Pampered Chicken Mama: Raising Backyard Chickens

Everyone, Christmas is coming!

Christmas sneaks up on us so quickly, doesn’t it? I swear it was just July! One of the worst parts of Christmas is trying to think of gift ideas for everyone on your list.

It can take hours and can be stressful too. Well, let me take the stress away. I’ve been scouring the web for gift ideas for the chicken owner in your life and I’ve found some pretty goods ones (if I do say so myself).

There are practical gifts, fun gifts, and gifts you’ll want so much you’ll just buy them for yourself! I’m not judging, I’ll probably do it too.

Alright everyone let’s get going, here are some of my favorite gift ideas for a crazy chicken lady!

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Home Items

These gifts range from home decor to kitchenware, but they’re all sure to be a hit for the chicken owner in your life!

Farmhouse Hen Container With Lid

This hen container is the perfect way for the chicken lover in your life to bring their love of hens into their home! This container is the perfect decor item for an office or kitchen! Find it here: Farmhouse Hen Container With Lid

Chicken Oven Mitt

Isn’t this fun? It’s such a cute oven mitt and any chicken lover is sure to adore it! Find it here: Chicken Oven Mitt

Decorative Rooster Stoneware Container

I love this rooster stoneware container, it’s the perfect home decor item for a chicken lover. You can find it here: Rooster Container

Egg Frying Pan

Not only is this mini egg frying pan cute, but it’s also practical! It’s the perfect size for making fried eggs! Find it here: Egg Frying Pan

Galvanized Dozen Egg Carrier

This is the perfect home decor item for a chicken lover! With this egg holder they can display their chicken eggs with pride! Find it here: Galvanized Dozen Egg Carrier

Wood Framed Farm Rooster Print

Aren’t these stunning? This would be the perfect home decor item for the chicken lover in your life! You can find them here: Wood Framed Farm Rooster Print

Wood and Metal Farm Fresh Eggs Sign

I love this sign! I might need it for my kitchen! This farm fresh eggs sign would add the perfect touch to any chicken owner’s kitchen! Find it here: Farm Fresh Eggs Sign

Chicken Wire Basket

Isn’t this basket cute? I love the shape and that you can use it to collect your eggs! It’s the perfect gift for any chicken lover! You can find it here: Chicken Wire Basket

Practical Gifts

Ok, so these are the practical gifts for chicken lovers. Think like the socks and underwear gifts of the chicken world. While these gifts are not nearly as fun as the previous gifts, they’re also incredibly practical and will help simplify life for your favorite chicken lady.

Egg Gathering Apron

I’m seriously in LOVE with this gift idea! It’s fun and kind of silly, but I love it! You can make this yourself with this tutorial here. You can also find a similar one here or I’m a fan of this “driving my husband crazy one chicken at a time” apron here😉

Chicken Boots

Not only are these boots adorable, but they’re also practical too! They’re perfect boots for heading out to the coop to clean! You can find these boots here: Chicken Boots

Chicken Swing

Chicken swings are the best! Not only do they entertain chickens during the long boring winter months, but they’re also entertaining for chicken owners! Any crazy chicken lady would love this chicken swing! Find one here: Fowl Play Products Chicken Swing

Treat Dispenser

Just like the chicken swing, a treat dispenser leads to hours and hours of fun for chickens and chicken owners alike! You can find one here: Manna Pro Treat Dispenser.

Nesting Herbs

I love nesting herbs because they’re great for any chicken owner’s flock. These are the perfect practical gift for a chicken owner! You can find nesting herbs here: Nesting Herbs

Chicken Tote Bag

This chicken tote bag is perfect! It’s a cute and practical gift for any chicken owner. You can find it here: Chicken Tote Bag

Chicken Coop Signs

Having a sign for your chicken coop is a must have for any backyard chicken owner which makes them the perfect gift! They’re fun and they’re normally pretty cheap (bonus!). You could even make some of these chicken coop signs yourself (check out my favorite DIY coop signs here)

DIY Chick Inn Sign

This is for my DIY gift lovers out there. This simple chick inn sign is the perfect gift for any chicken lover! It’s simple and easy to make and it will look stunning on any coop! Tutorial here: Make your own chick inn sign

DIY Chicken Names Sign

I love this sign! It’s a simple project that you could make with materials you might already have at home! Check out the tutorial for this coop sign here: Chicken Names Signs

Chicken Coop Rules Sign

I love this chicken coop rules sign! This rustic sign is the perfect gift for any chicken lover! You can find it here: Chicken Coop Rules Sign

Chickens The Pet That Poops Breakfast Sign

I got a good laugh out of this sign. It’s so true though! This is a fun gift for your favorite chicken lady. Find it here: Chickens Coop Sign

Coop Protected By Crazy Chicken Lady Sign

This sign pretty much explains my life and my relationship with my chickens! I love them! This is a great gift for the crazy chicken lady in your life. You can find this sign here: Coop Protected Sign

Gifts Under $15

And last, but definitely not least here are my favorite gifts for the crazy chicken lady in your life that are under $15!

Chicken Socks

I’m kind of in love with these hilarious chicken socks. These would make the perfect stocking stuffer or gag gift! Find them here: Chicken Socks

Chicken Mug

This is so true! You really can’t have too many chickens! You can find this awesome mug here: Chicken Mug

Well that’s all for today! Which of these gift ideas was your favorite?

I’m starting to get really excited for Christmas! Between the stores filling up with Christmas decor and the Christmas themed ads I see all over social media, I’m getting excited to decorate my home for Christmas this year.

This year I am absolutely loving the farmhouse style Christmas decor. It looks fantastic, but it’s not too over the top which I love. I love how simple and effortless the farmhouse Christmas theme looks in any home.

Since my Pinterest feed has been full of Christmas decor for the past week, I’ve decided to put together some of my favorite farmhouse Christmas decor ideas that I’ve come across!

So let’s get going! Here are my favorite farmhouse Christmas decor ideas!

Red Farm Truck Pillow

I’m a huge fan of the rustic red farm truck look (it’ll make more appearance throughout this article, promise) It adds such a old-fashioned, vintage feel to any home! This pillow is so cute and would bring a vintage Christmas feel to your living room!

Find it here: Red Farm Truck Pillow

Rustic Wood Christmas At The Farm Sign

This rustic wooden sign brings back the charm of an old fashioned tree farm. This sign would add the perfect rustic farmhouse touch to any home!

Find it here: Rustic Wooden Christmas At The Farm Sign

Buffalo Check Accent Pillow

This checkered pillow reminds me of a warm soft blanket and makes me want to snuggle up on my couch to drink hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie! It’s the perfect subtle Christmas touch for any home!

Found here: Buffalo Check Accent Pillow

Cones and Berries Holiday Door Piece

This door piece would be absolutely stunning for any entryway. It’s the perfect way to welcome your holiday guests into your home!

Found here: Cones and Berries Holiday Door Piece

Decorative Countryside Christmas Mailbox

I love the subtle Christmas look of this mailbox. This countryside Christmas mailbox would be perfect for kids to mail their letter to Santa in!

Find it here: Decorative Countryside Christmas Mailbox

Framed Peppermint Cocoa Wall Sign

Wouldn’t this sign look stunning in a kitchen? This framed peppermint cocoa wall sign would add the perfect farmhouse Christmas touch to any kitchen!

Find it here: Framed Peppermint Cocoa Wall Sign

Cotton Red and White Table Runner

This table runner is perfect for the effortless Christmas decor look. This simple table runner would look fantastic on a wood table, topped with your favorite holiday centerpiece!

Found here: Cotton Red and White Table Runner

Rustic Christmas Stockings

These rustic Christmas stockings are perfect for any mantelpiece. The simple patterns and burlap would add a subtle Christmas touch to any living room.

Find them here: Rustic Christmas Stockings

Merry Christmas Metal Sign

This simple metal sign would look stunning hung on any wall in the home. The simplistic look combined with the rustic accents are sure to add to any farmhouse Christmas decor.

Find it here: Merry Christmas Metal Sign

Retro Truck Stocking Holder

And last, but definitely not least we have another retro truck! This retro truck stocking holder would look stunning with the rustic stockings from earlier and I love the vintage Christmas feel this decor item would bring to any home.

Find it here: Retro Truck Stocking Holder

Which of these farmhouse Christmas decorations was your favorite?

Today I wanted to share some of my favorite eco-friendly gift wrap ideas with you.

I love Christmas, but unfortunately there are some negative environmental impacts of the holiday season. The EPA estimates that during the holidays Americans produce 25% more waste. Which is about 1 million tons of trash!!!! (source)

That’s a huge environmental impact! One way to reduce your environmental impact this holiday season is to use eco-friendly gift wrap. Obviously the most eco-friendly idea would be to not wrap your gifts, but for most of us that’s probably not going to happen. Opening gifts is a huge part of the fun of Christmas right?

I used to think that gift wrap could just be recycled, it’s just paper right? However many types of gift wrap have dyes and plastics that make them difficult or impossible to recycle. So today I decided to share some of my favorite gift wrap ideas that are eco-friendly and pretty too!

Buy Eco-friendly Gift Wrap

This is one of the easiest options. There are many brands that sell eco-friendly wrapping paper. One of my favorite brands is Wrappily. They’re wrapping paper is 100% recyclable and they have tons of really cute prints! You can find their wrapping paper here: Wrappily Wrapping Paper

One of my favorite ways to wrap gifts is to buy basic brown kraft paper. It’s really inexpensive and it’s recyclable. There’s also the added benefit that kraft paper doesn’t slip as much and is easier to fold, so you won’t have to use as much tape (or even any tape at all) when your wrap gifts with it.

You can find brown kraft paper here: 100% Recyclable Kraft Paper Roll

Reuse, Reuse, Reuse

I know some people think it’s tacky, but I reuse old gift bags and tissue paper from gifts that I receive. Maybe I’m just cheap, but I think it’s better than purchasing new gift bags and tissue paper because I’m not creating new waste. I would rather reuse an old gift bag than throw it away and having to buy a new one later on.

Skip The Tape

One way to reduce the environmental impact of your gifts is to not use tape. You can secure the edges of your packages by tying twine around it (obviously this trick will only work if you are wrapping a square/rectangular gift, it’s a little bit trickier with odd shaped packages).

You can also wrap your gifts without any tape! I love this video (see below) that shows you how you can wrap gifts without using any tape!

Make Your Own Gift Bags

It’s fairly easy to make your own gift bags. One of the great things about making your own is you can use whatever type of paper that you have handy. You could use leftover scrapbook paper, brown paper, or even some of the eco-friendly wrapping paper we talked about earlier!

Here’s a simple tutorial for how to make your own gift bags: Make DIY Gift Bags

Use Leftover Paper

If you have scraps of scrapbook paper or printer paper you can use that to wrap smaller gifts! Scrapbook paper would look so cute as wrapping paper and if you tie it with some twine it will look fantastic!

Brown Paper Bags

One of my favorite eco-friendly (and budget friendly) gift wrap ideas is to use brown paper bags. I always try to get paper bags from the grocery store if I forget my reusable bags (which I do a lot) so I always tend to have a couple extra paper bags hanging around.

I just cut the bags open on one side, turn them inside out, and then wrap my gifts! It’s a simple and easy way to wrap gifts with something you already have!

You can also throw on some pine cones, or sprigs from a pine tree to add a beautiful touch to your gift!

Draw Your Own Patterns

Another great way to make plain brown paper look fantastic is to draw your own patterns on it. You can use a white colored pencil, chalk, or a chalkboard marker to create beautiful, custom designs for your gifts!

Christmas Tree Map Gift Tags

Don’t you love these homemade gift tags? I love that the Christmas tree is made from an old map! I also love how simple and easy these eco-friendly gift tags are to make!

Lunch sack

I love this idea for wrapping your gifts. I love the beautiful Christmas sayings and the added bonus of eucalyptus stems!

Winter Scarf

I love the idea of wrapping your gifts with a winter scarf! Not only is the wrapping super cute, but it can be used and it part of the gift! You can learn how to wrap gifts in a scarf here: Wrapping gifts in a scarf tutorial

Use Newspaper

If you still get the newspaper you can use newspaper to wrap your next Christmas gift! It looks absolutely stunning and it’s recyclable!

Homemade Bows

I had no idea you could make your own bows until I found this tutorial. Aren’t they so cute? You can use leftover scrapbook paper or kraft paper to make these bows to add the perfect touch to your eco-friendly wrapping. Tutorial here: Homemade Bows

Which of these gift wrap ideas is your favorite?

Fall is here, y’all. And that makes it a perfect time to decorate your chicken coop with a cute fall display of pumpkins and mums.

Why decorate your coop? Well, certainly you don’t HAVE to. But it looks kind of cool, and if you do it right, you can recycle your fall decorations as healthy treats for your chickens.

https://www.facebook.com/thefrugalchicken/videos/1966832893595978/

Here on the farm, I like things to multitask. And that includes decorations.

So that’s why I love making flower pots out of pumpkins. It looks good – and when you’re tired of the display, your hens can eat the pumpkins AND the mums.

(Wondering why pumpkin is so healthy for hens? Click here for more information.)

We’ve done the whole “a coop is just a coop” thing here on the farm, and while that’s fine, things just look better when they’ve been given a bit of color. It’ll cheer you up, and enhance your flock’s surroundings and give them some environmental stimulation.

So in this article, I’m going to show you how you can make a living flower pot out of a pumpkin and options for flowers that are edible for you and your flock.

Step 1: Carve the pumpkin

So, this is pretty simple, and if you’ve ever make a jack o’ lantern, you can carve out the pumpkin without much instruction.

Something to note is in the video, I used a kitchen knife. Someone on Facebook pointed out a jigsaw would have been a better choice – and they’re right.

Avoid the mistake I made and use something electric. That being said, it didn’t take very long nor was it very hard to carve the pumpkin using a knife, so if that’s all you got, then it’ll still work great.

It goes without saying that you should use a pumpkin that’s big enough to house the flowers you plan to pot in it.

Step 2: Scoop out the insides

While this seems pretty obvious, I point it out because the pumpkin innards are GREAT chicken treats. (Find out why pumpkin is so healthy for chickens right here).

You’ll hear scuttlebutt that pumpkin seeds are natural dewormers. While there’s really no evidence that they’ll keep your flock parasite-free, they’re healthy for your flock.

So they might not do much for parasites, but they’ll DEFINITELY do something to help your flock be healthier – and happier, because hens love treats.

Feed the pumpkin and the seeds raw – don’t roast and definitely don’t salt the pumpkin seeds.

Step 3: Select flowers that are healthy for chickens

Chrysanthemums are the traditional fall flowers used in displays, and luckily, they’re healthy for chickens to peck at. Just be sure you source organically grown flowers, or at least those not exposed to pesticides.

Other options are calendula or even herbs that have started to flower. It’s up to you. For this project, I used chrysanthemums because they’re readily available.

Step 4: Stick the flowers in the pumpkin, and you’re done!

This isn’t a hard project, but it’s one you and your hens will both appreciate. Once you’re done with the display, as long as the pumpkin isn’t rotting or moldy, you can pass it on to your hens – who will love you for it!

I like to think this website shows readers how being healthy doesn’t have to be difficult – which is one of the reasons I came up with this healthier non-GMO DIY pancake mix recipe.

When mornings get rushed and hurried, it’s easy to skip the healthy, all natural step for the sake of convenience – we’ve all been there.

We love a good pancake in our house, and those commercial mix boxes make it really easy to just add a couple other ingredients, mix, and 10 minutes later have a yummy breakfast.

Except those DIY pancake mix boxes you buy at the store are full of stuff we all-natural people are trying to avoid.

I’ve found if it’s easy and convenient to make the all-natural decision, I’m personally more likely to do it, and I hope this DIY pancake mix recipe helps you do the same.

While it will work with any flour, I decided to use Einkorn flour in this mix. (You can buy Einkorn here & get it shipped to you if you don’t know where to buy it).

Earlier this year, we started using it in our baked goods, and it’s easy to work with – no different baking-wise than other wheat-based flours.

If you haven’t heard, Einkorn is an ancient type of wheat – and therefore hasn’t undergone any sort of genetic modification. It’s also almost universally grown without pesticides or other chemicals.

Many people who can’t handle regular commercial wheat have found they can eat baked goods made with Einkorn.

The nice thing about a DIY pancake mix is you can put the dry ingredients together in a large mason jar and then just add milk and an egg (necessary if you want fluffy pancakes), mix, and pour on a hot pan or griddle.

DIY Pancake Mix with Einkorn Recipe

Ingredients

6 cups Einkorn flour
¼ cup sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Pour dry ingredients in a mason jar (this DIY pancake recipe easily scales – so if you want to double or triple your batch, go right ahead).

Mix thoroughly, and store on a shelf out of the sun.

To make a pancake stack worthy of Instagram, just add 1 cup of milk or water (we’ve used both successfully) and 1 fresh chicken egg (you can also use 1 duck egg) and mix to combine.

Instead of syrup, I like to use honey or lavender syrup. You can also add fruit or strawberry jam.

You’ll feel healthier because you know your family is eating a healthy, non-GMO pancake breakfast, and as a bonus, it’s super simple DIY mix to add to your day!

The holidays are coming y’all and I am so excited for the food.

I LOVE all of the delicious food that shows up around Christmas and Thanksgiving. Since the holidays can get a little bit crazy, I’ve created a collection of holiday recipes that you can use for any of your holiday recipe needs. I’ve got holiday recipes perfect for kids, office parties, family events and more!

So let’s get going! Here are some of my favorite holiday recipes.

Amish Farmhouse Sugar Cookies

These farmhouse sugar cookies are made with simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Seriously these cookies are to die for! What I love about these cookies are that you can customize them depending on your taste. We used raisins in ours, but if you’re not a raisin fan you can use chocolate chips, nuts, butterscotch chips, or maybe even some toffee.

Recipe here: Amish Farmhouse Sugar Cookies

Left Over Ham Pasta Salad

Having a honey baked ham is a must have for any holiday gathering. But after the holiday party you have to figure out what the heck to do with all of the leftover ham. Leftover ham pasta salad is the perfect solution. Not only is this recipe a huge hit, but it’s simple and easy to make.

You can find the recipe here: Left Over Ham Pasta Salad

Southern Style Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes And Gravy

If you’re looking to keep things simple this holiday season, this instant pot mashed potatoes and gravy recipe is for you. The gravy and the potatoes are both made in the instant pot, so you’re looking at only dirtying one pan! Heck yes. This recipe is going to be my go to for mashed potatoes this Thanksgiving

Recipe: Southern Style Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes And Gravy

Pumpkin Puree & Pumpkin Spice

Everyone goes crazy for anything pumpkin spice in the fall, but did you know you can make your own? I love this recipe for pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice because they’re so versatile for the holiday season. Plus, homemade pumpkin puree is everything. It tastes sooo good. You can use it to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, even pumpkin soup!

Recipe: Pumpkin Puree & Pumpkin Spice

Pie Recipes For the Holidays

There’s nothing better than homemade pie. Literally nothing. I have so many pie recipes that I love for the holidays that I definitely couldn’t fit all of them into this blog post. But, don’t worry, I have an entire article that has all of my favorite homemade pie recipes.

Find it here: Homemade Pie Recipes for the Holidays

Here are some of my favorite pie recipes:

Maple Pecan Pie

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

Easy Key Lime Pie

Homemade Corn Syrup

If y’all didn’t know, store bought corn syrup is really processed and likely made with GMO corn. Enter my homemade corn syrup recipe. This recipe is great if you still want to make homemade Christmas candy. Because is it even Christmas if there’s not homemade candy? This recipe is a lighter corn syrup substitute that’s perfect for using with your holiday recipes.

Here’s the recipe: Homemade Corn Syrup

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHVZLjSBdZA/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control

Christmas Morning Pancake Mix With Einkorn Flour

I love this Christmas morning pancake mix recipe made with Einkorn Flour. This is perfect if you want to provide a healthier breakfast on Christmas morning (since you’ll probably be having tons of unhealthy foods the rest of the day). Plus you can make this mix in bulk and store it so you have a quick breakfast option for busy mornings! Top these pancakes with homemade lavender syrup or strawberry jam, and you have the perfect Christmas morning breakfast!

Recipe here: Christmas Morning Pancake Mix

Orange Cherry Olive Oil Cakes

These small cakes are bursting with delicious citrus flavor. These cakes can be easily wrapped in a red party favor bag and gifted to friends and family. But make sure you keep some for yourself because these cakes are delicious!

Recipe: Orange Cherry Olive Oil Cakes

Sugar Free English Egg Custard

Looking for a yummy comfort food recipe for the holidays? I love making this sugar free English egg custard recipe for an afternoon treat. It’s also great to take to potlucks because the ingredients make it seem much more complicated and decadent than it actually is;)

Recipe here: Sugar Free English Egg Custard

Chocolate Cookie Mice

Aren’t these chocolate cookie mice the cutest? This recipe is perfect for a Christmas treat for the kids. You can make these mice cookies and eat them while you read a Nutcracker storybook. Your kids will love having this tasty treat while hearing about the Nutcracker and Clara fighting the Mouse King (here’s my favorite Nutcracker storybook).

Recipe: Chocolate Cookie Mice

Vanilla and Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread is a traditional Scottish recipe that is perfect for the holidays. These cookies literally melt in your mouth and they are perfect for topping desserts. Since these cookies are shaped like buttons, they are absolutely perfect for topping snowman themed cakes or cookies!

Find the recipe here: Vanilla and Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Easy White Bread Recipe

Think you’re no good at making bread? Trust me you can make this easy white bread. Homemade bread is perfect for the holidays. I love serving fresh homemade bread with any holiday meal.

Recipe: Easy White Bread Recipe

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are perfect for a cold winter’s night. They’re the ultimate comfort food for the holidays, and your family and friends will love them! Plus this recipe makes about 60 cookies which makes it a easy recipe to gift to neighbors or take to the office potluck.

Recipe: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Chocolate Chili Brownies

Looking to add a little spice to your holiday dessert? This recipe has some kick. I love the combination of sweet and spicy in this chocolate chili recipe. It’s perfect for mixing things up at the office potluck or family Christmas party.

Recipe: Chocolate Chili Brownies

Sugar Substitutes

Looking to have a healthier holiday season? I hear ya. I could probably do with less processed sugar in my life. Here are some of my favorite options for substituting sugar:

Which of these recipes are you going to try this year?