The Eugene Backyard Farmer

Urban farmers differ from traditional and rural farmers in a number of respects.  Traditional farmers often do so to make a living where urban farmers usually do so to put healthy food on their table. Traditional farmers wait until after harvest before taking a vacation where urban farmers often take vacation in the summer.
And while tending for a backyard flock takes little effort, it still does require daily attention.
So what do you do with your flock if you want to go on vacation? The best option is to get a neighbor to feed, water and collect eggs.  This way they get to see how easy it is and will perhaps want to start their own backyard flock.  In larger cities you can even hire a chicken sitter to come twice a day and do the chores.  We tried this for a while but found it to be a large drain of time and since we commute by bike, it became impractical.

So if you can’t get a neighbor to watch your hens, why not check them into a hotel?  The Nesting Place is a luxury chicken hotel located right here at the store.
The Blue Andalusian Suite and the Golden Campine Suite both include a safe place to sleep, eat and lay eggs as well as an extended yard in which to scratch around.

Basic service is $2 per hen per day and includes fresh feed, water, some scratch and a daily coop cleaning.  Deluxe service is $3 per hen per day and includes the above as well as chopped organic veggies and turn down service.  With the deluxe service we will even text you photos of your hens.

Future suites will be added if this becomes as popular as we think it will. But until then space is limited so if you have a vacation coming up and nobody to watch your flock, feel free to give us a call.

We start getting the calls this time of year.  “I went out to the henhouse this morning and there were feathers everywhere. What is wrong with my hens?”  Another popular observation is “My hens look terrible. They are missing feathers and I think they might be dying.”   Most likely your chickens are just going through a moult.

Just like other birds, chickens know when winter is coming.  Usually in the fall of their second year they shed feathers and grow a new coat for winter. Most moulting occurs in the fall but we have seen hens go through a full-blown moult in the dead of winter.  Sometimes the moult is so mild and consists of just a hand full of feathers.  Other times it looks like there was a pillow fight in the hen house and your chickens look like they have hen pattern baldness.  Regardless, moulting is natural and generally nothing to worry about.  There are still things you can do to help.

If they are loosing their feathers already, this might be a great time to inspect their bodies.  Since it is now easy to see the skin you can use moulting time to look for signs of mites or other body parasites.  This also might be a great time to do a semi-annual coop cleaning. You can remove all bedding, spray a 10% diluted bleach in the corners, sprinkle some Diatomaceous Earth in the corners, and add fresh bedding.  This will make the coop nice and comfortable for the winter.

Hens will not lay eggs while moulting.  Since they need to grow new feathers before cold weather arrives, they put all their energy into that task.  Chickens need extra protein to help them grow new feathers.  The faster they feather out, the faster they will get back to looking good and hopefully laying a few more eggs.  There are a number of poultry supplements that can be added to their feed. Most of these have 30% of more protein which will help them re-feather.  When the hens at our store go through their moult we add dried cat food, meal worms, tofu or beef liver.

A moult can be over within a week or it can last several months.  The longer the moult, the harder it is to keep your refrigerator stocked with eggs.  There is no need to add artificial heat to their coop. We tend to recommend avoiding this so as to not create a fire hazard.  Don’t worry about your chicken’s comfort level. They know more about how to be a chicken then you do.  Just increase their protein intake and they should be back to beautiful backyard chickens before too long.

Eugene area backyard chickens will take center stage on Saturday, June 30th between 4-7.

The first annual Eugene Bawk Celebration is a festival celebrating our backyard hen’s contribution to urban farming.  This lighthearted event will feature lots of games, activities, live music, food booths, and prizes.

Think you can tell the difference between a store bought egg and a homegrown egg?  Then come on down and play a round of Name That Egg.

Fancy yourself an Emily Cluckinson, Charles Bawkowski, or E.E. Cluckings?  Then you should enter a poem for the chicken poetry contest.

Do you know a thing or two about Chicken Couture?  Then you simply must enter the chicken beauty contest.  We even have a runway, an all-star panel of judges and the paparazzi.

Other activities include egg and spoon races, chicken bingo, and a crowing contest.

There may even be a Flash Flock in the days leading up to the Celebration.  Much of the parking lot will be filled with activities but there is still plenty of parking behind the store and on the street.

Call or e-mail the store so we can get our list of chicken beauty pageant contestants together.  Bawk On!

We get the phone call all the time.  “What is wrong with my hen?  She has been staying in the nest box and she won’t move.  I go to pick her up and she fluffs up, makes dinosaur noises, and even tries to peck me.”  You most likely have a broody hen.

Broodiness is a condition where a hen’s maternal clock goes off and she sets to hatch eggs.  Most hens never go broody but some go broody often.  As an urban farmer, you probably collect the eggs daily.  And the fact that you likely do not have a rooster and thus do not have fertilized eggs is of little concern to the broody hen.  Even when you remove any inspiration eggs from the nest, a broody hen will still create a clutch of eggs in her head and try to hatch nothing.  It is both frustrating as well as beautiful and poetic.

Here are a couple thoughts on how to deal with broody hens.  First, you may want to add an additional nest box so the other hens still have a place to lay.  A broody hen will not lay eggs but she will occupy the box.  The other hens are usually cool with it but you might as well try to smooth things out.

If you want to just let nature run it’s course you can just let the hen set.  It takes about 21 days for eggs to hatch so ideally after 21 days she will give up.  It wouldn’t hurt to pick her up once in while and put her in front of her food.  Broody hens usually do not starve themselves, but you are welcome to force her to eat once in a while.

You can also try to break her of her broodiness. To do this, build a cage with a wire bottom and place her in the cage.  The cage can be elevated on some bricks so that there is plenty of air flowing under her.  Give her only food and water and no bedding material.  The cold air will drop her body temperature and she will usually snap out of it in 72 hours.  We have had success placing a broody hen on a concrete pad with a cage over her and only food and water.  It may sound harsh but it usually works.

Another option is to slip some newly hatched chicks (or fertilized eggs) under her.  For the urban farmer it is pretty easy to get newly hatched chicks from your local feed store.  Once you have established that the hen is indeed broody (she has not moved for at least a week), you can take your newly hatched chicks and slip them under her wing.  If you do this early in the morning and when it is still dark, the hen very likely will think that she was successful and will do all the hard work of raising the chicks.  Breed of chick does not seem to be an issue.  The photo above is of a Salmon Faverolle hen with her two different colored Ameraucanas.  She couldn’t be more proud of the work she has done so far and is doing a great job of protecting the chicks from the elements as well as the coop mates.  Keep some chick starter and water near the nest box and before long you will have your next generation of hens.
Tricking a broody hen to take hatch-lings does not always work.  Just because a hen wants to be a mommy doesn’t mean that she will make a good mommy.  Be sure to have a back-up plan.

Urban farming is still farming and dealing with a broody hen is just part of the adventure.  Embrace this time to learn more about your backyard flock and enjoy the satisfaction of urban homesteading.

It’s Spring and baby chicks are here. Many urban farmers have a peaceful flock in various degrees of laying.  Some add new chickens every year so that there is not a lag in egg production.  Others add more chicks each year because it is so fun.  And while having multiple generations in a backyard flock can be tricky, if you follow a few steps you can keep the pecking order at a manageable level.

Ideally you have a broody hen that will take to some new chicks.  Just slide them under her and let her do the work.  However you can’t force broodiness and even if she is broody, she may not make a good mommy.  In which case expect to raise your new chicks indoors for awhile.

By the time they are three or four weeks old they are nearly feathered out.  Slowly introduce them to the flock by having a separate run for them.  This run can be as simple as some wire or a large cage in the corner of the overall run.  They can stay outside during the day, then bring them in at night.  Be sure they have access to food and water in their separate run.  Also be sure their run can be accessed by the older hens.  They will scratch and cluck around the pullets but will not be able to peck them.

In a week or two, they should be used to each other.  By now they are five or six weeks old and you are ready to take the plunge.  Pick an evening when the nighttime temperatures will not be too cold and wait for the hens to go to bed.  Once it is completely dark, take the pullets to the coop and place them on the roost next to the older girls.  do it quickly and make sure they are all on the perch.  Then close the door and walk away.

Chickens don’t see well in the dark so the chickens will spend the night smelling each other, clucking to each other, and getting used to each other.  Come sunrise, the chickens will ideally act as if they have always been a big happy family.  But just like any family, fights are bound to break out.   Remember that establishing a pecking order needs to happen and it is generally a dynamic process.  A couple of pecks and squawks are perfectly fine but even this should subside after a few days.

Over the next few nights go out to the coop at night to be sure the pullets are sleeping on the roost.   You might have to help them up for a few nights until they learn the routine from the older gals.  Keep the young girls out of the nesting boxes to avoid soiled eggs.  Now give them plenty of fresh water and high quality feed.  Before long you will have plenty of eggs for friends and neighbors.

We will once again placing an order for meat chickens. They will be delivered early August and will be ready to butcher between mid-October and late November. This round, we will be ordering both Red Broilers as well as Cornish Cross. If you are interested in placing an order (no minimum) please call the store.

The last round we got just Red Broilers. The benefit of a this breed is they mature much more slowly then the Cornish Cross. At the store we raised six Red Broilers. The roosters were butchered at 14 weeks and the hens at 16 weeks. The roosters dressed out to five pounds and the hens were a bit smaller. They made exceptional meals!
The disadvantage to raising slow-growing broilers is the cost. We fed them an 18% protein GMO free grower as well as plenty of kitchen scraps. They eat a pound of feed per bird per week which works out to about $8 worth of feed. Our six Red Broilers ate a total of 100 pounds of feed. If you calculate feed plus the cost of the bird plus any scratch, it works out to be between $10 and $12 per bird as a total cost. They lived a very healthy life, were treated well and were butchered with dignity.

The Cornish Cross is bred specifically as a fast growing meat bird. The advantage is that they mature so quickly that they can be ready for butcher at six to eight weeks. This means that your feed costs could be half as much as the Red Broilers. The Cornish Cross’ biggest asset is also it’s biggest liability. They often grow so fast that their hearts and legs can’t keep up with the weight gain. They tend to be a bit more lethargic and sometimes do not forage well for food. They also do not do well in extreme heat (this is why we are bringing them in during August. By the time heat is an issue with them, it will be mid-September and probably much cooler.)
If you keep your feed to around 18% protein and give them plenty of ranging space, you should be able to grow a healthy Cornish Cross. The key to raising a healthy Cornish Cross is to avoid filling it up with high protein rations with lots of filler grains. Raise a Cornish Cross with the same respect as you would any other chicken, and you will be rewarded with a fine home-raised meal.

This will be the last meat bird order we do for the year, so call or e-mail the store to reserve yours.

So you are finally ready to raise some chickens.   Many of you have gone on a chicken coop tour and your have some great ideas for your coop.  The weather is finally warm and dry and you figure you can finish your  coop in the next couple weeks.  Or maybe you already have chickens but were paid a visit by a raccoon.  Or perhaps you have a broody hen and you want to give her a couple chicks to try to raise.  Traditional feed stores only carry chicks in early spring and stop around Easter.  The good news is we sell baby chicks throughout the summer.

There are a number of advantages to raising your chicks in the late spring or summer.  Since it is warmer outside, it will be warmer inside.  This means your chicks won’t need a heat lamp for as long.  Once they get to the three week old stage, they can go outside during the day and come back in at night.

Also most regional hatcheries are focused on the more standard breeds during the early spring.  Now that they don’t have to supply large feed stores, they can hatch more unusual or heritage breeds.  We have some fun breeds scheduled to arrive in the next few months.

The disadvantage is that you may or may not get eggs this year.  Most hens start laying between three and seven months but many don’t lay often in the late fall and winter.  So a chick that was hatched in August will be out in their coop in September.  They will have plenty time to feather out and go through their gangly stage before winter arrives.  These hens might lay occasionally in the winter but as soon as the sunlight returns you will get a jump start on next year’s eggs.

The trend toward urban farming is allowing us to approach things in more creative ways.  Raising baby chicks in the summer is a great example of adapting  a rural farming practice to meet the needs of a backyard homestead.

One of the most common questions we receive is, “What do I do to keep my hens warm during the winter?”  The short answer is “not much.”

It is a perfectly reasonable question and it is easy to understand our concerns.  Our hens give us great eggs and great compost and in many cases they give us great entertainment.  And despite the emotional hazards, we sometimes even name them and pamper them and treat them like family.

It is important to remember that chickens are essentially live-stock.  Sure they are cute and funny but they are also tough birds and can handle some harsh conditions. Many of the breeds that we sold originated in the Northeast, upper mid-west, and in England.  Oregon winters are temperate compared to some of those places.  Set your alarm for 4:00 some morning and go out to the coop and pick up a hen.  You will see them huddled together and you can feel the heat radiating off them.

But there are a few things you can do to make things more comfortable during the winter.  Change their water more often so it doesn’t freeze.  You can even paint your water container black or cover it with some sort of sweater.  We will even sell water heaters for the dead of winter.

You can also give them some cracked corn about an hour before they go to bed.  The extra corn increases their metabolism and will give them something to burn during the night.  You can even put the scratch in that chick feeder that you haven’t used since they were 2 months old.

Some backyard farmers do add a light in the coop during extremely cold nights.  If doing so, use caution as you do run the risk of a fire hazard.  One trick is to shine a light bulb into a ceramic pot.  This will create a long-term radiant heat and will also keep it dark enough for the hens to sleep.

Another popular heat source is the deep bedding method.  With this method, you do not clean out the droppings but rather add a thin layer of pine shavings.  As the droppings compost, they create a natural heat that can add ten degrees to the inside of the coop.  If you do this method, be certain that your coop has plenty of ventilation (there is a difference between ventilation and draft.  You want the air to circulate but you do not want gusts of cold air).  A lack of proper ventilation can cause respiratory health problems in your flock.  The composting process can also wear on your coop floor and you will have a bit of an odor issue.  The deep bedding method is popular and effective but it does come with a few drawbacks.

Some breeds have combs and waddles that are susceptible to frostbite.  In extreme cold conditions you can treat a comb with bag balm or petroleum jelly.

If you are still concerned you can always knit them a sweater.  But putting them in front of the fire with a cup of cocoa or a snifter of brandy is unnecessary.

Do you have any tricks to keep your hens warm all winter?  Feel free to add a comment.

Having a cat or two is critical for a feed store.  Fresh chicken feed attracts mice and the store is in the middle of an active rat population.  Sophie and Sonia are working cats who are here to protect the stock.

Of course it doesn’t hurt that the cats are such sweethearts as well.  They enjoy playing with each other as well as the chickens and our visitors.   But their primary job description is to catch mice.

Sonia’s first mouse came as part of a training exercise.  I knew we had some mice behind the straw bales so when I got down to the last few, I carried the kittens out side and propped them on a nearby straw bale.  As I pulled the last two bales away from the wall the mice went scrambling.  Sonia caught one right away while Sophie watched the excitement from a safe distance.

Since then Sonia has been a most dutiful mouser and has even caught two rats.  We appreciate Sonia’s diligence and so do the neighbors.

When Sonia is not busy catching mice, she likes to sneak into the coop’s nesting box so that she can pretend to be a chicken.  Feel free to drop by and congratulate our employee of the month.