• my place
  • the rural story
  • gardening tips
  • using garden tools
  • Privacy Policy
  • Join Me

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Home Garden Companion

Ilona's Garden Journal

  • Plant Library On The Journal
    • All Season Garden Color
    • Sitemap
  • Garden chores
    • Essential Garden Tools For Beginners
    • Garden Tips and Advice
  • Ilona’s Garden Home
    • Old House Blog
    • Garden Librarian
  • Ilona’s Garden Flavor Shop

Day in the life the rural story

Finally. I Have Chickens

It had been years since I had chickens, and I said for the past three to four years that, “This year I’ll get chicks”, but something always intervened in my plans. Well, no more! I now have a new little chicken coop (a bit flimsy, but it will do), half a dozen pullets, and one bantam laying hen, and one bantam rooster.

About that…

We ordered “pullets” and I was always under the impression that this would mean laying hens (I always had baby chicks, previously). I wanted to start out with hens that were laying since in the past it was always a good five months before we got eggs. That would be in the fall, then went without during the winter months until the following spring. (I didn’t have lights in my henhouse.)

What I didn’t know and then found out, after being surprised that my order consisted of chicks, is that you have to designate starter pullets. I was disappointed. Raising chicks is more work initially: keeping them warm in the house, safe from the cats, etc. Not a big deal, but I was looking forward to bypassing that stage.

Anyway, my grown up kids are delighted since the chicks are cute. That ought to be good for a little help (a weeks worth, anyway) in taking care of them.

But eggs. Yes, I wanted some eggs in the meantime.

My neighbor lady raises bantams and sells them, so I drove past there and enquired.

She had a laying hen, and I wanted a rooster, (they help protect the hens and I think make the flock happier), which she gladly sold me. She said she usually butchers the extra roosters but this one was so nice, she hadn’t wanted to, so spared him. This was good for me, and I now have a full bred bantam rooster ( I think the hen is a mixed one). I’ll have to get the name of the rooster- he is a “grey…” something or other.

I think I found the type : “Gray Japanese Bantam”.

Chickens In The Garden

I like have chickens for several reasons. #1 of course is for fresh eggs. You don’t save money, but you get the best tasting eggs ever, very conveniently. #2 reason: bug control. It is nice to have free foraging chickens on the place to cut down on insects in the garden. #3 reason is that poultry manure is wonderful fertilizer. Too hot to put right on the garden, but rot down the litter for awhile and it is excellent!

The down side is when they start scratching and eating a bit too many of your desired plantings. For years I didn’t have problems with that, but I know it does happen sometimes. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Right now I am happy to have a nice little flock shaping up.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related


« Entering The No Frost Zone
My Rural Life »

Oh, hi there!

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

Mission

Finding your way home via the garden path

Portrait of a Gardener

gardener musings

Musings

What’s Wrong With Today’s Gardening?

Modern gardening

What Is Wrong?

Garden Journal

fine garden journal

Journal, Planner and Log Book

Newest Postings Here

  • Deals from Amazon
  • Hawaiian Flower Arrangements
  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
buy quality plants

On Facebook

On Facebook

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Standouts

10 Useful Gardening Tips For Spring

You might also like

seeds

National Seed Swap Day in January

Garden advice

What Makes a Low Maintenance Garden?

Create A Child’s Garden, Grow Love For Nature

Growing Indoor Flowers In December

I Found Out About “She Sheds” And Coincidentally, About Friends

Top Posts & Pages

  • Mugo Pines: When to Trim and Prune
  • Flowers that Monet Grew In Giverny
  • Grandma Can Make Fairy Houses From Forest Finds
  • A Little Something For You: Garden Journal Template
  • St. Francis Joke All About Gardens
  • How To Grow Lavender For Its Heavenly Scent
  • Pruning Your Mugo Pine
  • Scrapbooking Garden Journal
  • Furnishing Grandma's Fairy House
  • Old Fashioned Gardening

Past Posts

ilonagarden

Instagram post 17959863785360234 Instagram post 17959863785360234
Instagram post 17989258745013455 Instagram post 17989258745013455
Instagram post 17976222752103831 Instagram post 17976222752103831
Instagram post 18056018824416584 Instagram post 18056018824416584
Instagram post 18335731483076224 Instagram post 18335731483076224
Instagram post 17977547744261532 Instagram post 17977547744261532
#atlanta #beautiful day☀️ #atlanta #beautiful day☀️
#atlanta #chattahoocheeriver #atlanta #chattahoocheeriver
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Part of Ilona’s Garden by Ilona Erwin

Copyright © 2023 · Ilona's Garden Journal