Chicken New Years Resolutions

Here are our Chicken New Year's Resolutions for 2014. If you have a resolution of your own, feel free to let us know by commenting to this posting.

Chicken New Year's Resolutions 2014

1. Clean the Nest Boxes More Often - A clean nest box is one of the best methods for ensuring that your eggs are fresh and protected from bacterial spoilage. Here's why...Eggs naturally are coated by a protective layer called the "bloom." This layer prevents bacteria from entering the shell. If an egg is clean when it comes out of the nest box, there's no need to wash it so the bloom remains on the eggs. However, if the shell has some poop on it, you really don't have much choice but to wash it or to remove the poop by scraping it away with a little sand paper. The best way to keep the bloom intact and eliminate the need to wash or scrape the eggs is to keep the eggs clean in the first place. Frequent nest box cleaning helps achieve this.

   

   Cleanliness is next to godliness

2. More Free Range Time - We built or coop and run to provide our birds plenty of room. However, we do like to give them access to the garden so they can stretch their little legs even more. However, we live in a suburban area and the chickens need to be supervised during their strolls or they'll end up crossing the property line.( Last year, a neighbor found one of our hens sleeping on the hood of her car. She wasn't pleased.) In 2014, I'd like to do supervised walks more frequently.

   

   Free Range

3. Praise the Lord & Pass the Scratch - More treats for the girls in 2014! However, remember that treats should never be more than 10% of a chickens diet.