~3~ Homestead Hacks

in #homesteading7 years ago (edited)

Spring is almost here and everyone is tired of being cooped up over the winter so today we look at fun things to do with chickens as well as useful hacks pertaining to our feathered friends

Did you know chickens are musically talented? I got a kick out of this hens xylophone skills (There are also videos of them playing piano!)

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Who doesn't love swings?

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Treat toy seems to keep their food driven minds busy

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Fabulous ball of greens

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Fabulous wall of greens

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These playgrounds are super cute!


DIY feeders

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Efficient at not spilling food everywhere!

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Extend your rain gutter as a drinking trough

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A good use for feed bags, makes cleaning easier


Egg Hacks

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Natural Easter colour dyes

Directions: https://www.mommypotamus.com/how-to-dye-easter-eggs-naturally-with-everyday-ingredients/

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Handy diagram to tell if eggs are spoiled or fresh when you uncover one of their special hidden nests

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It's also really helpful to put them in a bowl of snow or ice cold water


Putting your chickens to work

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Turning compost - your chickens can do at least a quarter of the work for you! (I estimate they’ll do a quarter of the work because they won’t take down the entire pile, and they certainly won’t re-stack it for you.)

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Tilling Garden - One Chicken can till 50 square feet of established sod in about 4-6 weeks!

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Spreading Mulch - One Chicken Can Level a Large Pile of Leaf Mulch within Two Days.

http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2015/02/chickens-in-the-garden.html

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Have A Wonderful Day!

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Oh I like the idea with the grass grown in the plastic bin then hung on the wall. That'd be great for Winter. My chickens get my veg scraps every morning. I eat a lot of veg and fruit and they LOVE my cantaloupe seeds and rinds! They even like ripe bananas!

I love the enrichment for the chickens! I used to work with chickens at my local zoo. We had a group of...15, or so. Only a handful of them would approach a xylophone. All of them were terrified of the swing we made them.

Some top tips and examples of efficiency around the homestead. Thanks @wisewoof!

Great ideas for when we get our chickens! Thanks.

Amazing musical talent, singing along too 💯🐒

I really like your username!

Thanks! Sounds like you know it meanings :). But I am writing a post to explain due to requests. 💯🐒

i love this post - that playground is ADORABLE!!! man oh man, i want chickens even more now.

<3 <3

Beautiful post ♡
Been fighting to get to the point can afford to get my own land and some chickens ~ but saving our xylophone with this dream in heart.

Musical chickens xD
~♡~

Thanks! I've been doing this without owning land. Maybe some day but it's not necessary if you reeeally want to homestead like me haha.

Best of luck with your own adventure.

we'll get there, recovering from divorce and all that not so happy stuff.
But finally get to do that independence self governance stuff I've always been so fond of. ^.^ ~ Aspirations for the future

Man this post rocks haha. I really want a xylophone for the chickens. And that trick to tell the age of an egg seems like super super handy!

Lets make cute easter eggs for ostara!

Wow!
Great way to manage chicks you have shared.
Most times, mine gets to spend more time inside and when I let them out, they make a mess of the whole place. But its fun having them around and spending time with them. Thanks for sharing @wisewoof

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These are great tips and hacks that i'm sure are useful to people who have farms and chickens. I love those chicken feeders, very efficient. And the chicken playground, it is very nice. Thanks for sharing this @wisewoof

Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:
http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2015/02/chickens-in-the-garden.html

Awesome ideas! I've seen a few of these before and some are new. I am looking forward to getting my chickens set up at my new place and to build them a happy chicken playground!