankenstorm!

Happy Halloween!

~L 

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Spraddle leg, the band aid fix

Unfortunately, when raising chicks sometimes things go wrong. Some problems in chicks are very easy to fix and such is the case with spraddle leg, also called splay leg. Spraddle leg is when one or both of the chicks legs slip out to the sides making the chick unable to stand or walk correctly. wiki

It's not difficult to get the chick walking right again, if you start while a chick is still small, but it must be done immediately! The longer you wait, the harder it is to fix!

This is one of the most common problems in chick hatching. Spraddle leg chicks can happen for a few reasons. Sometimes the chick just hatched like that, often with one leg sticking out to the side.

Other times it occurs when the new chick cant get a good grip in the incubator and both legs splay out in opposite directions. Spraddle leg can even occur the first few days in the brooder if the bedding gets kicked away and the chicks feet slip on a slick brooder floor.

Either way....it's easy to fix spraddle leg in chicks if you get to it right away. This is super important! The longer the chick stays splay legged the harder it is to fix.