The Broody Bunch

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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!

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!

We named the chickens today!  I’ve actually had names picked out since before we brought the chicks home.  I have some apprehensions about naming the chickens though.  It has nothing to do with sentiments; I’m already attached.  My biggest dilemma with naming the chicks is being able to tell them apart!

Right now the only way that we can tell the chicks apart is by markings and how developed they are.  Some have longer tail feathers than others and some have stripes or spots that will disappear when all of their feathers have come in.  Regardless, the kids were bugging me to name them, so here they are…

Dolly – She is the largest and most developed of the White Leghorns.  She also seems to be the most dominant.

Patsy – She is the second largest White Leghorn and has slightly shorter tail feathers than Dolly.

LeAnn – She is next in line.  Nothing really note-worthy to mention.

Faith – She is the smallest of the Leghorns and of all the chickens.

The Rhode Island Reds are distinguished more by their markings.

Wynona – She has four black stripes going down her back and also has a trade mark chirp-chirp when you pick her up.

Shania – She has white-ish tips on her wings.

Reba – She is very uniformly red and black striped on her feathers.

Martina – She is the smallest of the RI Reds and doesn’t have any black markings on her head.

So, they are all named.  Soon the white ones will all look the same and the red ones’ feathers will change color.  I think I’m going to have to invest in some leg bands.

Chicken dust.  I don’t think it’s related in any way to fairy dust.  Except that it seems to show up over night.  I’m sure that anyone else who has had chickens knows what I’m talking about.  But probably normal chicken keepers don’t keep them in the kitchen!  Every morning I have to wipe down all the counters and appliances.  If it was fairy dust, I would have flown around the galaxy several times already!

The chickens like the dust.  I’ve seen Willhi’s chickens take dust baths.  Yesterday one of the RI Reds scratched out a hole in the shavings and then started kicking and fluffing herself.  She’d bury her head under the shavings and give a contented twitter.  The other chicks came over and walked over her and pecked at the shavings on her back but she seemed in such ecstasy that she didn’t even move.I’m sure sure that chick really enjoyed her dust bath.  All of the chicks are looking very uncomfortable.  They’ve got feathers sticking out everywhere.  They kind of look like a cross between a powder puff and a pin cushion!

 

We’ve had a lot of fun so far watching the chicks do their chicken things.  I immediately noticed the difference in temperament between the Leghorns and the RI Reds.  I try to pick up and handle the chicks frequently so they get used to me.  The Reds will just stand there and let me slide my hand under them to pick them up.  The Leghorns run away as fast as they can, peeping all the way.

I also noticed that the Leghorns are more adept to foraging.  As soon as I put the new feeder in the box the Leghorns started scratching in the shavings for any food that had been scattered off the pie plate.  The Reds all walked around the new feeder until one of them dared to put her head in one of the holes.  The other chicks quickly followed.

One time one of the chicks fancied a particular piece of shavings and took off to a corner with it.  As soon as the other chicks saw her running with something they all made chase.  She fought for it but eventually it was dropped into all the other shavings and the game was forgotten.

My favorite part of watching the chicks is when they go to sleep.  The chick will walk over under the drop light.  Then slowly she just sort of deflates.  Her eyes close and then her body slowly drops to the floor.  Then her head droops in the same fluid motion until her beak is on the floor.  If she’s warm enough, her wings will relax away from her body a little.  There is nothing cuter than a sleeping chick.  It’s funny that when the box has sleeping chicks that we find ourselves tip-toeing around the box, whispering and hushing the kids.  It’s just as if we had eight sleeping babies.  It’s fun and I’m loving it!!

 

Well, no chicks today.  Yesterday Little Maiden and I went to the LFS to get chicken mash.  They had a large box just hopping with chicks.  I asked about them but the chicks were Ameraucanas.  I have four White Leghorns and four Rhode Island Reds coming.  But the clerk said those chicks would come in Thursday or Friday.  I bought 50# of mash and half a pound of red seed potatoes for my fifth SFG.

I was happily surprised today when I got home from work.  My chicken run was up and the chicken door had been cut!  GH and Little Maiden had been busy.  They also had filled the fifth SFG so I planted my potatoes today!

I started doing some research online today.  I found a few websites that help with the basics.  Backyardchickens.com has a lot of helpful information on what to do with your baby chicks.  There are instructions on building coops and making your own chicken feeder and waterer. 

I also talked to my friend and chicken authority, Willhimenia.    She’s raised chickens for years and will be on call when my chicks arrive.  I’m getting four Rhode Island Reds and four White Leghorns.  I had originally wanted Buff Orpingtons and Black Australorps.  I was going to order them from Mcmurrayhatchery.com but they have a minimum order of 25 chicks!  I was originally thinking of getting just 6.  I found another place that had a minimum of 15 chicks.  But still, that was a few more than I wanted to start with.  So, Willhi told me to check our LFS (local feed store). 

When I went in yesterday I found that they weren’t getting either breed in.  So I picked up an order form for May (they had one for June also).  I took it to the back of the store and stared at the list of breeds that they offered.  Honestly, I didn’t know what the difference was from any of them unless the colors red, black or white were included in their names.  Luckily, on the shelf by my head was a book called Pocketful of Poultry.  I was able to look up the names in that book to see what the chicken breeds looked like but also if they were good egg layers.  That was kind of the point in getting some hens.  So anyway, I decided on the Rhode Island Reds that are great layers and lay brown eggs and the White Leghorns that lay white eggs.  The eight pullets cost me a grand total of $23.92 at $2.99 each.  My first and most important expense of this adventure! 

I was told that the chicks will be in the third week of May but I could call during the first or second week to find out exactly what day they chicks would be arriving.  Hopefully that will give me enough time to prepare!