Pampered Chicken Mama: Raising Backyard Chickens

The holidays are just around the corner and I’m starting to think about redecorating my kitchen.

With guests coming over more than usual for holiday parties I really want my kitchen to look just right for the holiday season. I’ve found some really great farmhouse kitchen decor ideas that I wanted to share with you this week!

So let’s get started! Here are some of my favorite kitchen decorations that are perfect for holiday gatherings!

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Gather Sign

This rustic gather sign would look absolutely stunning in any farmhouse kitchen or dining room. You could dress it up for the holidays by adding some garland around the top! Find it here: Gather Sign

Rustic “Eat” Sign

I love this rustic metal “eat” sign. We all secretly love the holidays because of all of the yummy food, so remind your guests about what they’re really in the kitchen for…the food! Find it here: Rustic “Eat” Sign

Vases With Metal Holder

These rustic vases with their simple metal holder would look absolutely stunning on a dining room table. You could fill the vases with festive holiday stems to bring a subtle Christmas touch to your kitchen! Find them here: Vases With Metal Holder

Rustic Metal Pitcher

I love this metal pitcher! This rustic pitcher would look stunning on your kitchen counter! Fill it with some holiday flowers and foliage and it will bring the perfect holiday feel to your kitchen! Find it here: Rustic Metal Pitcher

Rustic Metal Cookie Jar

This cookie jar is perfect for holding your favorite holiday cookies and treats! It will look stunning in any kitchen! Find it here: Rustic Metal Cookie Jar

Stove Top Custom Wooden Cover

You always need extra counter space during the holidays for serving food. This wooden stove top cover is perfect for protecting your stove top and providing you with a little bit of extra counter space. Find it here: Stove Top Custom Wooden Cover

Floating Shelves

These floating shelves are stunning! These shelves are perfect for displaying your favorite holiday knick knacks! Find them here: Floating Shelves

Which of these kitchen decorations is your favorite?

Today we are going to talk about the top five gifts for your chickens!

It may seem like giving gifts for your chickens is somewhat frivolous, but if you’ve followed me for a while, you know that I support chicken toys!!! I think that they’re a good idea. Even though on the surface they seem frivolous and maybe a little bit ridiculous, at the same time, they do serve a very important purpose when it comes to your flock.

Why should you get gifts for your chickens?

As we know, chickens are very bright. They are smart creatures and given the right circumstances, things can turn into a Lord of the Flies situation very, very quickly. One concern that regularly comes up on the blog is what to do about chickens that pick on each other or develop bad habits. It is something that does happen!

Chicken toys can be way to avert those bad behaviors. It’s a way to distract your chickens from developing those bad behaviors. When winter comes and the chickens tend to be in the coop more, bad behaviors (such as picking feathers, or picking on others) can set in very easily. And that can make your life difficult.

So let’s talk about different toys you can get for your chickens that they will definitely appreciate this winter. Also just remember that even though we’re talking about things you can buy in this post, we’re also going to go over how to make them at home so you don’t have to spend money on them!

Chicken Swings

The very first chicken toy product I wanted to talk about are chicken swings. Now chicken swings probably get the worst rap for being a frivolous item to purchase for your chickens. But chickens really do seem to enjoy them! What your chickens can do on the chicken swings is they can perch on it and they realize very quickly that they can use their weight to make the swing go back and forth. Chickens are smart right?

And to them is something entertaining to do, much like swinging on the swings is entertaining for kids (and adults too!)

It gives them something to distract them from the boredom of being in the coop all day. Now there are a lot of different options for chicken swings out there and there’s no one particular project that I support. To me a chicken swing is a chicken swing. So I advise you to go ahead and pick the one that works best for you. You can find a chicken swing online right here: Fowl Play Products Chicken Swing

DIY Chicken Swing

Now let’s talk a little bit about how to make a chicken swing at home. Because as I’m sure you can imagine, these are actually not that difficult to make. And there is a little bit of an advantage to making it at home, which is that you can use naturally found items.

On our farm I’ve found that using natural perches such as branches or logs does a really good job as a natural perch and the chickens seem to like it. I like how it lends a more natural look for our coops and runs.

So when it comes to a chicken swing, go ahead and use a naturally found twig, branch, or wood! You will want to make sure that the branch you choose is fairly wide. Chickens don’t wrap their toes around perches, like other birds do. They tend to sit more flat footed so using a thicker circumference branch or log is a really good place to start.

Now to make your chicken swing all you need to do is drill a hole in each end vertically on the log so that you’re able to put string or rope through it. I recommend using a thicker rope or twine, so that you can easily knot it after you put the string through your holes. You can tie it similar to how this old fashioned swing was tied in the photo below.

I suggest using rope as opposed to something like chain. If you use something like a chain your chickens might get caught in it. Because let’s face it chickens are masters at getting into trouble.

So I do suggest using something like rope because it’s more solid and they’re not going to get hurt as easily in it. Just have enough length of that rope so that it can get off the ground. I would definitely suggest keeping it close enough to the ground so that they still have access to it easily and it’s in their daily line of vision.

Xylophone

Now the next item on our list is a xylophone. I’m talking about those children’s xylophones that have a lot of different colors on them. And obviously it’s a musical instrument so it makes noise. You’ve probably seen that video going viral on Facebook that shows chicken playing with a xylophone.

I really this idea because chickens are very motivated by color. They do see color and they can distinguish colors and they seem to enjoy the idea of making music or at least entertaining themselves with the different tones of the notes.

This is something that we are definitely going to try this winter. I can see it be it being a mental exercise for them, an opportunity for them to exercise their intelligence and also just a way to distract them from the boredom. And it maybe if you spent some time training them you might end up having some musical chickens on your hands;)

I do suggest going with a xylophone that has different colors on it because chickens are attracted to the different colors and I could see it just being a lot more entertaining to them than the noise itself.

Here are some options for xylophones on the web:

Now unfortunately, this is the one item on our list that I can’t really tell you how to make because I really don’t know how to make a xylophone. If you don’t want to buy one and if you have one hanging around, you can easily repurpose it as a chicken toy for your coop. Or you could check out local thrift stores to see if you could find one there!

Nesting Herbs

Now the third present for your chickens on our list are actually my Frugal Chicken nesting herbs. Basically what this product is, is its the herbs that I give my own chickens. It’s a custom blend that I’ve put together specifically because I believe that these are the herbs that you know help your chickens be healthy.

Now one of the reasons I chose herbs is because they are specifically geared towards helping you raise healthy chickens. The way you use the product is you sprinkle the herbs in their nesting boxes. As your hens are laying their eggs, they’re going to pick at the herbs. So they’ll get the healthy benefits of it.

You can mix herbs into their feed (depending on the herb). Either way will work very very well.

Now if you do want to make this at home, all that you need to do is go ahead and buy the herbs separately and then just go ahead and mix them all together. Or if you happen to have them growing on your farm, that would be perfect to! My chicken nesting box herbs are all organic so if you have an organic farm, you can easily recreate these at home.

I also sell lots of yummy treats for your hens too! One of my favorites is my Bee A Happy Hen Treat Mix. It’s a mix of bee pollen granules, hard red wheat berries, peppermint, parsley, mealworms, and rose petals. No joke, your hens will LOVE it! You can find it in our store right here.

Hanging Treat Basket

Now the next product on our list is MannaPro’s Mealworm Medley and a hanging basket to put the block into. Now the mealworm medley is, basically just a block of chicken treat. So it’s a single block about three inches by three inches and the nice thing about it is you can just put it in a hanging basket. It doesn’t last very long in my coop because my chickens love it so much!

It gives your chickens an extra treat that’s full of nutrients, protein, and vitamins that are good for them! But it also helps them mentally because they’re able to peck at and hunt at it. So that’s why I really like the MannaPro Mealworm Medley. So if you did want to go ahead and get the mealworm medley, go to the thefrugalchicken.com/medley

You definitely also want to get a hanging basket. It’s a heavy duty wire basket, that lets you suspend the treat, so that your chickens can peck at it and so that it doesn’t get dirty.

You can also make the treat for the hanging basket from home! On the blog I have an article for making your own homemade suet treats that you can easily put into a hanging basket.

I love this recipe because the coconut oil has a lot healthy fats in it for them and you can pick the ingredients you want to put in there. So you can put in sunflower seeds, mealworms, their regular feed, corn, or whatever works for you and your flock.

During the winter you don’t have to worry about the coconut oil melting. Coconut oil has a 77 degree melting point and in most places it is much colder than that in the winter!

Treats

Now obviously, we just talked about some treats for your chickens, but I wanted to talk about some other options you can give your chickens!

One option is mealworms. I rely heavily on mealworms for my chickens. They love them and it gives like them that extra little bit of spark because they are hunting something. I’m not sure what it is about mealworms, but there’s something about them that my chickens get all excited about. They hear the mealworms, they smell them, they are just all over it. It’s kind of insane! You can pick up some mealworms from the store right here: Mealworms-LoveBugs For Hens

On the blog we have tons of free treat recipes that you can make at home for your chickens. Some of my favorite are: Wheat Berry & Lemon Balm Happy Tummy Treats, Frozen Beef Tallow Treats (for summer), 5 High Protein Treats For Fall, Lavender Treat Mix, and Pumpkin Seed, Cayenne & Wormwood Deworming treat

You can also check out my book “Cluck Cakes” that has tons of treat recipes for your chickens!

We also have tons of treat options in the store such as:

Treat Dispenser

Since we’re talking about treats, the final gift for your chickens on our list is a treat dispenser. If you haven’t seen them, they work a little bit like Kongs for dogs in the sense that you can put the treat in it and your chickens have to figure out how to get the treat out. Once they figure out what it does, they’re going to play with it a lot!

The one that I like is this one from Manna Pro: Manna Pro Treat Dispenser.

But you can also easily make this at home with something like an old soda bottle or an old water bottle. All you need to do is poke some holes in the old water bottle, put the treats in the top, and then screw the lid back on. Then your chickens will try and peck the treats out of the holes! So that’s a very, very simple way to make it at home with products you probably already have on hand!

You can put whatever you want in your treat dispenser! I would stick with dry foods though, so that it doesn’t get messy and gross. You can put corn in there, you can put mealworms in there, oats, calendula, or anything else you feel would work for your flock.

That’s all for today folks! Are you going to buy your chickens gifts this year? If so, what are you going to give them?

Someone commented on my latest YouTube video that if you use chicken wire, you’ll definitely lose your backyard chicken flock.

I think it’s funny when people say this or that will DEFINITELY happen – especially if “that thing” runs against the grain of their opinion.

When it comes to chickens and ducks, you should always make the best decision for YOUR flock. That might mean hardware cloth. Or it might mean chicken wire.

It might mean pink powder coated wire.

There ARE some things you should never do with chickens – like feed them apple seeds. They contain trace amounts of cyanide and offer no nutritional value.

But some things have a bit of wiggle room – like chicken wire, what your coop should look like, whether you use wood chips or sand.

These are personal decisions.

If you want to check out the video and read the entire comment and my response, you can right here!

(If you like it, be sure to give a thumbs up or a comment – it tells YouTube people like our videos, which helps other chicken owners find them.)

Latest Hatch

I’ve pulled out about half the eggs from this latest hatch.

They just didn’t develop – but in the flock’s defense, most of the eggs I stuck in were from hens JUST starting to lay – so the eggs might not have been really fertilized.

As of the other day, we have some silver laced polish eggs developing and definitely some duck eggs.

The California Whites have been running with cochin roosters, and I can’t wait to see what chicks hatch!

(California white isn’t really a true breed. I think someone messed up at the hatchery and bred chickens that weren’t meant to be bred, and they decided to make the best of it by creating a designer chicken mutt.

But the hens are nice, quiet chickens, and I like them. So I said why not to hatching a few of their eggs).

In anticipation, I moved some of the ducklings to the main coop, where there’s more room. They have grown SO FAST. They outgrew their pen almost as soon as we had it built.

It’s a good pen, and the new chicks will enjoy it! You can see the completed pen here:

I never really cared about how to make corn syrup until we started looking at all the processed foods we eat and eliminating them one by one from our diet.

Corn syrup is definitely one of those overly-processed foods that has ingredients I can’t pronounce, so it had to go.

And since most corn grown in the U.S. is a GMO (genetically modified organism) crop, you can bet store-bought corn syrup is cut from the same cloth.

However, there are recipes where corn syrup is necessary, particularly if you like to make candy, so knowing how to make a light corn syrup substitute at home is a good idea.

You should note that because this is a homemade corn syrup, it’s not the same as what you buy in the store, so it’s really an ingredient to use in place of corn syrup.

But it works well, and luckily, it’s really so simple to learn how to make a corn syrup substitute, and even a kitchen klutz like me can do it.

And while a homemade corn syrup version is still full of sugar, it’s still much healthier than what you’ll find on the grocery aisle.

(Even if you use GMO corn, this recipe will work. But if you want to avoid GMOs altogether, then learning how to make corn syrup at home is critical).

And believe me when I tell you, it tastes a hell of a lot better.

Think salty and sweet meets “fire-grilled on a warm summer eve” corn on the cob.

Honestly, that description doesn’t even cover it, but believe me, try this recipe once, and you won’t go back, especially since you can knock it out in about 30 minutes and have about 1 cup of corn syrup to cook with.

So without further rambling, here’s how to make corn syrup with sugar and water right in your own kitchen.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHVZLjSBdZA

How to Make Corn Syrup from Scratch

So, for this recipe (printable recipe at the bottom of this page), you’re going to need ingredients you likely already have on your kitchen shelf.

Grab:

1 cup sugar

4 cups boiling water to dissolve sugar

2 additional cups lukewarm water

2 cups of soft corn kernels or 3 leftover corn cobs

If you have extra corn left over from dinner, or corn still on the cob that your kids took two bites out of, then this is a good way to use them up.

I prefer using loose kernels to make corn syrup, but if you have them, the cobs do make it easier to strain.

Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water by stirring water into sugar.

If you need more boiling water, then use it. What matters is the sugar is totally dissolved.

Pour into non-reactive pot once all the sugar is dissolved.

Add remaining 2 cups of water into the pot. (Make sure the pot is large enough to accommodate everything easily; the last thing you want is sugar water boiling over and making a sticky mess.)

Slowly heat, stirring to make sure the sugar stays dissolved. This is particularly important as the temperature rises, because the sugar can easily crystallize. Once everything starts to boil, I stir continuously.

Once boiling, add the corn kernels or cobs.

At this point keep stirring. The water will start steaming. Effectively what you’re doing is heating the sugar so it melts, and boiling off the excess water.

As the mixture boils, the corn will heat, imparting it’s flavor into the syrup.

Keep stirring as the mixture boils. Eventually, the mixture will reduce to about half it’s size. Once the corn syrup starts to look yellow and get thick, you know you’re almost there.

Your homemade corn syrup is ready to remove from the heat when the top starts to bubble consistently over the entire surface of the corn syrup.

Remove from heat and immediately pour into a mason jar lined with a strainer to catch the corn kernels. It will be slightly runny, but that’s because it’s hot.

Allow to cool, placing something over the mouth of the mason jar to keep out bugs and curious children (it will be very hot) but that will still allow steam out.

Once cool, the corn syrup should be even thicker. You can store in your fridge, and it will keep for quite a while.

This looks like a lot of steps, but really, learning how to make corn syrup at home is very simple once you get started.

Learning how to make corn syrup is just a simple matter of using ingredients you already have on hand – and it’s not really that difficult is it?

Kiss your store-bought corn syrup good bye!

I’d like to hear from you!

Do you have a better idea of how to make corn syrup? Do you think you’ll try this? Leave a comment below!

More Kitchen Basics Tips:

You’ve heard apple cider vinegar is healthy for both humans and chickens…but do you know how to make it? If you’ve been dying to try and want expert guidance, you’ll love this 15-minute video.

Love the creamy goodness of mashed potatoes but hate all the work? Southern-Style Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes with Homemade Gravy is the easiest and most delicious way to make yummy creamy potatoes that you will be proud to serve your family!

If you’re like me, you enjoy homemade meals during the spring and summer months, but try to avoid heating up the house at all costs, right?

Hey it’s Deb stopping by again from Bowl Me Over and I wanted to share a delicious and easy recipe with you today! Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes and what makes them even better?

The gravy is made right in the Instant Pot too – gotta love that right? One dish for cleanup and you don’t heat up the entire house to make a side dish!

These mashed potatoes go fantastic with my fall off the bone Barbecued Pork Ribs – also made in the Instant Pot and finished off on the grill!

A slab of grilled pork ribs. — Grill until the sauce on the ribs is caramelized!

How long do you cook the potatoes in the Instant Pot?

1 1/2 pounds of potatoes cook on the steam setting in just 12 minutes! Then with a quick release you’ll be ready to mash the potatoes as soon as the pressure is ready to release.

How full can you fill the Instant Pot?

Never fill the Instant Pot above the max fill line. If you’re cooking liquids it should never be above two thirds full. This is for safety to ensure there is plenty of space to allow the pressure cooker to do it’s work.

Grocery List to make Mashed Potatoes in Instant Pot with Homemade Gravy

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes
one box stock
cream or milk
butter
flour

I love how easy these are to make and I also love that the entire process doesn’t heat up your house. Living in Fresno with temperatures in the triple digits for weeks at a time, heating up the house is a real issue!

These tasty mashed potatoes come together in a snap for a couple of reasons:

They are made in the Instant Pot (great time saver!!)
When you use Yukon gold potatoes or baby red potatoes you don’t need to peel them! Just give them a hefty scrubbing and they are ready. My personal preference is Yukon gold potatoes because I like the creamy texture, but no reason to buy something special – use what you have on hand.
Using pre-made stock as the base for steaming flavors the potatoes and the leftover liquid makes delicious gravy right in the Instant Pot!

How easy is that?

Steps to make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes with Homemade Gravy

Scrub and clean the potatoes well.
Cut large potatoes into three pieces
Add the potatoes to the pressure cooker.
Add the stock
Secure the lid. Press the steam setting and set the timer to 12 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking mash together butter and flour completely.
When the timer goes off, remove the potatoes, strain and save the liquid.
Mash the potatoes, seasoning with butter, cream
Return the liquid to the pressure cooker. Change setting to sauté.
When the liquid is boiling, quickly whisk in the butter/flour mixture. Whisk together until the liquid begins to thicken and continue cooking for about three minutes.
Taste and adjust seasoning.

Done! The potatoes are creamy and delicious and using box stock makes a delicious gravy! Gotta love a simple meal!

Ok… a couple of great hints when you’re making mashed potatoes

Don’t over mash them, this will cause the potatoes to become gummy. Adding warmed milk/butter also helps keep them from getting sticky!
What if you get all the way to the end and your gravy has lumps, do you throw it out? Of course not! Just run it thru a sieve to remove the lumps OR tell everyone that’s the way you like it! 😀 Hey life’s too short to sweat the small details, right?

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! I have a bunch more Instant Pot recipes on the blog that I’m sure you’ll enjoy and you can check it out here – Deb’s Pressure Cooker Recipes

Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes

Love the creamy goodness of mashed potatoes but hate all the work? Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes with Homemade Gravy is the easiest and most delicious way to make yummy creamy potatoes that you will be proud to serve your family!

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes
4 cups stock
4 tbsp butter (divided)
1/4 cup milk or cream (warmed)
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste

Scrub and clean the potatoes well. Cut large potatoes into three pieces and add the potatoes to the pressure cooker.
Add the stock. Secure the lid of the pressure cooker. Press the steam setting and set the timer to 12 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking mash together 2 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons flour. Make sure it’s completely creamy – no lumps!
When the timer goes off, remove the potatoes, strain and save the liquid.
Warm the milk/cream and butter mixture slightly. Just enough to get the butter to melt and the dairy warmed up.
Mash the potatoes, seasoning with butter and warmed cream. Salt and pepper to taste.
Return the liquid to the pressure cooker. Change setting to sauté. When the liquid is boiling, quickly whisk in the butter/flour mixture. Whisk together until the liquid begins to thicken and continue cooking for about three minutes. Whisking frequently.
Taste and adjust seasoning in the gravy and the potatoes. Serve and enjoy!

If you love this meal, I’m going to send you over to the blog for more terrific recipes!

Debra Clark blogs over at Bowl Me Over where she shares her love of all things in a bowl! Soups, stews, salads, Buddha bowls, ice cream you name it! Comfort food that is delicious and full of flavor. Most meals are quick and easy!

You can also connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Hey y’all! Here’s this week’s sneaky peek photos of life on our farm!

These images also appear on my Instagram account where I share MANY more photos and stories from the farm!

If you aren’t yet following me there, you can right here.

Enjoy the photos & be sure to share some of yours with me!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BopzcEyFQVc/?taken-by=pamperedchickenmama

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