Phaedra's happy mini flocks

[Phaedra Geiermann]

From time to time, our chickens will help us eliminate some leftover, like today.

I have some shrimp for salat and sandwich, after peeling, the shrimp heads are used for making the base of miso soup, then I sent both heads and shell into oven, dry, and smashed them with food processor. T

Another goodie for chickens

mixed them with leftover rice and some dried oregano

some outer leaves from cabbage again and peas, their breakfast today.

Most of the time they will finish in 10-15 minutes.

When they are eating, I prepared the meal for dogs and cats, they are rawfed.

Sometimes I feel I am doing kind of animal restaurant stuff But as they are all healthy and happy, it's all worthy.

Chickens made me a bit busier than before, but they are such a helping hand to offer nice manure and reduce waste, shrimp shell, strawberry heads, melon seeds and peels, vegetable outer leaves..., and etc.

This year our butterfly bush and the Rhododendon below grow and flower super nice, never seen such a vigorous growth before. And today I suddenly realized, besides we have more rain, the 10 hens who live around must have also contributed a lot.

With chicken composting, microorganism in the soil have stable food resource even in the winter and can exchange with the root systems of these plants.

It's not just a win-win, it's a win-win-win-win-win.

 

[RoyalChick]

From time to time, our chickens will help us eliminate some leftover, like today.

I have some shrimp for salat and sandwich, after peeling, the shrimp heads are used for making the base of miso soup, then I sent both heads and shell into oven, dry, and smashed them with food processor. T

View attachment 2801657

Another goodie for chickens
View attachment 2801660
mixed them with leftover rice and some dried oregano
View attachment 2801664
some outer leaves from cabbage again and peas, their breakfast today.
View attachment 2801666
Most of the time they will finish in 10-15 minutes.
View attachment 2801668

When they are eating, I prepared the meal for dogs and cats, they are rawfed.
View attachment 2801671

View attachment 2801675

Sometimes I feel I am doing kind of animal restaurant stuff But as they are all healthy and happy, it's all worthy.

Chickens made me a bit busier than before, but they are such a helping hand to offer nice manure and reduce waste, shrimp shell, strawberry heads, melon seeds and peels, vegetable outer leaves..., and etc.

This year our butterfly bush and the Rhododendon below grow and flower super nice, never seen such a vigorous growth before. And today I suddenly realized, besides we have more rain, the 10 hens who live around must have also contributed a lot.

With chicken composting, microorganism in the soil have stable food resource even in the winter and can exchange with the root systems of these plants.

It's not just a win-win, it's a win-win-win-win-win.

View attachment 2801679

I love seeing all your careful preparations though you do make me feel like I am a really bad chicken-mom. Mine get shrimp left overs too - but I give them to them whole and let them handle them that way! Your chicken breakfast looks better than my breakfast!

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Today's breakfast, fermented feed, homegrown veggies,half apple, and some cooked beef liver and spleen, which we always have for preparing food for dogs and cats. From time to time I cooked some organ meat and added into chickens feed, as they are dense sources of vitamins and nutrients.

Meanwhile, harvested some flowers for adding into winter feed, either those flowers fade for nothing, or become somthing value-added.

Last batch of fried flowers and herbs, look and smell super nice.

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Time, it waits for no man, uh, also no chick.

I can't recall my fluffy lovely chicks from them any longer. They are healthy and strong teens now.

This is Odin, the first hatched one, almost one full day earlier than others.

Different from another two cockerels, he didn't peck his peers. So far I like him the most, among 3 cockerels.

Oh my fluffy golden ball

Other also grow well~it's also easier to confirm from the feather who are pullets.

My fluffy black balls!

I am happy they grow up smoothly, please remain so healthy, my only humble wish from the very first moment they arrived this world.

Reminds me the song - Sunrise, Sunset

Is this the little girl I carried
Is this the little boy at play?
I don't remember growing older
When did they?

When did she get to be a beauty
When did he grow to be so tall?
Wasn't it yesterday when they were small?

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Everyday they will have nice breakfast from my kitchen,

Glass jar is very ideal to collect kitchen scraps for making their breakfast.

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Few more weeks passed, and my chicks are growing very well, 3 cockerels are already bigger than my adult hens

I guess Mama hen is surprised (she already "abandoned them one month ago, when they were 7-8 weeks old") how can those kids became so big now.

This is my first time having cockerels, their body shapes are quite impressive. This is Odin.

And this is Loki, he is so far the alpha male.

Few weeks later, 3 boys will move to their bachelor pen, and I feel a bit sorry to seperate them.

Meanwhile, they are building their own positions.

I also changed my feeding method a bit. Now they will receive the feed twice, morning and evening, instead of normal feed with free access.

Glass jars are my good helpers to hold ingredients saved for their meals.

Fresh materials mixed with fermented feed

 

[LaFleche]

Will you keep one of the cockerels?

So far, I like Odin the best

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Will you keep one of the cockerels? And if so, which do you like best?

I plan to keep all of them and build a bachelor's pen. They are 13~14 weeks old now, not so gentleman when they see food (as I read in the books, roosters will let hens eat first), but none of them is aggressive yet.

And, huuu~roosters are much bigger then I imagine. All of the 3 cockerels are already bigger than most of my adult hens, besides two Marans.

 

[LaFleche]

I plan to keep all of them and build a bachelor's pen. They are 13~14 weeks old now, not so gentleman when they see food (as I read in the books, roosters will let hens eat first), but none of them is aggressive yet.

And, huuu~roosters are much bigger then I imagine. All of the 3 cockerels are already bigger than most of my adult hens, besides two Marans.

Yes, they grow at a much faster pace than pullets and they will just shove their little sisters aside to stuff themselves first.

Were these eggs from your own hens or did you purchase them?

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Yes, they grow at a much faster pace than pullets and they will just shove their little sisters aside to stuff themselves first.

Were these eggs from your own hens or did you purchase them?

I bought them from another chicken owner, because this is the first time I have a broody hen. But in the future all broody girls will go to the broody pen, 16 chickens are already enough for us