How to: Predator Proof your Chicken Coop

The best defense is a good offense - when you are building your coop put wire under the ground beneath the coop to stop predators from digging in from below. Rats and many other animals will do it - they are sneaky.

Dig about three to six inches of dirt beneath where you are planning to build and put small mesh chicken wire on the ground.  Connect this wire to the foundation or sides of the coop, then cover with dirt and built the coop up from there.

When I was a kid I raised ducks and one of the saddest days was when I went out to see how Tina was doing on her nest and a raccoon had actually pulled her through the coop wire and eaten her. I cried for days. That was when we got really fine mesh wire for the coop sides rather than regular chicken wire. I suggest you do the same to avoid any sad sad days…

A metal roof is also a good idea to keep predators out, make sure its secure. Its much harder for animals to chew through metal! I also put food and straw in metal bins to keep predators from smelling any potential food.

Common Chicken Predators

Can you say Raccoons?  They look so cute right - but they are devious little devils.  We do have them, even in an urban environment.  Last week I was in bed upstairs reading quietly when my cat Ginger jumped to the window sill and started making the strangest cat noises... yeowling. I jumped up and peered out the window RIGHT into the eyes of a young male raccoon.  He obviously wanted in at this late hour.  I shooed him off the roof but he refused to go.  So my husband Reed went outside, grabbed the hose and proceeded to spray him off the roof saying "be gone you little devil!"  If people in the neighborhood didn't think Reed was crazy yet, they do now.

Not too cute evil devious raccoon

We also had one racoon try to make a home in the large pine tree above the chicken coop, once again a hose of water shooting at him moved him along to find another home, hopefully far away.

I have a friend at work who has chickens, he has had multiple attacks by hawks and eagles, one time wrestling his chicken out of the beak of a bird.  Amazing that he got there in time and the chicken lived.  Unfortunately, once they learn where dinner may be an easy catch, they keep coming back. He has had to keep his chickens in their run most of the time now.

Can you imagine seeing this coming for you?

My chickens run under a bush or tree when they see an eagle in the sky - they have a keen sense of sight and self protect well by gathering in a little group and staying quiet.

Skunks, Posseums and Rats are also local predators in my urban neighborhood and fairly common visitors to the yard even while fenced.   A skunk one time sprayed our dearly departed little jack russell terrier Tina who was too curious over by the coop when it was dark.  Poor Tina, she smelled pretty good after 14 washings, but my laundry room stunk for days.

We also saw a coyote run up the street one day, but it would be nearly impossible for him to get into our backyard since its fenced all the way around.  I did have my son Nick run to get the cats in that day though!

Its important to lock the chickens up as soon as they head into the coop at night to avoid any nightime predators snooping around.  

- Rita

Journey to the Sea...

We are spending labor day weekend at Seabrook on the coast of Washington, a most beautiful beach and planned community close to our lovely rain forests.  We had sun and clouds and maybe rain tomorrow!  We ride bikes, BBQ, have wine and cheese hour everyday, and we play games together in the evenings like Monopoly (Nick always wins), Settlers of Catan, Clue, Pictionary (I'm really bad at drawing cows) and Risk.

We always play boche ball on the beach and I lost very badly this year.  We may have a badminton tournament tomorrow.

We all really miss our dog Tina, the best Jack Russell Terrier in the world, who passed away after Christmas.  She loved Seabrook and the beach so much.  Last time we were here she found squeaky "eggplant" toy that drove us all nuts.  She was the fastest ball chaser ever!

We collected driftwood for my driftwood project...

We found some pretty good driftwood specimens in the dunes...

When I leave for a short trip or vacation, I have friends who come over and let the chickens out and put them in at night.  Its great peace of mind knowing that they are responsible and the chickens will be well cared for.   They also collect the eggs and make sure everyone looks healthy and happy.  Water is really important to replenish since its still warm this labor day weekend.  I hope everyone is enjoying the last lovely weekend of summer!

- Rita

Pooper Scooper - The Dark Side of Chicken Ownership

I hate to say it, but you must know this truth behind urban chicken keeping - It's not all fun and free eggs...poo must be scooped!

With 6 chickens in my yard I have to scoop poop daily in the Summer.  This is my "pooper scooper" and I actually find it somewhat relaxing to just zone out and scoop.  You can either keep the poo for fertilizer or to add to mulch, or you can put in the yard waste bin or composter.  The other plus about scooping poop is you will be able to monitor the health of your chickens.  If they have runny or wet poo then you immediately know you have a problem and can track it down.  Some people use a poo board - a board you put in the coop under the roost at night to judge the health of chickens - but I just scoop and look.  The poo should be solid and have a white salt layer.

But there is a silver lining! In the Winter the job is a bit easier. With all the rain in the Northwest, the poo just filters right down into the grass and garden.  Its great organic fertilizer for the yard - I never use chemical fertilizer in the backyard in order to keep my chickens healthy and happy.

Just remember when you decide to keep girls - poo happens!

- Rita

Egg Color

Henrietta's Green Easter Egg and Peppers Brown Speckled Egg

They are like Easter eggs - you don't need to color them!  I have always been amazed that you can tell what color the chicken's eggs will be by the color of their earlobes…you heard me correctly…their earlobes.  If they have white earlobes you will get white eggs.  When I tell people this they always smile - they didn't even know chickens HAD earlobes!

Oh and don't expect the eggs to always come out of the nesting box clean, they sometimes have hay or chicken poo on them.  You can rub it off or wash it off with some soap and water…but be aware that if you wash your eggs you will remove the natural protection layer and thus need to refrigerate them to keep them fresh. 

I'm off to clean the coop and collect eggs now!  

- Rita

Toxic Foods: Don't feed these to your chickens!

Leftover food would normally head to the trash or garbage disposal in a chicken-free household, but in our house we always question whether we can feed our leftovers to our clucky friends!

Just like humans and other animals, some foods are toxic to chickens. Here is a comprehensive list of what foods you cannot feed to chickens...

Plants in the Nightshade Family

Potatoes, tomatoes and tomato plants
in addition to...
eggplant, tobacco, and pepper (bell, chili, etc.) leaves.

Avocados

Especially the pit and the peel. The pit contains a fungicidal toxin called persin, which is fatal to many animals. Don't feed them to your dog or cat either!

Fruit Pits & Seeds

Peach pits, apple seeds, cherry pits, and apricot pits all contain traces of a compound that turns to cyanide in the bloodstream.

Citrus

We've tried to give our chickens grapefruit in the past, and after a few initial pecks, they strut away in disinterest. Since then, I've come across articles that have stated not to feed chickens citrus because it can cause a build up of citric acid that may cause excessive feather plucking. No citrus from now on!

Onions

Onions contain a toxin called thiosulfate, which causes damage to red blood cells. Thiosulfate is also toxic to cats and dogs!

Raw Meat

Chickens can eat meat, but to avoid any chance of your flock contracting a disease, always cook meat before feeding it to them.

And of course...

No chocolate, candy, sugar, alcohol, rotten food, and nothing that has been sprayed with pesticides or chemicals!

Know of any other foods you can't feed to chickens? Post it in the comments below!

- Rita

Helpful References: Fresh Eggs Daily City Girl Farming The Prairie Homestead Ready Nutrition

Did you know? Chickens Love Watermelon!

If chickens had a favorite season, it would be summer. Lush foliage, lots of bugs, and scrumptious summer fruit are just a few reasons!

I give our chickens an extensive variety of foods to keep them healthy and to make sure their eggs are as nutrient rich as can be. One of the summer foods they love most is watermelon - they peck it right down to the rind!

You have a little something on your beak there, Nuggy... 

- Rita

Building the Coop

Urban Oasis Coop

I informed my husband one day that I wanted to have backyard chickens, and he promptly went to Home Depot to purchase supplies. With plans present only in his dynamic mind, he set to work constructing my lovely chicken house.  Everyone in the family helped, my son Nick and daughter Allie stretching wire and nailing the boards.  I painted it red with white trim upon completion and we added a corrugated metal roof.


The coop was built with wire under the flooring - you don't want rodents or raccoons to get in and eat the flock!  This is non negotiable - they WILL find a way in!  Use chicken wire around the edges, make sure you have a roost for them to sleep on - a spool or 2x2 is fine, and a nesting box or two for those lovely eggs.


I find metal feed and waterers to be best, and I love the retro look, but beware if you use vinegar in your water - metal will rust.  If you plan to use vinegar, get a plastic waterer.  Apple cider vinegar is great for the chicken's digestive tract, just a tablespoon per gallon is the perfect amount.

If you don't have a handy dandy builder wiz husband, a few of my favorite places to find super cute pre-constructed coops are William-Sonoma and Wayfair.

Got a question about coop construction?  Post it here!

- Rita

It's Apple Pie Season!

Apples are ripe a bit early this year - they are dropping from the trees - time to make pie!

Apples have always been a September thing in the Northwest, waiting for those first apples to ripen right when school begins. I remember as a kid coming home from school, picking apples and biting into their juicy goodness.  Mine are organic so we always take care to look for the occasional worm. This year its been unusually hot here in Seattle, so apples are dropping from the trees!  Time to make yummy apple treats...first up: Apple Pie!






The best part of making apple pie is that all the ingredients are right at my fingertips!  I just walk out the backdoor and two apple trees offer their fruit up to me in the first rays of sunlight...I always use my Grandma Larsen's pastry recipe for the crust, and I use Grandma Opal's pie filling from Allrecipes.com - its the best!

Rolling the dough, peeling and cutting the apples is relaxing for me, I love to create and this is one of those creations that you get to devour after it's done!  Allie's boyfriend Hans helped her pick apples for me this morning.  He is back from Norway and doesn't love sweet American desserts - but he loves my apple pie! - I think because it's almost savory in it's pastry goodness.  Tonight my in-laws are visiting from Phoenix so we had a lovely dinner followed by my apple pie and ice cream...it was great to see them and spend time just catching up.

Edith and Pru lounge underneath our green apple tree.

The chickens have lots of fallen apples to peck at and eat this year, but usually they circle my feet waiting for me to drop one so they can have a treat.  Who knew that chickens would LOVE apples so much?  But this year, there are so many that they tire from eating them and go looking for other garden treats.  Just like humans, I guess they can experience too much of a good thing.  So then they just lounge among them, taking the occasional peck, secure in knowing yummy treats are close at hand.

- Rita

Welcome to my Yard

Pepper hanging out in the Oasis

Its a postage stamp size, but in an urban environment it allows the chickens enough room to roam and vegetation to enjoy...an urban oasis!  Apples fall on the lawn for them to peck, blueberry bushes provide hours of entertainment as they hop straight up in the air to pluck them, bugs and dragonflies circle the flowers and the grass is organic and delicious. 

The Coop du Jour

I thought the yard was missing some life, so chickens were just the ticket!  I would have hours of fun watching them run around, clean up all my bugs and lay me beautiful eggs every morning.  This is all true but like anything in life there is the dark side.  There is poop to scoop, diseases to deal with and molting happens!  Still its worth the bit of work it takes and I enjoy the challenge...I am the Urban Chicken Whisperer after all...

- Rita