Welcome to The Hearty Hen House
Hobby Farming at its finest!
A few years ago I began to notice a decrease in egg production without any real reason as to why. In trying to figure out what was going on, I started watching my chickens very closely. My first clue was a hen with egg on her face! Then one morning I actually caught another hen in the act of eating an egg. So the challenge, and major research, was on‼
Have you been thinking about raising chickens? Have you sat down at the kitchen table and started a pros and cons list? Maybe the cons list is longer than the pros list. Perhaps you are wondering if its really worth the time, effort, and cost. Well here are some of my thoughts; maybe a little different perspective will help you make up your mind.
Chickens are busy, active little creatures. Free range chickens have the advantage of finding their own entertainment and getting into their own trouble: finding seeds, bugs, and worms, sneaking into gardens, going for rides atop a goat… The list goes on. Penned up chickens on the other hand, don’t have the luxury of finding a lot of interesting activities to occupy their time day in and day out. Often this can cause them to pick on one another. A happy chicken is a busy chicken. Here are a few ideas to help you provide some entertainment for your chickens.
If the truth be known, I would much rather spend my time outside digging in the dirt, mending a fence, even cleaning a chicken coop, than be in the kitchen.  The only thing that I enjoy less than cooking is doing the dishes. I would classify myself as an okay cook and I do have some specialties, but I give a two thumbs up! to all of you who enjoy cooking, do it well and find dish washing therapeutic!! Because cooking isn’t my favorite, I prefer simple, no fail, not a lot of dirty dishes type of recipes. They are not hard to find and I’m grateful for them! Fresh cut up fruit is one of my favorite side dishes due to the fact that it’s delicious, easy, and not a lot of dirty dishes. Heck, watermelon comes with its own bowl! When you’re finished with it, just toss it to the chickens or bunnies and they’ll take care of the clean up.Â
Of course fall is the time of year when apples are plentiful and also less expensive. You might even have a friend or neighbor who says, ‘please, come and pick all the apples you want!’ My husband’s friend is one of those guys, so when my husband came home with a big tub of apples that he had picked, I had to figure out what to do with all of them.Â
With the onset of fall and cooler weather, I know that it is time to give all my animal housing a good clean out and get my animals ready for winter. Last year we had a pretty mild winter, we didn’t get much snow or severe cold, so I’m thinking that Mother Nature might want to make up for it this year. We have experienced some pretty crazy weather across the U.S. just this month, so my animal housecleaning and winter preparation has begun! Sometimes with helpers!
Have you ever wondered why farm fresh hard boiled eggs are so difficult to peel? It is because the acidic level of the egg white it so low that the albumen (egg white) easily sticks to the inner shell membranes. As the egg ages and becomes more porous, air gets into the egg, carbon dioxide is released and the acidity level of the albumen increases, causing it to stick less. Eggs that you purchase in the store, it takes them at least 30 days to go from farm to store shelf. That’s why they peel more easily.
Just as herbs have many health benefits for people, they also have health benefits for our animals. I don’t hesitate to give my animals herbs, especially my chickens. I have a couple of herb and flower gardens where I have plants that I know are good for all my critters and that they will enjoy.
Feeding your farm animals doesn’t have to be expensive. You just need to be resourceful and creative.
Prepared feed products that you purchase at your local livestock or pet supply store are great to feed your animals. They are formulated to provide specific farm animals with their optimum daily nutritional requirements. There is a lot to choose from though and picking the right feed can be a daunting task. They can also be expensive. I find that supplementing a prepared feed with other foods is not only cheaper, but I think it’s better for my animals. Understanding your animals’ nutritional requirements is important and I find that as my understanding increases, my animals’ diets change.
(Calcium Carbonate)
Calcium is an integral part of a laying hen’s diet. They require calcium for their bones and for the egg shells they create.Â
I started my hobby farming with chickens. There is no better way to start your journey with hobby farming and healthy living than with chickens! Chickens are animated and fun to watch. They can be very pretty, when not molting, they are not difficult to keep, AND they give back. That incredible edible egg! Just look at the size of the egg I got this last summer! Yes, it was a double yolker! I was hoping for three yolks, but it was not to be.
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