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Something got to our chickens...
We were finding them outside their structure with their head missing. The building has now been modified several times and the birds seem to be safe again.
Our newest batch of chickens (a pretty large group) is laying most of our large eggs.
We were finding them outside their structure with their head missing. The building has now been modified several times and the birds seem to be safe again.
Our newest batch of chickens (a pretty large group) is laying most of our large eggs.
OUR EGGS AND WHY WE ARE UNABLE TO BE FREE-RANGE
Before 2023, our hens were free-range (eating grass in our pasture). Below
is a description of the journey that led us to pull them out of the pasture.
March 2023
The young chicks are still not large enough to avoid becoming hawk food.
May 2023
Our hens are mature and out on pasture. They now eat both organic pellets and
pasture grass. They rely on protection from our large black rooster.
August 2023
We began losing chickens… possibly to hawks, the ravens, the dog? We paused
free-ranging for the safety of the birds. One of the first to die was the black roster. We like to think he died a hero.
September 2023
Turned out that hawks during the day and raccoons in the evening, were the predators.
Today (June 27, 2026)
Our birds live in a large, netted enclosure. At night, they're
closed up in a wooden building. No more flowing blood.
One of our major feeds is certified organic pellets. We also feed pellets supplemented with herbs and flowers, but these pellets are not certified organic.
Two times a day greens are thrown out to our birds and they go near crazy, always. This year greens are recovered primarily from our old broccoli and red cabbage plants.
Also, the hens munch on chicken bones...
Near every week we cook up 4 chickens. The resulting pile of bones is used to make bone broth. We eat the meat & broth. The hens get the very fragile bones.
Today (June 23, 2026) we've started feeding foliage from our rosemary plants.
So far, they aren't eating this eagerly
We're moved to feed these healthy treats because it gives us bigger eggs.