Archive for Farm/Ranch

Chicken Hutches Are They The Right Choice?

Monday, July 25th, 2011

Choosing the right set of designs for your chicken hutch can become incredibly frustrating considering the amount of plans that are found out on the internet for chicken coops, hutches and tractors, it can become a little overwhelming. 

To help you sort through all of this you have to ask yourself – how much room do I have to keep chickens and how many would I like to keep?

Now some people like to have a sort of production set up with lots of chickens and a large coop so they can sell eggs and chicks.  Others are more into a mode of supplying their family and friends with fresh eggs and meat while others are just looking for a way to be a little more self-sufficient.

If you’re not looking to raise a large flock for eggs to sell or give away or maybe you have limited space, a hutch will provide your chickens with what they need without compromising what you want.

Chicken hutches are small, quick and easy to put up and it won’t use up a lot of your time to construct it. Another great feature due to the size is they are relatively inexpensive for you to build. It is also a great way to go if you’re just not sure if keeping and raising chickens is for you but you’d like to try and see.

Chicken Hutch Tips

Easy Access for Chickens

Accessing the hutch through a properly built doorway is essential for healthy well kept chickens. This gives them a sense of security and keeps them from getting stressed out. This is the reason for having a correctly sized doorway for your chickens to pass through with the ability to do so easily. Installing a door or door flap will add to the sense of security and will also give additional protection from the elements.

Keep it off the ground

Because you are not able to enter a hutch like you can walk inside a coop you should raise the hutch off the ground by at least a foot. The logic is you’ll access the hutch through the roof for cleaning and gathering eggs, so raising it to whatever level is convenient for you is the idea here.

As soon as you have your hutch off the ground you’ll need a ramp to give easy access to the door for your chickens.  It’s a good idea to make the ramp removable so that you can remove it at night – no sense in making it too easy for the predators!

Easy Access

To make your job of keeping your chickens house clean and gathering eggs you’ll want to install hinges on the roof, making it more of an access hatch. Unlike larger chicken houses hutches are made to be small so as a consequence they need to cleaned more often, having a the roof so it opens easily will help you to keep it clean.

It also makes it easy to replenish food and water supplies, so the importance of this step can’t be over stated!

Added Security

Dealing with predators when you have chickens is a given.  Something you can do to help discourage any would be predators is to put a latch or even a small pad lock on the hinged roof of the chicken hutch to stop predators like raccoons from opening the roof and helping themselves.

 

 

Why Raise Chickens?

Sunday, July 17th, 2011

Make your own chicken coop

Of all the animals that people can raise as household pets, chickens really are distinctive in the sense that they make something that can be eaten in contrast to other sorts of animals like dogs, ponies, cats and kittens and fish. In actual fact, raising chickens for pets will pay off over the long haul because they are a source of fresh meat and eggs distinct from what you normally purchase in the grocery store.

Click here for free sample plans.

And taking into consideration the trend for organic food, with your own backyard chickens it is very easy to have your own organic and natural eggs and chicken meat – all you have to do is give your chickens organic chicken feed. Naturally fed chickens that roam freely and feed on grass are shown to lay eggs that contain higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E while having reduced cholesterol content!

Chickens Have got Personalities As well

You may be surprised to know but each chicken has got its own distinctive and endearing personality traits. Aside from this, chickens are really pleasant to see because their plumages come with a number of different shades and styles; they also come in all sizes and shapes. You will likely be tempted to indulge them, pick them up and cuddle them to show them off to your buddies and give them their individual names as you get familiar with their personalities.

Chicken Raising Plays a part in Environmental Care

Chickens by nature love to range freely. By letting them roam freely, you receive two very real benefits for your efforts – they would gladly devour any garden pests they come across and help you with your grass cutting chores since they love to eat grass too. For an extra benefit, they will convert everything they’ve consumed into non-chemical fertilizer! All you have to do is sit a while on the porch and observe them while they happily set about their daily routine.

Most people are not aware that chickens are able to eat just about anything people can, even leftover foods. However, you might reconsider giving them onions and garlic because they could make their eggs taste peculiar.

Chickens are the greatest producers of black gold soil as their excrement is naturally nitrogen-rich. Chickens also prosper on leaves, weeds and grass cuttings – they in essence help people recycle their garden/farm garbage and not just getting rid of it.

Chickens are Low-Maintenance Pets

Of all animals which may be looked after as pets, chickens are the ones which need little or no upkeep when compared with others. All you need to do is ensure their food and water containers are freshly filled and replenished every day. And once they begin laying eggs, then you have to gather the eggs daily too. Cleaning up their coops every day or every second day is good enough and their beddings need to be changed once every three to four weeks subject to weather conditions.

Click here to learn more about Building a Chicken Hen House.

 

Disappearing Bees! The Cause And Effect Of This Phenomenon

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

Nature faces huge challenges and if bee populations continue to decline like they’re currently the end result is gonna be catastrophic. To try and think of a world void of honey bees is just impossible because they have a vital job to do if the planet and its living organisms are to continue to exist. A world without honeybees would not last decade, as the order of life would just crumble simply because of the part they play in pollinating crops of fruit and vegetables and almost every species of plants.

Bees have a tight connection or relation with most plants that if this relation was to be severed and the disappearing bees syndrome is prolonged, those plant species would become extinct. The last several years have brought dramatic decline to the honey bees populations; this decline are caused by intensive methods of agriculture where the increased use of chemical pesticides poisons the plants that provide food for the honey bees.

There’re other factors that add to this challenge of bees disappearing, like cooler wet summer seasons and increased cold winters or other areas experiencing very hot summer seasons. Other challenges includes the parasite known as the Varroa mite, it weakens the honey bee’s immune system. This causes the honeybees to be open to attacks from infection, if a colony become infected with mites it is imperative that the problem is treated at once to avoid the colony being decimated.

Another big threat to honey bee populations is an occurance that began sometime in the year 2006 whereby honey bees would just desert their bee colonies almost overnight and not come back. This was to be latter called CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder), this occurance reached the European countries but UK was worst hit with catastrophic consequences. Genetically modified crops are also another challenge and climate change.

All is not lost we just have to lend a hand and keep bees away from all these problems, let us first start by doing away with poisonous pesticides. Once the chemical are removed, we should learn more about honeybees and their behaviour patterns and then grow lots of of plant species that are full of nectar that’s required by the honeybees.
 
I’d like to urge anyone who’s passionate about nature to set up colonies in gardens and start farming bees. You’ll be hugely rewarded with the honey and the bees wax they produce not mention making it possible for the honey bees to continue to do what they do best which is pollinating crops. You might be thinking…what can one person do? But if we all chip in and do our bit we can be able to turn things around for the better.

Tips For Having Your Own Chickens

Saturday, June 11th, 2011

If you have a large backyard, you can absolutely have the benefit of having a few chickens walking around the place. It will make reliable use of space and at the same time, it also can help with addition income for  you  and your family. Chickens, however do not raise themselves, when they are grown in a backyard setting, they want assistance. That help is gonna be coming from    you .

04/27/2011 Burbank, IL – Peter Hodges owns a three-acre estate in the outer edge of Burbank and he share some of his experiences when growing chickens. ‘I have free range chickens and I finished a chicken cage for them when I was starting out.,” said Hodges. “I built them a pleasant coop that helps facilitate egg gathering.” Hodges was also one of those who were there at the launch for the site – http://jadereviews.com/business-and-commerce/chicken-coop-guides/.

When you  have chickens or if you  plan to get some, what you  really need to do first is to determine how many. The number is important as it will verify the size of the coop. It might also be really vital as it is likely to affect your budget, so pay close attention to it. You may also must determine if you  want to have free range chickens or if you  would wish to have caged ones. You might also get this Chicken Coop Guide for your coop.

Once you  know how many chickens you  are planning on raising , your next step should involve setting up. Chickens should have a coop, particularly when you are likely to produce them somewhere that gets chilly or a cyclical cyclic pattern. There are many different coop types, you  can obtain some ready-made or those that require only a bit of assembly from the stores. So that you  get what you  require, it is recommended that you  get a ready prepared one or one that has been custom-made. You should list down what you require from your coops. Does your coop need to help with egg accumulating? Do you  require one that has a pen attached to the side?

There are many coop styles that  you  can choose from, choose the one that suits your style of growing chickens the best.

Another thing you need to consider is how to actually raise your chickens. You can go organic and natural or you can give your chickens commercially prepared feed. It does not matter what you select, the significant thing is that you consult a professional. You can take short courses or you could get a self-help guide. This can assistance things go so much smoother.

If  you  are new to all of this,    you  can always utilize a guide just like the Chicken Coop Guide. It will provide you  with the information you  need when it comes to trying to grow chickens in your own front yard and building a coop for them. There are also some manuals that can aid you  with raising organic and natural chickens.

How To Throughly Extract Honey With A Good Tool

Monday, June 6th, 2011

Running around trying to get beekeeping equipment and supplies can cost you a lot of time and money, you only need to buy most of these supplies once and you can use them for a long time, with a whole lot less maintenance required. You definately require hives and bees where your colonies will be established, protective gear specially made for beekeeping, smokers, honey extractors and feeders.

Each one of the above mentioned are for a good purpose, but honey extractors will go a long way in certifying that the honey you have harvested is completely removed from the honey combs. The benefit of using a good honey extractor is that you can take out as much of the honey from the combs without damaging the combs, and this will allow you to use the combs time and time again, saving your bee’s time and energy of having to rebuild new honey combs after harvesting.

The honey extraction process is often the easiest phase of the whole beekeeping operation, but prior the extraction process of honey, first honey combs must be harvested, but before honey can be harvested honeybees must have worked hard to produce the honey. Everything in this chain depends directly on the previous step or phase, but all of these steps rest solely on the knowledge and skill the beekeeper has about this great activity.

How extractors function is that the motion of spinning applies centrifugal forces, in short what happens is that when the honey combs have been placed inside the extraction chamber. The extractor is switched on and the chamber’s rotation gets to high velocities which causes the honey to be flung out the honey comb and drains down the chamber walls where it collects at the base of the honey extraction chamber. It can poured out with a tap, thoroughly filtered and then bottled to be enjoyed

There’re several kinds of honey exctractors that can be utilized; you can purchase the kind you want depending on what you plan to use for, private or commercial use. There’re radial and tangential extractors that you can choose from and the radial kinds are often used for industrial use as they can hold over a hundred frames at once, thus enabling many gallons of honey to be removed from the combs.

Anyone who’s gonna be extracting honey on a small scale they may need to use a tangential honey bee extractor. These types are appropriate for personal or home use as they allow only several combs to be put in the extraction chambers.

It doesn’t matter if you purchase a honey extractor or constract one yourself it will ultimately assist you enjoy what you and your bees have worked so hard for, and if you are thrilled by the idea of making your very own, there is info ready to be taken advantage of on the world wide web where you can discovered methods of constructing a honey extractor.

Chicken Coop Plans: Brooding Floor

Saturday, June 4th, 2011

Brooding chicken coop plans have to be spotless and durable enough to be able to bring up chickens. Otherwise, there could be difficult problems arising.  Preparation is the key to success in welcoming your new pet chickens so coordinating everything beforehand will guarantee success.

Preparing and constructing the brooding coop floor

Step One

There’s a wide selection of products  which are sold for brooding that will give you a draft free and comfy surroundings.  The typical technique is to provide a cardboard border around the area to make it the ideal place for brooding.   The perfect height for this is a thirteen to nineteen inches high ring.  If the chicken coop plans are for a fifty hen capacity, a diameter of at least 5 feet should be used.

Supposing that the amount of chicks will be increased later on, the ring diameter should be added to proportional with the amount of hens added.  This should bring down the detrimental impact of over crowding.   Apart from utilising large cardboard boxes, a daughter’s or son’s plastic swimming pool or even an old tank can be utilised instead. 

Step 2

The floor needs to have a kind of covering which includes one to two inches of material that keeps the floor dry and does not matt very easily.  Shavings, ground corncobs, rice hulls etcetera. will all do this particular job nicely.  Cedar shavings are to be avoided because these are poisonous and can bring serious problems to the chickens.  For the litter, the covering has to be cheesecloth, burlap, paper towels or something that has qualitaies that are non-slick.

This works well for the first 3 days since you will have easy access for feeding the babies by easy access for putting food above the material.  It will also diminish the cause of sprattle legs.  Also, it will alleviate the  problem of litter eating. 

Step three

For a 50 chicken capacity, heat must be adequate for the chicks.  It should be a 250-watt with reflector.  Regardless of the number of chicks inside, at least two heat lamps ought to be used.  Pecking will always happen if your lamps reflect excessive light but the use of red heat lamps will stop this behavior.  Red heat lamps will bring enough light with no over-heating.  Heat lamps will be suspended at least 18” above the litter.  Check to ascertain if enough heat is generated.

Step four

Feeder lids will be needed for feeding.  Cut the sides of a cardboard container to an inch all round the sides.  If game birds and/or bantams are being reared, this measurement should be three quarters of an inch or less.
 
Step 5

Lift this kind of system off the floor. A wire floor is needed where the material used not larger than a half-inch cloth.  For raising game birds and bantams, a floor made out of one quarter inch material is actually favored.

Step six

As stipulated by the manufacturer, the floor should really be large enough for the quantity of chicks being raised within the confines of the brooder.  Check to make sure that it is warm enough.

Step 7

Supply a 15-watt red night-light so that they can see each other.

Step eight

Supplying drinking water troughs is mandatory, however it could also prove to be an issue if too much is provided. 

As soon as everything has been organized, make sure that things are operating as it should to stop  disasters.  These are the fundamental necessities for growing chickens and making chicken coop plans that work.

Plans For Chicken Houses

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

If you’ve been searching for a chicken coop, you will be aware of how dear a fully assembled model often is. They can be as dear as one thousand dollars and that’s before you pay to get it delivered to your home. By allocating fund towards chicken pen designs, you can construct a chicken house which keeps your birds in good physical shape and secure from rough weather and predators. Listed below are 3 questions to consider when you are purchasing step-by-step plans.

If you are looking to get a coop building blueprint guide which contains top notch hen house plans in order to build many different types of chicken coops, check out Top Chicken Coop Guides

Will it keep the chickens well?

Nearly all professionals agree that it is better to allocate too much room per chicken as opposed to not enough. Chicken overfilling can lead to feathers being picked, low amounts of eggs being laid, along with, in more serious cases, cannibalism amongst your flock. It is obviously unhealthy for your fowls and it also causes lower egg quantity and overall quality for yourself.

Plans for hen houses ought to allow at least 4 square feet of room for each chicken. Now the required space required for any chicken will change with variety, with larger chickens needing rather more square footage. Check out a professional internet site or perhaps a book to determine the level of space your variety requires so you can get step-by-step plans which are sized properly.

Aeration is one more crucial thing for hale and hearty hens. Lacking good air flow, the ammonia which comes from their fecal matter accumulates, causing a burning smell that will bother you and the hens. Be certain the coop design provides lots of fresh air to your group of birds. Listed below are a couple more chicken coop ideas  you should consider when you are planning your chicken coop plan.

Does it keep the chickens safe?

From digging foxes to slithering snakes, there are actually a great deal of animals who will see your chicken coop as a ready-made banquet. To stop your yard from turning into a nature programme, use step-by-step-plans which incorporate security measures.

For instance, plans for hen houses ought to incorporate a fenced run. This keeps out a host of predators including raccoons and the arch-predator of chickens: foxes. For most coop runs, conventional wood or metal-wire fences no less than 6 feet high will put off natural predators. Now if you have a determined carnivore, poultry keeping experts suggest embedding wire meshing approximately twelve inches down into the earth beneath the fence.

Think the standard-sized metal-wire will keep your chickens out of harm’s way? Think again. Ordinary mesh is large enough to allow predators to get their paws slip through to claw away at the chickens. Chicken keeping professionals recommend using a half inch square mesh on fencing and window covers to prevent raccoons and other critters from harming your flock of chickens.

Blueprint plans for hen houses must also embrace one more predator-annoying attribute: a door which shuts without human intervention at sunset. Light sensors permit the door to roll open each sunrise and shuts up once more when nightfall descends.

Will it be trouble-free to use?

Blueprint plans for chicken coops must also offer ways for making it unproblematic to clean the house and harvest the laid eggs. A good number of chicken coops feature nesting box doors which allow you to collect the eggs easily. If you are thinking about a smaller coop, it might possess a roof with hinges that gives you full right of entry to the inside of it. Larger chicken houses typically have a people-sized door that permits you to walk right inside the building for cleaning and maintenance.

No matter what blueprint plans for chicken houses you utilize, bear in mind of the fact that the chicken coop should keep the flock fit and secure as well as be straightforward to make use of.

How Much It Would Cost To Keep A Horse

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

If you’re going to buy a horse, you would just need a median of $3000 to be well placed to make the purchase. But that’s simply to buy the pony, what would really cost you is looking after it. You’d need at least $100,000. That is why it is often a waste to keep back on spending a bit more to buy the horse you truly want when the purchasing price is only five percent or less of what you’ll spend to own the pony.

If you are showing an interest in owning a horse, you ought to be privy to the costs it will entail :

1. Employing a pro stable will routinely be around $250 to $1000 each month. This adds up to $3000 to $12,000 each year. Doing this for twenty years would give you a total of sixty thousand to 1 / 4 million dollars.

2. If you own a stable, you’d be able to save a bit. But you may still need storage locations for hay, saddle, bedding, tack and other necessities. Purchasing bedding and hay will also cost at least $100 or even more every month. Your horse will also need salt and minerals and the usage of water and electricity, which should cost at least $40 each month. You may also need to commit to the daily work done in professional stables which will take at least a half hour everyday to finish the basic tasks.

3. You will need to pay vet costs too. Horses must be inoculated once or more a year, de-wormed 3 times a year and would also need a dental checkup annually. All these would costs around $200 to $300 each year. In the case that your pony would become ill, medical costs could amount to $200 to $8000 for basic treatment to curative surgery.

4. Your horse’s hooves will also need trimming each 2 months, which costs $30 each and every time. If you are also getting shoes, that would cost a further $30. If you ride your pony continually, shoes are definitely a duty. Generally, farrier costs would amount to $360 each year.

5. In some countries, third party accident insurance is required legally. Aside from this, you might also want to insure on other terms like death, theft and debilitating illness. This insurance would cost $40 for the basics.

6. Apparatus will also cost you. The basics needed to ride your horse would be a saddle, tack rugs and your own clothing for riding. You will need at least $2000 for this basic set and you ought to be prepared for costs of repair of replacement too.

7. There are other varied costs like pony sprays, cleaning solutions, fly sheets and other items which could amount to $200 to $300 annually.

As a whole, to keep a pony, you would need at least $2000 ( if self-stabling ) or $4000 ( using pro stables ). Naturally in the case that your horse gets sick, you can expect your costs to double. You’ll also have additional costs in using your horse, like coaching and competition.

It is wise to consider how much you may spend to keep and care for a horse over a long period of time before you even buy horses. The buying price is only the beginning. If you find that these costs are too much, you can consider other choices,eg sharing possession of a pony.

Vegetarian Pet Diet

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

You’ve got recently welcomed a furred companion into your house. Your four-legged friend has bought you as her very own. Now that you’ve got become an honest pet owner, you ought to decide things to expect feed the animal. You partake of a vegetarian diet regime, so you prefer your unique dog to check out these identical guidelines. Is known as a vegetarian diet right for your canine?

Let’s analyze what k-9s eat while in the wild. A bad guy or wayward dog ordinarily will ruin an pet animal or scavenge until eventually she finds a satisfactory fare. During the wild, your dog will consume grains and additionally vegetables, though the dog’s eating plan also features meat Pet Care.

Taking a look at your pet’s tooth enamel, you may recognize that grinding in addition to tearing surfaces are present. This might be one sign that pups are omnivorous. This means dogs will be biological the meat selections and grow eaters. Straying out of nature generally is a difficult endeavor, but will not be impossible.

It really is possible to be able to feed your canine friend solely vegetarian food, but this diet is simply not typically recommended for a pet. Your dog’s diet is required to be well healthy and balanced and nutritious to help good health and optimal entire body function. A completely vegetarian lifestyle may well be perfect in your case, but difficult to perform for the pup.

A nutritious diet should allow your dog to thrive not merely survive. SOME SORT OF vegetarian animal diet is going to, too typically, result in a dog what individuals shows symptoms and indications of any lesser high-quality of health than only a dog given a nicely balanced diet consist of animal programs Pet Care.

Your dog’s shape requires high amounts of protein. Protein is generally provided through animal tissue and bones in the wild, in addition to, in most models of manufactured canine diets.

Amino acids are even key in your dog’s wellbeing. Only 12 for the 22 essential proteins can be created by your dog’s body. The various 10 proteins must come to be provided for the pet thru your dog’s diet. A vegetarian animal diet includes trouble meeting the necessities to allow the pup to blossom under all these circumstances.

As with any change you would make for the own eating plan, you would like to consult a physician for healthcare advice. Talk for a professional with regards to the disadvantages and benefits of feeding a vegetarian canine diet towards your pet. Dependant upon your exact plan, he or perhaps she might also recommend quite a few supplements to include in the prospective vegetarian diet that may create a healthy balance for your new pet. If supplements typically are not available to develop the vibrant diet your canine deserves, then pair of you can discuss additional tactics to determine your pet dog diet that is useful for the animal and satisfies your Pets Care.

A vegetarian k9 diet runs against nature as we say and is commonly not preferred for pet dogs. Talking your situation over accompanied by a veterinarian will encourage you to determine the obvious way to achieve your dietary goals for your pet. Your dog’s diet needs to be well nicely balanced and nutritious to make essential nutritional requirements and amino acids to your furry friend. Supplementation may allow you to achieve your current goal. Take into account that you including your vet simultaneously want what exactly is best to your pet to undoubtedly determine this will be significant diet of which works for your personal family.

DIY Chicken House Building

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

If you’ve never raised chickens before, chances are you have not given a lot of thought to where or just how these little ones live. With that said, the trend towards taking note of how hens are reared is on the rise. It is beneficial to take the time out to understand how to do chicken farming the proper way. A thing that all hens require is a warm, secure place to stay, so constructing or purchasing a chicken coop is a basic consideration

For step by step instructions as well as a choice of the most highly favored chicken house plans used for making a coop be certain to visit Chicken Coop Guides

Picking one is easier than it sounds. A DIY chicken coop is one excellent choice. Assembling your own chicken coop makes it possible for you to keep tabs on total overheads and the planning elements of the house itself.

You need to determine what breed of bird you are going to rear, the amount of chickens you want to start with and the type of hen house for sheltering your flock of chickens. On the whole, a flock of chickens blossom when they’ve got freedom to move around outside and lay fresh eggs in the chicken coop. This is also an area that provides warmness and safety when they need to have a rest.

The good news is that building your own chicken coop is a thing anyone can do, regardless of experience. Although the construction of your chicken coop is a relatively simple DIY project, the overall hobby requires a great deal of thought before you jump in. Looking after chickens requires a certain degree of your time, care and physical energy. As such, a keeper needs to be in a position to commit to this hobby. Why not also regulate the inside temperature using solar heated chicken coops to keep your flock of chickens contented and sustain optimum egg yields.

The interest of keeping chickens has increased significantly now that the economic climate isn’t flourishing the way it once was. Getting your very own fresh organic laid eggs and further advantages of owning chickens is budget friendly and in harmony with mother nature. A do it yourself chicken house completes the package.

Whilst chicken farming is a largely pleasurable interest, your chickens will be rather vocal so prepare for the inevitable noises they are going to make. As such, try to position the coop so that it is not going to aggravate next-door neighbors unnecessarily in order to keep calm and harmony where you live.

At this time you will be ready to start your DIY project with earnest. You can find really great resources to help you put together your hen house including chicken coop plans and easy to follow instructions. Obtaining a good set of printable chicken coop plans to help you whenever you are putting together the coop construction.

Embrace this positive change in your life to care for chickens and make your own do-it-yourself chicken house. By following these steps you will be setting up a safe and protected shelter for your hens where they are able to produce eggs and lead a contented life.