Moving to a New Website!

Hey everyone!

I've decided to move my blog over to another spot.

You can find me easily by clicking:

The Happy DIY Home!

Thanks for reading, and see ya on the other side!

How Many Eggs Do Chickens Lay?

I've known for a while now that I wanted chickens and ducks. The want became significantly stronger lately. Maybe because we finally have room.

I never gave much thought to which breeds would potentially work best, until I started researching how many eggs chickens lay.

Well if you've done this search, you will realize that not all breeds lay the same amount. I even found some links that would tell me about how many eggs to expect per year, and their temperament. Perfect!

Of course, after I made my list, I talked to several folks who also have or had chickens. The one thing they all said was that you can't always base temperament on the breed.

Well there goes my list. Mostly.

If you've read my other post, Chickies & Ducklings, Oh My!, you will know that I found my chicks locally.

As of right now, I have Brahma, Golden Laced Wyandotte, Plymouth Rock (presumably Barred), and Rhode Island Red. I've included pictures of a few of mine in their cute chick stage, and an idea of how many eggs per year we can expect.

Another thing to remember: eggs take 26 hours for your chickens to make! Regardless of the breed, don't expect a half dozen a day per lady. You will be greatly disappointed!


You can easily pick out my Rhode Island Reds in the next two pictures. Rhode Island Reds I have read can be bossy, but hardy and great egg layers. We'll see about the temperament, but I can expect 250-260 eggs per year from Rhode Island Reds.

I have several dark chicks as well. The chicks that have white patches on their heads are Plymouth Rocks, and the others are Golden Laced Wyandottes.

Plymouth Rocks lay around 200 - 280, per year. I can even expect them to be laying in the winter, and we live in Wisconsin, so that is a bonus!

The Golden Laced Wyandottes lay around 200 per year, but can also be raised as meat chickens. However, I see myself just going for eggs.

You will also see about 4 chicks in these pictures that look quite a bit younger, and fluffier. These are my Brahmas, and my babies of the bunch (for now). I fully expect them to be the big ladies of the group, as time goes on.

Brahmas also lay closer to 200 eggs per year, but do their laying in the cooler temps, when my other ladies will be on vacation.

My last picture here is again of one of my Wyandottes. I don't have a whole lot of pictures of the Wyandottes solo, so I thought this was a good time to sneak one in!

Has your list of chickens changed after reading this? Are you just now compiling one? Or, do you have a "gotta have" breed I didn't mention here?

Can I Feed Chicks (Sprouted) Lentils?

So, as you may already know, WE HAVE BABY CHICKS AND DUCKLINGS!!!

I started them off with feed from Tractor Supply. I even bought a 20 pound bag, and realized they could potentially go through that very quickly. Maybe not the chicks, but add the ducklings to that, and my feed goes quite a bit more quickly.

I did some pantry browsing, and found myself wondering:

CAN I FEED MY CHICKS LENTILS?

So I started searching on what I could give them, and I found a LOT, including foods we already know we like. Sharing food with them feels like I don't spend anything extra to feed the little buggers.

So day one of introducing new food was not actually lentils.

I started with a blend of cabbage, kale, and brussel sprouts. They loved it! But I think they ate their veggies faster than their feed.

I also came across some articles that referenced making fermented feed. Fermenting the feed fills them up more, and gives them more vitamins.

Filling them up was definitely something that appealed to me, and a couple things that I had on hand were bulgur and sprouted lentils.

I started with just the bulgur, and after several successful feedings, I decided to mix a batch of half lentils and half bulgur.

What you want to do is simply mix equal parts solid with water. So I mixed 1 cup of bulgur, 1 cup of lentils, and 2 cups of water.

I leave them to sit in a bowl or tupperware, and stir intermittently. When I don't see any liquid in the dish, I spoon it into their dishes. You don't need to let it sit very long. Anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours - it probably also will depend on the humidity level of your home.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like when I give them the bulgur and or lentils, they are happier to see me. The ducklings certainly have nibbles waiting for me each time I visit.

Aside from the chicks and the ducklings loving their homemade feed, it's also great for them. Bulgur contains protein, magnesium, manganese, iron, and B6. Sprouted lentils contain vitamin C, potassium, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin. These are all nutrients that are good for your chickens, and nutrients you want in your eggs!

Have you fed your chickens sprouted lentils or bulgur?

Do you use a different method?

I would love to hear from you!

Chickies & Ducklings, Oh My!

Alright it's been a while, but I'm so happy to say that after years of wanting some of my very own, I bought some chicks!
Then two days later, I bought ducklings.
Then I kept buying more of each until I sit at 6 ducklings and 8 chicks.
I am in love.
After doing some research, I came up with a list of chicken breeds I'd like to have, based on the amount of eggs they're known to lay (I want enough to feed us, and have some leftover to share or sell).
I decided to go to my local Tractor Supply and see just what kind of supplies I could find there for when I DO have chickens.
Wouldn't you know? They had actual chicks there and ducklings.
I'll take 4.
Well I loved my chicks so much, I had to have ducklings. ...and so the story goes.
As I mentioned earlier, that's 14 in total. I actually have no idea what ducklings I have yet (though the most common are Peking, and I may have Runners). Time will tell.
My chicks on the other hand, well, I have 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Wyandotte, and 4 Plymouth Rocks.
You'll know which are my Plymouth Rocks based on the white spots on their head. Cuteness. Overload.
So before I delve into feeding, brooding, and the likes, I just wanted to take a moment to brag about my sweet little babies.
'Til next time! Enjoy the cuteness!
Rhode Island Reds:

Wyandotte:

I had the most fun with the Plymouth Rock chicks. Just so content to hang out!

And last but not least, yep! A box of ducks! I was cleaning out their house and plopped them in a nearby box. Photo opp? Indeed.

Yummy 3 Ingredient Strawberry Jam Recipe

It's summer time and we're hopefully starting our first strawberries this year!

I say hopefully because we purchased a pack of strawberry roots that were guaranteed to grow, and didn't. So I plucked several seeds from an actual strawberry and I hope they germinate soon.

I love this recipe so much that I hope we get to make this jam every year with our own strawberries!

This recipe is super simple. It's only 3 ingredients: strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice.

More specifically:
About 2 quarts strawberries
2 1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice

I like to use strawberries that are super ripe - too mushy to eat, but not molding. I used 2 pint jars, and one half pint (jelly jar).

I washed my jars and put my lids and rings in a saucepan of soapy water. You want them hot, but not boiling. Once you get your lids going, you can start on the strawberries.

Remove the green stems and core the fruit. I also cut them open to make sure they're not starting to mold. This is a good time to harvest seeds as well.

Place your strawberries in a large pot. Once they're all cored, mash them with a potato masher. This will give you a nice chunky jam in the end.

Mix in your sugar and stir. Let this sit for about 2 hours.

Then slowly bring your goo to a boil, about on the medium setting. Once you've had it boiling a few minutes, turn up the heat to high, and boil about 5 minutes more.

Slowly add your half cup of lemon juice. It makes a fun hissing sound. :) Stir and boil 5 more minutes.

Now remove your pot from the heat, and spoon your jam into the jars, carefully.

Once they're full (leave an inch of room or so), wipe the neck very nicely so you get a good seal. Add your lids, then place your jars in water. Place your lid, and boil for about 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, remove from heat, and set these aside to cool.

The smaller the jar, the sooner you hear the pop to know they've sealed. It can take 1-2 hours for the jelly jars, and longer as your sizes go up.

Enjoy your jam on toast, crumpets, english muffins, pancakes, and more!

Garlic Dill Egg Salad Recipe

I absolutely love a cool egg salad in the summer time! Although it's only April, I was ready for an egg salad concoction today!

If you grow your own herbs, and have your own egg laying chickens, you may appreciate this the most. Maybe not.

Either way, this recipe is simple and delicious. Even better, you can adjust everything to your own personal taste.

Let's get started!

You'll need:

Large Mixing Bowl
1 Dozen Hard Boiled Eggs
2 t dill (fresh is best, but I'm using what's in the pantry first)
1 t garlic greens (sprouts/scapes/new leaves)
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 t sugar (optional)

Place all your hard boiled eggs in a large bowl. Add dill, garlic greens, mayo, and sugar (if desired). Mash well, and chill.

Serve on homemade bread as a sandwich, or on an english muffin. You can even eat as is if you'd prefer a low carb option!

Removing Tarnish with Pantry Ingredients

The other day, I had a real itch to go thrifting. I love finding wood items I can repurpose, or "shabby chic them up." That's not a real term, but in actuality, how I talk.

So anyway, I ended up at my local Goodwill, and my most favorite pieces were metal, not wood at all! I found a lovely little tray and cup/goblet. They both had clear signs of tarnish, so I knew I had a project!

I heard I could remove this yucky tarnish from silver with aluminum foil and baking soda. The cup is brass, or something like that, so I didn't know if it would work the same.

I did forget to take a picture of the cup "before" but it did work some on this metal.

First I lined the bottom of our kitchen sink with aluminum foil. Next, I boiled several pots of water and poured it over the aluminum foil. You need enough water to cover your items, so if you're only doing silverware, less water is fine.

I placed my items in the water, and shook baking soda over the top. They immediately began fizzing. I noticed a stinky rotten egg smell also. Yay, Science!

Now I would recommend turning on an exhaust fan instead of opening a window. The fan helps with the stench, and doesn't cool down the water in the process (you need it HOT).

When you've added more baking soda, and it just doesn't fizz, you're done. Let your items cool a bit, gently wash off the excess baking soda, and rub them dry.

If you've tried this method, I'd love to hear your tips or thoughts!