The Broody Bunch

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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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.

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.

Today is a sad day.  Leann is no longer with us.  She died this morning.

There was no warning.  There was no sign of illness.  This morning I went out to open the hatch into the run as I do every morning.  Everyone ran outside while I checked their water and food.  I picked up Reba because she’s always at my feet and loves to be patted and cuddled.  Then a commotion out in the run caught my eye.  Leann had fallen down and was stretching out her neck with her beak open wide.  It almost looked like she was choking.  Then she convulsed and flipped over on her back.  She was gone just like that.  I took her out of the pen right away so the other chickens wouldn’t molest her.

The kids are mildly sad.  They understand death and want to bury Leann in the backyard.  I think I’m having a harder time with it because I take care of the chickens.  Did I do something wrong?  Could I have prevented this?  Is there a threat to the other chickens?

I’ve already emptied the coop of old shavings and put down fresh, clean shavings.  I cleaned the waterer and re-filled it.  I went into the run and found some things that the chickens had unearthed that could be harmful if it was ingested.  I removed them and will be checking frequently.

Death leaves a dark, morose feeling that lingers in the atmosphere like the rain clouds that we’ve had to deal with for two weeks now.  The seven day forecast is more rain.  I knew that fatalities were a real possibility when I got my chicks.  I’ll have to accept it and move on.  It would just be easier if I had some sunshine.

Dapper’s relationship with the chickens is still unsettled.  He’s very happy that they are no longer in the house.  (Although he found chicken droppings to be a tasty treat.)  He no longer has to be gated into just one room anymore and he doesn’t suffer fits of anxiety when a chick abandoned her brooder.  Dapper is the only pet in the house again and he gets all the attention.  Good or bad.

When we go to the coop, Dapper hates to be left out.  At first I wasn’t sure how he’d react to eight chicks running helter-skelter around him but I couldn’t bear his whining for long.

I opened the door to let Dapper in.  Immediately he ran to my side, tail wagging, and sat down.  I wondered how long it would take for the chicks to notice him and what Dapper would do about it.  It wasn’t long.

At times a chick would get close to the dog.  Dapper would stretch out his neck to nose the chicken.  Often the chick would turn to face him, nose to beak.  Then she’d turn and run off.

After a little while, Dapper got brave and would take a step or two to sniff at a chick.  That’s when the trouble started.

A chickens number one preoccupation is finding food.  She spends most of her time eating, scratching, pecking and chasing bugs.  So when Dapper stood up, his floppy, long-haired ears just looked like so many worms that the chicks couldn’t resist.  They flocked him, pulling strands of hair on his ears.  This surprised him and then POW!  He was pecked right on the nose!

After that, Dapper was very careful to keep his face hidden behind someone’s legs.  Soon, he gave up and asked to leave the coop.

I guess Dapper has a healthy understanding of what being “hen-pecked” means now.

(The picture shows Dapper’s surprised expression with his ears standing straight up after being pecked by the Leghorn.)

It’s been the better part of a week since I first let the chicks out into their run.  Things have been happening so fast around here that I haven’t had time to write it all.

Last Saturday was the only warm, sunny day in the middle of several rainy days.  I hadn’t planned on letting the chicks into the run yet since they were still getting used to the coop as their new home.  But when I went to check on the chicks that morning, the coop was already quite warm and steamy.  So, I decided to open the hatch to the run to get the air circulating.  I sat down on the plastic feed box to see what the chicks’ reaction would be.

As soon as they saw the open door, the chicks all ran over to it to investigate.  No one was eager to be the first to explore.  The grass inside the run had grown up quite tall and it looked like a jungle compared to the size of my little chicks.

I was sure Dolly would be the first to step out into the wilderness.  As I watched I became more confident that she would lead the way.  While some of the others seemingly lost interest and went back to the feeders, Dolly hopped up onto the edge of the opening.  She stuck her head out as far as she could to see what she could see.  Soon she became engrossed in playing tug-of-war with a long blade of grass that hung into the coop.  While she and some of the others that joined her game were preoccupied, little Faith hopped up on the edge of the door casing and then jumped down into the grass.

Immediately there was a whole world in front of her filled with bugs!  Soon Faith had the attention of all the other chickens who, one by one, joined her in the hunt for bugs.  The leghorns, who are always the bravest, made their way out into the tall grass.  The RI Reds were shy at first.  Some of them would jump into the grass and then jump back into the coop several times until they were sure enough of themselves and their surroundings.

At dusk, when I went out to close their hatch, all of the chicks were already inside the coop and bedded down for the night.  Instinct told them what to do and where to go.

In the mornings now, they all gather in front of the hatch and wait for me to open it.  Then there is a great flutter of wings and a whirlwind of feathers and shavings as each chick rushes to be the first one out the door!

There are several worn paths in the tall grass now.  The slug and mosquito population has diminished.  And my chickens are getting fat and happy.  What a life!

The chicks are really liking their new space.  They have plenty of room to run around and play games or chase bugs.  They’ve also fallen into a daily routine.

Now that the chicks are outside, it has become more exciting to go see them.  Every morning Young Master and Little Maiden beg to go with me to check on the chicks.  The short walk from the front door to the coop is like a field trip.  The kids race to see who can get there first.  GH put locks on the tops of the doors to keep the chickens protected from irresponsible children and clever raccoons.  So by the time I get to the coop Young Master and Little Maiden are jumping  up and down with excitement!

By now, the chicks expect to see me around the same time every morning.  They will lay in front of the door, peeking through the cracks to watch for me.  They know that they’ll get more food when I arrive.

The chicken coop is amazingly cozy.  I never thought that the tool shed would bring such comfort to me.  It really has become one of my favorite places to be.  I find it relaxing to sit and watch the antics of my birds.  It’s a place where I can come together with my kids and God’s creation in a sort of harmony that’s not forced or fake.  It’s a place where my mind feels clearer and a place where memories are captured.  Truth be told, even the sweet smell of chickens and pine shavings has a certain draw for me.

Call me weird, but I think I was born for this.

P.S.  Two exciting things happened today!  We harvested our first four radishes from the garden and Young Master lost a tooth!