J.Lo Giving Us The Scoop From the Coop
Chickens and backyard chicken coops have got to be one of the hottest trends happening today in the garden, right up there with growing your own vegetables. In case you missed it this week, there was an interesting article in the New York Times about backyard chickens, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/business/04chickens.html?
emc=eta1.
Last month, the fab daily e-newsletter out of Southern California, “dirt du jour”, spoke about the upcoming trend of chicken coop tours alongside garden tours in various parts of the country, http://www.dirtdujour.com/item/tour_de_coop/
Recently, dear friend, Debra Prinzing, author of Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways wrote on her blog, Shedstyle, “Chicken Coop Sightings”
and how utterly charming, beautiful, and creative chicken coops can be.
Thank you for including “Coop de Manion” in your sightings.
Check out the latest scoop.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Isn’t that JLo just adorable! The other book we should get someone to do is portraits of all these colorful hens!
your girls are so beautiful. I love reading about them and all of your blog.
Thank Lynn, I’ll tell my girls. Thanks for your kind comment…VintageGardenGal.
It’s been two full summers and 8 birds but today we just got our first egg!
So yeah, late November isn’t really let’s talk about chickens time – but i’m chicken excited today and would like very much to see you do new chicken articles. It’s been a few months now.. wink-wink!
Your first egg is always so exciting! November does seem like an odd time to start laying. Yes, I will write more about chickens and my hens. Thanks for your great comment…VintageGardenGal
My baby guinea hens finally got old enough for me to tell them apart. I have one male and one female. The female laid her first egg today. I was so excited!
Debra, that is so wonderful. They are happy. Congratulations. Thanks for your comment….VintageGardenGal
Bonnie – me again. Wrote to you earlier about the “horse” ladies starting the coop. We have 13 three week old chicks…almost ready to go in our hen house! Question – we have put in an untreated plywood floor as advised, but I noticed some people use Stall Dri or other products to help with amonia smell. Not sure I like the thought of doing that – can you tell me if you use anything on your floor, prior to the shavings being put down? Also, advice on what scraps NOT to give-I did hear that potato peels were not good for them. Thanks very much for your expert advice!
Sharon, I converted a vintage child’s playhouse into my chicken coop. It was a well worn floor. I didn’t paint it or treat it with anything. I’m not familiar with Stall Dri. Chickens are very susceptible to their environment, whether it is temperature, fumes, chemicals. I always say leave the wood untreated. If you clean your coop on a regular basis, and you have adequate ventilation for your chickens you should not get an ammonia build up.
As far as treats, I like to give my hens fresh lettuce every morning. Spinach, chard, lettuce, are all good. Sometimes I give them cut up wedges of pears and apples. It depends too, on what I have been cooking as far as vegetable scraps, too. I don’t normally give them potato peels, brussels sprouts, onions. Remember, what you feed your hens will influence the taste of your eggs. Stick with fresh greens, and some fruit. Try bananas and strawberrie, some like them, and some don’t. Thanks for your questions….VintageGardenGal
Pine shavings or straw or both?
Hi Bonnie
The time quickly approaches for us to receive our 6 FBCM hens and 2 Ameraucana hens. There are differing opinion about whether to use pine shavings or straw. Some people believe that the chickens will eat the shavings which may make them sick and that shavings will not compost. We live in Canada and believe that deep bed shavings will help the chickens stay cleaner and warmer in the winter, but we’re not sure. What is your take on this subject?
Daemon, I use pine shavings myself, and compost with them everyday. Straw is good, too. It is your preference. I find straw to be messier, and harder to work with. Both are fine. I have never had my chickens eat pine shavings, and be sick. Thanks for your great comment…VintageGardenGal
Bonnie- update from Indiana – the horse ladies have their 13 chickens at home now…they are enjoying the Taj Majal of hen houses (well, at least WE think it is the TM!). Everyone having a great time watching them chirp, explore, peck, etc. They are now climbing on top of our shoulders and legs if we sit on the floor of the coop with them. A few will walk right on to our hands if we are quiet about it! A question on the deep litter method which we are using…we have about 4-5 inches of pine shavings down – and have been turning it over every day, compost style. Seems to be working…is that enough for now? Realize in 6 months or so we may need to do a clean sweep of the place, but it all seems to be decomposing underneath…or am I just imagining this? Ha! Could be wishful thinking, but anyway, your good advice, please! Thanks for being such a wonderfully informative resource. Just great. Sharon
Sharon, sounds like your are on the right track. I do a through quarterly cleaning of my chicken coop, and replenish with fresh bedding when ever necessary. I actually remove my hen’s manure and soiled bedding, putting it in my compost bin every day along with kitchen scraps. You are doing wonderful. Yes, chickens will bond with you easily if you raise them from a young age. Thanks for your wonderful comment….VintageGardenGal