It’s been a wish of mine for a long time to keep my own backyard chickens. I finally found time during the summer holidays a year ago, and built a medium sized chicken coop. The plans I bought over the internet made the process really easy. The ad for the book about how to build a chicken coop said that a 15 year old could build it. That would be about right. It was really easy to follow the step-by-step plans. I can use a hammer, a saw and a screwdriver and that’s about all you’ll need by way of tools.

I want to tell you a bit more about my hobby of keeping chickens – I do it just as a hobby, not professionally, and see if I can help you to make some decisions if you’re thinking about keeping chickens in your backyard.

Not that long ago chicken was a meal for a special, celebratory occasion. Today of course chicken is very common and hardly special at all. The reason I mention this is because it is the way that chickens are raised today that has made the product so plentiful and so cheap, relative to other meats. The way chickens are raised in batteries is also a major reason why I keep my own brood, in my own suburban backyard.

Those who have ever been inside a chicken factory farm will understand. The cruelty these birds have to endure for their whole life is nothing short of a disgrace and a blot on our conscience. I had seen enough cancerous, deformed and deranged hens, picking at their own and others flesh out of sheer madness, that I stopped eating chickens and eggs for quite a while until free range products became readily available.

Then I discovered that free range did not always mean what I thought it meant – what it is supposed to mean – and I decided to keep my own chickens in my own chicken coop.

I did not intend to go on a crusade against chicken farms here so let me tell you of some other very good reasons to keep your own chickens.

In these times of trying to reduce household costs, the savings that are made by not having to buy eggs, are important. The eggs from a truly free-range chicken are nothing short of spectacularly delicious. The yolk is not that washed out colour of a battery egg from a chicken pumped full of estrogen and growth hormone. Instead, it’s a bright, vivid yellow/orange colour with an absolute burst of flavour.

I know some folk who made the mistake of giving their birds names so they will never slaughter their chickens for the table. I keep my birds anonymous so that I am not emotionally distraught when I slaughter them. The meat from your own homegrown chicken is much better taste and quality than a supermarket chicken. It’s plump and has a taste that is just outstanding. The skin crisps up quicker. I don’t know exactly how and why but it’s just markedly better tasting than a supermarket bird. It’s most probably about the birds diet – that must have a long term effect on meat and taste.

The freshness of the meat and eggs from your backyard brood is a contributory factor to the improved taste of course, but the biggest influence on the taste of the products is the absence of chemicals in the birds diet. Chemicals fed to battery raised chickens destroys the natural taste of the eggs and the meat. The chemicals, by the way, also find their way into your system and so you have also probably ingested female hormones and steroids with every egg and piece of chicken you’ve ever eaten. Many factory birds are fed on fishmeal feeds and the flavour of the fishmeal leeches into the meat.

In times like these when most people are trying to save some household costs and also trying to be more environmentally responsible, building a chicken coop and keeping your own chickens is a fairly substantial step in the right direction and it’s very easy to do. So, I guess the environmental impact is another good reason to have your own birds.

The fertiliser produced by the chickens is fantastic for your garden. Gardeners can save money using a non-phosphate laden fertiliser that comes naturally from the chickens.

Since the kids moved out there is often leftover food in our refrigerator that goes to waste. Well I should say used to go to waste because the chickens love leftovers. We don’t feed them onion or garlic but all other foods are welcomed by them. Not just leftovers either, but peelings and cuttings as well. They are little fertiliser factories taking the scraps and the peels and turning it into fertiliser that enhances the plants and vegetables we have growing. It’s lovely to see the cycle of nature as it should be. The chickens  keep the grass short as well. Like little lawnmowers!

If you keep your chickens as pets then you will get all the benefits that all pets give their owners. For me – well I don’t see the chickens as anything other than foodstuff.

If you build the right chicken coop for your intended number of chickens and for the location then your chicken coop becomes a pleasure to maintain. The right coop is easy to clean, well ventilated and comfortable for its inhabitants. Remember that contented chickens will produce more eggs.

Let me tell you about building your own chicken coop. Building a chicken coop is easy using only basic skills. Only the most basic tools are needed. That’s about it. The plans I eventually bought are step-by-step type plans so it was easy to follow. I was fortunate to choose a book of plans that also had other very valuable and useful information in it. Such as: where to place you coop, how to ensure that it doesn’t get too hot in the chicken coop and how to construct a coop that is easy to clean. Also, the book  contained advice on how to choose the correct type of bird for your area.

This is very good value from a book that only costs about $30. I sourced all the timber required for my chicken coop at a local salvage yard. I built a medium sized chicken coop for well under $200 and there is a local (major) hardware outlet that sells what I think is a lesser product for over $950. I saved a packet. My $200 investment was returned to me in under 6 months just on the value of eggs produced. By the way I keep 10 hens and I get 6 to 8 eggs every day. I charge almost double the supermarket price yet I have no shortage of eager customers for the 2 or 3 doz eggs I sell every week!

You can buy the book that I used on the internet for only $29.95. Just click here. I really found it to be very useful - exactly what I needed. You get it as an instant download, as soon as you pay. The online payment process is 100% secure.

That’s it. I hope that this information was of some help to you and I hope you enjoy building your chicken coop as much as I enjoyed the task of building mine. It’s a good thing to do and the upside is substantial. Enjoy the project!

Tags: build a chicken coop, chicken coop, chicken coop plans, chicken house, design a chicken coop, diy chicken coop, hen house, hen house plans

ergonomic garden tools

As an activity gardening is one of the most popular and favored pastimes there is. People have been gardening for centuries and have been producing the most wonderful fresh vegetables, delicious fruits and beautiful flowers they could. They where using all types of garden tools and some are easy to use and others put more strain on the human body.

There are hundreds of garden tools to choose from and because these tools will last for many years it is wise to think about the kind of material you buy.  Ergonomic garden tools are usually recommend to people with small disabilities or chronic pain problems like with arthritis. But are they useless if you are perfectly healthy? The answer is of course no, they are not useless they are often the right choice for every gardener that would like to stay healthy and we should consider buying these ergonomic garden tools much more.

Think before you buy

If you buy the proper tools they will last for many many years, and because of this it is even more important to buy ergonomic garden tools. They will not just last for years but will help you to take care of your body and keep it healthy.  Use hand ergonomic garden tools place them in a proper garden tool caddy and also ergonomic power tools like the Mantis tiller.

The author of this article, Hank Gordon, writes at his website Gardeners Info Point. com about a Garden Tool Caddy and for example the Mantis Tiller.

Tags: ergonomic, ergonomic garden tools, garden, tools

Herbs can be a beautiful addition to your garden. Not only are they attractive, they lend a lovely fragrance to your yard. As well, they’re very functional, not only for the flavor they impart during cooking but also for their ability to address certain health problems. There are so many different kinds of herbs to choose from. There are edible varieties such as oregano and basil. There are also certain plants that are used for medicinal purposes like chamomile and lavender. Herb gardening really depends on your personal preferences.

Most herbs are easy to grow and will flourish with very little maintenance. And there are so many varieties that you’ll have no trouble finding one that will be ideal for any location in your yard. They are ideal as edging around a bed of flowers, tucked into a rock garden, or as an aromatic accent to a container garden.

And they’re so versatile. They can be grown outdoors in the warm weather, and indoors during the winter. While the summertime is when you’ll plant them outdoors, you can also grow them indoors in a sunny location all through the year. Lots of people like to set their indoor herbs outside when it’s warm, where they’ll be even more bountiful. Others like to get a head start on their outdoor herb garden by starting seeds inside in late winter. Before you do this, though, make sure that the herbs you choose can be transplanted without doing them any harm.

Herbs can be planted just about anywhere where they’ll get some sun. They’ll thrive both in your vegetable garden and in a small corner of the yard. You can plant them like vegetables in straight rows, or arrange them artistically to add beauty to your property.

Don’t put anything in the ground until you’ve observed the spot for a few days to make sure it’s receiving sufficient quantities of sunlight. As well, avoid any really wet locations on your property. If you’re growing herbs to use in cooking, planting them close to the house makes it more convenient to run out and pick a few sprigs when you need them.

Just be careful because some herbs aren’t suitable for certain climates. However, most are easy to grow and will do well in almost any zone. However, if you’re uncertain about whether specific herbs are suitable for your area, check with your local nursery.

There is a wide range of herbs to choose from that are able to grow in most any surroundings. That makes it so easy to enjoy their fresh flavor and aroma year round.

Tags: gardening, herb garden, herb gardening, herbs