urban backyard flocks – VJP Poultry

My Experience With VJP Poultry from Cage-Free Mom

February 7, 2018December 1, 2018 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

When we decided to get chickens, we knew we wanted them as pets and not for meat production. That led us down a rabbit hole of research and getting opinions from people we trusted. We decided that we were going to get some Silkie chickens. They are known for being friendly , beautiful, small and easy as well as having fairly good egg production (3 per week). Everything we wanted in our first batch of chickens.

A friend of mine referred us to VJP Poultry in Forest Lake, Minnesota. One of her friends had some show chickens from VJP that had done very well in the 4-H program. We were relieved to find someone near us that had quality chickens. They are NPIP tested and hold a State of Minnesota Hatchery Permit. We felt confident that we could get some great chicks from here.

At that point I still wanted to do some more research on how to care for our new chickens and how to sex them so we wouldn’t end up with all roosters! The internet gave me a bunch of mixed information (turns out it is nearly impossible to sex Silkie chicks) so I decided to reach out to VJP Poultry and see if they could give me any nuggets of information! The response time was very fast and they were very patient with all of my questions. I was relieved that they have a rooster return program. I was really nervous about this because in our area, we are not allowed to have roosters. If we do end up with any roosters we can return them to VJP and they will re-home them. Every question was answered and we were welcomed to come out and see their options.They do post weekly on their Facebook Page VJP Poultry Facebook which is very helpful. You can see what colors and ages are available as well as the pricing of them.

Not only do they have great customer service but they also run blog posts on their website. They have links to items you can purchase for your chicks/chickens , articles on ventilation and how to keep your Silkies safe and happy during the winter.

We set a date and went out to see the chicks. Victoria (owner) met us and gave us some time in the chick room. It was nice to have some time to check all the chicks out and discuss our options without feeling the pressure of picking right away. When she came in, she was able to guide us in the right direction. We really wanted a few splash chicks so she went upstairs and brought down some 4 day old babies. We fell in love and decided to take them.

Along with the chicks, she provided us with some bedding and a little sheet giving us tips on how to care for young chicks as well as a copy of their certification. We were very pleased with our experience and will be returning for all of our future Silkie purchases! I highly recommend them and if you are anywhere in MN or surrounding states, go check them out as they do not ship. Tell them Ashley with Cage-Free Mom sent you!

Stay tuned for pictures of our new chicks! (Shadow, Ducky, Butterscotch, Marshmallow & Fairy Potter)

You can find more blogs from Cage-Free Mom here. Text and lower picture by Ashley Molin – The Cage-Free Mom

For tips and tricks for raising outstanding silkies check out our Chicken Learning Center at VJPPoultry.com . VJP Poultry is an NPIP and state inspected hatchery located 30 miles north of St. Paul. We hatch out silkies all year long so we always have stock available. Like us on Facebook to get weekly updates on what we currently have for sale.

Victoria J. Peterson

Chicken Lover’s Gifts for the Home

November 28, 2017May 18, 2020 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

There is no end to the amount of chicken themed items you can find for your home. The amount of people who keep backyard flocks is increasing every year and I have gathered a few things a true chicken lover might want to have in their home or as a gift to give to others.

How about a chicken bedroom set? Chicken Family bedspread and Blue Rooster and Hen . How about throwing a rooster runner down the floor?

Now we move on to the bathroom. A chicken themed shower curtain is just the thing to liven up that bathroom and show your chicken spirit. Here is a great toilet roll holder that looks like chicken wire. There is also a matching towel rack made from the a similar chicken wire look. We also have a vintage chicken toilet roll holder.

The kitchen has many chicken gift ideas. There are many rugs with the chicken theme. These can also be used as bath mats. How about some kitchen dish towel sets? There are many to choose from. I found four different sets of chicken themed dishes. If you are in the mood for making cookies, here is a rooster cookie cutter. You will need an oven mitt to get those cookies out and not burn yourself. Decorative tiles to use as trivets abound in chicken designs. Cute art glass chickens to put on your window sill can let the sun shine through. Get up in the morning with a Love Chickens coffee cup to start your day in the coop.

If your chicken math is like mine, you may want to add a life sized chicken statue in the backyard. A way to increase your flock in case you don’t have the space for more chickens. If you are interested in gifts for kids that love chickens or in gifts for chickens themselves, or maybe Gifts for the Chicken Lady check out these blog posts. We also have Gifts for Guys Who Like Chickens. and Gifts For Silkie Chicken Lovers.

Victoria J. Peterson

How to Fix a Heated Water Base Which is Too Hot

November 17, 2017December 1, 2018 by vjppoultry, posted in New Silkies

Last fall I purchased eight new heated water bases to be used under galvanized waterers in order to keep my water from freezing in the chicken coop. I began to notice that the water was alway spilling over and making a wet mess of the pine shaving bedding. This seemed strange because the water never overflowed in the summer. I ended up buying pizza trays to place under the metal waterers. This was successful but the pizza trays had to be drained off every day which was extra work.

Then I began to notice that the water was beginning to become very warm – hot even. I could see the steam cloud raising up from the waterer when ever I changed out the water. I put my finger in the water and it was like very hot bath water. I figured that the water was around 100 degrees F. The water should have been between 32 F and and 45 F.

Chickens do not like to drink hot water. They wouldn’t wait until I changed out the water and then they would descend on the cooler water. There wasn’t an empty spot all the way around the waterer when the cool water was added to it.

As the water was heated, the water expanded and was forced over the rim. This created the situation with the wet bedding which had to be replaced. This would happen every time new water was added.

I did a little research and read some reviews of the product. I noticed that quite a few people were having the exact same problem that I was having – overheated water and water expanding and spilling out.

Dennis troubleshooted the situation and found that the snap disc thermostat was defective which was causing the base to operate at too high of temperature. He purchased new snap disc thermostats that turn on at 32 F and off at 45 F. You actually can buy the thermostats at different temperatures but these are the correct ones for the water bases.

Here are the steps for replacing the thermostats:

Flip the Heated base over.
Us a cordless drill to drill out the pop rivets holding the back plate on. Be sure to mark the placement because we found the holes to be an uneven distance from each other.
Pry off the back cover with something like a screw driver.
. Unplug the connections to the thermostat.
Remove the rivets to the thermostat with a cordless drill.
Take out the old thermostat and replace it with the new one. Ours had a red casing.
Fasten the new thermostat with new pop rivets using a pop rivet gun.
Connect the wires back up to the new thermostat.
Using aluminum pop rivets, fasten the protective back cover on the pan. Use the pop rivet gun to do this.
The little pop rivets go in each hole on the back side.
End of repair. I originally purchased two different brands of heated bases. The Farm Innovators we purchased worked great and we did not have to repair them. The other brand had to have all of its thermostats replaced. All appliances wear out sooner or later. It’s nice to be able to repair instead of having to replace. .For tips and tricks for raising outstanding silkies check out our Chicken Learning Center at VJPPoultry.com . VJP Poultry is an NPIP and state inspected hatchery located 30 miles north of St. Paul. We hatch out silkies all year long so we always have stock available. Like us on Facebook to get weekly updates on what we currently have for sale.
Victoria J. Peterson