Chickens: All Grown Up!

The Hen Pen

The chickens have grown big, fluffy and spoiled! 

We had them running all over the yard at the old house, which was fine most of the time, but shortly before moving they started spending more time on the patio and leaving little "gifts." So, I told Matt that I'd like to create a large pen for them at the new house. I started looking at dog-run fencing to create a pen that would hold them well, but give them plenty of space to wander. We found a good fencing place, and Matt did a great job creating this pen on the side of the house.

I told the kids that they were welcome to go in the pen or let the chickens out any time they wanted to hold them or play with them. I just asked that they pen the hens up when they were done.  These spoiled hens had their own ideas! Their flight feathers had grown in, and they liked to fly over the chain fence and wander the back yard. Again, sprinkling "gifts" on the patio. The good news was that they were smart enough to always fly over the fencing in OUR yard, so we never had a hen try to leave us. I think that means their happy here. ;D

Huddled together after Matt & I clipped their wings.

However, something had to been done. I read up on wing clipping and found some good instructional videos and Matt and I took a few minutes today to clip their wings. I wanted to film Matt doing it, but it turned into a two-person job, with Matt holding the hen and me clipping the wings. Clipping was REALLY easy!  You only have to clip 8-10 long flight feathers on the front of each wing and their shorter feathers act as a perfect guide so that you don't cut to deeply. The hens aren't hurt a bit - it's like cutting hair or clipping nails. They were just feeling a little shy afterwards. 

They weren't shy for long...

Matt still has them eating out of the palm of his hand. ;D

We're enjoying the hens a lot. Matt starting calling Lauren the "Chicken Whisperer," because she's been working to train the hens to jump on her lap or sit. She's still working on it, but I had to laugh when she had a chicken sitting perfectly still next to her until she called, "Release!"

In July, we started getting our first eggs. The hens didn't start laying all at once, just one at a time over the course of the month. The black hens lay a brown egg, where the buff eggs are tan. I wouldn't describe the flavor as different, they're just a little more flavorful, and the cooked egg is a darker yellow. Our friend described them as "just farm fresh eggs!" The family is enjoying eating them, and the kids act like it's Easter every day as they head to the yard each morning on an egg hunt. Max especially LOVES it!

In the beginning the eggs were very small and sometimes the shell was too soft and would crack. This is a photo of three eggs we got in one day. You can see a big difference from the newest to the oldest layers.

This is a large grocery store egg vs. the eggs we got during the first fews weeks.

This is the comparison now. :D

We've been told that after the hens molt, their eggs will be even larger and better.

With the kids leaving the house early on Friday morning, no one checked for eggs until this afternoon, when Matt came in with ELEVEN eggs! This how many are in the fridge now. 

Matt said "We definitely need to eat eggs for breakfast tomorrow." 

Yum! ;D

How to Give a Chicken a Bath

1. Our Chickens like to perch on the sides of their brooder because we don't have a lid on the top. One bird happened to be nestled right below a perching one, when a runny brown surprise rained down upon her... YUCK!!!! At any rate, I had to learn how to give a chicken a bath. I found this information on wikiHow.com.
2. Prepare the tubs! Obviously, you want to check the weather to see if it's good to wash the chicken outside or inside; you wouldn't want to wash and get a poor chicken all wet in the cold weather! You're going to prepare 3 tubs; plastic trash cans work well. You'll want it just wider than the chicken, but deep enough to be half full and still submerge them entirely, except for the head. This keeps the bath water from displacing and spilling over. A narrow container also restrains their flapping.
   • In the first tub, you pour Ivory Liquid or Liquid Castile Soap or cat shampoo if your chicken has mites or fleas. Then pour in the water (so it gets nice and foamy.) Use warm or lukewarm water unless it is a very hot day. Adding 1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax to the bath makes it more effective, especially if your chicken is light or white.
   • In the second tub, just pour plain old water. This is the tub where you rinse the bird. Don't be afraid to add a dab of bleach (half a teaspoon per gallon). Really. This also helps control mites.
   • In the third tub, pour in a mixture of vinegar and water. (2 cups of vinegar to a gallon of water). You might also add a tablespoon of glycerin for an extra 'poultry show shine'.
3. 2
   Pick the chicken you're going to wash. This is the one that needs to be clean, or is the dirtiest.
4. 3
   Put the chicken in the first tub, slowly. If they've never had a bath before, this tub is where they'll freak out. By tub two, they will hopefully be too tired to struggle. Gently agitate them up and down in a gentle plunging motion. Do not scrub or rub or you will break their feathers. After they're soaked through, pull them out and hold them over the tub to 'drain'. They will have soaked up a surprising amount of water! If you have an assistant, this is a good time to have them use a washcloth to clean their feet while they are 'draining'. If the vent feathers are matted with poo, you may need to soak for a few minutes to dissolve it with light agitation of the water. Any scrubbing of matted feathers must be done with utmost care, and only in the direction of the feather tips. Be patient, as poo usually dissolves in warm soapy water. Don't leave chicken unattended! Always keep the head above the water, because they can easily drown.
5. 4
   Transfer them to the second tub and gently plunge up and down again to get all of the soap off.
6. 5
   In the third tub, just make sure the vinegar water gets all over their body. This will make their feathers shinier.
7. 6
   Dry your chicken! Drain them by holding them over the rinse tub until they mostly stop dripping. If it is a warm day, you can towel-dry them carefully by putting a dry bath towel over them and pressing without rubbing. Do the same under each wing. If it is cold, you'll want to bring them inside and blow dry them completely on the lowest setting so the blow-back does not break and frizz the feathers. (Best not tell the wife what you did with the blow dryer.)Warning: This can smell a little funky. You'll also want to keep your hand between the blower and the chicken. If it's too hot for you, it's too hot for the chicken.
8. 7
   Trim their beaks and nails if needed. Do their beaks or nails need to be trimmed? If so, then start trimming! You'll only want to file back obvious over-growth so it returns to a natural shape. On the nails, cut tiny bits at a time and watch the blood line! (That's the little red line you may or may not be able to see in the nail.) If your chicken has dark nails, you'll want to cut teeny little bits at a time. If the nail starts bleeding, dip it into a powdery substance, like flour or baking powder. Roosters may need their spur nails trimmed and filed blunt to limit damage if they get into a fight with other roosters.
9. 
   

Family Friday: March 18th, 2011

Zach

has an ear infection so we went to the doctor this afternoon for an antibiotic. He's also sporting his first black eye. Max and Zach were cleaning the living room and neither one of them wanted to put away a hardbound book. So Zach had a brilliant plan. "Let's throw the book at each other, and the person who gets hit with it, has to put it away..."
Where do little boys come up with this stuff?!?!?
Zach never imagined that his five-year-old brother would have such a deadly aim. Anyway, Zach tried to dodge the book, but it nicked his left cheek bone and gave him quite a shiner.
Next time guys... just put the book on the shelf. :S

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Max

had a relapse of separation anxiety when I dropped him off at school on Monday and Tuesday. It was pretty rough, but he somehow managed to snap out of it. By Wednesday, he happily ran into school without a problem. Whew!

He's also been working so hard to earn money this week. He helped me stain both of the raised garden beds along with the bench in the yard. We had such a great time working together. Max was just a chatter box. He talked to me about friends, school, girls who were trying to kiss him in class and some of his wild dreams - I loved every minute with him!

Quote of the Week 

max: "Mom, can sheep drain the energy out of cars?"

me: (laughing) "What?!"

max:  "Never mind... it's probably something only Dad would know."

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Jared

is getting opinionated about everything. I used a black table cloth for our St. Patrick's Day breakfast and he found it deeply offensive. He was screaming, "No Mom, NO!!!" and trying to push it off the table. He insists on washing his hands by standing on a stool - NO ONE is supposed to hold him up to the sink. And he insists on throwing all dirty diapers into the garbage by himself - which normally I wouldn't mind - but he wants the poopy ones to go into his bedroom trash instead of outside. Sigh.
Sorry buddy, but I can't accommodate you on that one.
It's a good thing he's so cute and snuggly to make me forget when he's been a stinker.

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Lauren
We've hardly seen her this week because she's put in so many long hours at the

school to prepare for the play. Tonight is opening night...

Best of luck, Lauren!

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Gabe
completely melted my heart this week! 

In one of his prayers he said so sweetly, 

"I'm grateful I have such a happy, hardworking Mom... I REALLY love her." 

Afterward he told me, 

"I almost cried happy tears, 'cause I love you SO much."

Oh, Angel Babe, I love you too!!!

Sometimes I feel like the luckiest Mom in the world.

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Matt
When arriving back in town, Matt realized he'd lost his car key somewhere in his travels.
He needed me to make an emergency run to the airport to give him the
spare set so he could make it home.
He's worth the trip. ;D 

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Candace

I got a couple of real treats this week. My sister and her son were in town for spring break, and she arranged a sisters & cousin's night out - so fun. Thanks Kel.  

And my college roommate Suzette, who I haven't seen in 8 years, was here to watch March Madness with her father and brother. It's kind of amazing to sit and talk with someone I knew "back in the day" and see where life has taken us - so many twists and surprises! We've learned so much and yet in many ways we're still the same. She's just one of those people I'll always love, even if we only get to see her once in a decade.

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The Chicks
They're in their awkward teen phase. They seem to grow an inch every night and their getting pretty crowded in the brooder. I'll be so glad when the barn gets here so we can move the brooder to a shelter outside. Though they aren't old enough to move to the yard, when the weather was nice, we let them have some time outside.

Going Agrarian!

The Chicken Coop is HERE!

The ramp leading to the roost.

Roosting area & nesting box.

Jare-bear has already figured out how to get into the nesting box. Heaven help us when the eggs start coming!

The coop took extra time to build because we had the nesting boxes built into the side of the roosting area. I've been waiting for Matt to be available to help me prep that yard and move the coop to its permanent location.

In fact, we did a lot to further our new farming lifestyle on Saturday ;D 

We tilled the earth...

bought a composter... 

bought raised garden beds (for our square foot gardening plans,)...

installed the chicken coop...

Oh yah, and we bought a barn!

We've needed a new shed since the roof blew off our old one last fall. That's why masses of yard supplies and equipment have been crammed together in my carport all winter. But Matt insisted that we shouldn't simply re-roof or replace the small shed because we need more storage space - A LOT MORE.

He's right of course. If we're going to convert my craft room (I use that term loosely) into a bedroom for the older boys to accommodate bambino #6 upstairs, then the masses of stuff in the craft room need a new home.

Matt started scouting out sheds and then showed me what he had in mind.

This 10 x 16 monstrosity was bright red and bordered with white.

"That's not a shed," I said, "That's a barn!"
"It's not a barn!" he cried.
"Well, we've got the chickens," I said, "we may as well get the barn to go with 'em!"

He was a little affronted that I called it a barn, but after more shopping and price comparing, we went to purchase a shed and guess what the shed manufacturers call it...
A TALL BARN!!!
Haha!

Matt's come to terms with it, and now HE'S calling it "the barn" too. ;D
It will be installed on March 25th.
The configuration will be slightly different from what's pictured here, and I raided the manufacturer's supply of color swatches to figure out how we want it painted.
YES, it is a barn, but  NO, it will NOT be fire engine red.

So my list of home-making projects this week includes assembling the composter, staining the garden beds (and maybe the playground,) assembling the garden beds, and scouting out paving stones to go around the garden beds and create a pathway to the shed door. It's an ambitious list, considering the fact that Lauren's School Play is this week, and I've got an old friend in town for a visit.

Ah well, it's good to have goals, because we farmers have to work from sun-up to sun-down. ;D
By the way, what time DOES the sun come up?
Oh ya, I have the chickens to tell me that - hahahahahahah!!!

6 Baby Chicks

Our family has struggled to agree on pets for years - We just couldn't do it!

• We tried fish, but they died quickly, and they just aren't pet-able.
• Cats? To many family members are allergic.
• Hamster or gerbil? Matt says "go big or go home," meaning he wants a BIG DOG or it's not worth the time and effort. And by big dog I mean, Great Dane BIG. These are NOT dogs, they're the size of ponies, and would thrash my house faster than my children! NO big dog.
• Lauren wanted a rat. And apparently it was unique enough that Matt would consider it. Rats are smart, trainable, can be house broken, and supposedly make nice pets. So, we went to the pet store and when I tried holding a rat, it creeped me out on a level that I can't adequately describe... NO RATS!

In truth, I was the big obstacle to all the pets. I didn't want the hair, the smell, the destruction, the house training, or the nagging to walk it and feed it. And then we stumbled on the idea of backyard chickens.

Chickens?!?!

Could we actually agree on Chickens as "pets?" Let's see...

• They HAVE to be outside. (Mom's happy.)
• Each child can have their own. (Kids are happy.)
• The kids can hold them, pet them, chase them and play with them. (Great!)
• They teach responsibility. (Mom & Dad say "Awesome!")
• They contribute to the family. (Eggs / emergency preparedness)
• And if the kids don't take care of them, then I can make evil yet frighteningly legitimate threats like, "Either feed 'em or we'll eat 'em." (Don't judge me ;D)

And thus began our quest for backyard chickens. The original idea came because a friend from Matt's teen years happens to operate backyardchickens.com , so we began our research online. We studied city ordinances and chicken breeds. I bought a book, "Raising Chickens for Dummies," (which Lauren confiscated and read from cover-to-cover before I even realized it was gone.) We talked to the Harrisons, who keep half a dozen chicken, and they graciously showed us their backyard setup.  We started feeling like this was doable.

And finally, Max attended a barnyard birthday party complete with ponies, rabbits and (you guessed it) CHICKENS. He chased and hugged and petted those chickens every chance he got. He loved them, and they were so good with him! No pecking or scratching. I had a lengthy conversation with the Party Mom about their experience with backyard chickens. She said they'd had them for a year & loved having them. I learned that the more the chicks are handled when they're young, the better they'll be with people when they're grown. The chickens were Max's favorite part of the party, and he's been begging for chickens almost daily ever since.

We made a trip to the IFA store in January to find out the costs of feed, coops, supplies, and when they would have chickens available. They said their chicks & supplies arrived in mid-February, so we were on hold until then. Until........ last Saturday.

Matt and I had just returned from a romantic Anniversary getaway without the kids, and I think the euphoria hadn't worn off yet. So when picking up the kids, Matt announced that we had a surprise for them that afternoon, and we drove straight to the IFA. We compared the breeds in the store with the list of ones we liked, and came home with 3 Buff Orpingtons and 3 Black Australorp.

The breeds are described as friendly, calm, easily handled, quiet and docile. They're hardy in all climates. They're dual purpose birds which means they're good egg layers and get fat enough to be meat birds - though I have no intention of eating them (don't tell the kids.)

So here they are, our six amazingly adorable baby chicks. 

Looking at this picture, these are the chicks names from left to right:

Midnight (Lauren's), Sunshine (Jared's), Fluffy (Max's - the tall one in the back), 

Oreo (Zach's), Ginger (Mom & Dad's - and the sweetest little runt), & Pepper (Gabe's)

We're in love!