- Apr 4, 2011
- 6
- 0
- 7
After 3 days, we are beginning to get used to this suburban chicken farmer gig, but there's a ways to go. Our hens came from a farm where they had lots of friends for socializing and room to roam in a fenced in field. One is especially reacting to the closed in space of the 3x6 tractor with partial tarp covering, as I often see her pacing. Whether nor not they are already conditioned to me, I don't know, but they are right there when they see me coming. Somebody suggested we hang part of a cabbage for them to peck at, for something entertaining to do besides pacing; didn't do that yet. They are about 28 weeks old, and are each laying at a rate of nearly one a day, medium size eggs.
We are feeding mash from Organic Unlimited in Atglen, a long ways to go for feed but we were in the area for cheese, grass fed beef, and ... to pick up the chickens. We have a small bucket waterer with two nipples. They work hard on the nipples for water, even now in the cooler weather before summer, so I also have a small container hanging on the side of tractor that holds enough water for them to drink up- they really go for it. I rinse it out well, several times a day to remove the food that was left behind when they dipped in.
We have lots of volunteer kale, and they enjoy that, eating just the leafy part and leaving the stem. After mostly ignoring the sunchokes they ate a few, so I'm hoping they will eventually take to the sunchokes, since we planted a bunch again for next fall/winter. The back yard grass isn't all that tall, nothing like what they are used to. If I could only put them out front- that grass grows lots more. They ignore spinach (thank you very much !) and red leaf lettuce (another volunteer), but like arugula lots (oh, no, not that !!)
These birds are all natural, and I'm hoping no biological problems turn up.
We are feeding mash from Organic Unlimited in Atglen, a long ways to go for feed but we were in the area for cheese, grass fed beef, and ... to pick up the chickens. We have a small bucket waterer with two nipples. They work hard on the nipples for water, even now in the cooler weather before summer, so I also have a small container hanging on the side of tractor that holds enough water for them to drink up- they really go for it. I rinse it out well, several times a day to remove the food that was left behind when they dipped in.
We have lots of volunteer kale, and they enjoy that, eating just the leafy part and leaving the stem. After mostly ignoring the sunchokes they ate a few, so I'm hoping they will eventually take to the sunchokes, since we planted a bunch again for next fall/winter. The back yard grass isn't all that tall, nothing like what they are used to. If I could only put them out front- that grass grows lots more. They ignore spinach (thank you very much !) and red leaf lettuce (another volunteer), but like arugula lots (oh, no, not that !!)
These birds are all natural, and I'm hoping no biological problems turn up.
