Chicken Chronicles::Vol. 11 (The Best Pets)

Our 4 chickens have been the best pets. We have all loved them. Rand has sort of loved them. They were impossible to keep off our patio because I insisted on letting them run around wherever they wanted. They made a royal mess on the patio and it was a real pain trying to keep it clean. I loved watching them run around the yard and chase bugs and fight over fruit and take dirt baths. Not to mention the daily supply of eggs...even if one of them hid them from me most of the time.

I loved these 4 ladies and that is why it was so sad for us to let them go to a loving home who wasn't going to truck them north and then probably provide them to raccoons for supper in their not-so predator safe coop. We are already making lists of names for our new flock that we have planned. And believe me. There will be more than 4! :)

Chicken Chronicles::Vol. 10 (A Broody Hen)

Alternative Title: An Eggventerous Day!


Yesterday started with the realization that I had not locked up the chicks the night before. I scanned the yard just to make sure everyone was there and I couldn't find our black hen (Jemimah Bean). Not one to separate herself from the group I went out looking. She was nowhere. Nowhere!! Long story short....I eventually found her in the front yard around the side of our house. All 4 back together! Phew!

Well that got me a little paranoid because I hadn't seen them up on the wall in a while, but obviously at least one had "flown the coop" and escaped. So I had my eye on the chickens throughout the day, more than normal. Well a few hours later I couldn't find our red hen (Hattie Rose), our egg layer.

....a word about the eggs.... Our chicks were born at the beginning of February. Most hens start laying between 4 and 6 months old. I knew at the earliest we could start getting eggs in June and at the latest August. However, Phoenix summers are extreme, to say the least, and many times hens will stop laying or wait to start laying until the weather is cooler. SOOO, our little red hen laid her first egg in her nesting box. We didn't get another one. About a week later we found one in the yard under a chair up against the wall. I knew it was possible for them to find a nicer place to lay eggs and so I wasn't surprised. We didn't get another egg. And it's been HOT, so I haven't been surprised about that either. I occasionally check some of their favorite hiding spots in the yard thinking that it was possible for them to lay eggs in those spots, but nope! Nothing!!! Not a single egg from anybody.

Okay, back to yesterday. So I couldn't find our red hen anywhere! The only place I hadn't checked was around the kids play area and their swing set. There is a little playhouse in the bottom of it and I suppose she could have been hanging out in there...but I had my doubts. Well low and behold there she was. In the playhouse, hunkered down in the corner and there were 5 eggs sticking out from underneath her breast. I. could. not. believe it!!! We started gathering the eggs from under her and I thought to myself, "She has been laying her eggs here all along!!! And then we pulled out a green one. Hattie Rose did not lay that egg! Sister Hazel did....our Easter Egger. Now I wasn't convinced that all of them were laying, but how could I know???  Little Hattie Rose looked like she was ready to spend the next 20 days just sitting there on her clutch and she made a little fuss about us getting her eggs. Poor thing was just trying to be a mama.

When all was said and done we collected 18 eggs from under her and another that was laid later that day. 2 of them were green. Who knows how long they had been out there? About half of them floated so I knew those were bad, but I know I have to throw them all out. I'm sick about it!!! They are still sitting on my counter! Our first dozen and a half and they are all garbage!!! I'm still in shock about the whole thing and our little broody hen is not happy we stole all the eggs. She keeps coming after us when we go outside as if to say, "GIVE ME BACK MY BABIES!" I threw some golf balls into the make-shift nest and thought maybe if she laid another the collection of golf balls would satisfy the need to sit.

Lesson learned. Chickens will indeed lay eggs in extreme heat and they could be anywhere!

Chicken Chronicles::Vol. 9 (First Egg)

Today was the day! After weeks and weeks of faithful checking (especially Brendan), his daily chicken duties have paid off! He came right into my room (where 3 of us were sleeping...actually, let's be clear. 2 of us were trying to sleep and one was flip flopping all over the place) holding the prize!!! One, lone, little egg. She laid it in the lower nesting box, just like I was hoping she would do. They all sleep together in the top one because it is a tad higher than their roosting bar and they just can't stand to not be at the highest spot. So she picked the lower box to make a little nest.
I had a feeling it was coming and am fairly sure which chicken laid the first egg. I'm 90% sure it was the red one, Hattie, because she has been acting weird the last 2 days. She has been separated from the group a few times (which is very rare. They stick together big time!) and I've gone to check on her thinking for sure something was wrong, but she would just hop up and trot off like she was fine. Yesterday she was making all kinds of noise and acting weird enough that I actually went and checked the nesting boxes that afternoon...And it looked like someone had been in the lower one (which no one has been in since we got them.)
And I was right! It's a little, puny thing, but they say the first ones are. Brendan has made a chart to keep track of each chicken's production (ever seen Chicken Run?) and so we will be keeping you posted!!! :)

Chicken Chronicles::Vol. 8 (On the Roof)

Chickens, chickens, chickens. They are naughty little things. I take full responsibility for that. We only have 4 of them, thank goodness, and I can only imagine what kind of trouble they would get in if there were, say, 8...which I was thinking for a while might be what I wanted. :) I think I'll stick with 4. The little chicks have been getting bigger and bigger. They've got to be about full size now, although their combs and wattles are still coming in....and no eggs yet!
Well, I prefer to just let the things roam. We have a big yard and they are entertaining and do their fair share of fertilizing and pest control while they are out there. They are driving Rand a bit nuts because they aren't quite "contained" enough for him. For example, they wander onto his very clean patio. They go after the dog food. They get up on our patio chairs. And let's just say you can tell where a chicken has been. For several evenings in a row we came outside after dinner to find them up on our wall. Uh-oh! I was a tad concerned they were going to jump down to the other side so we would lure them down to our side with treats.
I've been very diligent about locking up their coop at night since I rescued them from a giant stray cat one time. So the other night, it was just before dark, and I went out to lock up their coop since I knew they would be in there hunkered down for the night. Well, instead, I found them hunkered down for the night.....ON THE ROOF! Like on the roof of our house!!! I thought it was hilarious and ran inside to grab the fellas and my camera, of course. :) Rand had been out golfing all day and he was beat. He basically said, "Well, get a ladder," and turned as if he were going back inside. What? I have to do it by myself????
So I grabbed our little ladder and a broom. Then I started getting a little worried that if I shoo'd them off the roof with the broom they might hurt their legs from such a high jump. I knew they had gone from the little fence, to the wall and then to the roof. (they aren't terrific fliers) So I sheepishly approached my gracious hubby and said, "Ummmm, I think I need help." So Rand-O climbed the ladder onto the chicken coop, onto the wall, across a narrow gate, and climbed onto the roof. I got on the ladder. One by one, Rand grabbed a chicken and handed it to me on the ladder. And then I handed them down to the boys who, I think, are hoping this happens again.

It was kind of a fun, impromptu, adventure, but I'm pretty sure I need to clip their wings, although I'm not convinced they need them to get where they were! We shall see!! :)

Chicken Chronicles::Vol. 7 (Chicken Feet)

Watching these chickens grow up has been so fun. They aren't even laying eggs yet and I'm ready for a few more chicks! :) While they are entertaining and endlessly fun to watch, I find myself kind of grossed out by their feet. I don't know why. They start out just tiny and pink. But they grow fast and now they have these really weird looking legs and feet. Milly (white) and Hattie (red) have yellow legs. Milly's are really quite huge. Sister Hazel (the easter egger) has green legs. Green! And Jemimah (black), I kid you not, she has black legs with yellow toe nails...or claws...I don't even know what to call them! She is the prettiest chicken (IMO) with really shiny black feathers, a shorter beak and big black eyes. And then to top it off it looks like she's had her toenails painted. I like it! ....And yet it kind of grosses me out at the same time!

Chicken Chronicles::Vol. 6 (Milly is the Nicest)

This one, since chick-hood, has been the least shy and jumpy and the most calm and sociable. She sits on top of the fence and will walk right up your arm and sit on your shoulder. Can you believe how big she is getting??

Chicken Chronicles::Vol. 5 (Treats)

Turns out, chicks LOVE hard boiled eggs. Seems weird to me, but I read it enough times to try it and sure enough, they go nuts! We're trying to offer treats more regularly from our hands as opposed to just tossing them on the ground so they get a little more friendly (tame?). They are perfectly kind but can be a little tricky to catch if you haven't done it a bunch. Some of them are more skittish than others.
 They are officially outside full time...thank heavens! Spent 2 nights out in the coop. Their coop is very open to air, purposely, so that they have the best circulation for summer, but it makes for chilly nights for pretty young chicks. At night I close off the coop a little bit with some cardboard to block the wind and have a lamp out there for now...just in case...maybe just for another week or so.
 I really love them! They are so, so fun!! They pup is doing okay with them. She gets a kick out of pouncing towards them and watching them scatter. Worries me a tad. Sammy somewhat enjoys doing the same thing. It won't be long though and those chicks will be bigger than those dogs, and I think they'll hold their own! ;)

Daisy looks a little hungry with her tongue out like that! :)

 

 

Look at this stare down!

 

 

Chicken Chronicles::Vol. 4 (Getting Bigger)

It really is amazing how fast these little chicks are growing. I feel like if I stared at them long enough I would be able to see their feathers coming in. One more week or so and I should be able to move them outside full time. I think they are about 4 weeks old now (Jemimah a little younger, Hazel a little older). Every day I try to take them outside and let them run around the yard. They must know they are small because they pretty much stick to this little "ditch" (created when we pulled out more of those pesky railroad ties) and those tall weeds. They definitely prefer being outside to their lame box inside except when it's too cold...which it has been the last few days! BRRRR

I'm pretty sure the little black one is at least half a week younger. This is how they sleep when they are little. Freaks me out because they totally look dead. None of the others are sleeping like this anymore, but this is how I found Jemimah last night when I checked on them. (Iffy looked just like that and she was dead)

Nope. Alive and well :)

Our little yellow one is getting quite white! She will be all white eventually with a little bit of black markings on the tips of her wings and tail.

The mystery bird. Still not positive what she is. Pretty sure she isn't a Rhode Island Red because she has such speckled wings and she's not getting dark enough. Maybe a New Hampshire Red? Chime in if you have a clue!

Sister Hazel has got to be about a week older than everybody else. She is a lot bigger and is a step ahead of the others on the amount of feathers she has. See all the new feathers around her neck!?

Newly painted coop!

Chicken Chronicles::Vol. 3 (R.I.P.)

Iffy-Iola.
Alive and well one day. Not so much the next.

Life (and death) with chicks.

Kid Quotes::Vol. 32

Wyatt: Hey Mom, I think Milly is the nicest.

Me: I agree. She has a really sweet personality.

Wyatt: You mean chicken-ality?

Chicken Chronicles::Vol. 2 (The Chicks)

We have chicks! They are actually 2 week old pullets and we got 5, each of them a different breed. We are having so much fun with them already!

We got an Ameraucana (Easter Egger), a Delaware, a Barred Rock, a Black Australorpe, and a we were supposed to get a Golden Laced Wyandotte, but I'm pretty sure they gave us a Rhode Island (or new Hampshire) Red instead. I'm really okay with that because we already have 2 "blackish" ones and the Wyandotte would be another black one. The RIR will be redish and then the Delaware will be white. They are super cute, quite a bit bigger than a 1 or 2 day old chick that you might be used to seeing pictures of, and they are just starting to get their real feathers. They are curious and friendly and all of them are easy to grab and pick up. They are happy as can be in their new little home (a box for now) and are chirping up a storm.

We took the day to come up with names and just had to pick some and be done with it or else it could have really gone on and on forever. I wanted to stick with an "old lady" theme and Rand requested that he get to name one of them (He sees a plethora of old lady names on a daily basis). His name is my favorite.

correction: I previously wrote 'Effie', but Rand's bird is actually named 'Iffy'. My bad. I like either. Iffie it is!
Here are: Iffie Iola (Rand's- Iola, like "viola" without the V. This font makes it look like an 'L', but it's an 'i'), Sister Hazel, Milly-Molly-Mandy (It's from a book we have. We'll call her Milly for short), Hattie Rose, and Jemima Bean. We love them!

Milly

Hattie Rose