- Oct 20, 2013
- 34
- 0
- 34
Hi Backyard chicken lovers . I want to know what you do for chores . I have one but it take to long to do all of it in the morning because i have to go at 7:45 am and don't get home till dark.
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Eggs: It's 11 degrees outside. This is my first winter with a flock. The first one started laying on Christmas, now 3 out of 4 of them are laying! I work 3rd shift so I check for eggs when I get home at 8 AM, when I wake up at 3 PM, and if I stay up or am off, around 11 AM. The first egg we got froze and split open so the goal is to make sure that doesn't happen again.
Water/Food: Again, it's 11 degrees outside. Every morning when I get home from work I refill the water bowl since whatever leftover water is frozen. I leave enough food out for them to eat as they please, and only have to refill it once every week or two. I supplement pellets with sprouted wheat every morning or afternoon. A few times a day I take 30 seconds on the wheat grass operation in the basement, and once a week I look at the meal worm farm.
Cleaning: I use a sand bed and try to clean it at least once a week. But again, it's 11 degrees outside so I can think of 100 other things I'd rather be doing (like drinking a hot cocoa while looking out the window at the coop).
In the mornings I do a head count, and if I let them free range, I'll do a head count every 30-45 minutes. We live on 1/3 of an acre and they are surprisingly good at staying within our fenced in back yard.
Yikes! 11 degrees! Temps got down to 19 overnight here a few weeks ago and my poor chickens hated it! They didn't even want to come out of the coop in the morning.
I also grow wheatgrass, I juice it for us and the chickens LOVE the tender shoots when they are just sprouting. I don't have a mealworm farm yet but it is a good idea for winter. We have an abundance of bugs from spring through late autumn, but none right now. So, it's something to think about.
It's actually 8 degrees now. Tomorrow will be a high of 15 degrees, and tomorrow night will be a low of -2. Also in the process of getting about 8" of snow at the moment. Between the weather and the taxes, I'm ready for a move!
Hi Backyard chicken lovers . I want to know what you do for chores . I have one but it take to long to do all of it in the morning because i have to go at 7:45 am and don't get home till dark.