T Melville learns how (not?) to raise chickens on a budget.

Had a bad garden year last year. I usually left the farmer's market with only a small profit. A time or two, it was NO profit. That wasn't too fun. But I noticed we didn't always have someone selling eggs. When we did, they usually left early, because they were out of eggs. Light bulb: eggs = $$$$! So, time to chicken farm! (Plus, they can help me garden better.)

Brooder: check.







Started small with 6 birds. Buff Orpington, (Only egg breed I've raised before.) five pullets and one cockerel. For lay folk, that's five hens and a rooster, though it's recently come to my attention we don't use those terms exactly right.





I've been experimenting with soaking their feed, since I hear good things. I'm a little scared of mold, so I've been soaking it dry enough to make little balls. I think it dries quicker like that. That makes me think I'm missing the benefits of fermentation. So I'm splitting the difference; I put a little yeast in it. Lately I've gotten smarter and started saving one ball for the next batch. It inoculates the batch with yeast, so I can save the purchased yeast for bread. (I guess it's working, it smells like yeast.)







That's it for right now. Maybe more pics soon. The chicks are almost feathered out now. They hatched last month on the 13th, almost four weeks now. Next step: chicken tractor!

Hi T,
Looks like you are off to a good start :)

It's amazing how quick the chicks will get big enough for getting out of the brooder (whether you are ready or not). It is always good to have the infrastructure ready before you need it, so if the chicken tractor is not built yet, I would make sure you get it going.

I agree with Matt, chicks grow fast!

Then the dust... I raised my first batch in my Living Room and learned from that lesson.

What style of tractor are you envisioning? Lots of clever designs out there.

More pictures taken today. Pretty well feathered out now.

Matt McSpadden wrote:It's amazing how quick the chicks will get big enough for getting out of the brooder (whether you are ready or not).

I keep a top on it. It started as a way to slow down heat loss, but it's also to give the brooder a ceiling and so they have to jump hard enough to knock it off or take it with them if they wanna jump out.

Timothy Norton wrote:What style of tractor are you envisioning? Lots of clever designs out there.

My plan is about half formed. I'm thinking of standing two cattle panels in an arched shape so they form an arched tunnel two panels long. Attach 1" hardware cloth as a floor, so predators can't dig in. Line the walls and arch with 1" hardware cloth. Attach something like a bamboo junk-pole fence about 3' or 4' high so predators can't reach in. In one end, put some surplus roof metal to provide shade and rain shelter. Roof metal should be hinged for me to access, or high enough for me to see and reach inside. Nest box(es) and roost(s) go underneath. Mount on PVC shaped as skids or a frame for easy moving.

A few details I still need to design, and would welcome input:
1) Frame or skids? I'm thinking frame, because a pair of skids on the sides would leave the ends above ground.
2) How large does the PVC need to be?
3) Can my roof be as simple as mounting a piece of metal at a slope, say 30°? Or does it need to have a metal peak attached and have an overhang that runs the other direction? Does this decision affect the amount of metal I need? (I assume if the whole thing is a single plane, it needs to extend farther over the front to keep it dry under there?)
4) Should I build a gate I can enter the tractor through, or just an external hatch at the shelter end I can collect eggs through? Or both?

Hi T,
I would like to recommend one of the chickshaw designs. They are mobile and have several good features. There is a design from Eliot Coleman for a metal one that can double as a garden cart (function stacking?). And another from Justin Rhodes using wood.

Both are designed after the rickshaw. On two large wheels that take most of the weight. There is a handle out front to allow you to pick it up and move it. It is large enough for the chickens, but not big enough for a person. Saves materials not having to make it so big. It is up off the ground, which means there is no digging under by predators. Still protected by the hardware cloth, but allows manure to fall through (sort of... I went with half inch hardware cloth, and that is not big enough... still had to clean it sometimes). It is up off the ground and allows the chickshaw to be shade and protection during the day for the chickens. It is lighter on the ground, as only the wheels and bar stand touch the ground, so there is less flattened grass. I used a modification of the one from Eliot Coleman for a while. It worked well when paired with an electronet surrounding it. I would still be using it, but I had to get rid of my chickens for a while.

I'm tired of cleaning poop out of the feeder. But they've been roosting on it. So I gave 'em a new roost. A couple on them have figured it out.

So, life happened... a lot, and I don't have the chicken tractor built yet. The "chicks" are gonna be ten weeks old tomorrow and they still live in the brooder. They're still eating chick starter, but I've started providing creative add-ins. I bought a flat of canned peas at a discount grocery store for 25¢ each. They seem to have been picked too mature, they're not palatable. To humans. The chickens seem to think they're okay. I mix in appropriate table scraps. Yesterday I introduced them to something I've been waiting to break out. I have on again/ off again success with duckweed. Whenever it multiplies to near saturation, I dry some of it in a thing I made with a 2 x 4 frame with window screen stretched horizontal and stapled to the bottom. I keep a lid on it to keep bugs out. So I have an ice cream bucket or two of dried water plants, mostly duckweed, with snail shells mixed in. I mixed about 1/8 of a cup or so into yesterday's feed. If all seems well, I'll slowly ramp up to probably not more than a cup per batch. (I mix 2 heaping cups of chick starter + water + occasional peas+ occasional scraps per batch.)

Success with duckweed, off again.



Duckweed dryer, lid on:



Empty:



Full of dried hair algae. (No idea if it's good to feed to chickens. I used some as mulch last summer. My dog ate it.)