I’m A Chicken

I shared most of this story on social media recently, but I did leave out a few points of interest. I say “interest” but really, most folks could care less. It’s we oddballs who love chickens whom just garner every scrap of shared knowledge about them and their world. Then the others loves who live vicariously through us. Bless em…

By The Way, I will remind you I express myself pretty bluntly. 

Sometimes Animals just baffle my brain.

I’d been cleaning the chicken yard and nesting area and coop all day. This was my end of the season pressure washing adventure. Usually, it unearths all sorts of disgusting bullshit. This time it found me screaming like a scared kid running out of a graveyard. “””shudder””” I really hate spiders.  Nope don’t like them one bit. Well, this one, which I unceremoniously blasted with high pressure water, hung on. When it finally let go, I swear I saw that monster come at me! Could she do that? I mean Fling Herself directly at me?  OH Hell, I’m not standing to find out! Off came my shirt! I’m standing in bra in the middle of my chicken coop beating the mess out of my shirt on the back of a plastic lawn chair. When I’m totally sure there is nothing on that shirt, not inside or out, I slip it back on.  Then you look sheepishly around hoping no one was around to Youtube your situation…

I flopped down and took a break in that same chair. Yes, I searched the chair to make sure that spider didn’t find a way to hide on it. While sitting, Victoria came over and wanted attention (by now you know of Victoria. If you don’t, she’s a ‘blue’ Ameraucana hen. She’s the queen of the coop), but she almost always wants attention. So I’d bend over and grab her up easy-like, and hug her and kiss her cheek and head. Yes, she loves it. 

We sat together watching the other birds. Some jumped up on my lap with us and she pecked them away (Yes, I giggled knowing she likes our time alone. I was a bad girl. I admit it…). After a few minutes, I know it’s time to get up and get moving again, before I decided to stop all together.

Victoria goes back to the ground, and she fusses at me, but back to work I go to finish what I was doing (minus the spiders.. YUCK!).

Victoria kept me in sight most of the day. Either near me or not very far off (I fuss at her if she’s under foot while I work. She knows this). Moving all the stuff in the coop and pressure washing the walls and ceiling now, and I’m about done. The stuff gets put back inside, including the large roost made of 2×4 lumber. Its collapsible so it can be removed or moved to a new spot.

I took a deep breath, told Victoria it was time for lunch (late lunch), and pick her up and kiss her. She’s making some kind of babble at me which I do not understand, and finally, I left to go eat lunch. I could hear her yelling for me as I walked off. Still, Ya gotta eat sometime…

Going back out, she’s still standing there waiting for me. I bend down and pick her up, and nuzzle her neck cooing to her. She’s such a pushover… (I’m such a pushover). Putting her down she won’t quit making that “PICK ME UP NOISE”. Then I get the image in my head of her wanting some bread. I pick her up and go back to the kitchen, she’s neatly tucked under my arm, with her legs swinging freely beneath her. We go to the bread cabinet and pick out some older slices. She’s totally relaxed and not saying a thing, waiting patiently. Setting her down, I give her the usual plate of bread pieces and a touch of water.

I realized I had left for lunch without taking her with me. I mean, she was yelling to high heaven as I walked off. I just didn’t understand what she was saying… Now, I know that’s what she was yelling about. Bread. It’s all about the BREAD!  LOL  Well, she does love the stuff…

After she had contentedly eaten the bread, she walked over and waited for me to finish my drink, then happily pooped on my floor (Disgusting; which of course, now I must clean and disinfect). Oh Happy Days.

Then I pick her up and we go back outside so I can finish my chores. I set her down and get busy picking up tools and packing up the pressure washer. It’s fairly late in the day, about 3:00 PM.

Finally, I’m done about an hour later and flop down in the lawn chair, exhausted.

Victoria walks over to me with the “noise” and I pick her up to nuzzle her and talk to her.  I sit down with her. She’s not happy at all with me. She forces her way off my lap, stands flat footed in front of me staring at me, yelling (again…).

OK, what’s going on here?

She’s still yelling and staring straight at me making squawking sounds.  Reminds me of when I scolded my kids for doing stupid crap. I folded my hands and just watched her. She finally shut-up, and relaxed her stand into a near squatting position, then wiggled down onto the ground. She nestled down further closer to my feet, resting lightly against my foot, leaned over, got comfy and took a nap… I dare not mess up her sleep time! Crap! It’s NAP TIME! I look around and the other ladies have found a nice nap-spot and had already conked out.

Good gosh! I’m a Chicken too now, and Victoria says, “It’s nap-time stupid”….

The Chicken Mom

 

Chickens On A Shoestring Budget

I have had so many worries about raising chickens through the last 4 years and wondered if I was “doing it right”. Somewhere about the last two years I realized that, as may ways to raise chickens exist, as there is sand on a beach.

I look at the pristine chicken farmers posts with their neatly built structures and think, “SEE! I’m doing it all wrong!”  No. Actually I’m doing this right for Me.

One of the things I did right, but swore I had wrong, was building temporary shelters instead of permanent ones. Everything I have in the chicken yard, is easily dismantled and put up in a different spot.  For my O.C.D. tendency’s and quirky nature, this proves very valuable. Tomorrow, I may wake up and think, “Oh gez this set up isn’t working like I wanted it to”. Then go about redesigning the whole shebang! My husband is usually patient with me and my constant changing.

Below you will see the most valuable piece of equipment in my arsenal of tricks.

 Did you see it?  That black plastic fencing?  Let me tell you, it’s amazing to have when you need to separate birds of different ages. In the front you will see some juvenile Ameraucana, and Cochin in the front and behind them is another group of birds who would not get along with the newbies. This fence gives the older wiser meaner birds time to adjust to the new-comers.

This is something else I use to keep the birds cooler in the blistering 90-100 temperatures here in Florida. Note the temporary used billboard covers. I use them as drapes sometimes to block any sunshine which may reach into the nesting area. Now that I know more of what they need, I have plans ready for a fixed structure.   Chickens do not do well in Heat. That is without exception.

“A chicken’s normal body temperature hovers near 104 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s not difficult for them to maintain a healthy body temperature when the air is at least 10 to 15 degrees below that.

During times of extreme temperatures, producers must dissipate the excess body heat of their flock quickly. When a chicken’s body temperature reaches 113 to 117 degrees Fahrenheit, it is in danger.

Without sweat glands to cool their skin, birds rely on their respiratory system. Chickens pant to cool themselves, as the panting evaporates water from the throat to lower body temperature.”

( I didn’t type that one part, so I’m putting the link to the information page here).  This is a very good article and a must read!

This photo below, looks really rag-tag, but I wanted to show you how to make use of things you may already have, without going to the local Hardware store and buying the place out. It’s alright to use what you have on hand. You can always upgrade to a better building later, which I am doing myself. We change things at least three times a year, as our needs out there change and evolve.

We are in the process of planning a more permanent structure in this spot (Which means my husband is going to want to slowly strangle me…. ).

It’s hard to see but we have a 9 foot fence dividing the back area from the foreground area where the door is.  That is my brooder for the babies. I actually have birds who can scale an 8 foot fence; so, I made it 9 feet and attached it to the roof. The babies are all grown now, so I have some old ladies now in the brooder area. The “new ladies” (babies) are up front where the nesting boxes and large coop are. The old girls get to enjoy being free to do whatever… Occasionally they even give me an egg!

A Local store had a sale on office type storage boxes, and I bought ten of them. They became the nesting boxes of choice. The girls don’t mind one bit that they cost me a dollar each! I have them Zip-Tied to the support boards. I can move them around quite easily!

 

Well, there you go…  At least a little bit of what I do on a Shoe-String budget.

What Breed Chicken?

What Breed Chicken Is Your Favorite?

Blogging to me is all about being humorous about things I face daily, and along the way share a bit of information I have learned. One of the big questions I get from people is, “What Breed Chicken is my favorite?”. I usually blog about the general group of “ladies” but today I will share about a few individuals who just make having chickens, worth the busted knuckles, sore muscles, and tired days.

For instance; can you look at this face

So? You want your fingers…

and tell me that you don’t want to laugh your ass off? If you don’t, then you are broken somehow. Your funny-bone has gone sour. 

That face “Elizabeth” is making is purely diabolical! I laughed so hard at her, I cried. 

She was so damn mad that day. It had rained almost non-stop for 3 long days. She’d been wet so many times her fluffy-pants were getting wet, as well as the other feathers on the outside. She was insisting that I MAKE IT STOP RAINING. I’m sure that’s what that face says…

Funny thing about it is, they do have a shelter. She wants to walk out in the rain, get soaked, and then look at me like I did it! Whew! Some of them just have such high ideals about my ability to control the environment they live in. Yes, I am a chicken Goddess, but I can’t always keep back the wet weather.

Elizabeth has always been a favorite of mine. She’s an Ameraucana and her eggs are a lovely aqua color. Her temperament is really weird. She’s a lovely huger (to me), and enjoys me picking her up and nuzzling her neck, but she’ll kick any other hens fanny if they intrude in her airspace. She’s a dominate hen. With her little body, (just under 4 pounds) it’s a bit surprising to know she has the heart of a lioness. 

      Here she is with a dry face! She looks way happier, now doesn’t she? She’s just as happy as a pig in a mud-puddle!

Anyone who feels chickens have no moods or personality, just needs to compare these two photos. It will change that idea in a moment.

I secretly knew she’d eat me, if I died, out in the chicken pen…

(Thank you Natalie Dee.com for the borrowed image)

The other hen whom makes a world of difference in my day, is Victoria.

Victoria, is Elizabeth’s sister.  Here is her sweet little face. She is one of the most docile of birds. I love her dearly. Once a Dog got in the yard and attacked her. She was pretty badly injured but I had to try to save her. She was my buddy!  We patched up her wounds and slowly she improved. Thankfully!

Victoria is also an Ameraucana. She’s darker in color but still the same breed.

One quirk about her, is that she is the worst broody hen I have.  It’s so bad that most of the time she sits the nest and I have to force her off of it! It’s useless… I finally decided she can just sit there. She’s not a violent broody hen, just quietly sits there hoping she’ll hatch out a baby or two. She won’t. I don’t have any roosters (That’s another blog).

 This is Victoria, after the dog tried to have her for dinner… Getting all fixed up. She was so calm for a wounded  bird. I’ve done many, and this is the most passive I ever remember one being. She’s just a darling…

 I really can’t even tell you how much I love this girl. Really this breed is sizing up to be my favorite breed of chicken. They have personality plus, and I’d have a whole flock of them. 

Are they great layers? Well no… They are not dependable layers. It seems to be a personal thing though, and not really an indication of the breed as a whole. Elizabeth laid her eggs regularly about, 4-5 a week. While Victoria is a fussy-pants diva and lays when she damn well feels like it (rarely). When she does lay though, she has the most stunning egg color! They are a darker Aqua and always bring a smile to my face.

The breed is fun and a novelty. However, if you want Eggs on a regular basis, I’d shop elsewhere. Speaking of Elsewhere. Soggy-Bottom is a breed chicken called Araucana. They are from South America and lay blue eggs. Not a dark blue but a pretty light blueish egg. All of the colored egg laying chickens, lay different hues of color; Some darker in color than others. Some of the greens are Greener than others.  While some eggs, bluer than the rest. Also, it depends on the day, the weather, and what they have eaten that week. It all effects the egg color of a hens egg. She is an Egg-Laying Machine. You can depend on 6 eggs a week and seldom have a bad week in laying.

Soggy-Bottom-Girl, is in her molt season right now, and she’s an old girl who isn’t really laying. I figure she’s over eight years old now. I’d easily buy more just like her. 

She has a story all on her own. I won’t take time today to fill you in. The brief of her history, is that she was (more or less) a rescue bird. A chicken man was “cutting down the size of his flock” and put them up for sale. I was the fish that bit that line. He told me, “They are 2-3 years old”, and lay nicely. Well, he didn’t lie about that. Those birds I bought from him, were laying fools. They were not in amazing shape however, and I was determined I’d take as many as I could get that day. I did, and ended up with 13 birds, of which she was one. 

 Soggy-Bottom-Girl, is called that mostly because she has a weak vent and it leaks. I’ll wait a few seconds, while you get that mental image…  

Her butt is always wet. It’s not her fault though. I think she must have had a horrible fight with other birds while he had her, because her right eye-lid is droopy and she doesn’t see as well with it. Then there’s that issue of her bottom. Even if I had the slightest idea of getting rid of her, that thought would have been dashed with her ability to lay massive aqua eggs. They were the prettiest eggs I’d ever seen… However, getting rid of her never even popped up.

Here in the chicken yard, we have 5 colored egg layers. They are, Victoria, Elizabeth, Soggy-Bottom-Girl,  Little-Owl, and Farrah. 

  Farrah

Little Owl

 Both Farrah and Little-Owl are a bantam weight “Easter-Egger” bird of little more than 2 pounds and they lay lovely greenish-blue eggs. I’m holding a small egg of Farrah’s.

Now, if you talk about different personality birds from the same group of eggs, it’s these two. Farrah is flighty, and unfriendly. She views people as EEEEEVIL and wants nothing to do with them, except the food we bring.

Little-Owl is Amazing!  She is my constant companion out in the chicken yard. She’s with me almost all the time, while I am working out there. If I ignore her, she’ll hop up and grab onto a finger she can reach, and then stare at me, wanting UP. If I stoop down, she happily awaits for me to lift her up and kiss her birdy face, and hug her. She hugs right back… 

Honestly, 4 years ago when I began this journey,  I didn’t know hens hugged… I do now. 

 

♥♥The Chicken Mom♥♥

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