Flight of the Chickens!

Our girls are growing up so fast.  They will be 4 weeks old tomorrow.
Today was a big day for one of them.
Our little Mabel decided that she would test out all those new wing feathers she's been growing.
We had been watching them do mini 'test flights' the past couple of days, but they would only get 6 to 8 inches off the ground. We thought we had at least another week until we had to worry about them getting out of the brooder box. That all changed today.  Oh, we are so naive.
I assume all parents underestimate what their young 'ums can do.  And of course it all happens the moment you turn your back.  It's like they are little prisoners just waiting for the right moment to make their escape.

I figure the planning went something like this....
Henrietta (the head chicken), 'OK, Girls, huddle up.  I think it's time we make a break for it.  Do we all agree we're tired of looking at these same four walls?'
Peeping and head nodding all around.
'All right then, I have a plan.  Gather round.  I say we send out a scout to investigate what is outside this box, and I think the best way to do that is have one of us fly up and out the box and report back what they see.'
'Do we all agree?'
More peeping and chicken twittering.
Mildred asks,'Who should we send?'
Henrietta, 'Excellent question Mildred.  I believe Mabel is our best flyer.  What do you say Mabel? You up for a little adventure?'
Mabel's little beady chickens eyes get very wide.  She gulps and says in a high pitched voice, 'Me?!'
All the girls gather round Mabel and cheer her on.
Henrietta, 'It's settled then.  The next time the 'Big Head' is out of sight you're on Mabel.'
'Shoosh, here comes 'Big Head' again, act natural.'  Peeping and scratching commences.
'OK, 'Big Head' is gone, you're on Mabel.'
'Yeah, go Mabel, go!'
Mabel tests her wings and takes a deep breath.  She flaps faster and hovers inches off the floor.
'You can do it Mabel!  Keep flapping!'
Mabel gives it all she's got.  Flap, flap, flap....and out of the box she goes!
She lands on top of the brooder box extension (A.K.A. the top of the dog crate).
She looks around wide eyed and reports that she can see the food bin from there. And also the big black beast (our dog, Riley)...who appears to be napping.
But just as she is starting to relay back all the information 'Big Head' reappears and scoops Mabel up and deposits her back in the brooder box.
Mabel seems dazed by her experience.
'The Girls' gather round her like little peeping convicts and ask 'What's it like on the outside?'
Mabel simply states, 'Big.'

They have no idea....



Update:  We put mesh on top of the brooder box to keep our girls safe:)

The Chicken Whisperer

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, 'The Girls' now have a second addition on their brooder box, but what I forgot to mention was that they also moved from the sun-porch in our house into my husband's studio/workshop.

Our house now seems so quite, no little peeps to welcome you into the house anymore :(
But they really needed expanded accommodations and the best option was to move them to my husband's shop.

Side note here: Our property actually used to be an egg farm.
(I guess all things do come full circle!)
My husband's studio is really the former chicken coop.  A little ironic don't you think?

The Girls having dinner

So, last night I went out to my husband's studio to let him know dinner was ready.  The door to the studio was open and I stopped and stood in the doorway and watched my husband 'talking' to 'The Girls'.  He didn't know I was there watching and what I saw really touched me.

There is a quote that goes something like this 'You can tell someone's character by the way they treat another from whom they have nothing to gain.' (If anyone knows the correct quote or who it is by, please let me know.) This is one of the reasons I married my husband in the first place.  His kindness to others from whom he has nothing to gain.
Anyway, as I stood in the doorway, I watched him as he fixed their feeder and soothingly spoke to 'The Girls' about if they liked their new feeder stand and how they would be safe and not to worry about anything.
(Inset 'Aaaaw' here).
As a side note, this is the same man that told me not to give my chickens names because I would become too attached to them.  Uh huh....

The best part was he was trying to get them to settle down for the night and go to sleep.  He claims that a few nights ago he made soft scratching sounds on the floor of the brooder box and they all laid down at once.  I personally did not witness this happen that night, so was hoping to catch 'The Chicken Whisperer' in action again.  He was repeating the same actions, but 'The Girls' did not seem to be under his spell this time.
I started to chuckle and that is when he looked up and noticed me watching him.  He seemed a bit sheepish to know I had been watching him, but I wasn't one bit surprised by what I saw.
I look forward to the next time I catch 'The Chicken Whisperer' in action.

Because my husband may not like that I just exposed his soft underbelly to the world, I also want you to know that he is a tough guy and a man's man as well.  He is a great carpenter and painter and has lots of tools and guy stuff.  (Did I make you sound tough enough Honey?)

Speaking of painting...we painted the free coop we got on Craig's list.  My husband went to the local big box store to get paint to give our coop a fresh coat.  He got a great bargain on some really expensive outdoor paint at $5.00 a gallon.  We had discussed painting it the same color red which was on it when we got it, but what he brought home was not what I was expecting. Hey, a bargain is bargain, no matter the color!
Check out our new "Blueberry Coop' below.

The Blueberry Coop

I'm thinking about 'mango' colored trim and some hot chili pepper lights to jazz it up a bit.
I am open to more suggestions...anyone?

Hanging with my Peeps

I've been wanting to use that title ever since we decided to get chickens.
It's the only time a middle class, 40 something, suburbanite white chick can say that and get away with it!

The topic for today is 'Perching.'  Can you say 'perching' boys and girls?

Chicken factoid here...you have to teach chickens how to perch on a piece of wood.
OK, if they grew up with their actual chicken mom them they would learn from her and the other hens.
But, since I am their 'Mother Hen' I have to teach them to perch.

That was yesterday's lesson.
But first we had to redo their brooder box A.K.A 'The Chicken Condo Deluxe' designed and built by my husband.  They are growing so quickly that they were starting to get stressed in the little box we had started them out in.
You may be asking...how do you know when a chicken is stressed?
First they start to complain that all they ever get to see is the same 4 walls and it's the same food day in and day out.  Nothing ever changes.
OK, for the real answer, they start to peck at each other and jostle for space either to sleep or while at the feeder.  They also get more vocal.  Their little peeps and chirps get louder and higher pitched and more distressed sounding.

So once again, my husband (The Head Rooster) comes to the rescue and turns our no longer being used dog crate into a second room addition for 'The Girls.'  This is no little dog crate. We purchased it for our German Shepard puppy, Bruce, a couple years back.  German Shepard puppies become big dogs so we got the super deluxe size to accommodate him as he grew up.  This crate was big enough for Bruce and I to be in it at the same time.
Don't ask me how I know this...let's just say I know.
Short version of the story is that Bruce HATED being in his crate so it has been re-purposed into a chicken condo.
Now 'The Girls' have double the space and two rooms which to run around and contemplate their little chicken lives.  I'm sure they contemplate things like....'When will the giant head come back and give us more food?'  Or 'Was Einstein on to something with the 'Theory of Everything?'

Back to perching.... 
Here is the fun part about teaching chickens to perch.
First you gently pick up a screaming chicken and then hold them above the perch until their little chicken feet touch the perch.  After they have grabbed onto the perch you let go...and watch as the little chicken falls off the perch.  Once you stop laughing, you pick up same chicken and repeat the process until she does not fall off. This takes 2 or 4 times or for the slower ones...98 times.  Repeat this little procedure with a couple more chicks.  Cool chicken factoid....once you teach a couple of chickens to perch, the other ones watch and mimic those taught to perch, so you really only need to show a few.  It's kind of like 'Chicken See, Chicken do.'
Before anyone turns me in for chicken cruelty, I want you know that the perch is only a couple of inches above the floor, so they do not fall far.

You may ask 'Chicken Chica, why do chickens need to learn to perch?'
Glad you asked.  First of all, they are chickens and that's one of the things chickens do.  Besides eating, sleeping, peeping and pooping...they perch.  Perching and sleeping go wing in wing.  (Chicken humor..stay with me folks).
Chickens feel safe when they are up higher.  They are less vulnerable to predators and are off the floor where it is warmer and drier.

Here is the cute part...when I went out at night to check on 'The Girls' last night two of them were sleeping on the perch. (I am so proud!) One had her head tucked under her wing.  What a good little chicken!  But the other one hung her head over the side of the perch until her beak touched the ground.  I guess some of my Girls are a little smarter than the others, but I love them all the same.

Hope all you Moms out there had a good Mother's Day. (Remember you're a Mom if your 'kids' are two or four legged or furry, feathered or scaly!)  Love them all!

Final though of the day.....aren't you glad you don't have to sleep on a stick?

Chicken Butts

OK, back to where we left off...chicken butts.  Once again this is a VERY important part of chicken anatomy.  It serves as the, shall we say, exit, for all that poop.  And what's most important is that the 'exit' needs to be kept clean or they will 'paste up.'  I'm not kidding you.
Alert for the squeamish here...I'm going to be discussing chicken butts and poop for a little bit.  If this not your forte in life, feel free to skip ahead a bit.  I respect your wishes.

Now where was I...of yeah, chicken butts and poop.  'Pasting up' is when the poop sticks to the chicken's butt and then dries, thus not allowing any more poop to come out the 'exit.'  This is a job for the 'Chicken Crack Checker.' (A term coined by sister as this became her job during her visit).

I'll interrupt with a chicken fact here.  The technical term for the poop shoot is the 'vent.'  I learned that at chicken class.  Aren't you proud of me? 

Here's how the job of the 'Chicken Crack Checker' is performed.  First, two 'Checkers' try to get a good look at each chicken's butt, this in itself is not as easy at it may appear on the surface.  With 15 little balls of fuzz peeping and pecking and pooping and scurrying around it is hard to identify which butt needs cleaning.
Now here's where the fun part comes in...once one of the 'Checkers' identifies which butt needs closer inspection you then have to separate them from the herd, I mean flock, and then grab only that particular chick.

It all goes something like this.
First Checker says with enthusiasm, 'I think I see one.'
Second Checker, 'Which one?'
First person points in general direction of swarming beaks and butts.
'That one?'
'No, that one!'
'It's on it's way to your side of the box.'
'Which one?'
'That one!'   More pointing of finger.

Second Checker makes blind grab into swarm.
'You missed it.'
'Now it's on your side.'  As the chick merges back into the swarm of same color fluff.
'Which one is it again?' More pointing of finger.
Blind grab and success!  First Checker has caught a chick...but upon further inspection it's not the correct chick....this one's butt is clean.
Darn.
Release of chick.
Repeat of the above dialogue and finger pointing. Blind grab again and got one! This one's butt is in need of cleaning. (cheers go up)  More choreography here... first Checker holds chick while pointing it's butt in the direction of the second Checker, second Checker inspects said butt and evaluates use of proper cleaning technique.  Second Checker decides on the ever popular 'Wet Paper Towel' method and moves in for the clean up.  Second Checker is satisfied with results, confirms cleanliness with First Checker and chick is released back into the swarm once again.
This scene is repeated until all butts are cleaned to both Checkers satisfaction.

In case you wondering, the chickens don't really enjoy this whole process.

Seriously, this is how I spend my time now...checking chicken butts .  A Mother Hen's job is never done!

Just a note on my social life...it's basically back to non existent again.  Apparently my popularity was short lived. 

Gotta go now...time to check butts once again!

Champagne with Chicken(s)

Sorry for the delay in getting the next post out, but I have been very  busy being a chicken mom (AKA 'The Mother Hen')

Here's the update on 'The Girls.'  They are two weeks old today and have grown tremendously in that time.  They arrived as tiny little balls of reddish brown down punctuated with a beak, two little black beady eyes on the top and 2 chicken feet sticking out the bottom.  Oh yeah, and a poop shoot out the back.
This last mentioned body part is very important and is where we concentrate most of our energy.
(Spoiler alert: This will be the subject of my next post).

The 'Girls' are doing great and seem to be getting bigger by the hour! No kidding, they seem to change overnight.  We will 'tuck' them in around 8PM (they go to sleep when the sun goes down) and when we check on them in the morning they will have a new set of feathers that weren't there the night before.  One morning it is wing feathers, another it's back feathers and yet another it is tail feathers.  This morning's surprise, besides more poop, is that their faces now resemble tiny pterodactyls. I don't recall reading that in any of my 'What to expect when you become a Mother Hen' book. You think someone might have mentioned that my cute fuzzy little baby's were going to go through 'The Jurassic' era stage.  But as their adoptive Mother I still think my babies are cute.  Isn't that what ALL mothers say about their babies?  Maybe it's just a phase their going through. I went through an awkward phase too, it started about the age of 12 and ended about....come to think of it I think, I'm still in it :)  But I'm sure my 'Girls' will become beautiful chickens one day soon.

For the past two weeks they have been very happy peeping, pecking and pooping....but mostly pooping.
I guess I forgot that new parents have to deal with a lot of poop.  Alas, a Mother Hen's work is never done.

The Girls are very entertaining to watch.  One moment they will be sound asleep and then one will wake up and RUN to the feeder as if to check to make sure the source of all their food wasn't just in her little chicken dreams.  Once one wakes up they all wake up and run to the feeder as well.  Then they all just stand there as if they forgot why they had ran over to the feeder in the first place.  I can imagine what is going on in their little chicken minds...'Now why did I just run over to the feeder?  Maybe if I RUN back over to the other side I'll remember why I came over here in the first place.' And with that thought they all RUN back over to the other side of the brooder box.  This little scene repeats itself numerous times throughout the day and never ceases to cause my husband an I endless laughter....which then sounds them scurrying back to the opposite of the box!

'The Girls' sleeping

And then there is the sleeping thing.  Chicks have a limited number of activities; eating, sleeping, pecking and pooping, but sleeping is one of my favorites.  They will be standing looking around thinking about why they are standing and looking around and then...sleep!  They just sit down, or fall over, and go to sleep as if someone just flipped the switch from on to off.  The first time you see this happen you think they may have had a little chicken heart attack and just collapsed where they were.   This can be disconcerting the first day, but rest assured they really are sleeping, they just look like their dead. 

If you want a constant stream if entertaining antics in your home I highly recommend getting a few chicks.
Watching them is way better then any TV show.  Come to think of it maybe cable TV should have 'The Poultry' channel.  That's it! I can see it now, twenty four hours a day of little peeps running around peeping, pecking and pooping.  How much fun would that be?  I could even be the commentator....giving a blow by blow of all the chicken antics.  This could become more popular then ESPN.
I think I'll call our cable provider tomorrow and request this.

I will digress once again. I had mentioned in my previous post that my social life was in desperate need of a makeover.  In case any of you were concerned for my mental well being, I want to put your mind at ease.  I was not aware that once you get chickens your popularity goes WAY up.  It's true.  Since "The Girls' have arrived my sister came and spent the entire weekend (she has never done that previously or B.C. - Before Chickens).  And my girlfriend Lisa, was so concerned about my lack of social interaction that she came to our house for dinner a couple of days after "The Girls' arrived.  I'm sure they both wanted to spend time with me, but somehow I secretly think they are using me just to get a 'chicken fix.'

They don't get any cuter than this!

The night 'The Girls' first arrived, our neighbors from across the street came to meet our babies and brought over a bottle of champagne to celebrate their arrival.  And in case you were wondering...I did NOT serve chicken for dinner that night!  Actually our neighbors just came over to toast (not roast) our new arrivals.  We love our neighbors.  They always know just the right way to celebrate.  And so we had champagne with chickens.