Author: Anna & Mark

Introduction to chicken tractors

January 31, 2010 Posts No Comments
Chicken tractor

We firmly believe that automatic chicken waterers
and chicken tractors go hand in hand since they both keep your chickens
happy and healthy.  Every time we see chickens in a conventional
coop setting, we cringe, but we realize that it can be a bit daunting
for first-timers to build a chicken tractor from scratch.  It’s
really not so hard, though, and can be surprisingly cheap — Mark
built our most recent chicken tractor for under $20.



During the three years
that we’ve lived on the farm, Mark has built
five chicken tractors.  In the process, he’s learned a lot,
documenting most of that information on our homesteading blog. 
I’m going to be summarizing the most relevant bits of information from
that blog on
this blog over the next month or so.  Now is the perfect time to
start thinking about next year’s chickens.  Why not curl up with a
hot cup of cocoa and plan a chicken tractor while you’re at it?

This post is part of our Introduction to Chicken Tractors series. 
Read all of the entries:

Avian Aqua Misers prevent chicken pecking

January 27, 2010 Posts No Comments

Rhode Island Red in front of a homemade chicken watererWe’ve
been getting a lot of great photos and feedback from past customers
about our automatic chicken waterers.  The photos shown here
are by Octavius Baker, who says:


Anna, here are my waterers in
action.  I LOVE THEM, thank you!!!  I’ve
made some upgrades in the last week and will send those to you as
well. 
Thanks again.



I’m looking forward to
seeing more photos, Octavius!  Meanwhile, Titus wrote in to say:


I am noticing that all the pecking that
the pullets get in with our older birds…after we switched over [to
the Avian Aqua Miser] – we don’t have as much pecking on the weaker
birds.  Our birds have never had such gorgeous plumage!  Add
that to your list of perks!

Chickens using a homemade waterer

We’d noticed the same
thing, Titus!  In fact, we now include the Avian Aqua Miser in our
list of tips to prevent chicken pecking.

We also got a sweet note from Sara in Oakland who said:


Nice to hear from you.  Your message
gives me the excuse to write and tell you how much our 2 chooks are
enjoying their waterer.  They took to it right away, and it makes
things much easier for us as well.



Thank you all for the
kind words and great photos!  They brighten a cold winter day.

Chicken waterer giveaway

January 20, 2010 Posts No Comments

GroundhogWe
know that budgets are tight, but everyone deserves a bit of a treat as
we slowly work our way towards spring.  So we’re holding another
chicken waterer giveaway!



When: Email us by Groundhog’s Day
(February 2, 2010) to enter.



How: Send us one (or two, or
three, or ten!) digital photos of your Avian Aqua Misers in action.



What: One randomly selected person
will win a 5 pack DIY kit.



We’ve really enjoyed
seeing the
ingenuity with which many of you put your DIY kits together — keep those
great ideas flowing!