Gift guide for backyard chicken keepers
Some (many) backyard chicken keepers pamper their hens. These are a few treats for the flock and their keeper.
To add to my batch of gift guides this month—for all of the early holiday shoppers or just those looking for gift ideas in general—I have a list of items that I enjoy and my flock enjoys. While my coop doesn’t have a chandelier like some I’ve seen, my girls live a fairly pampered life. A predator-proof coop and run, warm oatmeal and honey breakfasts on the coldest winter days, cold watermelon on the hottest summer days, and routine free-range time to eat grass, clover, worms, and baby snakes. (Yes, the girls have slurped up several snakes over the years!)
Black soldier fly larvae | I switched to Grubblies over the past few years after I learned about mealworm production. I don’t have a single source to link to for reference because there are many, so I suggest you search “mealworms grown in China” and you’ll learn about the controversies. Allegedly, mealworms grown in China and Asian countries are fed garbage and undocumented chemicals. There’s also a sustainability factor—does it really make sense to feed your layer chickens treats that were produced in another country? Around the same time, I learned that mealworms are nutritionally deficient in comparison to black soldier fly larvae. According to Wild Birds Unlimited, “Mealworms are not really ‘worms’ but are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor. Black soldier fly larvae have 50 times more calcium than mealworm beetle larvae. Grubbly Farms produces two sources for their Grubblies chicken treats, Hometown Harvest and World Harvest. The former is grown entirely in the United States, and the latter is produced out of the country and per EU standards. | $20+
Egg storage | Anyone who has hens knows you need a way to store all of the eggs. Unwashed fresh eggs don’t need to be refrigerated for several weeks, so that leaves several decorative options. I personally use a hen-shaped wire egg basket for the day’s chicken eggs, and a chicken wire “bowl” for quail eggs. Both containers I found at vintage shops. I have an “egg drawer” in my kitchen and I store any chicken eggs we didn’t use for the day there. When that gets full (it holds 2 ½ dozen), it prompts me to hard-boil some for snacks and make a quiche. I know other folks who like egg holder towers that allow you to add the fresh eggs to the top, and use the older eggs at the bottom. As you take an egg, the next rolls into place. I’ve also seen some pretty wooden carved egg holders, which allow your eggs to serve as a centerpiece. $27
Chicken water heater | If you know someone who keeps chickens in a climate that gets freezing temperatures, a water heater will help prevent them from lugging fresh water to the coop in cold weather, and helps to prevent their water systems from breaking from freezing and expanding. Fortunately we have an electric source just a few feet from our coop, so we can plug in this heated base for chicken water towers. We added it about 3 or 4 years ago and it’s given us such a peace of mind knowing that the girls have fresh water available 24/7 no matter the temperature—especially when we go away for a few days. I wait until I see nighttime temperatures consistently below freezing, then I add the heater. I leave it in place until I see the forecast change. $55
Cast iron skillet | Backyard chicken keepers enjoy eggs many ways: scrambled, sunny side up, omelets, frittatas. All of these can have a cast iron skillet in common. The health benefits of cooking with cast iron range from reduced oil consumption (proper seasoning and heat allow non-stick cooking), preventing ingestion of Teflon and other non-stick chemical coatings, and a greater iron content in food. According to studies cited by Epicurious, liquid foods (particularly apples) cooked in cast iron absorb more iron than other foods. Prices for cast iron range greatly, so you can decide how special an occasion your budget fits. $20 to $100+
You can’t go wrong with any of these gifts. I bet the chickens would say the same.