[Pukalani-Farm]

Tractor Supply sells ready made coops. Space depends on how many chickens you have. They are omnivores so they can eat any table scraps. Even chicken. They eat grass and greens too. They need what’s called grit in the form of sand or oyster shells to break down their food. You can crush up their own egg shells and feed it back to them for extra calcium to make their egg shells stronger. The most important thing to do for them is to protect them from predators in your area. Every animal and his brother wants to kill chickens and eat their eggs. There should be no holes bigger than a 1/2 inch between them and the outside unless someone is watching them at all times. And predators come from the air too and some dig underneath to get at them. Even a weasel can squeeze through a 1″ hole.

[Dinkydo]

I did a dozen In glass jar in June,July and august,,supposed to be good for at least a year..we shall see.I did just a dozen in each jar .I thought it might keep breakage of egg down.

[Bob-texas]

A simple ground frame (rectangular) and cattle panels make an easy coop.

[Joint_Heir]

Hey Pukalani Farms,

Earlier today, 19 Sep 2022, I was mentioning about a YouTuber that fermented his chicken feed. The name of the YouTube is “Homesteading Family”. There are copius amounts of information they’ve shared on YouTube. I couldn’t find the one particular video I was talking about. However if you look up “Homesteading Family” I’m sure you’ll be able to find it.

Sorry I couldn’t find “The one video” I referenced.

Blessings!

[Pukalani-Farm]

Yes. Thank you. I watch Josh and Carolyn regularly. They are a great source of homesteading info.

[Little-Flock]

Living Traditions on youtube (Kevin and Sara) have built hoop coops for their chickens in Missouri in the wide open, and they seem to be holding up very well in Missouri weather. BUT the important thing is to orient the coop opening away from the prevailing winter winds to keep the hens out of drafts. With only five hens, you won’t need a super large coop. You can also check out the pallet coop Kevin constructed. I see someone has posted the video already.

[TreasureSeekerSOJ]

Hello Pukalani-Farm

I love your ability to find a way to have the chickens, so congratulations on being creative and finding a solution to being able to have them. We currently have 24 hens and 3 roosters. When we first started with chickens many years ago we started with just 4 hens and a simple cover. We used 2 pallets connected together at the top creating a leanto type of structure or an upside down V and covered it with a tarp. The tarp eventually became a sheet of plywood covered with roof tile. The main thing is they need to be out of the wind from time to time. We did not have to worry about animals getting in the pen for several years. Once our flock increased in size is when we started looking into coops, because the more we got the more wild animals looking for a free meal started appearing. The only time you need to consider a larger coop is if they are going be contained in the coop during the day. Chickens require 3 cft of space each when kept in a coop. If you are letting them out of the coop during the day a smaller coop will work as long as their is enough space for all the birds while they are sleeping. We also do not supply our flock with heat during winter, and have never lost one to the cold. We do not supply them with a light either during winter, which is a more natural cycle for their egg laying. Chickens require 18 hours of sun light to produce 1 egg. So we do not require ours to lay during winter by supplying light. Hope you find the type of coop and size you are looking for.

[Squashmania]

How do you have roosters in the same flock without fighting? I had an EE roo who jumped 2 fences (away from his girls) to go toe to toe with my older roo. They both took a bad beating and much cornstarch was used on heads and necks. They are both in the freezer now. Just wondering for the future.

[Squashmania]

Pallets may be the best option for you. Horizontally placed slats can hold perches from side to side. A tarp zip ties in place, and even double thickness can protect from wind and rain. (I LOVE a good tarp) A remnant of vinyl flooring on the bottom with a coating of pine shavings can make clean-out day a breeze, instead of a chiseling nightmare. And it gets a great compost pile started. Might as well put them to work. I use milk crates with one side cut out in a U shape leaving about an inch or two of edge with a square of astroturf for a laying area. Believe it or not, my hens prefer orange and red to black and completely refuse blue! Please keep in mind the deceiving name of “chicken wire”. Chicken wire will keep chickens OUT of things, but is generally too flimsy to keep predators OUT of your coop. Use hardware cloth or welded wire.

[ANH]

Have you tried water glassing eggs?

[OKSteader]

I did some last month. Too early to tell the results yet. I purchased 1 gallon jars/lids from Azure Standard – not a fan of plastic especially with the lime solution tho I have seen some store in plastic 5 gallon buckets on YouTube. I have some eggs frozen and have freeze dried some as well. Will see which turns out best in the future. Have you done water glassing?

[Pukalani-Farm]

I have some in a gallon jar that I am experimenting with. I started them in May and will check some at 8 months and then a year.

[Venice]

Hello. I follow Townsend’s and he did a video on storing eggs in the 1700s. Water glassing has been been done 100s of years and in his experimentation water glassed eggs lasted the longest. Although many say a year on water glassed eggs, several people commented on his forum that they were good up to two years, after 2 years the eggs would become more watery and have a little color loss but were still edible. Good luck! I’m submersing 4 doz today. 🙂

[ANH]

I have not, but I want to. I always see the start, but never when they take them out to use them or how they taste. I planned on putting them in old pickle jars.

[Justtom]

Simple living Alaska on YouTube did a video on water glassing eggs. It was real good because they showed the end results and taste tested them as well. We did a bunch this spring but haven’t started eating them yet.