Thursday, February 28, 2013

Blog name Vote & Giveaway

Although I love the name Unicornis Creations, people just have too hard a time with the Latin version of Unicorn so I'm changing my blog to a more formal website and giving it a new name!

Please help choose a new name for my updated blog, cast your vote and enter to win a UC gift basket with Homemade Jam, Vanilla Extract, and Organic Applesauce ($25 value)

Comment here or on the UC Facebook page with your choice. Voting ends March 5th! (One entry per person:)

#1) MommaMary.com

#2) LivingLaSelvaLoca.com

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Craigslist find

So I decided that it probably wasn't worth the time or effort to build another smaller coop for the new chicks, only if I could find a decent one on Craigslist.

Well mission accomplished. I found this rabbit hutch that was converted to a chicken coop for $60 in Scotts Valley. The family sold their house and had to remove the coop cuz the new owners didn't want chickens. They threw in a nesting box, ramp, 2 waterers and about 3 cubic feet of pine shavings! Score!

I'm very excited we were able to get such a great deal, this hutch sells new for $200 and it'll save Ana time and energy from having to build a new one, plus the materials would probably have been more than $60 so I'm pretty stoked.

This coop is going to house our chicks while they go through the pullet growth (basically teenage years) then once they're full grown I'll integrate them into the bigger coop and use this one as a separation coop for trouble hens.

We've been growing our chicks inside the house and it's driving me nuts. I clean them out every 36 hrs or so and the smell is just unbearable even with the constant cleanings and our air purifier on full blast. Especially the meat chicks who just eat tons and poop, super stinky. So we're gonna put this new coop to use this week and jerryrig the heat lamp so that they can go outside now (about 2 weeks sooner than i had expected).

If you ever want to raise chicks, don't raise them in the house. It's been a nightmare from the get go. And now I know what to be ready for next year. But I do recommend raising your own chicks if you can. It's a lot of work, but you have control over the situation. You can buy pullets or even full grown hens, and now I understand why they are so expensive, but unless you know the grower (like me:) you can't be sure what kind of feed they're given or how they're raised (like too many little chicks stuck in too small of a space.)

And if you can't raise chicks, don't worry about it cuz it really is a lot of work, which if I had a full time job, I would not be going through this craziness!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Free Ranging

No scraps for the girls today so I'm letting them free range. Only trouble is keeping them from going too far down the hill or over to our neighbors. So I've planted myself in a lawn chair at our fence entrance and am keeping them in check while Maiyo's splashing in puddles:)

I've decided to change their diet of lay pellets and corn/soy scratch to a more natural and unprocessed diet of whole grains. Along with all our kitchen scraps, this diet will help them produce even better tasting eggs with more frequency as well!

Anyway, I've been researching recipes for a while and finally Pam over at Peaceful Vally Farms posted her concoction and I'm super excited to try it out. All I have left to find is Whole Oats, amazingly, all of our local feed stores are out at this time.

Here's the recipe if you're interested, but check out Pam's blog for more detailed info.

Chicken Feed

3 parts Rye (grass seed)
9 parts Barley
9 parts Oats
9 parts Wheat (winter red)
4 parts Black Oiled Sunflower Seeds
3 parts Flax Hansen
2 parts Oyster Shell
Plus Grits, Greens & Bugs

Can give chicken bones from stock! Lentils & peas are good too

I'll post results a few weeks after I've switched their diet, probably in April, but Pam says its working well and she has 50 chickens, so I'm pretty sure it'll be awesome!






Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Blog Name HELP! (& Potential Giveaway)

Hey Everyone,

So I'm looking to revamp my blog and turn it into a website with a page each dedicated to food, crafts & quilting, gardening, cycling, family life and random crap.

But I need a new name! Help a lady out, why don'tcha!

MommaMary.com
LivingLaSelva.com
LivingLaSelvaLoca.com (Living the Crazy Jungle)
aMontereyBayLife.com
NonHippieinSantaCruz.com

Or do you have a suggestion???

So far I'm leaning towards Living La Selva Loca, pretty catchy don'tcha think:-) 

*Once we have a few names submitted (must be available domain names) I'll set up a vote and you'll have a chance to be entered into a drawing for some Jam & Vanilla Extract!