More Chicken Stuff

Sorry about all the chicken posts. I just get so excited about all the stuff I'm learning about them. I had chickens growing up - a lot of them, actually. We had a huge barn and at least a dozen chickens running around. I'm finding, though, that having them as an adult is a lot different than experiencing them as a child. For example, I can immediately pick out the pecking order of these ladies. We have a white one that is a lot bigger than the others, and yet it's always off by itself, away from the other hens. It's last in line for food, last in line to use the nest, and just kind of wanders around. The other day, Roxy, our dog, went over to sniff at her, and she puffed up her feathers and pecked her nose and scared her away. I think it's interesting that our 70+ lb lab-boxer mix is lower on the pecking order than that hen.

I've also learned that chicken poop is great for composting. It's full of nitrates to replenish the soil, although it has to sit, or marinate, as I like to call it, for a few months before it's used. If used too soon, it will burn up your plants. I have 2 compost buckets I've been working on, full of fruit and veggie scraps and also chicken poop. I'll let you know how they work when I actually use them. I think, when we move, if we ever do, that I will keep my chickens in the garden area for a few months, so they can work that poop right into the soil for me with all their scratching and digging. Then I'll move them to a new area to fertilize that patch of ground. We'll see how it goes. If anyone is interested in collecting some of this "fertilizer" just let me know. Bring a bucket over and I'd be happy to fill it up for the next few weeks for you.

Chickens are also great at eating leftover greens, pasta, and bread. When I get beets, I give them the greens, since I'm not a huge fan of them. We give them our watermelon rinds and apple cores. It's nice to know that no food is getting wasted.

One more tidbit - this will either gross you out or you will find it fascinating. Chicken have only one exit - known as their vent - that everything comes out of. That means that the eggs and poop are coming out the same hole. This thoroughly disgusted Craig. He wanted to make sure I was washing the eggs before using them. But we only wash them right before we use them. Eggs come out with a coating that helps it keep for longer. It's best to let them be until you're ready to use them.

Congratulations! You have now passed Chicken 101!