Welcome to The Hearty Hen House
Hobby Farming at its finest!
I struggle leaving home to go on a vacation. Seems like nobody takes care of my animals like I do…except my sister-in-law. She gets 5 stars for her efforts‼  When we go away, even if it’s only for a few days, I worry that something might go wrong. I consider my substitute caregiver successful if all my animals survive, whether the caregiver does all the right things…or not.Â
My very first goats were sibling Pygmy goats, Bonnie and Clyde. We lived in Arizona at the time, so I never really worried about keeping them warm during the winter. I think they actually enjoyed the coolness of a season that wasn’t hot! When my boys were young we moved to a rural town in central Utah where the winters were a little colder and included snow! Our neighbors showed dairy goats in 4-H and my oldest son enjoyed helping them bottle feed the kids, and get the goats ready for shows. That’s when our goat herd expansion began. Daisy, a Saanen yearling was first, followed by Spring and Jasmine, Nubian sisters who were bottle babies. Rose was two days old when we got her and then we got a buck to try our hand at breeding. And so the adventure continued. Now, the boys are grown, the goats are old, and the winters are still cold.
Some years ago, when looking at a potential new home, the owners had geese on the property. Every time we would try to go outside the house to look around, we were chased by the geese. We were strangers in their territory and they didn’t like it! I think they probably cheered and gave each other high fives when we finally drove away! Shortly after we found a house and moved in, a neighbor said he had to go to California for work and he had some young chickens and geese that he wanted to give my boys. (I think that was a ploy so that I wouldn’t say no.) I was a little wary based on my previous experience, but we took them in. Thirteen years later we still have the geese and I am happy to report, I have not once regretted the decision!
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.
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.
Bunnies are the best! They are soft and have the sweetest faces! My experience with bunnies began several winters ago when three rabbits came to visit and stayed. They shared grain with the chickens and found a barn full of hay! What could be better?
(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
