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Equipment

Farming Equipment Names: Know What You Need

woman on tractor used as farming equipment
Chesapeake Bay Program/Flickr

Learning farming equipment names may seem trivial, but when you’re a farmer shopping at auctions, dealerships and estate sales, it’s hard to know where to begin. Knowing the names and uses of farm equipment is the basis for making a good purchase for your farm and wallet.

1. Tractor

There never was a more broad category of farming equipment than the tractor. If only choosing a tractor was as simple as choosing a color—though many farmers with brand allegiance will tell you it is.

Tractors (one of which is pictured above) are available in sizes appropriate for farmers with 1 acre up to those working 1,000 acres or more. As versatile as these pieces of farm equipment are, a tractor is a pretty common-sense purchase for small-scale farmers. You want one that has the right amount of horsepower and the right hitch rating for the work you plan to do with it. Farm Journal’s AgWeb offers a guide to determining the size of tractor you need for your farm. Hobby Farms has guides including 8 Things to Consider When Buying a Tractor and 4 Tractor Types to Consider for Your Farm

Two-Wheeled Tractor

Also known as a walk-behind tractor, this piece of farming equipment is worth consideration for the smallest-scale farm. You truly do walk behind it, as the name implies, and you can use a range of attachments: hay baler, rototiller, snow blower, bed shaper, seeder, wagon and so on.

2. ATV/UTV

All-terrain vehicles (or four-wheelers) and utility vehicles (think hefty golf carts) are really fun pieces of farming equipment, yet they’re also really handy. If you have a large property, it’s nice to have an option besides walking everywhere. ATVs and UTVs are great for hauling your harvest or equipment. They can tow small trailers, and you can get attachments for many models. (See also: 22 Attachments for Your ATV or UTV, 10 Uses for an ATV or UTV on Your Farm and If You Can’t Afford a Tractor, Use Your ATV or UTV to the Max)

3. Farm Truck

Sure, you can get by farming with your Prius or Mini, but when you need to put a goat in the hatchback, you might wish you had a truck. A host of small, midsize and full-size trucks can fit your farm’s needs. Consider whether you need to pull a trailer, make long trips, put a cap on the bed or drive it through your fields. Once you know what kind of tasks you expect your truck to perform, you can find the right size and look at the makes and models available to you.

4. Wagon

A farm “wagon” might be akin to the little red wagon you had as a kid. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it might also be a large, four-wheel wooden piece of farming equipment designed for moving hay. There are wagons at many levels in between, too, and numerous uses for wagons aside from hauling hay.

5. Backhoe

If digging is your thing, a backhoe is your tool; if you don’t plan to dig holes on a regular basis, you’d be better served to borrow or rent a backhoe rather than purchase your own. Backhoes can be purchased as separate hydraulic implements for some tractor types. According to the Louisiana State University Ag Center, most backhoe attachments are designed to dig as deep as 10 feet.

6. Front-End Loader

While backhoes look like fun, front-end loaders can be considered more useful on the small-scale farm on a regular basis. Not all tractors are equipped to handle a front-end loader, but if yours is, you can dig, move bulky items (including loose things such as soil and manure), lift heavy items and equipment, and perform some land-grading tasks.

7. Cultivator

Cultivators are used for—you probably already guessed this—soil cultivation. In particular, cultivators are used for weed control before planting into a bed, as well as incorporating crop or weed residues and preparing a seed bed. Cultivator tines can be properly spaced to be used in a garden bed or crop field after plants are growing to remove the weeds from around the plants. It takes someone with a steady hand to drive the tractor in a straight line and not hit the vegetable plants with the cultivator.

8. Cultipacker

Cultipackers are pulled behind tractors to firm seedbeds before seeding to set up your planting for good seed-to-soil contact. Following up broadcast seeding with a cultipacker pass will press the seeds into the soil.

9. Plows

There are more types of plows than you anyone cares to name. Select the right combination of plows for your farm based on your soil type, your type of crop production and the condition of the land.

  • Moldboard plows: These are most often used on land that has not been in crop production before or has been fallow for a long time. The large wings of the plow are designed to cut into and turn over all of the soil in an area.
  • Chisel Plow: This has long shanks that turn over the soil to a depth of 12 inches. Chisel plowing after applying a soil amendment can incorporate the amendment to 3 to 4 inches, and crop residues that are turned over during the plowing are concentrated in that soil depth, as well, according to Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service. Chisel plowing still leaves some crop residue on the soil surface and usually doesn’t create a seedbed that’s smooth enough to plant into—you need further soil prep for that.
  • Disk Plow: This cuts into the soil but doesn’t turn it over completely the way a moldboard plow would.

10. Harrows

Harrows are pulled behind a tractor or ATV to level the soil surface, redistribute crop residue and disturb weed germination. You can attach a harrow to another implement that’s attached to your tractor to save time and expenses by making fewer passes through your field. Harrows are also handy for breaking up manure in the pasture and smoothing out riding ring surfaces.

11. Plastic Mulch Layer

A plastic mulch layer tractor attachment is a must for large-scale farms using plasticulture growing methods. Small-scale farmers can find plastic mulch layer attachments for their walk-behind tractors and for low-horsepower tractors. A ream of plastic is mounted on the implement, discs shape the planting bed, and a series of wheels and wings lay the plastic flat along the bed.

12. Sprayers

For applying compost tea, pesticides or herbicides (organic or synthetic), a sprayer is a necessary piece of farming equipment. Backpack-size sprayers and walk-behind sprayers are hand-operated, while farmers who have several acres of crops should use a tractor- or ATV-mounted and operated sprayer.

13. Irrigation System

an irrigation system is essential farming equipment for plant growing

Your crops won’t do well without consistent watering. Unless you plan to stand in your garden or field with a hose a few nights each week, plan to get an irrigation system. This could be as simple as a soaker hose connected to your outdoor spigot or as complicated as a multi-level drip irrigation system.

14. Seed Drills

seed drills are essential farming equipment when planting large acreage

Seed drills are tractor attachments that insert seeds into the ground with minimal soil disturbance. They are most often used for row crops (such as grains), cover crops, and grasses or forage. There are no-till seed drills and traditional seed drills.

No-Till Drills

No-till drills have colter blades—a means of cutting through the existing crop residue—that create a clear path for planting seeds. Farmers.gov has good information about no-till drill options.

Traditional Seed Drills

Traditional seed drills generally require tilling or planting-area preparation before seeding because traditional seed drills do not have coulters to cut through the residue.

15. Broadcast Seeder

Broadcast seeders—also called rotary spreaders or seeders—come in many sizes, from a lawn seeder that you can carry around your neck to industrial-size seeders pulled behind the largest of tractors. The idea behind these pieces of farming equipment is all the same: As the plate inside the seeder turns, the seeds in the seeder’s hopper are distributed across an area. Each model has its own broadcast area, and this is usually adjustable. Broadcast seeders are ideal for planting cover crops, grasses and forages, but they aren’t practical for garden crops that require rows or organization.

16. Transplanter

These were long considered a tool of the large-scale farmer, but handheld transplanters are now available—in addition to the tractor-pulled transplanters—that make small-scale farmers’ lives easier. Of course, the original transplanter was the farmer’s hand, and probably everyone reading this has put plants in the ground using a spade. There are also handheld transplanters, which let you put transplants into the ground without bending over and digging in the dirt. Different models use either foot action or hand action to activate a lever inside the transplanter, which allows the plant to drop into the hole in the ground that this tool has made—no crawling required. For farmers approaching 10 acres of vegetables, a waterwheel or other tractor-pulled transplanter might be worth a look.

17. Mowers

Do you need a push-behind mower, a riding mower, a zero-turn mower, a belly-mounted mower or a pull-behind mower implement for your lawn and pastures? If you make hay, do you want a sickle-bar mower, a drum mower or a disc (also called a rotary) mower? For larger areas or wild areas, are brush mowers, batwing mowers or flail mowers right for you? As a landowner, you need at least one mower—if not a combination of mowers—among your farming equipment collection.

18. Scythe

Scythes were the world’s primary grass- or shrub-cutting tools among farm equipment until mechanization moved in. According to Penn State University, the scythe is gaining in popularity again among small-scale farmers. One swing of a scythe can cut a swath 6 feet long by 4 inches wide—not exactly the efficiency of using a mower, but maybe it’s not a piece of farming equipment that should be ruled out.

19. Sickle

Even smaller than a scythe, a sickle is a handheld cutting tool with a curved blade for harvesting or mowing. Sickles are less efficient than scythes, as far as hand-operated cutting tools go, but they can be useful in small applications.

20. Rakes

Rakes are necessary pieces of farm equipment if you make hay. Wheel rakes, parallel-bar rakes, rotary rakes and belt rakes are pulled behind a tractor, and each have advantages and disadvantages, depending on the quality of the hay-cutting job, the moisture content of the hay and the equipment-storage area available to you.

21. Balers

Three general types of hay balers exist: round balers, square balers and large square balers. These are costly investments, and with all of their moving parts, they require maintenance, so it’s important to be confident that you’ll use your baler before you write your check.

  • Round balers pick up hay from the field and roll it into round bales, then wrap it with netting or twine.
  • Square balers are available in various sizes. The right square baler for your farm depends on how much acreage you bale. You can find balers that tie bales in twine, in wire or in both. A bale thrower is an add-on that makes stacking your bales on the wagon a whole lot easier.
  • Large square balers are designed for large farms. Unless you bale hundreds of acres, standard square bales or round bales are probably better options for you.

22. Combine or Harvester

Grain farmers find they need a combine (also called a harvester) for their crops. Even with just an acre of grain crop, a combine is the most efficient means of getting it out of the field.

23. Manure Spreader

manure spreader is essential farming equipment when raising animals

Manure—everyone’s favorite farm subject—needs to be managed on every farm that includes livestock. If you don’t compost the manure or remove it from your property and you want to spread it on a field, a manure spreader is your tool.

Manure spreaders are especially popular on horse farms. Read about proper manure-spreading techniques to prevent the spread of parasites and pollution from manure runoff.

24. Hydroponics

hydroponic plant growing equiment is considered essential farming equipment

Increasing in popularity, hydroponics is the system of growing plants in water rather than in soil. Benefits are being able to grow a lot of food in a small space, using less water than soil-cultivated gardens, growing indoors and generally faster plant growth. Downsides are making major investments in hydroponics farming equipment, finding the plants that do well growing without soil, and having a learning curve of how much and what type of inputs your plants need.

There is no way to read an article and know exactly what farm equipment you need for your small-scale farm. Using this list, you can start to make your agricultural machinery wish list and start shopping around.

This article about farming equipment names and uses was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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Equipment Sponsored

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Farm & Garden Sponsored

Pigweed and Horseweed: Don’t Let the Names Fool You

Have you ever wondered where weed names come from? Not the scientific name, the common name. For instance, no one is giving much thought to Amaranthus retroflexus, but you have to wonder why it’s called pigweed? And how did Erigeron canadensis become horseweed? Is it a food thing? Do pigs love pigweed and horses love horseweed? Not exactly. Pigs will eat pigweed, but horses avoid horseweed unless it’s mixed into their hay.

The answer could be related to the edibility of the weeds though: both can be toxic to their namesakes. Pigs rarely eat enough pigweed for it to poison them, but it can happen, resulting in renal failure. Horseweed can be toxic to a horse, especially when ingested in large amounts. It contains an enzyme that breaks down vitamin B1 in the body, which helps to turn food into energy and strengthens the immune system.

The two weeds share another thing in common: resistance. Horseweed was one of the first weeds in the U.S. to be found developing a resistance to glyphosate, and pigweed wasn’t far behind. Enter LV MAX Fast-Acting Weed Killer from Gordon’s®. LV MAX controls more than 90 broadleaf weeds, including ground ivy, thistle, bindweed, and of course, horseweed and pigweed. It’s labeled for use in lawns, pastures, and non-cropland areas, and LV MAX delivers visible results in as little as six hours.

 

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Sponsored

Keeping Backyard Chickens Thriving in the Fall with 16% Homestead Layer Feed

As the leaves begin to change and the cool air settles in, backyard poultry enthusiasts know that the care regimen for their feathered friends needs a seasonal adjustment. Fall brings about challenges such as cooler temperatures, less daylight, and preparing your flock for the winter months ahead. One of the keys to maintaining a healthy, happy flock during this transitional period is with proper nutrition, notably through a diet like the 16% protein Homestead Layer Feed. Let’s explore how to keep your backyard hens flourishing in the fall months.

Adjust to the Cooling Temperatures

As temperatures start to drop, your hens will require more energy to maintain their body heat. A diet rich in protein, like the 16% Homestead Layer Feed, is crucial to meet their increased energy needs. The higher protein content helps them not only to stay warm but also supports feather regrowth as they molt. Molting, the process of losing and regrowing feathers, commonly occurs in the fall and can be quite taxing on their bodies. Providing a high-protein diet ensures they have the necessary nutrients to go through this process smoothly.

Consider the Decreasing Daylight

With the days growing shorter, the decrease in daylight can affect your hens’ laying patterns. Chickens need a certain amount of light—about 14 to 16 hours a day—to lay consistently. As natural light decreases, their egg production might slow down. To counter this, and to ensure your hens are getting enough nutrients, supplementing their diet with Homestead Layer Feed enriches their intake. Its balanced formulation supports optimal egg laying, even when daylight is not on our side.

Ramp Up the Coop Comfort

In addition to adjusting their diet, preparing the coop for the colder months is vital. Ensure it is well-insulated and free from drafts to keep your hens comfortable. However, be mindful of ventilation. The coop should be closed enough to keep them warm, but still allow for air circulation to prevent moisture buildup, which can lead to respiratory issues. Bedding should be kept dry and clean, consider layering more than usual for added warmth. Within this cozy setup, having a consistent diet of 16% Homestead Layer Feed will significantly help in keeping your hens content and healthy.

Health Check-Ups

Fall is an ideal time for a health check-up. Before the harsher winter weather hits, ensure your flock is in top condition. Look out for any signs of illness or parasites and treat immediately. A nutritional and enriching diet plays a key part in this. The Homestead Layer Feed, with its well-rounded ingredients, contributes not just to the physical well-being of your chickens by enhancing their immune system, but also supports them in facing the season’s peculiar challenges.

Promoting a Sustainable Approach

Feeding your backyard hens with Homestead Layer Feed not only supports their dietary needs but also aligns with a sustainable approach to farming. Made from natural ingredients, this feed supports the overall health of your chickens without the use of antibiotics or growth hormones, promoting a natural laying process and ensuring the quality of the eggs.

In conclusion, maintaining a healthy backyard flock during the fall involves attentive care, strategic coop management, and most importantly, providing a diet that meets their seasonal needs. The 16% protein Homestead Layer Feed is a pivotal component of this care plan, supporting your hens through the cooler temperatures, decreased daylight, and ensuring their overall health as they transition into the winter months.

 

 

 

 

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Crops & Gardening

Grafting Fruit Trees by Budding: Pros & Cons

close up of grafting fruit tree by budding
Using a grafting knife to remove an apple tree bud for bud grafting. J. Keeler Johnson

Grafting fruit trees by budding has pros and cons. The technique is widely used for many types of trees, including apples, but isn’t necessarily the first grafting technique that comes to mind for people with only a general idea of how grafting works.

When you think of grafting fruit trees, you might picture taking a piece of scion wood and using a sharp knife or specialty grafting tool to make a specific cut that matches a corresponding cut on a piece of rootstock. Cleft and whip-and-tongue grafts are examples of this technique. Grafting in this manner typically takes place during the winter, while trees are dormant.

What is Budding?

Budding is a very different grafting technique. With budding, a short branch of suitable size is cut off the desired specimen of tree. The leaves are clipped off (leaving short stems behind, which serve as handles for holding the buds), and a knife is used to carefully slice a single leaf bud off the branch, bringing some bark and even a sliver of wood along with.

Then, a cut (usually T-shaped) is made into the bark of the rootstock or branch on which the bud will be grafted. The bark is gently opened, and the bud is inserted into this cut and secured in place with strips of rubber that tightly hold down the flaps of bark and prevent drying. Once the union heals, the desired bud is trained to grow dominantly, usually by removing all of the rootstock or branch above the grafted bud.

Budding is performed during the spring or, more commonly, summer, at a time (which varies depending on many factors) when the bark of the rootstock or branch will peel back easily from the underlying wood, which is called “slipping.” This makes it easy to create the T-shaped cut and open the bark to insert the desired bud.

Chip budding is a variation of budding that uses deeper and more precise cuts. You don’t have to be in slipping season to perform chip budding, which is a plus if you miss your window of opportunity for regular budding.

Advantages of Budding

Budding offers several advantages over other types of fruit tree grafting. A big one is the reduced need for practiced knife skills. Whereas other types of grafts require making matching (and sometimes complicated) cuts on both scion wood and rootstock, budding is far simpler. Once you have a feel for how much bark/wood to cut off with the bud, there’s not much to it.

Partly because of this, budding is faster than other types of grafting. It can also lead to a stronger graft union. And if you want to grow six different types of apples on a single tree, budding makes this relatively simple and straightforward. During the summer, you can add buds of the desired specimens to the branches of the host tree and not have to worry about healing them at specific temperatures while the tree is dormant, which can be a tricky aspect of other types of grafting.

Disadvantages of Budding

The good news is, there are hardly any disadvantages to budding. It’s an excellent grafting technique that can yield success at a higher rate than other types of grafting.

That said, a couple of small downsides should be noted. Since budding takes place during the growing season, usually in summer, it can be hard for busy hobby farmers to find the time compared to grafting by other means during the quiet of winter.

Also, chip budding requires greater knife skills than regular budding, so that’s something to keep in mind if you’re less comfortable handling a knife.

Still, these are minor downsides compared to the many advantages offered by budding. If you’re interested in propagating fruit trees via grafting, hopefully, our exploration of the pros and cons of budding has convinced you to give the technique a try.

This article about grafting fruit trees was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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Equipment

Hedge Trimmers Vs. Hedge Shears: What Do You Need?

hedge trimmers
J. Keeler Johnson

Hedge trimmers vs. hedge shears. What do you need? It depends on your farm. If you’re focused on raising livestock, maybe not. But if you’re a gardener and want to maintain lovely hedges and shrubs, you’ll want a tool to keep them tidy.

Hedge shears or a hedge trimmer can do the trick. But what are the differences, and which will best suit your needs? Let’s determine whether you need hedge shears or a hedge trimmer on your farm:

What are hedge shears?

Also known as hedge clippers, hedge shears are a hand tool a lot like pruning loppers, but with long, scissor-like cutting blades. They’re designed for shaping and maintaining hedges, shrubs, bushes—really any plant where you need to quickly trim a bunch of small branches to similar lengths.

Hedge shears are lightweight, relatively inexpensive, and simple to use (no power source is needed, only your muscles). But they can be tiring to use if you have a large number of hedges, shrubs, and bushes that need maintenance.

What is a hedge trimmer?

A hedge trimmer is a powered machine that uses long blades with teeth to perform the trimming. All you have to do is engage the power and maneuver the blades with care, and the hedge trimmer will do all the cutting for you.

Hedge trimmers come in many sizes and designs. Whereas the blade length on hedge shears might be six inches, the blades of a hedge trimmer might be 18 inches or 24 inches, allowing you to cut much more at once. In addition, there are poll-mounted hedge trimmers that enable you to cut at heights you wouldn’t be able to reach with hedge shears, at least not without climbing up a ladder.

Hedge trimmers can be powered by a variety of sources. Gas hedge trimmers use a small gasoline engine, which provides ample power and a quick way to refuel, but comes with the downside of weight, noise, and engine maintenance.

Corded electric hedge trimmers run off electricity supplied through a suitable extension cord. They’re lightweight, quiet, emission-free, and easy to start, but mobility is limited by being tethered to the extension cord, and you’ll give up some power compared to a gasoline hedge trimmer.

Battery-powered hedge trimmers eliminate the mobility issues of corded hedge trimmers while offering many of the same benefits. But if your battery runs dry, you’ll have to recharge it before you can resume trimming.

Be sure to note the spacing between the blade teeth on a hedge trimmer. This spacing (3/4-inch, one-inch, etc.) determines the thickest branches the hedge trimmer can cut.

Do you need hedge shears or a hedge trimmer?

If you don’t have long hedges to maintain and are looking more at shaping a few small shrubs, hedge shears might be all you need. Their simplicity and low cost is appealing if you’ll only be using them infrequently.

But if you have your sights set on maintaining a beautiful English garden full of hedges, or if you have a lot of shrubs and bushes you want to tidily shape, hedge trimmers may be worth the extra cost. You’ll appreciate how they save you the repetitive physical exertion of operating hedge shears, and your trimming tasks can be completed faster using the longer, powered blades.

This article about hedge trimmers and hedge shears was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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Poultry

What Chickens Lay Pink Eggs: 7 Breeds to Consider

Adobe Stock/isavira

What chickens lay pink eggs? This article discusses seven pink egg-laying chickens to add color to your egg basket and personality to your flock.

1. Speckled Sussex

One of the most common brown egg-layers kept in backyard flocks, the Speckled Sussex is a well-loved breed. However, while the breed is known for its brown eggs, it may be surprising that this popular chicken can also lay pink eggs.

This breed’s hens are curious and friendly, thriving on human interactions. Speckled Sussex hens are active and need plenty of mental stimulation to keep them happy. In mixed flocks, Sussex can bully more docile breeds.

Speckled Sussex hens lay an average of 4-5 medium light brown to pink eggs weekly (150 eggs annually). While they may not put out the same number of eggs per year as other breeds, the number rarely decreases for the first four years of their lives.

Color Varieties: Speckled is the only common variety in the United States.

speckled sussex chicken standing in grass is on the list of what chickens lay pink eggs
Adobe Stock/Jason

2. Java

The Java is a fair egg layer producing three-to-four large eggs weekly (about one hundred to one hundred and fifty eggs annually). Eggs vary in color from light to dark brown to orange, pink, and green. One of the most exciting things about Java hens is that one hen does not consistently lay the same colored egg, as egg color varies significantly throughout the laying season.

Java chickens are calm, sweet, and friendly. Their docile nature makes them ideal pets for children. This breed does well in a mixed flock with other docile breeds.

Java hens are also known for their quiet temperaments.

Color Varieties: Black and Mottled (Mottled is the most popular color option in the U.S.).

3. Black Australorp

Perfect for the novice, the Black Australorp can be an often overlooked choice when considering what chickens lay pink eggs. Primarily considered a brown egg layer, Australorp hens occasionally lay eggs tinted in pink.

The breed’s sweet nature makes it ideal for young children and novices. Although black Australorp hens may appear shy at first, they quickly forget their shyness if handled frequently.

Australorp hens are egg-laying rockstars, averaging 5 – 6 light brown eggs per week (about 220 – 240 eggs per year), and lay an average of 4 years.

Color Varieties: Black is the primary color available in the U.S.

4. Buff Orpington

The golden retriever of the chicken world, Buff Orpingtons, are sweet, friendly, people-loving chickens. The breed is one of the most popular chickens kept in backyard flocks, and it’s easy to see why. With their exceptionally soft golden-colored feathers and endearing personalities, the Buff Orpington is an ideal choice for children, novices, and veteran chicken keepers alike.

Buff Orpingtons lay an average of 3 – 5 light brown or pink eggs per week (120 – 150 eggs annually) and will lay for three years.

Color Varieties: Black, Blue, Buff, Jubilee, Lavender, and White, with Buff being the most common color.

5. Silkie

With their hair-like feathering, sweet temperaments, and excellent mothering abilities, Silkies have proven they are no ordinary chicken.

Silkies make excellent family pets. Their sweet, docile, and endearing nature makes them hard to resist, even for non-chicken-loving people. However, their sweet, docile nature disadvantages them in mixed flocks. To prevent this breed from being severely bullied, housing them separately from aggressive breeds is advised. Silkie hens are also wonderful mothers, happily sitting on eggs and raising chicks.

Silkie hens are good bantam egg layers averaging 3-4 small light tan, cream, or pink eggs weekly (100-150 eggs annually).

Color Varieties: Black, Blue, Buff, Gray, Partridge, and White.

6. Salmon Faverolles

What chickens lay pink eggs and have five toes? Salmon Faverolles. This breed has won the hearts of many backyard flock owners. These curious and energetic chickens make lovely pets and love interacting with people of all ages. They are also an ideal breed for the novice.

Both the hens and roosters are adaptable (although they should not be allowed to free-range) and have a calm and gentle disposition.

Salmon Faverolles hens are good egg producers, averaging four tinted, light brown, or pink medium-sized eggs weekly (about 150-200 eggs annually).

Color Varieties: The American Poultry Association (APA) recognizes the breed in two colors, Salmon and White. Salmon is the only color available from most hatcheries.

7. Easter Egger

What chickens lay pink eggs? Easter Eggers! This delightful chicken doesn’t just lay pink eggs but also blue, green, or brown eggs, earning this breed its name. Easter Egger hens are excellent producers, averaging 4 – 6 large/extra large pink, blue, brown or green eggs weekly (250 – 280 eggs annually).

Easter Egger hens have earned their popularity not only with their colorful egg baskets but also with their charming personalities. This chicken’s curious, gentle, and social personality is ideal for families with children, as it thrives with human interactions.

Their calm and gentle nature makes them easily bullied by more aggressive breeds, so care should be taken to ensure these gentle birds are not bullied.

Color Varieties: This unique chicken comes in many colors that do not breed true.

Now that you know what chickens lay pink eggs consider adding one of these seven pink egg layers to add color to your egg basket.

This story about what chickens lay pink eggs was written for Chickens magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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Poultry

How to Make Money with Chickens: Top 5 Ways

How to make money with chickens can be top of mind as the past few years prove that chickens are farm gateway animals. They appear easy to get into and lure non-agricultural people and children into trying out farm life. One of the qualities making chickens so attractive is the appeal to make money, or at least support a chicken operation. While there are several ways chickens can make a profit, these five ways are the easiest.

1. Sell Fresh Eggs

Eggs are a byproduct of chickens. Selling eggs is easy because there are no steps needed to take other than collecting and selling. Eggs can last two to four weeks unrefrigerated on the counter or up to six months if cleaned and stored in the refrigerator. This allows plenty of time for selling and is very appealing for customers.

Rhode Island Reds are often hailed as prolific egg layers. They lay 200-300 eggs per year, which equates to around 5 eggs per week. They are a great choice of egg layers because they can start laying eggs around 16 weeks while other breeds take up to one year.

As of Fall 2024, $4/dozen fresh eggs is a fair rate. The rule of thumb is to price just over the supermarket fee. Fresh organic eggs have a distinctly better homegrown taste and higher nutritional value. As in any business, economy of scale comes into play. The more chickens you have the more products you will have to sell. After setting up your coop, daily feeding and watering you might as well have multiple birds as it takes very little effort to care for more than one.

2. Sell Hatching Eggs

One rooster can cover 12 hens and be successful at fertilizing their eggs. No special breeding tactics are required to sell hatching eggs. Just access to hens for a rooster. Gathering eggs quickly and selling them garners a fee higher than fresh eggs, but not as high as hatched eggs. However, it takes much less time and effort and customers understand they can’t be choosy about the characteristics, colors or gender of the chicks. The more rare the breed, the more money people will spend and more willingness to buy eggs.

3. Sell Juveniles

Stepping up in difficulty is selling juvenile chickens. Juvenile chickens are around six weeks old and still unsexed. Selling unsexed chickens is a safe bet because many people do not want roosters and before they are old enough to be sexed you will be selling all chickens for the same price. The juvenile age is safely off the heat lamp and more hearty than day-old chicks. The price difference certainly reflects the additional time and supplies needed.

4. Sell Hens

The most difficult of these suggestions is to sell hens. The difficult part comes before the pullets become hens. Keeping birds healthy enough to be at an egg-laying age takes a lot of monitoring. Birds become much heartier as they near egg-laying age. The easier part is selling. Many customers will pay more for a hen ready to lay, rather than risking getting a rooster or getting a young chick. Rare and exotic breeds go for high dollars when they are ready to breed and produce offspring. Buying one hen ready to have lots of chicks in the near future is an investment people are looking to make.

5. Sell Manure

Chicken manure is considered a complete fertilizer as it contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It also includes calcium, sulfur, manganese, magnesium, copper, zinc, boron, chlorine and iron. When the coop needs to be cleaned, simply save the litter and allow it to sit and compost for 90+ days. Gardeners are thrilled to use this black gold for several applications including; supplementing nitrogen, drainage enhancement, erosion reduction and soil aeration.

How to Make Money with Chickens: Business Principles

Basic business principles apply to profiting from chickens, as well as any other business. Economy of scale comes into play realizing with little more effort multiple birds mean multiple products to sell. General marketing should be used to communicate and educate clients. Understanding profit margins. Yes, butchering chickens and selling meat will make money, but if it requires a middleman your profit will decrease dramatically. Understanding time is money is another consideration. Hatching eggs yourself requires maintenance for three weeks plus the time it takes for them to be old enough to sell. Value time and reflect that in your pricing structure.

Intangible principles also help make this endeavor more fun than several other ways to make a profit. Watching genetics play out in each hatching is fascinating. Taking place in contributing to a heritage breed or a rare breed is humbling. If you already enjoy chickens, finding ways to profit from them is a fulfilling job.

This post about how to make money from chickens was written for Chickens magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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Poultry

Can Chickens Eat Pumpkins? Feeding Tips & Benefits

chickens chicken pumpkin pumpkins
Olha Kononiuk/Shutterstock

Can chickens eat pumpkins? It’s a question that chicken keepers ask each year as gardens become laden with ripe pumpkins and squash. The short answer is yes. Here are some nutritional notes to make sure your birds make the most of this seasonal bounty from pie pumpkins to mini decorative varieties and jack-o’-lanterns.

Can Chickens Eat Pumpkins: Nutritional Notes

Pumpkin is one of the most nutritious treats you can ever offer your chickens. Pumpkin flesh is chock full of vitamin E, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6 and iron. Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of dietary fiber, zinc, protein and healthy fats.

Despite how healthy pumpkin is, only offer it to your flock in moderation. Give them one pumpkin every other day, not one pumpkin three times a day. Ingesting large quantities of pumpkin creates an imbalance in your flock’s diet, as the chickens will be too full to eat their feed and will thus miss out on nutrients necessary for their health and development.

Jack-O’-Lanterns

Since these traditional Halloween decorations spend most of their time outside and are exposed to the elements through their assorted openings, it stands to reason that carved pumpkins are the first to show signs of decay.

If you plan on giving your flock a jack-o’-lantern snack, do so no later than November 2. Should your neighbors offer their used jack-o’-lanterns for your chickens, thank them then, like any parent on Halloween, inspect any treat before letting your feathered kids eat it.

First, remove any stickers, googly eyes and other detachable embellishments from the pumpkin’s outer shell. Next, inspect the interior and remove any candle-wax remnants.

While candle wax is non-toxic, it can include artificial colors and fragrances that should not be ingested by chickens. Some candles even contain citronella to keep insects away from the pumpkin’s exposed interior. It’s in your birds’ best interest to simply remove all candle wax.

Then, check for signs of rot. Thump the outside of the gourd. It should still be strong and hard, not soft and falling in on itself. Sniff the inside for any funkiness beyond the scent of pumpkin guts. If the outer shell has softened or there’s any discoloration, mottling, or other visible sign—or scent—of decay, consign the jack-o’-lantern to the compost pile.

Can Chickens Eat Pumpkins? Yes. They Love Whole Pumpkins!

Uncarved pumpkins, especially those pumpkins grown in your garden, are an extra-special treat for your chickens since all the tasty pulp and delicious seeds are still intact inside. Uncarved pumpkins last longer than those that have been cut and carved, but it’s still important to inspect any pumpkins destined for your chicken run.

As with the jack-o’-lanterns, remove any decorations from the outer shell. Thump it all around to check the shell’s integrity. A healthy pumpkin should sound like a small drum when thumped. Carefully feel the exterior for any signs of softening and look for mottling, discoloration or holes that insects may have made.

If everything checks out, you can go ahead and present your pumpkin to the chickens whole. After a few moments spent eyeing the orange intruder, they’ll begin to peck at the shell. A better method would be to cut it in half or into wedges, so your birds can tear right into the good stuff.

Pumpkin Seeds

Chickens adore pumpkin seeds. They’ll gobble them up fresh out of the pumpkin. The next time you carve a jack-o’-lantern, have a container ready to receive the seeds and stringy pumpkin guts. Your chickens will love you for it.

There’s no need to rinse the seeds or roast them … fresh is perfectly fine. If you have indeed roasted your pumpkin seeds, your chickens will still eat them. Just make sure no flavorings like salt, sugar or spices have been added to the roasted pumpkin seeds. There’s also no need to peel the seeds, whether fresh or roasted. Chickens will eat the outer shell as well as the seed (the pepita) contained within.

This article about can chickens eat pumpkins was written for Chickens magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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Farm & Garden

How to Make a Shade Cloth For Plants

shade cloth plants
images by Rachel Porter

A shade cloth for plants can increase water retention and improve circulation among plants.

When temperatures exceed 90 °F, plants get stressed—even warm-season crops. Once heat sets in, flower production reduces, buds shrivel up and the plant spends its energy on survival rather than production.

Providing your plants with shade is the most effective way to reduce stress. There are several options for doing this, ranging from very expensive to next to nothing. Shade cloths can be purchased from several websites and garden stores, and will perform well to protect your plants.

You can select the percentage of sun rays filtered through the cloth. Most vegetable gardeners choose a 30 to 40 percent cloth. These allow the sun’s rays and raindrops to still reach the plant to continue its growth.

DIY a Low-Cost Solution

You can also find also several quick and free resources around your house. If you only need to shade a few days at a time, a DIY option may be a great choice that will save you money.

First, you need to understand that every shade cloth system needs posts, cloth and clips. Here are some common items you may already have in your possession to use:

  • Posts: plant poles, T-posts, fence posts, fencing, bamboo sticks, PVC pipes, branches/limbs, tomato stakes, hula hoops (cut in half)
  • Shades: umbrellas, white sheets, mesh fabric, tulle, burlap, curtains (everything from sheer  to blackout could work), bug netting
  • Clips: clothespins, twist ties, chip clips, binder clips, zip ties, twine, metal clips, staples

shade cloth plants

Shade Color

Should you use light or dark-colored shades? According to All About Gardening, it depends, but either will probably work:

“Lighter-colored shade cloth can cause rays of light to refract, redirecting some of the light away from our plants. Darker-colored shade cloth simply prevents the sun’s light from fully reaching the plants by absorbing the light. In both cases, it reduces the sunlight that’s directly reaching the plants—and for some species, particularly shade-loving plants, a denser shade cloth can be the only way to grow those plants at certain times of year.”

shade cloth plants

Make Your Own Shade Cloth for Plants

To make your own shade cloth, follow these steps for assembly:

  1. Measure all posts to make sure they are the same size and will be tall enough to keep the cloth off of the plants. 
  2. Hammer down the posts.
  3. Measure the cloth to reach the posts. Consider if you need to tactfully drape one side depending on the evening sun.
  4. Staple or clip the cloth into place on the posts.
  5. Observe that the shade is correctly placed to create shade at various times in the day.

When installing your shade cloth, keep these things in mind:

  • The cloth needs to hover above the plant. If it touches or smothers the plant, that increases heat.
  • Be aware of the wind. Gusts of wind will come under the cloth and try to lift it, so secure all loose areas.
  • Continue to water plants under the shade cloth. Check the soil once or twice a day to make sure it is not getting too dry.
  • All plants need sunlight to grow. Don’t overpower your shade cloth by blocking too much sun or leaving it on the plants during rainy, cloudy days.
  • Heat-tolerant plants thrive in 80 to 90 degrees and really shouldn’t be covered until temps reach 95 or higher.

This article about making a shade cloth for plants was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.