The Broody Bunch

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My chicks are really growing up now!  Their combs and wattles are starting to be more prominent. They’re shedding out young feathers and growing new ones like crazy!  And I’ve watched their faces go from pink to pinker to bright red.

Chickens definitely have a unique look.  Handsomely dressed in crisp, soft feathers, strutting on two strong legs, conspicuously decorated with eye-catching wattles and crowned with a bright red comb, chickens certainly have a proud physique.  It seems strange that this commanding presence with her sharp beak and beady red eyes will melt like butter when I pick her up and stroke her back.  With a soft purring sound she closes her eyes and will even let the other chickens eat all the food while she enjoys her aptly deserved pampering.  Oh yes, a girl after my own heart! 

Ahhh… home at last.  We had a great week at the camp grounds!  The weather was perfect!  Lots of sun, warm temperatures, and not on rain drop!  I’m tired but can’t quit now.  We run full speed into four kid’s church services in three days!

Willhi and my helpful, Christian neighbor (HCN) checked on my chickens through the week.  Apparently, the chickens drank a lot of water and ate very little food.  When it’s hot like it was this week, it’s normal that they would drink a lot.  It’s also not surprising that they didn’t eat a lot of food, knowing their attitude toward the pellets.

When I went to the coop, all the chickens came running to see me.  Dolly and Faith both made their way onto my lap.  I grabbed up a handful of chicken food for them.   Normally, with the mash, they would nearly tear my hand apart eating up all the food I offered them.  But the blank stare I received in response to my handful of pellets was comical!

I felt a little guilty now that my chicks were looking for a treat and all I had was pellets.  It was like telling the kids I’d bring home a treat for them only to hand them broccoli.  They will eat broccoli but it’s not a treat.

So I went to my kitchen to put together a platter for the chickens.  I found some leftover mashed potatoes, I added some shredded carrots and crumbled corn flakes over the top.

The chicks weren’t sure what to think about the platter when I put it in the run.  But it didn’t take long for the to taste and see that it was good!  

We’re going away again.  This time for 4 and a half days!  I feel better with the feeder that the chickens have now.  And our last absence went well.

On Monday all four of us are going to camp.  Young Master and Little Maiden are campers and GH and I are staff.  We’ll come home from the campground Friday afternoon.

I want to put some windows in the coop for extra ventilation and maybe I can work out an automatic waterer.

I just switched the chickens over to grower pellets instead of crumble.  I was told there’s less waste with pellets.  Well, as of yet, I haven’t seen any of the chickens eat them.  I mixed the pellets with left over crumble in hopes that they would adjust quickly.  It looks like they’re scratching the pellets out onto the floor and just eating the mash.  By the time we leave for camp the chickens will be on just pellets.  Will they eat them if they get hungry enough or will they starve with food all around them?  I wish I knew.

We installed the new feeder for the chickens today.  It’s simple and cheap but it works great!

I can’t take credit for the idea.  I saw it on another chicken website.  But I immediately liked it because it’s just what I’ve been needing.  An inexpensive, gravity fed feeder than can hold a lot of food.

The feeder is made of 4 inch PVC pipe.  It starts with a 2 ft straight pipe.  Then a 90 degree elbow followed with a 45 degree elbow.  It’s hung with galvanized hanger tape.  In all, the feeder cost about $23.00.

Because the piping isn’t holding liquid, just feed, there was no need to seal the pieces.  They fit snuggly together.

We hung the feeder so the lower opening is about the same height as the chickens’ chin.  That way they can reach it easily but can’t really bill out the food.

The chickens love it!  Two of them can eat at it comfortably at the same time.  But they seem to take turns and share pretty well.  And if someone gets impatient she just jumps up on the elbow and claims her turn!

We made it home!  Albeit a mite later than planned.  We pulled in just before midnight last night. 

I went to check on the chickens right away.  They were all roosting on the shelf.  I counted them and all seven were there.  I didn’t see any immediate signs of distress or pecking, which can occur if food isn’t readily available.

The waterer was knocked over and one of the feeders had been kicked over and half buried.  There was still some feed in the large feeder that GH helped me make.

I righted everything and filled all the feeders.  The chickens all came down off the roost and ate greedily.

I closed up the coop like usual.  I’m thankful that everything turned out okay and everyone came through the weekend safe and sound!

P.S.  We had a great time on Sheffield Island with the family!  The sun was shining and the whole weekend was full of fun!

We’re leaving later today for a long weekend in Connecticut!  We’re planning on being back home in time for Sunday evening service at church.  I’m leaving the chickens home alone…

The weather report says that it’s supposed to rain here all weekend.  That’s actually good because I won’t have to worry about the chickens getting too hot.

I didn’t have time to make the new feeder and waterer that I wanted so I had to improvise.  GH cut three holes around the top of a large plastic container.  I filled it with chicken food and put the cover on it.  Then I turned it upside down on an inverted burner cover.  The food spilled out nicely!  I figure that even if they bill out all the food, they can just scratch for it.

The current waterer is big enough to hold enough water for three days but it often gets knocked over or filled with shavings.  So as a precaution, I’ve filled a large tub with water and put it in the run.  It’s too heavy to get knocked over and with all the rain, it shouldn’t ever be empty!

That brings me to my biggest concern.  I’m going to have to leave their run open.  We’ve never had any signs of predators but there’s a first for everything.  I did tighten the fencing on the front door with the staple gun so that it’s not just tacked up with nails.

There’s not much more I can do for them now.  But I’m a believer in faith and prayer.  I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve prayed for their safety here at home as well as our safety on the road!

Today I bought some Grower crumble to mix with the chick starter mash.  I think I’m a bit late in changing their feed but they seem to be healthy.

I’m going to start gathering materials to make my chickens a new feeder and waterer.  They’ve really outgrown the feeders that I bought when they were chicks.  Plus, I’m going away for a week in August and I need to find a way to keep them fed.  I haven’t found a baby sitter yet.

Other modifications need to be made to the coop soon.  That includes removing the shelf, moving up the roost, making windows, and adding nesting boxes.  My girls are growing up, and I can’t believe how quickly!

I wasn’t really attacked by a chicken but she did draw blood.  I was a bit late this morning opening up the coop for the chickens.  I expected them to be up and scratching at the feeders already.  When I opened the front door of the coop, two chicks flew down from the shelf where they had been roosting and right out the front door by my feet!

I was able to guide one of them back into the coop immediately but the other chicken got by me.

I turned to grab her but she jumped and squawked and I ended up with just tail feathers!  I jumped again and she fluttered and again I only grabbed her tail.  I held fast while trying to get a better hold of the squawking, flapping chicken!  I finally managed to toss her back into the coop but not unscathed. 

I have a scratch on my finger and wrist that bled from chicken feet and I scraped my shin on who-knows-what.

The coop was in an uproar!  I quickly checked the food and water and opened the hatch.  Then I turned my back and walked away to go lick my wounds.

P.S. I also had a wonderful time at the ladies’ ice cream social last night.  Rose’s flower garden was a beautiful setting.  By the way, does anyone bring hostess gifts anymore?  I always try to bring something for the hostess to thank her for all her hard work, but I was the only one out of 12 women.  Am I old fashioned or just a goody-goody?

I’m not exactly mechanically inclined but I am creative.  And my chickens’ health is important to me.  So when I checked on my chicks yesterday afternoon and found them listless and panting, I knew something had to be done right then!

Chickens can suffer from heat exhaustion.  Especially the dark breeds like my Rhode Island Reds.  To cool off, the chickens will stand with their wings drooped down and held away from their bodies so the air can circulate.  If that doesn’t do the job then they will open their mouths and pant like a dog.  If that doesn’t do enough to help them, they will faint from the heat.  If you find a chicken in this state, you may be able to revive it with a cool bath.

I knew that if my chickens were panting that the heat could become dangerous quickly.

I gathered a piece of leftover fencing and nails from the garage.  I opened one door of the coop and tacked the fencing to the inside of the door frame.  The fencing didn’t quite reach the ground.  I found a scrap of T1-11 and tacked the bottom of the fencing to that.  When the opposite door is closed, it overlaps the fencing.  Then I hung a clip fan on the shelf to try to keep the air moving.

It’s not exactly secure but the chickens haven’t tried to test it.  I still close all of the doors at night to keep predators out.  At least my chicks are much cooler during day now. 

No baked chickens today!

Finally we’ve had a couple of days that I might call typical summer days.  Blue skies, sunshine, and heat.  Young Master and Little Maiden even got some pool time this morning at work.  (One of the perks of being a housekeeper!)

The chickens are surviving the heat alright.  The coop gets a bit stuffy during the afternoon.  I know there’s not enough ventilation so I’ve been going out and opening the big front door for a while.  I have to sit and guard it so no one escapes.

I really need to cut some windows in the back of the coop to open things up a bit.  But we tend to not be mechanically inclined around here so we lack the tools needed for that project.  Maybe I can come up with Plan B tomorrow.

I remember Willhi telling me once to be sure to put the chicken roost higher than the nesting boxes because chickens will always roost on the highest point.  Having the nesting boxes lower than the roost prevents them from messing on their eggs when they start laying.

Good advice.  What I didn’t consider is the shelf in the coop that I keep the bales of shavings on.  It’s over my head.  But that’s where I’ve found all of the girls sleeping these last two nights when I went out to close up their run.  On the shelf and even on top of the shaving bales.

I hope they don’t try to lay any eggs up there.  We’ll have scrambled eggs in short order!