Organick Khemistry

Welcome to the Hippie Chick Hen Shack at Tom & Dee’s 1Planet Peace Patch Farm !

Chicken Update:  Welcome Nadia and Thelma! – April 24, 2011

We finally started getting chickens! An opportunity presented itself to get two one year old layers, and we took them. Here they are  getting acclimated in our fenced in back yard while we hurried to finish the Hen Shack (at least finished enough for the night). However, in their scouting around, they were able to jump onto a pile of brush and then to the top of the fence where “Nadia” (the White Leghorn) escaped into

our orchard and headed toward the busy street! Tom was able to finally catch her and take her to the coop. We were able to get “Thelma” (the Rhode Island Red) back into the back yard and got her to the coop a few minutes later. We think they were revolting and trying to get back to their former home (only blocks away)!  The other photos are of them in the coop that we are nearly finished.

And Nadia gave us our first egg yesterday!

We are getting a Black Australorp today and hope to build up our flock in the coming month or so.  Fun!

A New Adventure: Chickens – April 13, 2011

We have talked about getting chickens for years.  We are working each year to add to our methods of becoming self sustainable – we have a fruit orchard, extensive vegetable garden, and are adding to those every year.  Well, this is the year to add chickens.

Chickens are not only good for eating bugs and providing fertilizer, but they will provide us with fresh eggs.  I am also looking forward to bonding with them.  I keep hearing and reading that owning chickens is highly rewarding. In preparation for our “girls”, I have been reading and joining forums and discussion groups.

We looked at all sorts of plans for building chicken houses and realized that the horse shed would be perfect – and inexpensive to convert!  After we build the coop, we will get our chickens.  We haven’t quite decided from whom or what kind, or if we should get chicks (the problem with getting chicks is that you don’t know if they are girls are boys….).

We have about 2/3 of an acre in Utah, part of which we garden, including a huge part for a fruit orchard.  We decided to convert part of an old horse shed, that we have been using for storage, into our chicken coop.  We have been clearing it out and yesterday bought the materials to build the coop.  Below are “before and in process” photos of the area.