My Chirpy Chicken Coop

Tips For Buying A Chicken Coop   October 31, 2021 (Our chicken coop on a rainy day!) When you're buying a coop, there are several things to take into consideration regarding the location and design- things like coop size, location, elevation, etc. Keep reading for more tips on buying a chicken coop! Size: Conventional rule of thumb is 2-4 square feet of interior coop floor space per hen, dependent on the size of your birds (bantams need less, Jersey Giants need more) and how many waking hours they spend in the coop. My rule of thumb: Build your coop a lot bigger than you think you'll need. Location: If your coop is going to be stationary, versus a movable tractor-type coop, then the location is very important. In the warm southern climates, you'll want to situate it in the shade. If you live in a more northern climate, then locating your coop in the sun will be more beneficial.  You should also consider whether your run will be attached to your coop at one end or if your co...

Chicken Treats For Every Season   October 24, 2021 (Lafayette feasting on fall garden remains!) My chickens get some sort of snack or treat nearly every day - even if it's just some free range time so they can find their own snacks in the form of bugs, worms and weeds. And that changes depending on what's readily available and what is optimal nutritionally for them. Before I go into what treats I feed during each season, there are some basic guidelines when it comes to treats. 1) A balanced layer feed (or grower if you have little ones still :) should make up the bulk of your flock's diet. 2) Treats should make up no more than 10% of their total diet, so figure on maybe 1-2 tablespoons per day per chicken of snacks.  3) Generally, if you would eat it, then it's okay for your chickens, so that means stale or wilted is okay, but don't ever feed anything moldy, spoiled or rotten.  Now that we have the guidelines down, let's get into the seasons of chicken trea...

Chicken Checkup October 17, 2021 (Eliza getting prepped for a chicken checkup!) It's generally good practice to spend time with your flock on a regular basis (as if you don't already :), apart from the regular feeding and cleaning, but really observing them, so that you know what is "normal" behavior and appearance and immediately notice any changes in appearance or behavior. The faster you can identify a health issue and treat it, the better. Chickens, being the ultimate prey animal, are masters at hiding symptoms and often by the time you notice something is wrong, it's too late.  So, I've put together this guide for you so you can easily identify any health issues you notice in your flock. Keep reading! Comb and Wattles You want to see a nicely-colored rosy comb with no black spots, which may indicate frostbite in the cold weather (or if the tips are black or grayish), pecking by other hens, or the more serious fowl pox in the warm months, which is transmit...

For New Chicken Keepers: Choosing Chicken Breeds October 10, 2021 (My Rhode Island Red and Buff Orpington gazing at the outdoor scenery!) What's the best chicken breed? This a tough question to answer because there really IS no one best breed. There are best-laying breeds, best-looking breeds, most cold-hardy , most heat-hardy , prettiest egg layers , best foragers, best breeds for kids ...and the list goes on.  Basically the best breed (or breeds) for YOU are those that will fufill the specific reasons why YOU want to start raising chickens. Breeds I Have Raised: French Copper Maran Buff Orpington Rhode Island Red Production Blue Silver Laced Wyandotte Easter Egger Best Egg Laying Breeds: Anconas Australorps Golden Comets Leghorns Minorcas Plymouth Rocks Rhode Island Reds Sussex  Wyandottes Best Cold-Hardy Breeds: Ameraucanas Araucanas Australorps Barnevelders Barred Plymouth Rocks Brahmas Buckeye Buff Orpingtons Cochins Dominiques Easter Eggers Faverolles Jersey Giants Maran...

Top 20 Cold-Hardy Chicken Breeds October 3, 2021 (The flock free ranging on an early rainy morning!) Chickens tend to be cold-hardy in general, handling the winter months far better than the heat of the summer. But certain breeds, like those with large combs and wattles, with smaller body masses and some of the more fragile breeds don't do as well in the winter as the breeds considered cold-hardy. My top 20 cold-hardy breeds include: Ameraucana   Australorp  Barnevelder   Brahma   Buckeye Buff Orpington   Cochin Delaware  Dominique   Easter Egger   Faverolle   Jersey Giant   Marans  New Hampshire Red   Plymouth Rock   Rhode Island Red  Silkie Sussex   Welsummer   Wyandotte Fun fact: Some of the names of these breeds are a tip-off, as is the case of the Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire Red, Plymouth Rock, Buckeye (named for the state of Ohio) and Jers...