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.