Backyard Chickens

Hello Again!
As hard as it is to believe, we are already planning for next summer's market season.  On a farm by July, how the current year is going to go has already been decided long before and once the planning is done we ride the roller coaster to the end each year.  We are constantly learning and deciding how we would like the next year to be different.  I'm always running out of eggs before I run out of people who want them so I'm getting ready to order more chicks to raise as laying hens.  I am going to place an order with Welp Hatchery http://www.welphatchery.com/index.asp to arrive around mid August.  I am offering you all the chance to order chicks to arrive with mine and I will brood them for you until they are past the delicate stage and ready to go outside.  Backyard chicken keeping is becoming quite popular again.  Hens are entertaining, make great pets, offer pest control, and give you great eggs!  Please look over Welp's website and decide which breeds you would like.  I would need to have your order by August 4.  The cost of the chicks and brooding service is $6.75 if paid in advance or $7.50 per chick at time of pick up.  Feel free to contact me with any questions you have about backyard chickens and suitable breeds.

To go along with your new chickens you'll need a place for them to live.  Brandon is now building moveable backyard coops for new chicken keepers.  They come in three sizes and can be moved around your backyard so that the chickens always have access to fresh grass and you don't end up with a dirt and mud patch in front of a stationary coop.  The coops are two levels with the roosting and laying area in the upper level and a screened area open to the grass underneath.  Pictured is a 4'x6' coop.  He can also build a 4'x4' or a 4'x8' depending on how many hens you would like to keep.

The roof is removable to access the eggs and bedding for cleaning.  There are doors on the bottom so that you can let the chickens out for play time when you are home.  I know how much my children love having chickens and I always say, "Who needs TV when you can sit outside and watch chickens?"

Our other poultry ventures are progressing.  Our mama turkey has three turkey poults that she has hatched out and there is one egg remaining.  She is proving to be a very good first time mother.  I have candled some of the guinea eggs that the cochin hen is incubating and they do appear to be developing.  I will be taking another batch of meat chickens for processing this week so I'll be back at Simon Kenton Farmers' Market on Saturday with fresh chicken.  That is the festival day at Simon Kenton Market so come out for music and other special features.

I harvested the first of my honey and installed my new queens into two new hives.  It only cost me one sting and a swollen finger and hand.  I hope to have some honey bottled for Earth Mother Market tomorrow. 

Good Night,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com