Four Leaf Clover Farms

Naturally, laying hens need calcium supplementation in their diets in order to stay healthy and produce eggs with strong shells. Any commercial feed on the market for laying hens will have extra calcium, but chickens who lay a lot of eggs will need more calcium supplementation. The feed stores all sell oyster shell crumbles to fulfil this need; however, our chickens don't love the oyster shell pieces. Maybe they're too hard, too big or just taste bad? Whatever the case may be, we offer an additional solution for our flock. 

Any time we use an egg, we clean it gently and set it on the dish rack for a little while. Once dry, we crumble it up into a jar for safekeeping. Then, any time we feel the hens need a little boost of calcium we sprinkle some from the jar. They are really good at managing their calcium needs and only take it if they need it.

Also, we like to hard-boil some eggs every week or so (using our Insta-pot). We remove the shells from the cooked eggs while they're still warm and put the pieces in a container in the fridge. These go to the hens as more of a treat as they especially like the cooked pieces which also tend to have some bits of cooked egg attached here and there. 

There is a lot of discussion on the web about using the "deep litter" method of caring for the coop. The coop we built doesn't facilitate this in the traditional sense, because there's no platform to layer up the bedding over time. Our coop is an "A" frame with roosting bars in the upper part and then there's the ground. At first we didn't love this design - it seemed too much architecture and wasted space for housing the birds. However, over time we've come to appreciate the fact that we can move the coop around to sit over a different patch of land once it gets mucky enough, say every few months or so. Over the course of a few years we've moved this around an area that we decided to use for a garden (that is, whichever part of the land not having the coop). This has yielded great garden soil and we didn't need to toil over managing a deep litter base, particularly the occasional task of clearing it all out to freshen things up. 

One issue we've had with this setup is that the bottom of the coop tends to get muddy (though it's not just mud...) when it rains, and it can stay muddy for a while. We didn't want to  put pine shavings in there, or anything else that would potentially interfere with the rotating garden scheme. But we found a great solution - and it was kind of by accident. One day while clearing some overgrown weeds, we happen to toss a few handfuls into the coop to cover up the mud. This was fantastic - the chickens seemed to be more comfortable (or distracted?) by all the greens, and it kept them off the wet and dirty ground. Another benefit was that the weeds we tossed into the coop would get broken down super fast due to all the trampling in the morning before opening the coop - further improving the soil consistency. It also provided a softer base for the occasional egg that would get laid in the coop (typically when we take our time letting them out!). Lastly, gathering a few weeds to toss into the coop every other day or so didn't really add any extra work that wasn't already being done (weeding!) and of course it didn't cost anything while being a very sustainable solution.

Even free-ranging chickens can use a snack from time to time. While we like to think there's plenty of tasty free-ranging insects and leaves for the birds to munch, there are benefits to providing curated treats in moderation. But first, lets talk about the treats themselves. One option is to buy the jumbo bag of mealworms or soldier flies from the store - these get expensive really fast! And we have participated in this ritual ourselves. However, there are other ways to provide a nutritious treat without breaking the bank - and it can be "fun," in a nature-adventure sort of way. 🐛🪲 Providing tasty snacks is also relationship-building as the chickens see you in an entirely different light as the treat provider. 😋

We learned early on that whenever we grab the shovel and start moving some dirt around in the garden, the chickens get very interested and attentive. Sometimes they will dart about grabbing earthworms or other various bugs that frolic in the dirt; but when a grub would get exposed it was pure pandemonium. Whichever bird would get the grub first would typically snatch it into its beak and run, run, run...with several other chickens in high pursuit. Sometimes, they manage to steal it right from another hen's mouth beak! Alas, this "train the human" exercise has taught us to go around the garden once in a while, turning some dirt and hopefully exposing some bugs and grubs. Free treats for all!

If being tasked by the chickens to dig in the dirt isn't your thing, there are other options. Do you have roses, grapes or any of the preferred settings for Japanese beetles (aka adult grubs) ? Well, we found that during beetle season, we can get a cup with a little water in it and go around the leaves where beetles are and just knock them into the cup. As soon as they are disturbed, they start falling so one has to be ready with the cup at the right leaf-egress point, but its a quick study. The beetles can't fly away from the water so they stay put in the cup. Then just dump that into a bowl for the chickens and they will ravenously consume every single one! Here's a short video of the feeding frenzy that ensued for us: https://youtube.com/shorts/PDxqh7B-_cs

One other activity we do - and this one is a kind of "teamwork" with the chickens - is to go around the yard and turn over a number of rocks where there are typically ant larvae. They are a favorite - as are the larger adults, much to our surprise (especially the reddish colored ones!). Check out this short video of the ant feast: https://youtube.com/shorts/0nvxxMmMYeo