Hen House

We finally finished installing the roof on the new hen house. What a challenge! (Building by Rubbermaid) At least it was all worthwhile - the chickens are very happy with their new home.

We took some cedar pickets we had not used for another project and used those to build a ladder style roost for them on one side. On the other side, we used heavy duty plastic shelving as a base and put washable plastic nesting boxes on top. None of the chickens are laying yet, so they have only wandered thru the nest boxes. We used some horse bedding wood shavings all over the floor and as nesting material in the raised boxes - this should make cleanup easier. They have a pan of oyster shells and a nice big feeder inside too. Their waterer is outside to prevent excess moisture in the building. What more could a spoiled hen want? :)

Of course, the guineas come by look in on the hens luxurious home with a touch of interest ... envy maybe? Then they run off across the pasture in pursuit of big fat grasshoppers. :)

All is well in the land of the fowl.

Chickens!

After years of consideration, plotting and planning we finally made the decision to add chickens to our ranch family. On January 13, we brought home a new little flock of 15 hens. Nope, not a rooster in the bunch! :)



Our flock includes 3 Barrred Rocks, 1 Black Sexlink, 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Wyandotte, and 8 Sexlinks in a mixture of Reds and Golds. All of these hens should be excellent year-round producers once they start laying eggs. (They were all between 16 and 20 weeks of age when we got them; they should start laying at about 22 weeks of age). The requests for fresh eggs are already coming in! :)

We are continuing to work on getting their formal "hen house" setup (the roof is the last part to be done). For the first few weeks, they are being kept in a chicken yard to ensure they get used to us and our surroundings. Very soon, we will allow them to free-range in a protected part of our ranch so they can enjoy more fresh grass, bugs and natural "goodies". Of course, we do give them a natural feed and oyster shells as well. They are all fat, happy hens.

An update of our main website will be made in the coming weeks, so watch there for more pictures.

Welcome!

Howdy friends!

Welcome to our internet blog. Since our friends and family are so widely scattered, we decided to start up a blog to share some of the happenings here at our ranch.

While we will not generally be posting daily, we do hope that you will check back often to see what the latest happy news, oddity, or unexpected calamity might be.

We would enjoy reading your comments and feedback as well.

If you have not already been there, we invite you to visit our ranch's official website:
http://www.GallopingWindsRanch.com/

Again, welcome friends - new and old!

Rob and Teresa
"... as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Jos 24:15, NKJV)