Everybody's Happy

This is a multi post today about bed sheets and chickens... not to be used together of course.  My bestie Rhonda (who I used to live with) had the most wonderful fleece sheets she used to put on my bed. They were the coziest. It was like slipping into the clouds. And although I have seen many types of fleece sheets I was never quite sure which ones to buy. I could not tell how soft they were or how well they would hold up in the laundry. Not to mention that most of the time they can be pretty pricey!! So after talking and talking and not finding the exact ones she had... they showed up in the mail.  She had found them at Marshall's and sent them to me. HOW WONDERFUL!! The moment they arrived they went into the washer/dryer and straight onto the bed. I could not wait for bedtime to come so I could crawl in.  So this post is not only a big THANKS to Rhonda BUT I want to tell you guys what kind they are in case you have been shopping for some yourself.  They are from Berkshire Blanket and are the Microplush sheets. A picture of the package is below in case you see them in a store. Trust me, they are worth it.

Next on the agenda are the wonderful chickens. I wanted to write about a modification we did in the coop yesterday.  I have long been on the search for a cleaner and more efficient way to provide them with water with out spending a ton of money.  We do not have running water close to the coop so we have to haul it out to the coop.   Online I recently found this guy who sold red chicken nipples that could be attached to a five gallon bucket. his website is Avian Aqua Miser. You simply drill the appropriate size hole in the bucket and screw the nipple in. Keeping a lid on the bucket keeps the water clean. You can order as many nipples as you need and the appropriate drill bit if your local hardware store does note have it.

Picture courtesy of Avian Aqua Miser

So I went to Home Depot got a five gallon bucket and a lid, drilled the holes with an 11/32 drill bit and what do you know... I have a large capacity, very clean and efficient chicken waterer.

Originally had an orange snap on lid

Close up of installed nipple

After a day I realized the lid was a bit inconvenient to take on and off especially when you can't sit the bucket on the ground due to the nipples being on the bottom. So there are two solutions.  Most of you will want to purchase an extra five gallon bucket to sit the waterer in to keep the nipples from getting damaged while you are filling it.  OR if you can find an insert like below you can use it instead of a lid. It still keep the water clean but you can just lift the lid and fill the waterer.

Drilled holes in the bottom of the bowl
so it will drain into bucket.

Now all I have to do is take a bucket of water to the coop, lift the lid and fill. DONE!!  My 23 chickens go through about 1.5 gallons of water a day. I have two five gallon waterers (one for full size hens and one for Bantams) that should last approx. 6 days. 

Instructions came with the nipples on how to train your chickens to use the new system. It was really easy.

Now me and the chickens are happy campers. 

Last but not least we went ahead and made another feeder out of stuff we had laying around.  I originally saw the idea on Backyard Chickens which is an amazing resource.  We used a food grade 3 gallon bucket to hold the food and the bottom cut off an old 5 gallon bucket for the food to drain into. We drilled a hole in the center of both and bolted them together. 

The lid keeps the food clean and dry

It is truly amazing the things you can recycle around the house. Not to mention save a few dollars here and there just using your imagination.

*****UPDATE*****

I want to add something to this post I found today. It is another option for making a waterer. This one I have not personally ordered but it looks nice. 

www.chickenwaterer.com

Chicken Ramp Success and a Nice Meal

I know this is going to sound corny BUT I am totally thrilled to have over 200 visits to my blog in less than a week.  Even though half of them are probably my husband. (I think he is spying to see what I write about him!!)

On a different note I want to share two things today: The new chicken coop ramp and my dinner...which I whipped together (because my chef hubby was not home) all by myself. It was DELISH!!!

As you all know if you read the How To Train a Chicken post from last week we attempted to add a ramp in the coop for the birds to have easier access to the roost. Our first attempt was cool and functional but not wide enough for the larger hens. Today we broke out all the power tools and got busy. We used extra wood left over from other projects that we had laying around the barn. Which brings me to another point. FREE PALLETS!! Yes, if you just take a little time to look online (Craigslist) or drive around the neighborhood you will be surprised how much wood you can find for free.  My husband and I have built so many things out of free pallets. Herb planters, flower pots, tomato stakes, chicken tractor, coop ramp and even a bench. I am sure there are more projects I can't remember.  And lets not forget....IT WAS FREE!
Now that I am off my PALLET soap box let me continue. Todays chicken coop ramp was built from 3/4in X 7 inch planks connected together for length and 10 inch wide plywood strips. We also used old shoe molding from another project for grips because the ramp is quite steep.

New ramp on Left, Last weeks ramp in back of coop.

Next on the list for the coop is to hang the feeder to get it off the ground and to modify a five gallon bucket for their drinking water.

On to my delicious meal I made this evening. I have an extreme love for perogies. Thanks to my best friend Rhonda and her Canuck/European family for the introduction. The problem is Rhonda gets homemade perogies when Mama comes to town and I DON't!! So I have had to do my research and resort to buying them from the freezer section. I used to get a decent version of them at Trader Joe's until they decided to discontinue them---Bummer. Until now I have been out of luck. Last week in my International Night post I mentioned visiting some unique grocery stores.  During my visit to the Euro Market I discovered these:

Grandma's perogies

Not only did I find this version but about six other kind including Sweet Cherry perogies, Ukrainian perogies, potato and bacon, sauerkraut, and the list goes on. Tonight I finally had the opportunity to cook some up and let me tell you they did not disappoint. I immediately contacted my friend because I was so thrilled. I am sure there are several ways to have them, however Rhonda taught me to saute' them with butter and onions. The package suggested boiling them but that sounded a bit mushy for my taste. Instead I boiled them for 3 1/2 minutes right out of the freezer and then sautéed them in butter and onions in a Wok. I then tossed in some green onion salt and pepper at the end. They were DELISH!! I do not know if you can get these where you live but it is worth looking. It is a very quick and easy meal.

Perogies with sour cream

What is there left to say after that meal, except Good Night and THANKS to the hubby for helping with the ramp today!!

How to Train a Chicken??

Well today was filled with all kinds of excitement. After some nice research on the internet my husband constructed a ramp for the chickens to climb on to get to the roosting rods. Anyone that has chickens knows the higher they can be at night the happier they are. BUT what the chunky hens don't realize is when they fly down off the roost in the morning it feels and sounds like they could break a leg. So we decided to make a ramp for them.
WELL, like everything in life it has been in learning experience. No matter how many blogs and pictures we looked at online we still have to go back and modify. After watching a few of the bigger birds navigate the ramp (after I forced them onto it) we learned it was not wide enough and that we need a few more grips to keep them from sliding around. It will work fine with some extra grips for the Bantam Hens but we will have to make a different ramp for the BIG Ladies. I seriously think one of my hens (Fausta) could be pushing 20 lbs, at least thats what it feels like when she flies up on me to get some extra treats.

Fausta being Greedy!

I also have one hen (Buffy) who was attacked by the neighbors dog that can not fly very high so she could really benefit from a ramp. It took about two to three weeks but I nursed her back to health and she delivers an egg everyday!! Now we just have to teach them what the ramp is for?!?!?

Buffy healing nice despite the bad DYE job!

Tonight however we went to a charity event that benefited the Hope Center. It is a local charity that offers many services to members in the community needing a little help. At the end of the evening they had live music for which my brother in law and nephew played. This was technically my nephews first "gig". He did amazing despite the sweaty palms and nauseating shakes after he stepped off stage. We were all so excited to here him play...and of course he did not disappoint!!!