The Broody Bunch

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?

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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!

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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!

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I was reminded again this morning how brilliantly colored the world really is.  The green and blue that met my eyes when I  awoke were almost cartoonish.  A welcome change from the dreary shades of gray.  We’re supposed to get two days of sun.  I’ll be busy weeding the gardens and doing all of the outdoor activities that I need to get done.

Raising chickens thus far has definitely been a learning experience.  I’ve not only gained knowledge about chickens but I feel that I’ve also gained insight into the community of “chicken people”.  Those who raise chickens for whatever reason.

Aside from chickens, I’ve learned several things so far this summer.  

For instance, I learned this morning that being pooped on by a snake is STINKY business!  Young Master now has a pet snake that Willhi caught for him.  It’s in a glass tank in the garage.  When I went to the chicken coop this morning I found another garden snake about the same size as Young Master’s snake.  I thought he might like to have two snakes.  So I picked it up and was trying to unwind it from the fence when it pooped.  PHEW!  That was enough for me to drop him.  What a big stink for a little snake!  I had to go wash my hands.

Another tidbit I learned is that we have a large moth in Maine called a Cecropia Moth.  I found it at work and brought it home to identify it.  I’d seen the large, greenish Luna Moth with its golden feather antennae and half moons on its wings.  But this moth, which was similar in size, was red and also had feather antennae and half moons on its wings.  I’d never seen one before.

I’ve learned that I’m afraid of lightning.  Not thunder storms.  Just lightning.  Just when it’s real close.  I’ve seen houses burn flat that were struck by lightning.  We’ve had two major thunder storms this past week.  One night lightning struck a tree across the street from our church and split it in two.   

I’ve learned that a billion is a lot of money.  A trillion must be ever so much more.  God help us.

And I’ve learned that the sun is always shining somewhere even if it’s not shining on you.  Is there such thing as sun envy?

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Happy Independence Day!

Our Fourth of July plans have been hindered somewhat by the rain.  GH had to work this morning so I took Young Master and Little Maiden to the big parade in town.  It rained but not a down pour. 

I’m starting to think that we’re turning into cold-blooded amphibians.  Neither of the kids brought a sweater or coat and we didn’t bring an umbrella.  So we just sat on the cold, wet sidewalk and endured the rain on our bare heads and arms.  There were no complaints about the rain except that Dapper (who came with us to the parade) was starting to smell like “wet dog”.  

We enjoyed the parade and I was surprised to see a bantam rooster leading the way for the cooperative extension!

Our “barbeque” was cooked inside on the Foreman Grill while it thundered outside.  There is still no sun in sight in the forecast.  It’s really starting to take its toll on Maine’s agricultural businesses.  The state may have to declare a major disaster for our loss of crops.

My friend, Rose, invited me to her house today to look at her flower gardens.  Little Maiden went with me.   Rose’s gardens are beautiful!   I was truly inspired.  I’d love to have flowers around the house.  Even though there was no sun, the brightly colored flowers lit up the yard.  Rose is giving a ladies ice cream social in her garden in a couple of weeks.  I can’t wait to attend!

Yesterday afternoon I was able to go see Willhi.  I brought Leann with me because Willhi wanted to check her over.  It turns out that Leann choked on a slug.

There was nothing that could be done.  And nothing that I can do.  How do I keep my chickens from being gluttons and trying to swallow slugs that are too big for them?  Willhi assured me that I can’t.  I’m concerned.

We are overrun with slugs.  We have had so much rain and there is no end in sight.  Even at the moments when it’s not raining, it is cloudy and foggy.  There is no sun or heat to drive the slugs back into the earth.  You can’t take one step without squishing two or three slugs.

The chickens knew that Leann was missing last night.  I sat in the coop for a long time with them.  Dolly flew into my lap immediately and cuddled into my arm.  She hasn’t done that in a while.  Patsy walked around and around the coop, calling and calling.  Faith kept eyeing me and finally flew into my lap with Dolly.  Faith is so timid that she never lets me even pick her up.  She still wouldn’t let me pat her, but she wanted to be in my lap.

Maybe they missed Leann.  Maybe they were comforting me.  Maybe I’ll never know.  But I miss Leann and I was comforted.