Chickens on the homestead

[NH Homesteader]

Thanks! So less boxes will work for me.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I was gifted a set of 8 of the metal nest boxes when my son bought his new place.... they use 4 of them...maybe. Of course they also use the big sink in the barn....just hunker right down in there and think they're doing good, and up inside a bunch of nested tomato cages, and behind the round bale that I just put under the shed (right next to the metal nest boxes)...they definitely take their "free range" status very seriously!

 

[Beekissed]

I keep 3 for a flock of 12-15 and usually one nest is never used...it varies as to which nest is not being used, but rarely are there eggs in each nest each day.

 

[Hinotori]

The 2 top metal nest boxes are the favorites here. I've seen more dominant hens pull others out of the nest box because they wanted that one

 

[treerooted]

Right now I have 2 nesting boxes for 13 hens. But they're just starting to lay, and winter's coming. I have a third but it needs a better clean out; not sure what insect made this dense nest (spiders?) in it, but I've blocked it off for now and will give it a better clean if it seems they need the additional nest.
I had 4 leghorns last winter and they were in a coop with 6 nesting boxes...they only ever used one of course.


So we butchered 13 roos this summer. I think the experience was pretty good, and the process went fairly well. My partner ended up doing most of the work but I helped out when possible. I had read so much beforehand that I was quite mentally prepared. But for whatever reason I got a little weepy before the start of our last set of birds.

I will say this: I'm actually very proud to have our own birds at the table. It makes me feel a different level of self sufficiency and balance within our homestead.

 

[Beekissed]

Amen...that's exactly what it feels like. Like completion of a circle. Just feels right.

That dense spider nest is usually funnel spiders, which show up at my coop near the end of summer and into the fall. Make huge(for a spider)dense funnel shaped nests....good for catching all the other nasties in the coop, so I let them stick around as long as they aren't in my way.

 

[treerooted]

Mmm, could be, it was so hard, thick, and stuck to the nesting box I couldn't remove it; at least not fully. And as far as I can tell it's an old and unused web. The barn coop came with the property and obviously hadn't been used for a long time.

 

[Beekissed]

Sounds like a cocoon of some kind, huh? Not spider, then.

 

[Hinotori]

Well I feel like a drug dealer.

*hides in remote parking lot*

*whispers* "Pssst. Hey, would you like to buy some silkies?"

Well at least the two pullets brought enough to feed the rest of the silkies for about a month.

 

[sumi]