Our Chicken Flock

 Back in October we got about 40 assorted large chicken and rooster chicks, who have grown rapidly through the winter, first protected from the cold in the basement under heat lamp and then in a coop.  Recently we built them a new chicken house utilizing some holistic principles and design.  The new coop has lots of light from windows, and lots of ventilation.  The floor is a dirt floor which allows a healthy culture of micro-organisms to develop in a deep litter system that has been shown to enhance chicken health.  We also have a small screened in area that will be replaced with a larger one that will hold kitchen and garden scraps that the chickens will make into compost.  Our chickens are much more than egg layers or meat producers, they are our garden partners and recycling partners!

 When we completed the larger chicken run, where the chickens could get out and stretch their wings and legs, scratch in the soil, look for bugs and eat greens, their joy was evident.  The roosters immediately began posturing with each other, fluffing up their neck feathers and dancing, and the chicken clucking showed how happy they all were.  As the weather warms these chickens will be instrumental in keeping pest levels down (as they love to eat bugs) and keeping our gardens clean, all the while giving us eggs that are far better than any from the market.  And when we do eat the majority of the roosters, we will be eating birds that lived a happy natural life, not birds that grew up in 10 weeks confined to cages in a building.

 In our new chicken coop we used many left over materials that we happened to have around our home, including doors and windows that we had salvaged.  The coop itself is cedar which is a much better material than the typical pressure treated lumber and plywood with all the chemical additives.  Chickens like to peck around and we wanted to make sure that they would not be pecking at any toxic materials that could then get passed on in their eggs and meat. 

Like any animal, when you have the opportunity to observe them over a period of time, you get to know their personalities and characteristics.  Children tend to love chickens, and our daughter was instrumental in building the coop and caring for the chickens.

 We also added the feature of nesting boxes that are accessible from the outside of the chicken house.  This allows us to quickly and easily gather eggs by simply lifting the lid up.  We put any dry material such as straw or leaves as bedding material both in the coop and in the nest box.  It is essential to keep a clean dry layer in both coop and nests for the health of the chickens.  Contrary to popular opinion, chicken coops should not smell, and the disgusting stench that emanates from battery chicken farms is certainly a big red flag.  While you may not want to sit down in your chicken coop, it should not be a smelly unpleasant experience to walk into. 
In the tradition of our Ancestors we seek to work in harmony and partnership with Mother Earth and all her Relations, our chickens are just another aspect of that.