First Egg!

Today is an exciting day!  When I went outside early this morning to let the chickens outside I was raking around the bedding on the inside of the coop and found the first egg! I have an idea which one laid the first egg but I don't know for sure.  Of course it wasn't in the nest boxes....I found it on the floor!  It had a few scratches (but not any cracks in the shell, just scratches from the sticks on the floor)  on it and is small like the first eggs are, but was completely clean!  I took some pictures!

This picture is the first egg next to a store bought white egg.  Just for size comparison....the first few eggs that chickens lay are small...but they'll get bigger after a few small ones I think.

Hooray!!  I was planning on writing a blog today about something else, I guess I'll save that one for another time!   Thanks for reading and check back soon!

Chickens See Snow

I just thought I'd show you what was happening this morning.....there are a few flurries this morning here in central Ohio and the chickens have never seen snow before.  I took a short video!  Check it out!

I just ordered a solar panel kit from Harbor Freight and at some point will write about that....but it might not be until spring.  Thanks for reading and watching!

Lettuce Update and DIY Cheap Grit Station for Chickens

First I thought you would all like to know how much the lettuce has grown since I first transplanted it.  I didn't think it had grown all that much until I looked at the first photo I took of it.  It has grown a lot!  The first photo is the day I transplanted it.  The second photo is one I took today!

Here is my latest recycling project.  A chicken grit station.  Chickens need grit to digest their food.  Grit can be dirt, sand, small pebbles, or store bought grit is usually a mix of granite and sometimes shells.  You can buy a grit station which is made of plastic and around $15.00.  You fill it with grit and the chickens will eat it.   Then you pay tax and shipping if you're buying online.  Might as well save some money and make one!    I decided to recycle my 5lb plastic protein powder tub for this very purpose!  Why buy one when its made of plastic anyway, and this will do the same thing.  Here is how I made it.

This is the cleaned out container I am starting with.

Then I cut out rectangular shaped holes that they could fit their heads in.

Fill your container with grit.  I am using sand I got at the gravel pit.  It was only 75 cents for a 5 gallon bucket full.

Put the lid back on the top and see the chickens use it!

Cheapest and Quickest Rain Collector!

Just wanted to post a quick blog and video about how I am collecting rain water from the greenhouse.  The green house is only 6X8, and I'm only collecting water from one end of the eaves spout.   Which means there isn't a whole lot of water coming down.   During winter I am going to use the collected water for the chickens and to water any plants in the greenhouse.  I got this idea from YouTube one on of london1817's videos!  You can see this took almost no time and I recycled some plastic that would otherwise be sitting in a landfill somewhere.  Check out the video!  (This one is very short!) 

As you can see, this is so easy to do.  The next thing I am working on, is plans for a Solar Heated Waterer for my chickens.  I'm going to try and build something that requires no electricity or batteries to operate.  I need something to try and keep their water from freezing.  I'm not sure if this will be my next blog. Just keep an eye out for this!