How to win free eggs and influence chickens!

By Will Cornelius and Ellie Hughes The Surveyor

Inflation has spread to nearly every imaginable good and service in the economy over the past two years pushing up prices at rates not seen in decades. One household staple has seen such drastic price increases that it has spawned its own portmanteau Egg-flation.

According to the consumer price index, the average price for a dozen eggs across the U.S. in January 2 2 was 1.46. y January 2 23, that same dozen eggs cost an average of 4.82, a 23 increase in just three years

When prices rise, consumers get creative and start looking for substitutions or alternatives. ut some people are taking matters into their own hands, literally. Since the price of eggs began to rapidly rise at the end of last year there has been a boom in people raising their own backyard chickens. On Feb. 2, 2 23 the ew York Times ran a story titled “Forget pandemic puppies. Meet the inflation chickens.” eeping and caring for backyard chickens can be rewarding, but it is not without its own challenges. The first one is finding chickens in the first place. Tractor Supply Co. and Murdoch’s both offer live chicks for sale. If you start with chicks then you will need a brooder. A brooder is an enclosure that will keep your chicks contained, dry and warm for the first six weeks. ens will start laying eggs between 18 and 22 weeks. It is also possible to adopt or re-home hens from someone else. Consider looking on Facebook Marketplace or contacting a local animal shelter like arimer umane Society. aving a flock of hens is beneficial but it is important to be aware of the pecking order. The originators of the pecking order, hens can be aggressive and peck one another over food, water, or the coup. eep an eye out for missing feathers or when introducing new hens to a flock. ens can live up to eight years in a backyard flock according to the University of Wisconsin with egg production for three to four years. The ideal day length for hens to lay eggs is 14 to 16 hours. Depending on your backyard or space, hens can also be let out of the coup to roam during the day. During winter some hens will stop laying eggs completely. Adding a timed heat lamp over winter can help keep your chickens laying eggs during the shorter days.

After that, the chicks will be ready to graduate from the brooder into their coup. This can depend on the weather and the type of chicken too, the temperature must be at least 5 degrees outside. Consider gradually exposing the chicks to the coup and the outside. etween six and eight weeks the chicks will grow rapidly and need twice the floor space they had before. emember that chicks will become either roosters or hens and only hens lay eggs.

Coups come in all styles, shapes and sizes. They can also be customized for any outside area, but they should all include, food, water, and a nesting box for laying eggs. In addition, they need to be warm and dry inside with perches for sleeping. Most coups include an outside area that is also covered the run but open for the chickens to roam around.

The other major consideration is keeping your chickens safe throughout the year in Colorado. Predators like foxes, coyotes, dogs, cats, hawks and eagles pose a major threat. Ensure that your chicken coop is completely closed off so that nothing gets in. Use a staplegun and chicken wire to completely close off the coup.

Ok so enough of the fine print how can you get that backyard flock to produce a delicious dividend of daily eggs?

Cleaning and maintaining the coup is a must for hens to keep laying eggs. The coup itself needs to be cleaned of chicken droppings at least every two days. Use newspaper and bedding straw inside the coup to make this more manageable. Chicken droppings are excellent for composting.

Make sure that the hens have fresh water and feed in their coup too. In addition to a feeder with chicken feed, make sure to feed your hens calcium to help with their egg production. You can save their eggshells, lightly toast them, grind them into a meal and feed them back to the hens to get their calcium.

One final reminder is to check municipal and town codes for backyard chickens. For example, the Town of erthoud has no restrictions on backyard chickens according to its municipal code but the City of Fort Collins prohibits roosters and limits hen flocks to eight in the city limits.

How many of you have never cleaned the filter in your major appliances?

By David Tisue The Surveyor

Most people know if they have a clogged water filter in their fridge, mostly because it has a warning, mine beeps and blinks until I replace it like a whining child. ut did you know your dishwasher, washing machine and dryer should all have their filters or hoses cleaned out too?

Dishwashers have filters to help prevent big chunks of food or even sometimes chunks of a broken dish from clogging up the drain. Almost all dishwashers have some sort of filter that should be cleaned parodically. Usually, in a dishwasher, the filter is located at the bottom of the inside of your dishwasher, where the water drains out. It only takes a little time to wash out the filter and put it back in. I admit I hadn’t done it for a couple of years when I first found out I should have cleaned it every six months. My dishes weren’t getting cleaned as well as they should. It was almost completely clogged with gross slime that needed attention. My dishwasher now cleans much better, and I check it frequently to make sure it is not gunked up.

Many people don’t know that there is a filter in many washing machines that needs to be cleaned. This is because lint, dirt and detergent can build up over time and clog your machine’s water outtake. To determine if your washer has a filter consult your manual or look it up online by the brand and model of the unit. Some newer machines don’t have them at all, as they have self-cleaning filters inside the motor. ut for the rest of us, it will be in one of these places:

In the front of the unit, behind a small hatch

• At the end of the drainage hose.

• Behind the detergent dispenser.

Under the cover of your center agitator.

Along the top rim of the drum of your washing machine

Mine was located in the drawer behind the detergent dispenser. It should be cleaned every six months. I don’t think I have ever cleaned it, so it was a dirty mess. It only takes a few minutes to clean and helps prevent clogs that could be costly in the long run. Replace the clean filter, and you will have cleaner clothes in a washer that works more efficiently.

A clogged dryer hose is one of the leading causes of house fires in the United States. Dryers should be cleaned at least once a year, and it’s a simple task you can do yourself. You want to tackle it when you have a couple of free hours to spend on household chores. It will result in dryer clothes, cleaner lint screens and a happier laundry experience.

To clean your dryer hose. You must first pull the dryer out from the wall. Unplug it, and if it’s a gas dryer, turn off the gas valve as well. Disconnect the dryer duct located in the back of the dryer. Using a hose attachment on your vacuum cleaner, clean and suck out as much lint and debris from the hose and the back of the dryer. You can also get an attachment for your drill with a brush designed to pull out the lint from a dryer hose (available on Amazon and many hardware stores) to go deep into the hose and extract any clomps of lint deeper. Also, locate and check the exterior vent outside your house to see any clogs on that end. Replace the hose and reconnect the dryer to its power and gas line if you have one. Then push back your clean dryer, and there you have it.