We took a nice daytrip to find more fresh produce for our little chicken farm and came across a pure gem. Naturally, our vegetables, seed and feed must be organic, and we were lucky enough to find the Wayward Seed Farm. Located in Marysville, Ohio, near the state capital of Columbus, the Wayward Seed Farm is an organic-method farm that is changing the way many Ohioans purchase fresh produce. Subscriptions can be bought for magazines and movie rental services, so why not use the same principle and apply it to organic farming?

The Wayward Seed latched onto this idea, and is now offering Ohioans weekly drop-offs of fresh produce for a flat rate. The concept is simple: Purchase your vegetables in the winter, enjoy them in the summer when the crops are ready and they are delivered. No longer will you have to worry about the rising costs of supermarket produce, and you’ll benefit from a healthy, fresh lifestyle.

Besides fruits and veggies, The Wayward Seed also has delicious herbs that are home-grown on the farm. Their herbs add a delicious, savory aspect to any meals. What a perfect way to add flavor without dumping in extra salt.

The Wayward Seed refuses any use of petrochemicals or pesticides in its operation, and ensure that all plants are given a healthy feeding of seaweed, fish emulsion and humus. Aged compost is applied at certain times during the year to encourage microorganism growth in the soil, which benefits the crop. Quite simply, the Wayward Seed’s Columbus fresh produce is better than any in the region.

Here was the plan for this weekend: Find a site that offered us the best chicken coop plan which fit our budget and also fit the space in my backyard.

So I chose a plan that allowed for me to use my limited budget, limited tools and of course limited knowledge in building and carpentry. So I found a site that I just knew would help me build. It not only came with a manual I could print and take into the yard but it also had online videos to watch when I got stuck. Yes, I got stuck but not due to the manuals, basically due to my limited expertise. So it was really nice that I could simply go to the membership portion of the site and click on a video and see what I had missed in the manual.

It was also helpful that I could have my laptop on my deck and review everything without having to go in the house. Going in the house meant having to remove my shoes and try to get comfy while I read or watched the video. This was no time to get comfy!

Looking through all of the major plans some really stuck out more than others. You could easily tell which applications were BS (excuse my French). But some of these sites were simply garbage and really only tried to push a product. Not like MakeACoopOnline.com, they really went the extra mile to help novices like me and Margaret. Once we paid we got access to the manual (lots to print!) and also access to all the great instructional videos on building our chicken coop.

So, there you have it. We looked at 10 different sites and then narrowed it down to 2 or 3. When it came time to finmalize our purchase we based it on:

1. Ease of use
2. Amount $$
3. What it came with
4. Assistance if we got stuck (didn’t even need this!)

In the next article I am going to write about how we picked our chickens and the ensuing chase down the street to reclaim them after they got loose.

Helen.

www.chickensking.com

There are hundreds of different designs available for your chicken coop but only one will fit your plot of land. If you’re looking to build a chicken coop the timing couldn’t be any better. With the onset of fall into winter, chickens will have an easier time acclimating themselves to their new roost. You in turn will get fresh eggs and save yourself a few dollars per week. As well, if your neighbors are like mine they are always banging on my door to “borrow” an egg or two. I also get the neighborhood kids that love to come and feed my girls. Most of you are wondering how I got started and some have even asked if I built the coop myself. The answer to both questions is a hearty “yes!”.

I saw a news report one afternoon about an egg producer in my state that had been reclaiming eggs, stamping new dates on the cardboard and placing old eggs into new containers. Looking in my fridge I realized I had purchased from this egg producer. Sickened I went online to find an alternative to buying from someone I didn’t know and was supposed to trust. I came upon a site selling plans to build a chicken coop and I actually passed on reading most of it as I didn’t think I could build my own chicken coop.

It wasn’t until the next day I began to get a batter together for our ladies auxiliary meeting. A simple cake to feed 20 women – no problem I can have a cake ready in a couple of hours.. when I reached for the egg container it hit me.

I couldn’t use the eggs I had on hand. Now what? Off to the store I went and purchased some organic eggs – claiming to be from free range chickens. I found out later what “free range” really meant. I could have saved myself a dollar buying factory eggs, and of course I could have saved myself $3.29 if I had my own chickens…  Anyhow – cake completed I was off to my meeting.

While at the meeting I was talking with another woman about the egg problem and she too confessed she always wanted a couple of chickens in the yard – but she didn’t have the first idea on how to do it. I told her I had seen a website offering tips and plans so we struck a deal. She would buy the chickens and feed if I would buy the manual and material to build a chicken coop.

More to report in the next blog about what we did to get started and the fiasco that ensued.