Cockadoodle-Do’s and Don’ts for Raising Chickens

WE’VE GOT CHICKENS!!!

Its always fun to have something new happening in the development of Bonne Terre Haiti!

A bit over a month ago we got a delivery of laying chickens that we had been waiting 2 months for. These beauties started laying eggs within a week of arrival and (since then) we have been able to add eggs into our staff meals!

Our chickens are cared for in our animal building. Sharing with the goats in 2/3 of the space, the chickens are in 1/3 and are able to head outside daily into their enclosure to peck at the ground and roam around. Inside we have their perch and 6 roosting boxes for them to lay their eggs! We have had over 80 eggs layed so far and keep track by writing the date on each one. We harvest daily, leaving one egg in each nesting box to encourage more laying. Their feed is supplimented by compost from the kitchen and farm as well as their adventures outside. Our goal is to develop a system that doesn’t need feed. Composting, using garden cuttings and developing a great environment for the chickens to have plently of bugs and grubs to eat.

We love being able to increase the quality of our food for our staff. Farming in Haiti is hot, difficult and sometimes done on an empty stomach if you work your own land. This means a lot to us to be able to provide nutritious, healthy meals to the people we work closest with here in Haiti.