Bruce relaxes

Bruce, the rooster, is doing great. He has to stay in with the guineas because he's a little younger than the ladies and when they see him they bop him on the back or head with their beaks. I take him in to visit occasionally and he likes it but they are a little huffy right now. So we'll let him stay where it's safest for now. Plus they have most of their feathers already and he doesn't so he still needs a little more heat. Speaking of heat, I brought him in to hold for a bit and decided to lay the heating pad on my lap for a little extra heat. He usually snuggles up in the crook of my arm but he decided to wander down and check out the heating pad. He laid right down and stretched out his legs and laid on his side. It looked soooo funny. He closed his eyes as if to say ahhhh this feels good. I let him stay a bit but then had to get some things done so back out he went.

Introducing "The Boss"

Today we got out first rooster. His name is Bruce, named for "The Boss." He is a Speckled Sussex and my husband is from Sussex County, NJ so that put him in mind of Bruce Springsteen. He is adorable. I think he's going to be a sweet rooster at least I hope so. We put off getting a rooster because I've never met a "nice" rooster. I have read a lot though about roosters that are handled a lot as chicks and they become very docile with people. So that's what I'm going to try. I held him all the way home and he snuggled right down and went to sleep, then he woke up to poop :-/ and went back to sleep. When I picked him up for this picture he snuggled down in my hands.

So far so good. We also got our first ever guinea keets. The are cute, all different colors and I hate to say it but they don't seem very smart. They are much more skiddish that the chicks but hopefully they'll settle in after awhile. They are pretty though at least now. We're hoping they do a job on the tick and bug population around here.

The chicks are growing fast but are not nearly as big as the Orpingtons were at this age. Several of them have their feathers already and are still tiny. The Delawares have names, Della and Stella. Della will let me hold her and she's very curious. Stella doesn't come near. We got these a little older than our 3 day old Orpington and they are not very touchable yet. I don't think I would do that again. I like being able to handle them when they are babies. Okay off to tuck everyone in for the night!!!

New Chicks on the block!!!

Hey, hey we have new chicks!! This time we decided to get a variety of chicks instead of just one breed. The bad part is the guy we got them from talked so fast I don't remember all the breeds :-/ I know we have 2 Delaware, 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Barred Rocks, 4 Americana and maybe 2 Sussex. I guess we'll just have to wait and see when they grow up. I think we'll get a few more about 3 or 4 months down the road so we can stagger the eggs a little more. They are soooo cute!!!! They were in a cage with a wire bottom so when we put them in our little house with shavings on the floor they immediately started doing the bath thing. It's so fun to watch baby animals to big animal things. You would think they were too little to know but nope they do things just like they know exactly what to do. Imagine that :-) Oh the last pic is for you Jenny. I found some pinwheels :-)

Chickie Town

After building a wonderful chicken condo in the back yard we have since decided to sell our house and move to a place with more land. What with the accumulation of so many animals now I guess that is the next logical step. In order to get the chickens a place that we can take with us, we decided on an old camper. So far it's turning out to be a very nice pad for the girls. We decided to leave the bathtub and put dry dirt and stuff in there for them to take their dust baths in. They will have their own "spa." It will be much larger and since the roof had leaks we removed the old air conditioner and put a metal roof on giving it a "cathedral ceiling" inside. Vince is going to cut a hole in the middle of the poop shelf so his bucket will fit right under and he can just scrape all that "garden gold" right into the bucket.

They will have an entrance on each side somewhere around the middle and we will build them a portable run that attaches. By doing this we can put the run in 4 different locations before we have to move the trailer. That way they have new ground regularly and it doesn't get all nasty in one spot. I'm hoping the mobility will help keep the mice and snakes off the scent too.

Speaking of snakes, I've decided I need to learn to live with black snakes, as long as they aren't eating my chicken eggs that is. I didn't realize black snakes keep the copper heads in check. So it will be hard and I'm sure there will be more than one scream heard but I'm going to try.

Back to chickie town, I plan to paint the exterior in retro pink and green with daisies on it. In big bubble letters on one side we'll put Chickie Town. I'm sure people are going to think I'm one crazy old lady before it's all over with. I think life's short and you have to enjoy it while you can!!!!

Update on the sick chicken

Well actually there are two chickens in the "Chicki-atric Wing" hehehe!!! The day after I put number one in there I noticed a chicken sitting under a cedar tree and acting very strange. So I put her in there too. I thought Number One needed a friend anyway so why not. Well Number One hasn't coughed for a week now. And she eats like a pig!!!!! I think she's well on the way to recovery. Number two actually took longer to perk up and during that time I made a discovery of sorts. While they were all together I had been making them "Gatorade for Chickens" water. It helps to perk them up a big in hot weather. As I was going to refill their waterer one day I noticed all the chickens combs were pinkish instead of their usual bright red and one even had a sort of white drip line on it. That's when I realized I had been making the water from the kitchen faucet instead of the outside faucet. We have a water filter on the house that uses salt and although the salesman assured us there is no salt residue I've lost almost every houseplant I've had since we got the system. We have the outside faucet bypassed the system. Poor chickens I was dehydrating them. Chickens need a tiny amount of salt but are sensitive to too much.
So all in all Number One and Number Two are doing great, bathing in the dirt, doing the chicken scratch and being totally spoiled. They are finished with their antibiotic and I need to confine them another week to let it get out of their system. Then comes the fun of reintroducing them to the flock. There has already been "fighting through the fence."
The excitement never ends!!!!

Guess who's here???

Yuck!!! Yuck and double Yuck!!!! I found this creature curled across one of the nest boxes with an egg in his mouth today. Needless to say I screamed a scream that would wake the dead. Vince came running with the 22 loaded with rat shot. Mr. snake took a shot in the head, ha, he dropped the egg real quick. I knew they'd come but didn't think it would be so early or he would be sooo big. Gross!! I hate snakes even if they are "good" snakes. I don't think the chickens liked him either.

Chicken Hospital!

We finally got around to making a chicken hospital. I needed a place where I could separate a sick chicken from the rest of the flock in case of a contagious virus. Unfortunately, that happened much too soon. I have a sick little girl. Actually she's been coughing or "hacking" for a while and I just really didn't recognize it as something other than a cold.

We had a dog house (yeah right) that Rory and Annie really didn't use (wonder why??). So we took that off the deck and put it under the deck and outfitted it for a chicken. My wonderful hubby, who should have been some sort of engineer since he can build practically anything, fixed it up just perfect. He put in a roost, it already had a light, added a feeder, a sliding door, a hinged door for cleaning, and even a little table to put the waterer on. Now we add the chicken and she is NOT happy. She misses her buddies. Unfortunately she can barely breathe. We believe she has infectious bronchitis. To make me feel even worse this is something I could have vaccinated for when they were all babies but none of my books recommended it for small flocks. I guess I'll know better in the future. It's terribly contagious and chickens tend to suffer greatly from respiratory ailments.

I held her for a while on the deck this morning watching her gasp for air and I tried really hard not to cry over a chicken but oh well. I brought her in to Vince and told him we (he) might have to do you know what. So we decided to try antibiotics (most sites say they don't do much good) and give her every chance to recover.

So now it's just wait and see :-(

Papa caught in the act!!!

Ha, I'm not the only one that spoils the chickens. Vince (known to the animals as Papa), went out to let the chickies peck around a bit and guess what I caught him doing. He was sitting and holding and scratching the chickies. That's not all he does. He lets the chickies out of their coop in the mornings. Well it started with a couple that would "wait" till he got there so he could take them off the roost and place them on the floor. Then it was a few more now the entire lot of them "wait" to be lifted off. One of them, we call her Ms. Henny, will climb back up the ladder and waddle all the way to the other end for a second ride. They are amazingly funny sometimes. We decided to buy an old camper and convert it into a "Mobile Chickie Town." There will be many pictures of that in the future as we customize it. They will be impressed with their new accommodations. And it will be very spacious. We plan to build a covered run that can be moved daily so they have new ground every day. That way I don't have to sit out for two hours a day and protect them from the hawks, which are constantly checking them out. They are getting pretty good at running for cover though. I scream really loud and they all run under the nearest tree. I'm thinking when they move into their new house would be a good time to introduce a rooster. Yes I said rooster. I think it's time to allow them to mingle with the opposite sex, however should he be too aggressive he might be sent packing.

Rory pouts :-(

Poor Rory. She hates waiting on the deck for me to let the chickens scratch around. I don't know if it's because I'm out there or because she just hates being outside in general. She's managed to find her a perch up high so she can see us. She climbs in the chair and turns around and puts on the biggest pout ever. There she sits until she sees me coming up to the deck. The chickens meanwhile are enjoying this beautiful weather. They love getting out and scratching around. Although, there are about 5 of them that would rather be held. A couple even try to take a little nap in my lap but I make them get down. They are getting a little "plump." The eggs are coming though. I'm getting a steady 15 a day now. They're getting bigger too. So far I sell about 5 dozen a week and we are eating the rest. Go go chickies go. I always thank them for the eggs. Some of them come in a look at the empty nest like they aren't really too happy I took them. I'm thinking they might get a rooster if we move to a farm. I don't know if I'm ready to give them up to a rooster just yet though.

Brrr, I don't like it!!!!

Ha, I figured chickies needed to stretch their legs and wings a little so I bundled up in my warm coveralls and mud boots and set out to spend a little time with the girls. There were a few spots where the snow had melted up toward the top of the yard so I thought they would all just follow up there. It was hilarious, the first few out of the pen started flying the minute their feet touched the white powder. A couple few over to the fence and wouldn't move from there. Three of them did follow me up to the top but didn't really seem too excited. They all kept looking down at their feet as if saying, "what is this stuff, get it off." Then I started to worry about their feet being too cold so I went back to the run and most of them followed right in. I had to go pick up the two by the fence since they still weren't moving. The three up top came walking very slowly back so I picked them up too. They seemed very happy just to stay in their run today and I can't say I was too disappointed myself. Now back to the nice warm house.

Crazy chicken!!

Well, I have a very aggressive chicken. It seems this one likes to be held, a lot!! I let them out and they all go do their chicken dance except this one. She comes up to my legs and starts viciously pulling on them. I look down and she's looking up and stretching her neck like she's looking for a place to land. So I pick her up and hold her and she's fine. Then I put her back down again and it starts all over again. Oh and if I sit down she's immediately in my lap. Some of the others come up and try to get up and they do for a bit but she'll push them off. She's just a crazy chicken. It figures though, we have a crazy cat and two crazy dogs so why not a crazy chicken. Oh well at least she's giving us some eggs.

Huge Egg!!

Oh boy what a big egg!! Vince went out to let the chickens out of the coop and they always crowd the doorway like middle school kids lining up for lunch, pushing shoving and trying to be the first in line. So he has to step over them to get in and right as he put his foot down he looked to the left and there was this huge egg. This one was definitely picture worthy. It weighed 2 1/2 oz, was 2 3/4" long 1 3/4" diameter and 5 1/2" around. We will let you know if it's a double yolker. Most of them are using the nesting boxes but a couple like a hidden spot behind a bucket in the corner and the newbies are still dropping them here and there. Overall though they are very good girls. Now I think I'll go have some eggs and toast:-)

Gotta have dry feet :-)

Poor chickies!!!! Their run was just so wet and it's not good for them to have wet feet all the time. Parasites and insects and stuff get to be a problem when there's too much moisture. So I shoveled out all the wet leaves and stuff, ahhh, 5 wheelbarrows full of decaying leaves and bedding. Then I put down clean fresh kiln dried wood shaving. To help keep it dry I put clear plastic over the part of their run that wasn't covered. I used clear so I wouldn't cut out any more light than I had to. Well they danced around all afternoon. I looked out several times and they were dancing and bathing. There were about 4 taking a bath all at the same time. I think they like their dry run. Now I need to take a long hot bath.

It's a 3 egg day!!!

Yippie!!! It's a 3 egg day!!! We've been getting 1 a day but today there were 3 little eggies. And what is that?? Do I see an egg in a nest? Well yes I do. Good girls. They are starting to get the hang of this egg laying thing. We're still finding them on the ground and in the corner of the coop but more often than not they are starting to be in the nest. It's kinda hard to tell but the egg in my hand may have been a first egg for whichever little girl laid that one. It was very long and skinny and sometimes the first few eggs can be funny shaped. They sure do brag very loudly after they finish laying one too. One girlie came out of the coop, definitely announcing that she had just done her duty. We may just have to have an egg dinner tonight :-)

Have you hugged a chicken today?

Oh go ahead, hug one, kiss one even, just don't let them kiss you back it might hurt!!!! It's really funny how they want attention. I have one that is just content to sit in my lap the whole time they are out. She'll snuggle way down and tuck her head under the crook of my arm. It's also funny to watch their interaction. They have a certain "language" all their own. They do okay for chickens :-) Anyway it's a lot of fun and also a lot of work but the kind of work that's worth it.

The "First" EGG!!!!!!

Yea!!!! It's finally here. One of the hens laid the first egg yesterday. It is so pretty, if eggs are pretty. We had been raking leaves all afternoon and redoing part of their run (more about that later). We finished up and decided to check out the coop to make sure everything was in order. There it was laying on the poop shelf. Fortunately Vince had cleaned off all the poop earlier that day so it was clean. It weighed 1 and 1/2 ounces, was 2" long and 4" diameter. We brought it in and cooked it. Vince fried it over medium. Yummy. I had forgotten what a bright colored yolk fresh eggs have. The flavor was more intense also. So there should be more to come. They are supposed to start laying between 16 and 20 weeks and this is 18 so they're doing pretty good.

Raking leaves with the chickies!

Raking leaves isn't much fun unless you happen to have children (or old people that act like children) or chickens that like to climb into the piles and begin to spread them back around from where you just raked them. I read that about a 6 inch layer of leaves makes good bedding for their run so since I have a yard full of leaves why not. Well chickies see the pile and can't wait for it to get into the pen so they jump right in. They seemed to have fun, if chickens have fun that is. At least it keeps them busy for a while. Then after I put it in their run I tossed in some scratch grains and they got really busy trying to find it. That is actually good for them in the winter as it helps them warm up.

Cleaning the chicken condo!!

Condo cleaning day!!! We wanted to put in some fresh pine shavings before the cold weather gets here. So we scooped all the old out into the run and put fresh on the floor. Underneath the shavings vinyl flooring to make cleaning easier. The buckets are old paint buckets complements of D&J Painting (my brother) in Thomasville. They have shredded paper in them to make the chickies comfy while they lay their eggs. The shelf above the buckets catch the dropping from the roosts which helps make clean up a breeze plus it helps keep the shavings dry. There are a couple of chickens that are a little scared to fly down in the morning so Vince has been helping them. Ha! now they are "waiting" for him to help them. There's a slide door over the hole where they go out into the run. This way we can lock them up safe and sound at night. No chicken dinners for Mr. Fox or Mr. Raccoon. Mr. Raccoon got into our last coop. So now the chickies have a nice clean house for the winter. Oh did I mention the chicken poop gets scooped into a pan every couple days and goes into the compost barrel. Boy does it make for some nice fertilizer.

Me and my girls :-)

Here are a few of the most beautiful chickens ever. I think, they think, I'm the mommy cause they follow me everywhere, or maybe it's the food:-) It looks like Mr. Bird may have gotten his claws into the back of one of the hens. I was out with them today and noticed what appeared to be blood on her back. I picked her up and looked around but couldn't see anything. Then when I sat her down she walked with a little list to the side then kinda shook it off and continued scratching around. That won't happen again though, they'll just have to be happy in their run unless I'm out in the yard with them. Gotta protect the babies!!!!

Oh my goodness!!!!

Poor chickies!!!!! This chicken is safe and sound after a traumatic experience, but I think she's a little "ruffled." I had let the chickies out to hunt for bugs and taken my favorite spot on the deck when all of a sudden I hear squawking and flapping like crazy. I look up and see a bird, a very large bird diving for my babies!!!!! I jumped up and screamed as loud as I could several times and he aborted his mission. The chickens managed to run under two holly trees in the edge of the wooded area of the yard. I was able to call the ones from the front tree to join the ones in the back tree closest to their pen. Well from there they weren't moving at all. Some had hunkered down in shock the others just kept looking at me like what the heck was that. I started coaxing them to me one at a time and carried each one of them to the pen. When it got down to the last five they had more room to get away from me so I fetched the pruners and cut away a couple of smaller branches enough so I could crawl in, yes crawl in to a prickly holly tree. I kept moving them and when I took the next to the last, the last realized she was all alone and started cackling and telling me what she thought. Next thing I know she was "flying" to the pen. Whew!!!! I immediately counted heads (about 10 times) just to make sure they were all present and accounted for. The ones I had carried either "purred" or peeped grateful to be back to safety. Don't think they'll be out again unless I can stay down in the yard with them. Now I need to take some Advil for the sore legs I think I will have in the morning.