How To Feed Our Little Hen House On The Prairie

My dear friends,

How are you on this lovely beautiful day? It's tea time, my sweet friends. I made some banana bread to accompany our tea today. You're going to love it. I tried a new recipe this time, It's one with brown sugar.

As many of you know, I had wanted hens all of my life, and I can happily say, I love having chicken ladies. They are a year and a half now. My mother grew up on a chicken farm, as that was her gentries livelihood. I am learning every day that despite all the things I'm sure my mother knows about farming and chickens, I am continually researching for myself. I try and emulate the olden ways of homesteading. The Victorian era is my end all to beat all. (smile)

A few weeks ago, I noticed my hens weren't laying their high-quality eggs, and even on a few of those days, there was not one egg in the nesting boxes. That had never happened before. The next day, I noticed two eggs were laid but had no shell at all. I began to google what was transpiring, and soon realised it had to do with my little ladies not having enough calcium in their diet.

I went to my Victorian books and decided to use the method from back in the good ole' days. In the Victorian era and previously, the farmers would feed their chickens their own eggshells. Eggshells have a wealth of calcium in them~so, why not? It saves a wee bit of money from having to buy a calcium supplement, but honestly, I do it more for the homesteading element. I had been placing the ladies eggshells in the abundant compost along with the other compost. However, I changed it up a bit.

I went online and found this tiny fox run $10.00 {link here if you'd like to get one for yourself} ceramic compost bin and we now keep it on the counter. We place ONLY the eggshells in it, and after it fills up, I prepare the shells for my little ladies.

How to prepare the eggshells: I gently rinse the egg right before I use it, and then lay the eggshell out onto a paper towel to dry. If you skip this step, the eggshells will begin to smell. After they have dried, I then toss them into the compost bin. Once you have collected a container full of shells, remove them and spread them out onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes on 300 degrees.

When they come out of the oven, I then hand crush them with my mortar and pestle. I grind mine up super fine, so the girls will eat them. Some chickens may be a bit more finicky than the others, so if they are so finely crushed, they are eating them and really don't even know it. I add them to their food, or to their scraps.

Some folks say to feed it to them in a separate container; however,  I just throw it in their scraps, and for my girls, it's worked perfectly.

It took me decades to finally have my very own chickens, so I take such good care of my little ladies. They are so special to me. They are so unique, in fact, that I am currently writing my next childrens book {The Tale Of Henny~Penny Goody Two~Shoes} about them. Have you signed up for my newsletter, " The Current?"

It'll keep you abreast of all my potterings, so please do sign up. I pinky promise I would dare never bombard you with copious emails. I only send them about important things; such as book launches, preordering books, book tours, and mermaid author readings.

Have you picked up my first storybook, "The Tale Of Merrymaid Scarlette Rose?" It is a children's story of a mischievous little mermaid who gets lost in Mr Sir Barbarics water garden. It is very derivative of The Tale Of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter. My story even has my cottage bunny, Sir Oliver Twisty Topsy, in it. If you are seeking an Easter gift, my little story would be a great basket gift for any small child.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy, here's the link. 

These are some of my lovely collections of Victorian books for the cottage kitchen. Take me away to the Victorian era, I could be as happy as a lark on a summery day living in that era. I also love that my hero, Beatrix Potter, was a Victorian child.

Do you have chickens? Have you ever wanted chickens? If so, how do you supplement their calcium?

I shall write again soon. 

Most affably yours til my next swim, Raquelxxx