chickens Archives - Homesteader DepotHomesteader Depot

8 Ways Chickens Can Benefit Your Homestead

Do you have chickens on your homestead? Whether you’re wondering if you should get some, are already an experienced chicken owner, or are just wondering exactly why you chose to raise chickens in the first place, this is for you. Chickens provide several important benefits to your homestead. While their feed and coops may be a bit costly and their care sometimes intricate, what matters is that these feathered friends serve more than one purpose. They really do “earn their keep” as the saying goes. Here’s how: 1) They Eat Insects You never have to worry about insects invading your […]

No Waste Chicken Feeder

Chickens can be messy and needy. They throw their food all over the place and then squawk at you until you give them more. This is no reason not to place a chicken coop in your backyard though. They do give you plenty of eggs and some meat. And chickens can make interesting companions, even though they aren’t quite as cuddly as cats and dogs – as long as you keep them happy, that is. The best way to do this is with a no-waste chicken feeder. Why Do You Need A No Waste Chicken Feeder? We’ve already mentioned the […]

4 Completely Natural Ways to Rid Your Property of Mice

Mice can be the bane of the homestead pantry, and feed shed, and garden, and…well, you get the idea. One thing that is important to understand is you will never have only one. You may see only one, but there where there is one there is the potential for dozens more. With a very short breeding cycle, mice can overrun a food source in a matter of weeks if left to their own devices. For many of us, the first reaction to the idea of mice is to go out and buy some chemical bait that will get rid […]

4 Things Baby Chicks Need for Healthy Living

Baby chicks. Fuzzy and cute, warm and cuddly, they are adorable beyond words. Sometimes called the “gateway drug” to adding animals to a homestead, the chickens these chicks grow into can add any number of benefits to your property, from pest control to fresh eggs to a Sunday Roast. If you are contemplating joining the thousands of people across the world to raise their own chickens for meat and eggs, here are some things you will need to be prepared with. A Brooder Brooder is a fancy way of saying container. When you first receive your chicks, they […]

Simple 15 Step Chicken Hoop House

If you are gearing up to add chickens to your homestead, or your current chicken coop isn’t cutting it, here’s a design that works well and doesn’t take a lot to put together. The goal of this design is to have a good amount of space for the chickens to graze, in an area that was safe from predators and that can be moved around as needed. For this project you will need: 2x4s Cattle Panels (enough to cover the roof) Hardware Cloth (enough to cover the cattle panels and the side walls Expanded Metal (enough to cover the […]

What Does “Free Range” Really Mean?

With an increase in animal rights and animal cruelty awareness, the words “free range” has become a more common sight on packaging at the grocery store. It labels animal products from animals that are farmed in a way that gives them access to outdoor spaces and free access to grazing for food. However, since there are no government regulations for the term “free range, ” the images you may have in your mind of wide open chicken yards and pastures dotted with happy cows communing with nature may not be exactly what is happening. So, what does the term […]

Homemade Suet Cakes for Chickens

Suet cakes are a great treat for your chickens, especially as the summer heat creeps in and they have a hard time sticking to their normal activities. Chickens love to peck and scratch, it’s truly what they live for. If you have chickens in a coop who can’t freely forage this way, they might end up getting bored and unhappy. And bored and unhappy chickens means less eggs and less delicious meat! It is vital not just for the animal’s quality of life but also for the “services” they provide you to keep them occupied and entertained. Homemade suet cakes […]

13 Useful Ways to Reuse Eggshells

If you raise chickens or simply eat a lot of eggs, you probably produce a lot of egg shells! And simply throwing them in the trash is a huge waste. Egg shells are loaded with beneficial nutrients and properties, and there are lots of ways to reuse them and make the most out of your chickens or grocery budget! First off, you need to make sure you store them properly. You might be able to get away with tossing them all in a 5-gallon bucket on your back porch, or, if that attracts pests or mold, you might want to […]

Why Chickens Are Your Best Friend on the Homestead

If you are homesteading, one of the best animals you can have on your property is the mighty chicken. It is highly beneficial for you and your family, as well as your garden, as you will see. Eggs and Meat Naturally, this is what most people consider when they are thinking about the benefits that chickens can provide. If you have chickens, you could have fresh eggs all the time, which is a great way to add to the amount of protein your homestead can produce. Most homesteaders utilize their chickens for eggs, but it is certainly possible to use […]

Urban Chickens (Infographic)

More and more, urban dwellers are looking into what it takes to raise chickens in their own backyard. Chickens are a great way to homestead wherever you are; they’re small, don’t require a whole lot of space, are cheap to feed, and the best part: you get lots and lots of eggs! If you’re considering starting chickens in your own backyard this year, check out this infographic from Homesteading.com to see what it takes. Enjoy! If you enjoyed this, you might also like…. Long-Term Survival for Homesteaders… Natural Healing Secrets You Need to Know… Effective Primal Diet Hacks…

Clipping Chicken’s Wings, The Easy, Painless Way (Video)

It’s a common myth that chickens can’t fly, in reality, they certainly can. In the wild, chickens are able to fly short distances, enough to get them over fences or up into trees. If you’ve got free range chickens or chickens contained by a fence, you probably don’t want them to be practicing their hereditary skill of flying. So how can you keep them grounded, without hurting them or causing you both stress? This video from Raising Happy Chickens shares a simple, painless way to clip chickens wings to keep them around. Enjoy! If you enjoyed this, you might also […]

5 Mistakes First-Time Chicken Farmers Make

When it comes to homesteading of all kinds, trial and error is a great way to learn. However, when you’re raising animals like chickens, you probably want to reduce the possible mistakes you can make. If you’re considering starting your own chicken flock, you’ll want to do it right. We’ve got a list of five common mistakes people make when they first start keeping chickens to help you avoid making them yourself. 1. Not protecting against predators Like a fox in a hen house, many predators out there, depending on your region, will see your chickens as a delicious, juicy, […]

Making Chicken Feed: Pros and Cons (Video)

As with all things DIY, I’ve always assumed that making your own chicken feed would be healthier, and more affordable. However, I’ve been reading that while that can be true, it’s not always the case. These homesteaders and YouTubers have been making their own chicken feed, and received a lot of questions about how to do it and how it’s been working out, so they made this video in response. They break down the pros and cons of the method they’re using, how they store it, how they’re chickens like it, and the ingredients of their feed. It seems to […]

Composting Chicken House (Video)

When it comes to homesteading, I think the more (proverbial) birds you can kill with one stone, the better. After all, that’s a huge part of what homesteading is all about: creating your own little self-sufficient system. This plan for a composting chicken house is awesome. It’s well-known that chickens can be easily put to work both by contributing to a compost pile or soil amendment with their nitrogen-rich droppings, or by being let loose on a compost pile to unwittingly turn it for you as they scrape and hunt all the delicious little bugs. But these folks in Guatemala […]

Crops to Grow to Feed Your Chickens

Chickens are some of the best and easiest homestead animals you can raise, but their feed bill can get kind of pricey, especially if you have a big flock! Not to mention, what chickens really want to eat, and what gives their yokes that beautiful, rich yellow color is lots of fresh produce. Like us, chickens benefit the most from a diet full of a wide variety of plants, fat, and protein. If you can let your chickens scratch around in a pasture, this is ideal. They love to hunt for bugs (most people don’t realize that chickens are actually […]

More Ways to Profit Off Your Land

A few weeks ago, we wrote an article on ways to profit off your land as a homesteader, and we promised there’d be more, so here it is! This week’s post on how to profit off your land is all about livestock, dairy, and meat. Being able to raise, consume, and sell your own animal byproducts is one of the biggest appeals of homesteading, and, with the right set-up, experience, and a bit of time, you can conceivably pull quite a profit. We already covered eggs, which is a really good start and has relatively low overhead. It’s a great […]

5 Ways to Use Vinegar for Your Chickens

Vinegar has so many uses around the home in general, it should be no surprise to you that there are a lot of ways to use it around your chicken coop! Both distilled white vinegar and apple cider vinegar are wonderful to keep your chicken coop clean, your chickens healthy, and keep you happy! Here are a few of the many ways you can use vinegar for your chickens: 1. Added to water Chickens are subject to parasites and digestive issues as much as any other creature, and adding a bit of vinegar to their water can help keep them healthy […]

The $5 Chicken Tractor (Video)

Popular homesteading vlogger Justin Rhodes has been on a tour of American homesteads this month, and through his travels, he found this impressive $5 chicken tractor made by his friend, Ryan from Wholesome Roots. I love seeing great, innovative, and frugal ideas for homesteading in general, but it seems people seem to get particularly innovative when it comes to housing and accommodating chickens! Just this week we shared our frugal chicken nest ideas, and I’ve actually found a few more since posting it. This is a very clever little system for moving chickens around the homestead, which is a great […]

Frugal DIY Nesting Box Ideas

If you want your chickens to provide you with lots of wonderful, nutritious, farm-fresh eggs, they’re going to need some cozy nests to get the job done! You don’t need to spend an arm and a leg to trick your coop out with some nice, comfortable nesting boxes for your lovely egg-laying ladies. Here are some frugal nesting box ideas for you that can all be purchased cheaply, recycled, or even scavenged for, if you’re lucky! Dishpans Dishpans, the kind you can grab at Walmart or the Dollar Tree for very cheap, are great for nesting boxes, if you cut […]

Why Are My Chickens Not Laying Eggs? (Video)

There are definitely reasons to keep chickens other than for producing eggs, but for the most part, eggs are probably why you’re raising chickens! So when they stop laying, what do you do? Well, Becky from Becky’s Homestead on YouTube has some solutions. There are several different reasons why your chickens might not be laying, and she’s got some suggestions for how to determine what those reasons are, as well as how to help them out get producing again. These simple tips will help you determine what kind of environment and nutrients chickens need to lay eggs. They’re not just […]