New Life On A Homestead

Washed Out Chicken Run

Kendra at New Life On A Homestead — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:25:21 +0000

It has been suggested that the best place to put a chicken run is on a slight slope so that the rainwater runs out and doesn’t just puddle on the ground.

But it has been my experience that it is NOT the best idea to put your chicken run toward the bottom of a slope. (Although, I’m sure it seemed like the right idea at the time.)

And since the chickens completely obliterated any sign of plant growth within their run, they now have the joy of strutting through red mud after a good shower. Of course, we do free range them for the most part, but until we open their run mid-morning, they are stuck in the muck.

I’ve tried to put bedding down for them to walk on in there, but the rain just washes it into a corner.

See? It’s awful. Nothing but mud.

I’ve been working on a remedy over the past two days, which I hope will solve the washed out run dilemma. I dug a ditch along the upper fence-line, and filled it with rocks I hunted around our property. The idea is that this run-off ditch will catch the water and absorb it before it sweeps into the chickens’ area.

Working on finding more rocks to fill her up. Let’s hope it works. I spread a whole bale of hay in there this afternoon. The girls were glad to have dry ground again!

When Spring comes I’ll put the covered raised beds back in their enclosure, and grow more grass or something for them to peck at as it grows through the wire on the beds.

Have you had any trouble with your animal lots getting muddy? How do you keep your feathered (or furry) friends on dry ground?

Regular Store Bought Grain Fed Beef vs. Grass Fed

Kendra at New Life On A Homestead — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:25:03 +0000

We’ve been buying beef from the farmer up the road for so long, I’d forgotten what cooking store-bought beef was like. But last week, we ran out of the good stuff, and we’ll have to wait until he butchers again until we can buy more. So, we bought a few pounds of ground beef from the store. But as it browned in the pan, I noticed that it was quickly swimming in yellow liquid- enough so that I had to pour it off into a jar so the meat could continue to fry.

I’d forgotten about how much grease comes off the hamburger meat you buy at the store! Beef from a grass-fed cow produces almost zero grease. I was pretty grossed out by how much fat was in that meat.

When it was all cooked up, Jerry walked into the kitchen and looked at what was left in the pan and said, “I thought you were frying a pound?” I said, “I did.” He said, “Where’d it all go??” And I pointed to the jar full of grease. And I suddenly had a revelation, for I never before understood what that 80/20 on the package of meat meant!

20 percent of that pound of beef was fat!! Twenty percent! That’s quite a significant loss in meat! And I’d just paid for that grease I was about to throw way. My frugal nature felt robbed.

And it occurred to me that the grass fed beef we’ve been buying from the farmer, with seriously ZERO fat to pour off, was a much better price per pound than we realized. For even though we may be paying about $3.90 per pound for grass fed beef from the farmer, we are eating 99-100% of that meat. As compared to only actually getting 80% of the meat we buy at the store. So for instance, if you buy a pound of ground beef at the store for $2.99, but you lose 20% of that meat, you are actually paying about $3.59 in order to get a full pound of meat. Does that make sense?

And when you consider this, along with the fact that the price we pay per pound for locally raised grass-fed beef also includes steaks and roasts, I’d say we’re getting a pretty good deal!

Just something for you to consider, besides all of the health benefits of eating grass-fed meat, and supporting your local farmers. It just might not be much of a price difference for the good stuff, all things considered!

Monday’s Homestead Barn Hop

Kendra at New Life On A Homestead — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:45:55 +0000

Hey guys!! I’m so glad you could join me, Jill, Amy, and Kelly for another fun-filled Homestead Barn Hop! It has been so inspiring visiting everyone’s homesteads and seeing what you’ve all been up to! Keep the great ideas coming!

Link up below and share what you’ve been doing on your homestead!

A Chicken Moat

Kendra at New Life On A Homestead — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:55:33 +0000

I just came across the most brilliant idea ever.

A chicken moat.

Have you guys heard of this, yet?

Basically, it’s a tunnel of wire for your chickens to roam in, which runs around the perimeter of your garden. It’s like a chicken run that borders your entire garden area. The idea is that the chickens in the moat will catch many of the grasshoppers and other bugs that are making their way into your garden, before they get to your plants.

Is that genius, or what?!

Here’s an example of one I found on Back Yard Chickens. Although it’s very nice, to me it looks very labor intensive and expensive. What I have in mind is taking some sturdy wire fencing, bending it into an arch, and attaching it in tunnel form from the existing garden fence to the ground with yard staples. It sounds good in my head, anyways.

Another thing I love about this idea is that one of the problems I have in our garden is not being able to till right up against the fence… which means weeds take over like crazy all around the sidelines of my garden. If I have a run there, the chickens will make quick work of scratching up these encroaching weeds, and I won’t have to waste any time pulling them out!

Mother Earth News has an article on how to build a chicken moat, you might wanna check out for some ideas. Their plans are more of an open run than the enclosed tunnel that I envision for our moat, but you can kinda get the gist of it.

I’m thinking it would be awesome to have the moat connect to a small run, which leads back into the coop. In the mornings we could let the chickens out straight into the run, they could wander throughout the moat at their will, and go back into the coop to roost for the night. That would be ideal.

Ooooh, I can’t wait to get one of these installed around our garden!!

What do you think? Have you ever seen a chicken moat, or do you have one yourself?

And My Spring Garden Begins!

Kendra at New Life On A Homestead — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:38:14 +0000

Today, I caught a glimpse of the beginning of my spring garden. My little broccoli seedlings are emerging!

Last year, I started my broccoli seeds on Feb. 7th, but I felt like I’d gotten in a little late in the game, so this year I decided to start my seeds on Jan. 22. And they’re sprouting! Well, 6 out of 24 are peaking out anyways, so that’s a start.

Actually, I also stuck 9 broccoli seeds straight into a raised bed on the 15th… out of sheer impatience. But there’s no sign of life among them.

Now that I’ve got my growing light hanging over the kitchen counter again, I’m ready to start a bunch of other things and fill up that empty space beside the broccoli seedlings!

Spring, I just might be on time this year!

Giveaway: Free-Range Chicken Gardens Start Up Kit!

Kendra at New Life On A Homestead — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:06:21 +0000

It isn’t often that I link to another giveaway… but this one is too awesome not to share with you guys.

Timber Press is celebrating their recently released book Free-Range Chicken Gardens by hosting a giveaway where one lucky person will win a complete chicken garden start-up kit! This includes:

$50 gift card for chicken feed or supplies from McMurray Hatchery
One chicken coop plan from The Garden Coop (a $20 value)
1 lb. of organic chicken forage blend and seeds for chicken-friendly plants from Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply (a $20 value)
A copy of Free-Range Chicken Gardens

In this essential handbook, award-winning garden designer Jessi Bloom covers everything a gardener needs to know, including chicken-keeping basics, simple garden plans to get you started, tips on attractive fencing options, the best plants and plants to avoid, and step-by-step instructions for getting your chicken garden up and running.

This promo ends Feb. 17th, so head on over to Timber Press and enter for your chance to win!

New Life On A Homestead

Washed Out Chicken Run

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Monday’s Homestead Barn Hop

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A Chicken Moat

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And My Spring Garden Begins!

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