Pampered Chicken Mama: Raising Backyard Chickens

Sometimes your plants might need a little bit of a head start before they will be able to grow outside in your garden.

These crops might need just a little bit longer to grow before they are ready to be planted outside. Plants that have smaller seeds are especially important to start indoors because if they are planted outdoors they could be overwhelmed by the harsh environment. I definitely want all of your plants to be able to grow to their full potential, so it is important that you learn about the importance of seed starting.

So let’s talk about seedlings.

Seedlings are planted in individual pots and grown indoors before they are moved into the garden later after they have had a chance to develop. This ensures that your plant will have the best chance of growing and producing successfully!

There a lot of seed starting kits out there to choose from. I can help you decide using the following tips and a list of the most popular starting kit products on the market today.

How to Select the Right Seed-Starting System

So, when you’re choosing a seed-starting system you need to consider 3 things:

1. Choosing a good growing medium

2. Providing adequate sunlight

3. Maintaining the right amount of moisture in the soil throughout the seeds’ growing period.

But what kind of seed container will take into account all of these? Don’t worry, you’ve got options. From milk cartons to paper cups and other biodegradable or recycled containers, the list goes on and on.

My recommendation, especially for first-time gardeners, is to invest in seed starting kits.

When choosing the right starting kit for your seedlings, it’s important to keep certain characteristics of your plant in mind, such as, how long your plant takes to grow, the root depth of the plant, and the size of the seed.

Seeds vary from ones that grow very quickly to others that are more difficult to grow (or require a longer period of time to grow before being transferred to the outside garden).

In plants that grow slowly, you need to maintain consistent moisture in the soil to enhance growth. You also need to make sure your plants get the right amount of light and air to avoid diseases.

Certain plants need to have their roots intact when they are transplanted outside into the garden. The best seed starting kits for these plants are the specifically designed for plants with deep-roots.

While slower-growing seeds such as peppers, onions, and perennial herbs will thrive in long-term, small housing, fast-growing seeds such as tomatoes and zinnias will outgrow smaller pots quickly. Because of this it is important to make sure you don’t keep fast-growing plants in small pots for longer than necessary because it could ruin your plant!

Another characteristic that is important to keep in mind is the size of your seed. While planting a large seed is easy, planting tiny seeds can be difficult! I recommend that instead of trying to plant just one of these tiny seeds, you plant a small pinch of seeds. This makes it so much easier! After the plants start growing you can gradually thin them out.

Suggested Seed Starting Kits

I have learned that gardening is a continuous learning process and that expertise comes from experience, time, and patience. The same is true in matching seeds to the right growing systems. Experiment with these different seed starting kits to find the one that works best for you and the plants you choose.

GrowEase Self Watering Seed Starter Kit

These environmentally friendly plastic pots from GrowEase are 100% recycled, but they are also heavy duty. I love that this seed starter kit is designed with a self-watering system that prevents over and under watering. This makes seed starting SO MUCH EASIER, especially for beginners!

AeroGarden LED Grow Light Panel

This artificial lighting panel will help nurture your plants to grow with the right amount of light and warmth. This light panel comes with a stand and hanging kit that fits most standard size seed starting trays. This light panel uses a 45-Watt LED which makes it energy efficient, so the lights can last for up to 30,000 hours!

KORAM Seedling Starter Tray Kit with Dome and Base

This kit is a little mini greenhouse for your seeds. This tray comes with a dome that controls humidity. This helps to reduce water evaporation and keep the soil moist. The base tray also provides the seeds with warmth and maintains moisture levels in the plant bed.

Indoor Grow Light 3-Tier Stand with Plant Trays

This compact 3-level light stand is perfect for starting seeds indoors. The plants are lit and heated and the lights can be adjusted to the correct height above the plants. I also love that this product made here in the United States!

Jiffy 42mm Professional Greenhouse 25-Plant Starter Kit

This professional greenhouse seed starter kit is made from recyclable plastic which is awesome and eco-friendly! Most importantly, the 25-cell count allows you to grow variety of seedlings. It is great for starting tomatoes and other vegetables indoors.

Big things come in small packages, or so they say. Do you use a seed starting kit? If so, which seed starting kits do you recommend?

So the Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays! I love celebrating our country and I love all of the fun activities that happen leading up to the Fourth of July!

Sometimes it can be a little bit overwhelming to figure out what to do with your kids on holidays. When I was growing up my family and I would spend so much time trying to decide what we wanted to do that by the time we chose an activity, the day was almost over.

So I decided to create a list of fun activities that you can do with your kids this Fourth of July.

Make some Fourth of July Treats

I’ll admit it. I love making holiday themed treats. And it’s a great excuse for me to make my favorite treats, so mom can get a little snack.

I think making fun Fourth of July treats with the kids is a fun way to spend some time together and teach your kids more about cooking and baking! If you’re making cupcakes with red, white, and blue icing (my personal favorite) I also recommend that you make your own food dye for your projects!

My personal favorite treat to make with kids is 4th of July ice cream sandwiches with sprinklers. This treat is easy and kids love it! All you need to do is get some red, white, and blue sprinklers and sprinkle them over your ice cream sandwich. Carefully push the sprinklers into the ice cream and then put them back in the freezer on a cookie tray for a couple minutes. I love how easy and festive this treat is!

Popsicles are my favorite, especially for hot summer days. So I love these homemade coconut berry popsicles. This recipe is super easy to make and your kids can help you add the berries into the popsicle mold!

If you’re going for a healthier option you can also make star shaped watermelon pops. For some reason every kid I know loves using cookie cutters. So this recipe will be a definite hit with the kids. All you need to do is slice a watermelon into large rounds. Then using a star shaped cookie cutter you can have your kids cut out star shapes. And you have an easy, fun, and healthy Fourth of July treat.

Do some DIY face paint

So getting your face painted at the fair was a classic activity as a kid. But it’s actually kind of expensive sometimes. And honestly, sometimes I don’t want to brave the hoards of people at the local fair just so I can get my kids’ faces painted.

Doing face paint yourself isn’t that difficult. Honestly, your kids will just be thrilled they got their faces painted. They probably won’t notice or care that their face isn’t a perfect masterpiece. Check out this awesome homemade face paint recipe that is non toxic! Or if you’re not into making your own here’s some great non toxic face paint you can buy!

Make Balloon Fireworks

Do you live in an area where fireworks are banned? Check out this awesome tutorial for making DIY Balloon Fireworks. Your kids will love them and they’re cheap and easy to make!

Shaving Cream Fireworks

Ok, so I love this idea. All you need is some shaving cream and food dye and your kids will be thrilled for hours. Keep in mind though this project could get pretty messy, so I would make sure you do it outside.

DIY Fourth of July Paper Lanterns

So I love these cute Fourth of July Paper Lanterns. They are really easy for kids to make (all you have to do is fold a piece of paper in half and makes cuts in it) and they are so cute! Your kids can help you make these fun decorations for your Fourth of July barbecue.

DIY Patriotic Kids Blower

This idea is so fun! You get toilet paper rolls, wrap them in card stock, and then attach streamers to one end. Then your kids can blow through the toilet paper roll and fun ensues! These would be a great craft for your kids to take to a Fourth of July parade.

Go to a parade

So this one is a classic, but kids love parades! They get free candy and get to see beautiful floats!

DIY Parade

So when I was a kid, there were definitely a couple of Fourth of Julys where my mom did not want to go out and deal with the thousands of people at the parade. So she would go to the store and buy taffy and throw it to us, so we got our parade thrill. Parenting win.

Chalk the walk

So if your looking for a simple, at home activity for you and the kids try doing a chalk the walk. Give each child some chalk and try to fill your entire driveway with chalk drawings!

Make a stock tank pool!

This is the good ol’ redneck version of a home pool. I have an entire list of DIY stock tank pool plans and ideas that you can use to create a stock tank pool for you kids on the Fourth of July.

Water Balloon Dodgeball

There’s nothing better than a water balloon fight on a hot summer day. Blow up a bunch of water balloons and have a water balloon fight! As a kid we would play a game where you divided up into teams of two and each held one end of a towel. You then had to throw the water balloon back and forth between teams and try to catch it in your towel without it popping! It was a fun (and wet) activity that was perfect for the Fourth of July. Check out these water balloon fillers that will make filling hundreds of water balloons up a breeze.

Watch an outdoor movie

I love this idea! All you need is a white sheet and a projector and you can watch a movie outside! We have a fence in our backyard that we drape the sheet over, but you could also tape it to the side of your house! Check out this great projector that has great reviews, and is affordable!

Create Fourth of July Exploding Pop Rockets

So these exploding pop rockets are a fun and simple science experiment that you can do with your kids on the Fourth of July. Your kids will love these fun rockets that “blast off” using antacid tablets.

Fourth of July Tin Can Windsock

These super easy windsocks are a fun and easy craft for the Fourth of July!

Patriotic Bean Bag Toss

For this project all you need are a couple of tin cans and some red, white, and blue paper. Have your kids decorate each can with the paper and then stack them in a pyramid and play some bean bag toss!

Get a water slide

Water slides are a great way to cool down on a hot summer day!

Have a bike parade

Don’t want to face the crowds at the parade in your town? Me either. I love the idea of having your kids decorate their bikes and doing a bike parade through your neighborhood!!! You could even give them candy to throw out (to you of course)

Patriotic Scavenger Hunt

Check out this free printable patriotic scavenger hunt! This is a great way to help remind your kids of the importance of this holiday!

What fun activities have you done with your kids on the Fourth of July! Share them with me!

Raising chickens can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want to make it. These 10 frugal feeds and chicken water feeder hacks are easy – and we’ve used them on our farm to help our flock (and our wallets) be healthier!

When it comes to raising chickens, I definitely think cutting corners is a bad idea – it puts your flock’s health at risk and might harm them in the end.

But that DOESN’T mean you have to spend a million bucks on your hens. So, in this article, I’m going to show you 10 inexpensive hacks that will help your chickens be healthier AND that chickens love!

(Need a chicken feeder? Here’s the brands we recommend)

Raise your own mealworms and black soldier fly larvae as frugal feeds

Raising mealworms is easy. Mealworms are the larvae of the darkling beetle – and raising them doesn’t take much space or investment.

In this article about raising mealworms for chickens, I show you step-by-step how to raise them in a dark, quiet corner of your farm. And chickens (especially my silkies and brahmas) love them!

Raising black soldier fly larvae is another option. Black soldier fly larvae are extremely healthy for chickens – with lots of protein and calcium, they’ll help your flock lay better eggs, grow beautiful feathers, and more!

Here’s my best article about black soldier fly larvae for chickens if you want more information.

Grow a garden with herbs and greens in spring

We all know fresh is better – and nothing is better than fresh food for your hens! One way we save some money on chicken feed and provide the flock with some healthy snacks is by devoting a corner of our garden to growing herbs and greens such as lettuce, kale, spinach and more for our flock.

Herbs are wonderful – they have way too many uses in the coop for me to list here. Everything from helping your hens lay better to being healthier!

Here’s some ideas about how to grow your own frugal feeds with herbs and greens:

How to get started with herbs for hens

10 herbs for backyard chickens

How to grow greens for your chickens

Build your own automatic chicken feeder in 15 minutes and under $12

This is truly one of those genius ideas that takes just minutes but can be a lifesaver for your flock, especially on those super hot days!

Water is critical for your flock to stay healthy – chickens have a higher body temperature than humans, and feel the heat more than we do. Every day, you should double check (and during the summer, check several times a day) that your flock has free access to water.

This water is also easy to clean – just be sure to use a food-safe plastic bucket. If you have extra buckets hanging around, then you can easily use this hack!

My full plans to build an automatic waterer for under $12 are right here.

If you don’t want to make one, you can check out our review of the 7 best feeders on Amazon here.

Stop waste by building a frugal PVC feeder

PVC feeders are pretty popular – you can just drill some chicken-sized holes in a PVC pipe to stop your flock from throwing their feed everywhere.

This also will help keep mice and other critters out of the coop, since they won’t be attracted by the grain everywhere.

You can use these plans – and it should only cost you a few bucks.

Grow frugal feeds by sprouting fodder for chickens

Sprouting fodder is really easy – and I suggest only using seeds such as wheat and barley. If you don’t know what it is, fodder is simply seeds that have been sprouted into grass.

Seeds such as sunflower seeds, etc are great for sprouting – but fodder takes it to the next level by producing an actual grass.

Chickens LOVE it – they get the benefit of the nutrients from both the seeds and the grass. Your wallet will love it too, because while you’ll have to pay for the seeds, you’ll be maximizing your investment by quadrupling the nutritional benefit of the seeds!

You can read my growing fodder for chickens tutorial here.

Keep your chicken water feeder clean with apple cider vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is wonderful for your chickens! If you’ve never made it, you can download my “How to make apple cider vinegar” video here.

It can help keep your waterer clean because it introduces beneficial bacteria – and it’s great for your flock’s digestive system!

In the winter, you can add it to their water daily (and if you have chicks, you can add it to their water too!). In the summer, if you’re concerned about the vinegar dehydrating your chickens, you can limit it to once or twice a week.

Buy grain in bulk

One of my favorite frugal feeds hacks is to buy grain for your chickens in bulk – we’ve been able to save SO MUCh doing this, and we can get all non-GMO feeds this way.

The best way to do this is to contact grain manufacturers in your area.

Scramble eggs with fresh herbs as healthy & frugal feeds

If money is REALLY short one week, you can always scramble your flock’s eggs for them to eat. It’s not weird and it’s not cannibalism – eggs are full of protein, and chickens love them!

The shells also contain calcium, which will help your flock lay great eggs with strong eggshells.

Mix them with herbs from your garden to make them even healthier (try oregano), and (I promise) your flock will go BANANAS for them!!

Just be sure to add the fresh herbs AFTER the eggs have been cooked to preserve the essential oils in them!

Make your own frugal feeds with this recipe

Yes, you CAN make your own chicken feed! And in this organic chicken feed recipe, I show you just how to do it!

You will have to buy all the individual ingredients, so it’s a bit of a process, but especially if you can find a bulk supplier, you can save quite a bit!

If you don’t have time to make your own feed, then you can always try to buy non-GMO feed in bulk from a grain manufacturer (see above).

Add garlic to your chicken’s water feeder to boost their immune systems

If one of your goals is to save money when raising chickens, then making sure they stay healthy is important. Everytime you bring them to the vet, your care bill increases!

One thing you can do yourself is try to boost your flock’s immune system, and garlic is a great way to do it!

You can use garlic granules (which we sell in the store here) or simply chop fresh garlic and add it to their water. The essential oils – allicin – in garlic has been shown in studies to improve immune systems.

Plus, chickens love them!

You can start by adding garlic to your chicken’s water feeder once a week and make sure they’re drinking it. Go with 1 clove per gallon of water.

So chickens LOVE herbs. Seriously. They LOVE them!

And not only do chickens love them, but they’re also really good for them too! They’re also perfect to feed for great eggs. So that’s a huge win-win!

I try and incorporate herbs into my chickens’ diet in as many ways as I can. I use herbs in my chickens’ nesting boxes (check out my nesting box herbs in the store here) and they’re a great accompaniment to a great organic layer feed.

So why are herbs so important for your chickens health? Well, herbs can provide nutrition and health benefits that chickens that supplement what they get from their normal feed.

While you can provide their regular grain in a chicken feeder, life is more fun with a DIY herb pot.

One of my favorite herbs to use for chickens is oregano.

Oregano has amazing properties (some studies on chickens have shown that after feeding oregano, chickens were healthier, laid better, and weighed more – an important factor in determining health.)

I use dried and fresh oregano and provide them for the chickens in their nesting boxes because it also helps promote cleanliness.

Chickens love to pick at the herbs, and providing them can also give them environmental enrichment – an important step in reducing boredom and negative behaviors!

I also love using peppermint in my chicken coop because it smells AMAZING, and it stimulates laying.

I also use peppermint in my recipe for natural fly repellent and it does a great job of keeping flies away from me and from my chickens!

Peppermint can keep insects such as mites and flies away, and is great for soothing tiny tummies. (You can buy dried peppermint in the store here.)

Peppermint also might help reduce any respiratory issues because of the strong scent.

Sage is another healthy herb for hens!

Sage is wonderful for hens, and studies show it might help reduce internal parasites.

Like oregano, chickens love to peck at sage, and find the scent soothing – and it’ll make your coop smell amazing too!

Because herbs are so amazing for chickens and ducks, I decided to create a DIY herb pot for your chickens that you can put in their run!

It’s a great way to add some environmental activities for your chickens, and it looks super cute! Watch the video below to learn how I created this herb pot.

So this project is SO EASY! I love that it’s an fun project, but it also can really help your chickens get the nutrition they need! Plus having environmental activities for your chickens to do can help to prevent negative behaviors.

So here’s how I made this DIY Herb Pot for my chickens

All you need is:

3 herb plants (I used peppermint, sage, and oregano because of their nutritional benefits for chickens)
One small pot
Extra potting soil

And that’s it! All you need to do is place your herbs inside of your pot or teacup and then fill in the empty spaces with the extra potting soil!

I used a super cute coffee cup pot for this project – it’s a great, useful accent piece, and – confession time – I love that it has the handle! It makes it so easy to move it around the coop and away from nibbling goats.

One thing to be sure of – no matter the pot you choose, be sure it has a hole in the bottom for drainage!

Also make sure you give each plant it’s fair share of space – and be sure to keep it watered regularly, and add compost tea as needed.

You can also use rabbit manure or worm compost to keep the herbs healthy.

This is an amazing easy project to help your chickens (and ducks! The ducks LOVE this herb pot!) be healthy and to provide them with some environmental interest.

Do you have any easy projects you’ve done to help your chickens? I’d love to hear about them! Let me know in the comments below what you have done for your chickens to help them be healthier!

Who doesn’t love a cute coop? I do, and I know you do!

This time of year, everyone’s getting chicks, and as the chicks move from the brooder, you’ll realize something: You need a coop! If you’re like me, and leave everything until the last minute, then you’ll love what we have in store for you!

This week, we’re kicking off a new series – Adorable Coops!

Each week, we’ll share the cutest coops we’ve found – and I’m certain you’ll be inspired by them!

Here’s this week’s grab bag – have fun! And if YOU have a coop you’d like us to feature, then email me at [email protected] for your chance to be featured!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeD5QB6FWR5/?taken-by=callie_richardson1

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiUiw13AsIB/?tagged=chickencoop

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUhvdiTADA2/?tagged=chickencoops

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUCPqLoleqZ/?tagged=chickencoops

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiIGYcuAVDC/?tagged=chickencoop

Memorial Day is a holiday that often gets pushed to the back of our minds.

With the school year ending and summer just around the corner it can be difficult for many of us to recognize how great this holiday really is. Today I wanted to share some of my ideas for some meaningful activities you could do this Memorial Day.

So what is Memorial Day? And what is it all about?

Memorial Day originally began after the Civil War. Then it was known as Decoration Day. Individuals would gather to decorate the graves of those who had died in conflict. Eventually the tradition got bigger and it was declared a national holiday in 1971. If you want more information about Memorial Day check out this article!

Memorial Day is when we honor those service members who have died in the service of our country. It has also (unofficially) become a day when many family members go to graves of their loved ones to honor them.

There are tons of fun things you can do to spend this extra day off. But I wanted to share some ideas of more meaningful activities that you could do this Memorial Day.

Create care packages for deployed troops

I love the idea of compiling a care package for deployed troops on Memorial Day. You can collect needed items and send them to organizations such as Support Our Troops. You can go to their website here and see the list of needed items. Then all you need to do is ship your items to Support Our Troops and they will send it where it needs to go. You could have your kids help you pick out items and have them handwrite a note or draw a picture to include in the package.

Help out at a local cemetery

Often city cemeteries need a little bit of extra help cleaning up. Many of the city cemeteries in my area rely on volunteers for major clean up projects and yard care. Ask you local city cemetery if they need volunteers to help with cemetery maintenance. I think this is a great way to spend the day helping to honor those who have died.

Flag Placement

Many (if not all) cemeteries place flags on veterans graves for Memorial Day and they often need some extra help to do it! You can call your local cemetery or veterans association and see if they need any help placing flags.

Cemetery Scavenger Hunt

Ok so maybe you think this is a little bit creepy, but I think a great way to learn more about history and appreciate those who have passed on is to learn more about them. And a cemetery scavenger hunt is a fun way for kids to do that! Make sure you set clear rules for your children to be respectful of the cemetery and visitors as they do this activity. Check out this blog post for a scavenger hunt sheet you can print for your kids.

Learn about your family

If you have living grandparents or parents give them a call! You can try and create a family tree that includes all of the names of your ancestors who have passed on. You can also check out ancestry.com and search their records. Keep in mind that while ancestry.com has a free two week trial if you forget to cancel it, it can be pretty expensive!

Spend time with your family!

Have that amazing Memorial Day BBQ. Personally I don’t think there’s a better way that we can celebrate this holiday than to spend it with the people that we love! Invite your family, neighbors, and friends over for a BBQ and enjoy the day! And don’t forget to remember those service members who sacrificed everything to make it possible for you to celebrate with your loved ones.

Do you have any more ideas of inspirational things to do for Memorial Day? I would love to hear them! Share them in the comments below!

Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history