Fall Update

I haven't updated this in quite awhile, so I've got some photos and a couple of videos for you!  First I'll post the videos and then let you all know whats been happening.

Update on my current flock of chickens!

Recycled Coop Tour

One of the Easter Eggers!

This is Freebie.  My free chick that was included in my hatchery order.

This is mama and the 5 babies she hatched! You can see how small they are in the video post before this!

Construction this summer on the coop.

Tree limb roost

This was how foggy it was this morning! Ended up being a nice photo though.

Not related to the farm really....but its Halloween! Freddy Krueger Pumpkin!

Interplex Solar Nite Eyes Review

I wrote a blog back in October of this year about How to Predator Proof the Chicken Coop.  I wrote about several ways to keep predators out, but one I want to go into more specifics about is the Interplex Solar Nite Eyes.  I have decided to review this product after discovering this morning that one of the four solar nite eyes I had came up missing!  So below is my review of this product.  NOTE: I did not receive compensation from Interplex Solar for this review.

Interplex Solar Nite Eyes: < click to see their complete list of predators

When I first heard of the Solar Nite Eyes, I was pretty skeptical, but after finding many customers who had success with them with very serious predator problems I decided to give them a try.  Their website suggests that you order 4 of them to protect all 4 sides.  I ordered 4 of them in early July of this year.  When I received the package, they appeared to be solid but very simple and I questioned whether or not they would work.  The concept is that at night, these red "eyes" flash over and over all night are supposed to look (to an animal) that they are the eyes of another animal watching them.  They in turn feel threatened and stay away.  They do not require any batteries, have been tested in a variety of extreme weather areas, and require no maintenance.  The reference sheet that came in the package gave instructions as to how high they needed to be placed depending on the predator you're trying most to keep out.  After a whole summer trapping raccoons (one of Ohio's worst chicken predators) I really hoped these would work.  It turns out they did work!  They began to work the first night after they were placed outside.  They received literally no more than 4 hours of sunlight that day and they flashed until the sun came up.  They shut off automatically when the sun comes up and turn back on automatically when the sun goes down.  I've been using them since July and have had no problems with them staying charged and we have a lot of cloudy days here in Ohio, as well as that a couple of them aren't placed in direct sunlight.  I have also not had ANY evidence that any predators have even tried to get into the chicken house.  No areas where it looks like it has been dug up or anything.  One of my favorite features of these (and I wasn't aware of this when I ordered them) they have a magnetic back....so you don't even have to nail them to anything. Which is great for quick removal if you want to move them to a new location OR if you do need to charge them up.  The magnet is pretty strong and the only thing I've noticed is that during high winds, one of them did fall off....but that was no problem, I just reattached it and it kept working fine.  I cannot recommend these enough!  In fact I was prompted to write this review because this morning, one of mine came up missing!!  I have no idea what happened to it but once I realized I couldn't find it I immediately knew I would be ordering some more of them!  Depending on where you buy them the price ranges from I think $17 to $25.  It sounds like a lot to spend when you buy 4, but its cheaper than electric fencing, and also cheaper than replacing your flock if something does get in.  This was money well spent in my opinion and I'd spend it again in a heartbeat!  Thank you for reading and go out and buy some Solar Nite Eyes!

Garden, Chicken House and Harbor Freight Greenhouse Tour!

After many failed attempts to upload this video I finally got it!  Check it out!

Hope you enjoy it!  I will try to do more videos like this!

Garden, Greenhouse, Chicken Update and Farm Recycling!

This post is going to have lots of updates, photos and info!  There are also going to be recycling ideas throughout this blog!

Greenhouse Update:  Today I dug up Boston and Simpson Lettuce starts that came up in the garden on their own.  I transplanted them into an old piece of eaves spout!  I also plan to dig up a few of the large kale plants and transplant them into pots in the greenhouse.  I want to see how long I can grow things into the winter.  Although this year will be mostly an experiment. Here are a couple of photos.

Some other items I've recycled for the greenhouse is a metal shelving unit, refrigerator drawer, and BBQ lid. Here they are!

You can also tell by the photo below that I save all of the packages you get when you buy flowers or vegetable plants!  Otherwise you have to buy these things....and you can get a few uses out of them!

Garden Update:  The gardens have all been covered in manure.  We are going to till up a spot for me to plant peas in early spring.  The only things I've got left at this point are some collard greens and a ton of kale!

Chicken House Update:  In the chicken house my dad and I made nest boxes for them out of buckets.  We extended their roosts which were made out of an old ladder we split up, and I took down the orange fencing on the outside of their run and put poultry wire up instead.  I became concerned that this winter snow build up could cause the fencing to collapse. I also put a ton of dried pine needles down inside their house....it smells nice and they dig around in it.  When springtime arrives I can shovel all of the leaves, wood chips, and pine needles out and it will be put on the garden.  My own homemade compost!

Nest boxes (recycled buckets)!  They should be laying eggs in a few weeks!

You can see the pine needles...and chickens wondering what I'm doing.

Expanded roosts. 

Outside run.

Another photo of the roosts.

A closer look at the poultry wire I added.