How to Raise Chickens

What comes first the chicken or the coop? So when you want to start raising chickens for eggs there are a few basics things you want to think about, plan for ahead of time and then get your chickens. I had been planning for several years, so that when we moved from an area that wouldn't allow any farm animals to the country I would be ready to rock and roll. Raising our own chickens allows us to have eggs all the time and the capability to raise our own chickens from chicks, since we have a rooster. For me, this was the quickest and easiest meat resource to be prepared. 

What type of chickens do you want? Yes, try to think ahead, Personally I knew I wanted chickens that laid large brown eggs, friendly temperament & cold weather hardy. I also knew I wanted pullets (chickens close to being ready to lay). Then when chickens were available to me, I checked the breed and knew if they were meeting my check list. Also I would caution you on getting chickens on Craig's List, Online yard sale posts and such. Simply because if you are specifically wanted to raise chickens for eggs, you want to insure that the chickens aren't over 3 or 4 years old, when they start dropping their egg production.
Before you bring any chickens home, it is really helpful to have someplace for the chickens to live. You can build your own coop or buy something pre-made. I suggest that you weigh out the costs, time, materials & labor. i have seen some really fine coops or tractors people have built. if purchasing a kit, read the reviews. Buying a inexpensive coop, may not be worth it if it falls apart within a few months. 
We opted for a fairly expensive, but extremely durable pre-fab chicken coop the Formex Snap Lock Large Chicken Coop Backyard Hen House. For us it was a great choice & I absolutely love how easy this is to use and clean. In fact we just bought another smaller version, since we are expanding our flock.

Know what you will feed them & have it on hand when you bring them home. Odd as that may seem, I see people leaving the Tractor Supply Store with their cute little impulse buy chicks and NO food. Now, I am not trying to be all judgy, I mean they may already have feed at home. 

personally I went with a soy-free, non-gmo feed. We travel a couple hours to get this from Sunrise Farm, Stuarts Draft, VA.

There are some other items that are helpful to have on hand when you start. Galvanized trash cans with a lid for feed & pine shavings (bedding). TIP: On the lids, where the handle is attached, we have found that there are two small holes that allow water to get in the cans if they sit outside exposed to the weather. Just this week, we sealed the holes with RTV (Room Tepurature Vulcanizer)
Water fount
Feeder
Also, it is nice to have a good chicken book(s) on hand. I have several. You are able to find this various items at your local coop or Tractor Supply Store. I have personally found that prices are often better online & are delivered, which is a bonus for me since driving to the city and hauling stuff home can be time consuming. 
Last, but not least...it is o.k. to have some fun items as you are beginning to raise chickens. My favorite fun item I have are Slogger Boots with a chickens on them. They just bring me great joy. Of course you don't have to have chickens for the fun boots!

What I do here is simply share our preparedness journey. If you liked this post we would love it if you joined our Perky Prepping Gramma community on Facebook, comment or share. Plus it would just make my day.

share. Plus it would just make my day.

  

  

Your order is so very appreciated, because anything ordered through my Amazon Associate links helps me to be able to stay home and write for you. Perky Prepping Gramma is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

How to Count Change...

It is mystifying to some of us in the world as we watch people who don't know how to count change without a calculator or a pen and paper. Just this week, I watched at a big box store as two cashiers try to figure out how much change to give a man. They had to get out a pen and paper.
I realized several years ago that the problem is some people think that it is a subtraction problem. When they take out the paper, they write down how much cash they were given and then subtract the total cost of the purchase.
When in reality it is so much simpler than that.
What they haven't been taught it is really an addition problem, you simply count UP from the total cost, to the amount of the cash tendered.
That's it.
So for those of us who know, be patient because now you know the reason why. Be patient or teach others how to solve this baffling math problem.

What I do here is simply share our preparedness journey. If you liked this post we would love it if you joined our Perky Prepping Gramma community on Facebook, comment or share. Plus it would just make my day.

 Here are some items I have used on the farm this week. 

   

Your order is so very appreciated, because anything ordered through my Amazon Associate links helps me to be able to stay home and write for you. Perky Prepping Gramma is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Fire on Water

One of the most important skills a prepper needs to learn is how to start a fire. 
Even with mad fire starting skills, starting a fire in inclement weather like rain or snow, when every single thing is soaking wet can be a challenge to even the most experienced prepper. So I was surprised to see Insta-Fire recently on a t.v. show. This is specifically designed to help start a quick fire in adverse conditions.
NOTE: You still need to know how to start a fire, in case your don't have a lighter or matches to use.

This first test, I just poured the Inst-Fire in sink of water. LOL. Yes indeed it lit, but the product was so spread out. Thinking a little more then, I put the fire out, scooped everything out and dried the Insta-Fire on a towel. 
This time I put water in this container, poured the Inst-Fire on the top and lit it with a match.

It took fire really quickly and spread.
Yep, I was able to start a fire on TOP of water. The fire grew quickly and sustained until I put it out with water.



You do need to be realistic when using this product. It isn't a miracle fire in a bag. Damp or wet tinder or wood is still difficult to set on fire. But I truly believe that it increases your chances dramatically of getting a good fire going. Since it comes in individual packets, it is light weight and easy to add to a 72 hour fit or backpack.
Now I have to admit, I will be keeping this product on hand in multiple areas just because of the convenience of using it to start any fire.
What I do here is simply share our preparedness journey. We would love it if you joined our Perky Prepping Gramma community on Facebook. You will notice Amazon links in my posts. Your order is so very appreciated, because anything ordered through my Amazon Associate links helps me to be able to stay home & write for you.

Perky Prepping Gramma is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

SAVE more...

As preppers we are looking at ways to save money, as we store various items and particularly as a prepper I am concerned about finding storage space. Plus I am sensitive to a LOT of smells. Sometimes just a conversation can change the way you do things.

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a friend bemoaning the fact I was have a difficult time finding unscented laundry soap online.
She then told me that she uses is Charlie's Laundry Soap.  
I have always liked concentrated soaps without fillers and garbage. You use only 1-2 of these really little scoops per load.

It is recommended that the first two loads should be rags, as Charlie's will actually clean up the residue that is in your washing machine. 

So I ordered some and started using the products. I must say I was VERY pleased. The biggest things I like about these products is 1) they don't smell. 2) they are very compact for storage. 3) they are green and non-toxic 4) Oh and they WORK!

This bucket below does 1250 loads of wash for $159.99. Think about it. That friend has a family of four with two teenage boys and the box lasts her two years!

What I do here is simply share our preparedness journey. We would love it if you joined our Perky Prepping Gramma community on Facebook.

Perky Prepping Gramma is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Composting: Skills to Learn Now...

Once we got settled in some on the farm, we got started making our own compost. 
There is no way I could begin to tell you everything you need to know about composting. But, I will show you what we do and use. We started with a Spin Bin. I needed something that was fairly light weight and easy to move about.
Then Mr. Perky insisted on getting a counter top compost bin. I was perfectly happy using an old PET jar.
One thing I can tell you is if you go this route, get your bin from Amazon. We got the exact one listed below for $10 MORE at Tractor Supply store.
Now that I have my small bin, I must admit I like it. 
Composting is really easy to do. Basically I gather up my fruits, veggies, leftovers (no meat) put them in my bin.
When it's full, I throw it in the Spin Bin with some dead leaves. The basic ratio is 2 Brown/1 Green. This is when I was still using PET containers. My pups LOVE to roll around in the muck that drains out.

Once I dump the mess, I wash the container and line it with brown paper so I can dump it right into the the composter. That just adds a little more brown. :D 

That's the basics. For a lot more information on composting you can follow this link: Great composting tips at Composting at Home. Also below is a free book (at the time of posting) on composting. Got to love free!

What I do here is simply share our preparedness journey. We would love it if you joined our Perky Prepping Gramma community on Facebook.

  

Perky Prepping Gramma is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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Egg Day on the Farm

When I started prepping, one of the first skills I learned was how to save eggs for storage. We lived in a location that would not allow any farms type animals. Since a properly stored egg will last up to nine months I knew this was one item I could always have on hand.

Once we moved to the farm, I knew we would be getting chickens as soon as possible. We now have 10 Red Sex Link chickens & a roo. That is a LOT of eggs for just two people. So I am determined to sell our extra eggs at a profit.

Currently, once a week is egg day on the farm. Depending how many eggs I have, how many I need to get ready to sell and how many I will need to store determines what my day is like.

For example as I am writing this I am returning from a two week vacation. Mr. Perky has been gathering the eggs while I am gone. When eggs are fresh from the chicken they have what is called a bloom on them. It is a protective layer that surrounds the egg & covers the 10's of thousands of pores in the eggshell. It's natures way of keeping the eggs a lot fresher longer. If you are raising our own and only have a couple hens, leave the bloom on, washing them just before you use them. Just leave them on the counter. That's right, leave them on the counter. It might surprise you to know in a lot of countries you would never find eggs in a refrigerated section of a store.Often you are able to get eggs from a farm that are not washed. This really is a bonus.

On egg day, I start by cleaning the sinks extremely well. Then I gently wash and rinse the bloom and other stuff off of the eggs with warm water. This is usually about 20 degrees warmer that room temperature. From what I understand, cold water can draw "stuff" into the pores of the eggshell, when what you want to do is make sure everything is washed off.

 

I set them out on a towel to let them dry. Then I weigh each egg to determine the size of the egg. The "large" ones (which look really small to me) & the ginormous ones are set aside.
Mostly my gals lay extra large and jumbo eggs, with an average range of 67-75 grams each.

 

In our case, since we are still working on developing our customer base I will often put a very thin layer of organic coconut oil on the eggs at this point. Coconut oil is a natural method of covering those pores on the egg shells again. This is a great method of storing eggs, this protective layer will enable you to keep fresh eggs in for fridge for many months. It is so easy to do, I just taught someone "how to" a few weeks ago in a matter of seconds.

Last step: I put the extra large & jumbo eggs in cartons and pop them in the fridge. I mix up the sizes in the carton. 

I started with some eggs cartons that only hold up to extra large eggs & discovered I probably should have started with cartons for jumbo eggs. So now I have both sizes. I got my cartons from Amazon. Trust me I did check out prices. As a newbie chicken farmer, I really like the fact I can order smaller lots of cartons at a reasonable price.

 

What I do here is simply share our preparedness journey. We would love it if you joined our Perky Prepping Gramma community on Facebook.

  

Perky Prepping Gramma is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Relax & Color...

As strange as this seems, one of the things you may want to seriously consider for your preps are 
coloring books, markers & colored pencils.  If you haven't noticed there is a huge trend of adult coloring. I have seen it, but recently actually went to a "coloring club" because it was being taught by someone I know.
While I wouldn't normally put this high on my list of items to store, it did get me really thinking. We talk about having activities to do, board games to play, cards - but coloring is being touted as a great stress reliever. I must admit while I was coloring, I was able to take time and just focus on the task at hand. I think this could actually be a valuable tool to have on hand. The ability to just take 

some time and relax is something we
should consider.
I haven't colored in years & don't consider myself an artist at all, but after the club, I learned some new techniques which has sort of given me a new look on coloring. I have to say I REALLY enjoy the glitter marks here.
There are a lot of different types of books, these are just the two I started with.

What I do here is simply share our preparedness journey. We would love it if you joined our Perky Prepping Gramma community on Facebook.

   


Perky Prepping Gramma is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.