Coop Project: Maken the Plunge & Getting Chickens

[Rock Home Isle]

Here is the opener of my Chick/Chicken Thread.

As a little background to this project: My daughter's fiance has been bringing us several dozen home grown eggs everytime he returns from his visits to his family in South Dakota and its been nice getting farm fresh eggs....we've actually become quite spoiled with these fine quality eggs.

On a recent trip to the store, I just could not believe what prices for basic groceries have risen too. We've talked about starting a small flock for several years and finally decided to make the plunge and get a small flock of birds to provide the family with fresh eggs. My wife & I both had chickens when we were kids and the chickens do have a huge entertainment value besides the egg production aspects. I talked to the neighbors, and they are actually quite open at the prospects of fresh eggs should we have an excess, so we shouldn't have to much trouble disposing of any extra production. Their main concern is smell and garbage from the small flock.

Our community allows its citizens to have small flocks and we thought that this would be a benifit to our family to maintain a small flock of layer hens and serve to offset a few expenses. We've picked up 6 Buff Orpington Chicks & 2 Kaki Campbells Ducks some weeks ago. These little fellows were outside for the first time this last weekend; and have been spending their daytime hours outside ever since.

My wife and daughter wanted the Ducks. They both like to bake, and if you've ever had baked goods that were made using duck eggs in place of chicken eggs...well there is a very noticable difference. My wife also knows several ladies in the area that bake wedding cakes and such for a living, and one of their "secret ingredients" is to use duck eggs. I was torn between getting Runners and the Campbells, we settled on the Campbells.

While all this has been going on...I'm in the middle of building the Coop & Run for the small flock.

I'll post photos and show the progression of my project. If any of you have suggestions or ideas that you would like to share...that would be much appreciated.

I hope that you enjoy the thread as much as I'm sure that I'll enjoy posting to it.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Upon My Soapbox:

I was sitting with a friend after graduation today and we got to talking about different topics; our interests that we share; family that we wish to visit in the coming weeks and of course what we will be doing this summer. He will be traveling and enjoying his leasure time this summer and I will be working with some wonderful students and conducting research at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC).

As we talked, my collegue indicated to me that he had heard that I was starting a small backyard poultry flock, so he explored the subject with me. He was under the impression that raising my own birds for eggs for my family was more economical than going to the store and buying commercial eggs. He was curious to know the facts and the details of my project. (I must talk to much...I'll try to fix that charactor flaw) I think I might have injured a plan of his when I responded and explained that it couldn't be further from the truth...Raising poultry on a small scale for your own consumption is not a finacially motivated descision. My project is a statement of philosophy and personal beliefs. These eggs that I hope someday to get from my pullets will not be cheap commercially mass produced eggs. The eggs won't possess a sickly yellow colored yolk with a bland pasty flavor that we all have become acustomed too. They are not the product of some venture capitalists that own controlling shares of stock in an Industrial Ag-Corporation that manages a cage based egg production business. With my project, I am making a statement against our modern manufacture of the food chain that we consume as a population and have come to think of as normal. I never thought that I would ever say or write those words...but after several years of research, reading, fact finding, and education, it is what I have come to believe.

A couple of years ago I had a discussion with a group of my upper level students about modern genetics and commercial food production...Franken Food is the anti-term that has been used to describe these types of advancements in biotechnology that has integrated into our food chain. Personally I think that our technological advancements are simply amazing and our lives are going to be forever changed once there are just a few more breakthroughs in Nano-Technology. During the course of our discussion, I asked the class an open ended question, "Where does our food come from?" I was expecting reasoned and thoughtful responces about our modern agricultural system and manufacturing infrastructure...But what I recieved as a reply, "The Store..." Frustration can be almost a physical force and not just an emotion.

I teach my students, but they also teach me. I like that arrangement very much. I have come to believe that there is a disconnect in our society. There are segments in our society that no longer understand that there is a point where a living animal becomes a carcass and then becomes food that we comsume. There is nothing bad about the cycle of life, but we are now raising several generations that do not understand this process. The eggs that my pullets will produce for me; for my family; will be the product of a healthy happy flock of poultry. My family, my children and at the moment several children in the neighborhood, will have a little closer connection to the process of food production and simple agriculture. These animals in my backyard are not machines that produce a consumable product and then discarded once they've reached their production limits. They are enjoyable living entities and it is fun to interact with them and observe them as they grow and live out a healthy life; while at the same time they produce eggs for my family; they controll bugs and pests on my property; and help to maintain and incorporate organic materials into my garden.

Free Ranging our small flocks is a healthy way to take care of and maintain our little charges. If your flock is foraging and thriving off the living land then we have succeeded. When Commmercial Feed has been demoted from the position of a primary food source for our flock to just a suppliment to the flock's varied and nutritious diet...that is the goal of free ranging poultry. The eggs that our free ranged flock produces are proven to be more nutritious and healthy than their commercial counter parts... and our animals are happier & healthier than the commercial layers. But more importantly we have made a powerful and growing statement about what is important to us about our food sources for our families.

Don't think less of me if you happen to disagree with my views. I'll now put my soapbox away for the moment....

 

[Ourfamilyflock]

[COLOR=FF0000]Upon My Soapbox[/COLOR]:

I was sitting with a friend after graduation today and we got to talking about different topics; our interests that we share; family that we wish to visit in the coming weeks and of course what we will be doing this  summer. He will be traveling and enjoying his leasure time this summer and I will be working with some wonderful students and conducting research at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC).

As we talked, my collegue indicated to me that he had heard that I was starting a small backyard poultry flock,  so he explored the subject with me. He was under the impression that raising my own birds for eggs for my family was more economical than going to the store and buying commercial eggs. He was curious to know the facts and the details of my project. (I must talk to much...I'll try to fix that charactor flaw) I think I might have injured a plan of his when I responded and explained that it couldn't be further from the truth...Raising poultry on a small scale for your own consumption is not a finacially motivated descision. My project is a statement of philosophy and personal beliefs. These eggs that I hope someday to get from my pullets will not be cheap commercially mass produced eggs. The eggs won't possess a sickly yellow colored yolk with a bland pasty flavor that we all have become acustomed too. They are not the product of some venture capitalists that own controlling shares of stock in an Industrial Ag-Corporation that manages a cage based egg production business. With my project, I am making a statement against our modern manufacture of the food chain that we consume as a population and have come to think of as normal. I never thought that I would ever say or write those words...but after several years of research, reading, fact finding, and education, it is what I have come to believe.

A couple of years ago I had a discussion with a group of my upper level students about modern genetics and commercial food production...Franken Food is the anti-term that has been used to describe these types of advancements in biotechnology that has integrated into our food chain. Personally I think that our technological advancements are simply amazing and our lives are going to be forever changed once there are just a few more breakthroughs in Nano-Technology. During the course of our discussion, I asked the class an open ended question, "Where does our food come from?" I was expecting reasoned and thoughtful responces about our modern agricultural system and manufacturing infrastructure...But what I recieved as a reply, "The Store..." Frustration can be almost a physical force and not just an emotion.

I teach my students, but they also teach me. I like that arrangement very much. I have come to believe that there is a disconnect in our society. There are segments in our society that no longer understand that there is a point where a living animal becomes a carcass and then becomes food that we comsume. There is nothing bad about the cycle of life, but we are now raising several generations that do not understand this process. The eggs that my pullets will produce for me; for my family; will be the  product of a healthy happy flock of poultry. My family, my children and at the moment several children in the neighborhood, will have a little closer connection to the process of food production and simple agriculture. These animals in my backyard are not machines that produce a consumable product and then discarded once they've reached their production limits. They are enjoyable living entities and it is fun to interact with them and observe them as they grow and live out a healthy life; while at the same time they produce eggs for my family; they controll bugs and pests on my property; and help to maintain and incorporate organic materials into my garden.  

Free Ranging our small flocks is a healthy way to take care of and maintain our little charges. If your flock is foraging and thriving off the living land then we have succeeded. When Commmercial Feed has been demoted from the position of a primary food source for our flock to just a suppliment to the flock's varied and nutritious diet...that is the goal of free ranging poultry. The eggs that our free ranged flock produces are proven to be more nutritious and healthy than their commercial counter parts... and our animals are happier & healthier than the commercial layers. But more importantly we have made a powerful and growing statement about what is important to us about our food sources for our families.

Don't think less of me if you happen to disagree with my views. I'll now put my soapbox away for the moment....

Here here, I couldnt agree more.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Dang we love your saga!

I prefer lurking a long time on forums where I don't know squat about the subject yet, but I have to decloak to ask : So did your girls and ducks figure out how to eat the crayfish? My beloved spouse wonders if the chickens thought they were just huge bugs... LOL

Thanks and cloak RE-engaged....

~ Tracy

While we were sorting, I made the mistake of giving them a few minnows that we found in the tub. The ducks just went nuts when they got a taste of a minnow. After that, they almost acted as if the crayfish was theirs and "how dare we" not let them have them....

They managed to sneak about 8 crayfish out of the bucket. Once they got one of the crayfish open and got a taste of what was inside...yeah they learned real quick and became very proficient.

During the sorting, we really had to watch them. I was a bit surprised at how fast they were at grabbing and bolting away with their prize, the whole flock streaking across the yard playing keep away. Then a bit later they would slowly stalk in close for another go; the braver ones in the front. They became rather bold about grabbing them out of the bucket.

If a chicken could have facial expressions, I would say that they looked almost shocked that we didn't want them to take the crayfish and that we were pushing them away...Silly Chickens.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

They were 4 little jakes and I could NOT resist trying to feed them...I found that they love bits of apple and pizza. It was so fun.

Turkeys are my favorite poultry, and wild turkeys really have a special place in my heart.

The turkeys hung around for quite awhile, exploring the stairs and the deck.

After a bit they set off down the ridge....

....to roost on a low stump in the shade.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Then she started chasing the turkeys.

Then the turkeys started chasing her...

It was amazing to watch...I have spent a lot of time in the out of doors...stalking and hunting and photographing wildlife.....

....I have never seen animals at play like this before. It was fun, they all chased each other for about 5 to 10 minutes.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

The coop is mostly framed at this point. Pleanty of room for a flock of 4 chickens and 2 ducks. My current concern is that the ducks will make a wet mess inside the coop, and during the winter months a cold wet chicken is usually a dead chicken. The large opening is for my access door to the inside of the coop.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

We have 6 Buff Orpington chicks. I've never had chickens without a few losses so I got a few extra, just in case. So far everyone looks to be healthy...knock on wood. If the time comes and I have more chickens than I can keep, I have a friend that also got chicks this spring and will take any extras off my hands. He's a good guy.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Well today the crew discovered the area under the bird feeder. Here the chicks and ducks are picking through the debris left over from the winter.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Happy Father's Day


It had been a long day, but a good day. I got the lawn mowed and a lot of work around the house finished. Dang if my son's Baseball Game was canceled due to smoke from the fire. But still a great Father's Day. My Daughter slipped outside and snapped a couple photos while I was spending time with the flock.

This is the perfect way to end a great day. Enjoy.



It is so nice when they come when you call them.