Packed In

Getting ready for bed.

Lots Of Eggs

You just never know what you are going to get.  Each day is a surprise.  I love my chickens!

This is what we got yesterday.  Now when are they other six going to start producing?

I was gone this morning less that two hours and look what the girls left me!  Did I say how much I loved my girls?  They seem to use this nesting box and none of the others.

Racer Family Farms

Visited a new chicken Farmer's farm today.  Our friends, the Racer's, now have 7 chickens to go along with their two horses.  They really have a farm!  Sharone text me to see what I did with the chicken that laid in the roost.  She has one that lays in the run.  Not good.  So I took her all my chicken books in a horse feed sack bag that I had made from a sack she shared with me.

 

Taj-de-Coop

Todd made this movable coop and run.  It is insulated and has a solar lighting system to fool the chickens into laying longer.  there is an old ladder they have made into a cool roost.  and I saw a chicken swing!  they have it made.

Doodle

Georgia Peach

Siren, she's a little noisy.

Herbie

Camilla

Junie B. Jones

She has one more, a beautiful brown Rhode Island Red and her name is Nugget.  I'll have to get her picture next time.

 

Pumpkin Guts

I read in one of my 'chicken books' that pumpkin or pumpkin seeds is a natural dewormer for chickens.  So the girls got their fill of pumpkin guts this weekend!

 

Sophisticated ladies eating from the bowl

EffieGrace and Keithetta Renetta using good table manners.

Looks like a big bite to me.

More like it EffieGrace, little bites.

Such the lady.

Our picky eater.

Looks like she might need a little more chicken etiquette lessons...no standing on the bowl.

 

Getting Older

She's starting to grow her 'beard'.

And when you go near her she does the squat.  And you know what that means...she is getting ready to lay some beautiful colored eggs.

They Could Be Twins

He's learning to pick them up.

She's A Real Sweetheart

I'm thinking she might be Pappy's favorite.  Dixie has always been a lover.

Inez, The Newest Layer

She' sitting!

Susie, A Real Spitfire

Her beak still is split and she is still doing fine.

She's developing a real pecking attitude.  But she will share a little bit of corn with Ella.

She's Getting Pretty

EffieGrace is starting to bulk up a bit.

I Don't Like Bullying...

...even with the chickens. But I know about a pecking order and we have three...one in the Big Girls, one in the Little Girls and one when they are all together.  I was reading an article on BackyardChickens.com and wanted to save it so I could use some of the ideas they have.

  Discouraging Bullying Chicken Behavior

 

 

     Bullying is a very common issue that occurs mainly in times of stress or boredom, such as when two flocks are being integrated or the coop is too small. However harmless it may seem, when left unchecked, bullying can cause severe injury and even death.

 

     Boredom is a frequent cause of bullying. Ideally, birds would spend “up to 65% of their day foraging” (Dr. Bas Rodenburg), and when they do not have the ability to forage they find other less productive activities, such as pecking. This can be countered by more outside time in a pen or free ranging. However, in the winter, when some may not have access to the outdoors, other measures must be taken.    

 

Boredom Prevention when in the Coop and Run

Hang a cabbage or apple from the rafters

Cut a zucchini or melon in half and leaving it in the coop

Throw scratch, mealworms, sunflower seeds in the bedding for them to scratch for (this also helps to stir the bedding if using the deep litter method).

Flock Block

Give them kitchen scraps

Provide a dust bath in a box

Different levels of roosts/shelves for them to explore

Chicken toy, some are filled with treats that dispense when they peck at them

 

    One study found a relationship between housing chickens on wire floor and pecking. Chickens who were raised on wire were more likely to begin pecking than chickens raised in a different substrate. This is probably related to the lack of activities such as scratching.

 

     If you notice that one dominant chicken has been bullying the others, that chicken can be removed and put in solitary confinement for a few days up to a week. X-Pen or dog cage can be used as a pen. When the chicken returns, they will be at the bottom of the pecking order. 

 

     If you notice only occasional bullying behavior, fill a tin can with pebbles and pennies, then put duct tape over the top. Keep this by the coop. Whenever you see bullying behavior, immediately shake the can. The chickens will stop what they’re doing to find out what that awful noise is. If you do this consistently, they should stop.

 

     To avoid bullying when introducing chickens, first allow the flocks to see each other through a fence. After they have become accustomed to each other, allow them to interact while free ranging. The extra space and distractions will allow the newcomers to escape if they are pecked. Then, it is best to leave them in the coop at night when they are sleeping. The two flocks should also be comparable in size before being integrated. For example, 1 week old Wyandottes should not be put with a flock of 3 year old Jersey Giants.

 

     Blinders are a device used to obscure a chicken’s view so they cannot accurately peck another chicken. However, these are not commonly used in backyard flocks.

 

     Excessive light exposure can also be a cause of pecking. Lights should be on for less than sixteen hours per day for adult birds. Also, a red lamp should be used in the brooder, ideally without any additional light, which will decrease the amount of pecking. Another cause of pecking in chicks is overheating. The heat lamp should be raised or lowered so that the birds are evenly dispersed throughout the brooder, not huddled under the heat or scattered to the sides.

 

     Chickens must have adequate space to prevent bullying.Overcrowding is a surefire way to start pecking issues. If your coop is not as big as you’d like, at least allow the chickens to free range each day to diffuse the tension. Also make sure that there are enough feeders and waterers to go around because a lack of food can cause cause stress that can lead to pecking.

 

     If a chicken has an injury from pecking, remove the bird and ideally, keep them in a separate area until they heal. However gruesome it is, other chickens will notice the blood on the area and peck it more. If you are not able to remove the chicken, clean the wound with saline solution and apply an antiseptic spray such as Blu-Kote that will not only keep the wound clean, but will also conceal the wound. You can also use an anti-picking solution that will help discourage the birds from pecking at it.

 

   Monitor birds frequently for any patches of lost feathers that could indicate bullying. If you are vigilant about keeping their environment interesting and reducing stress, the problem should sort itself out quickly. 

Eggs Plopping Out Everywhere

Last week I did something I thought I would never do...I let Doodles get and egg off the nest and carry it into the house.  She was so excited she asked her mom if she could buy it.  So she paid $1 for 'her egg'.

It was a busy one in Wammyville today and I never had a spare minute to check the egg production.  So at 4:00pm, Luke and I headed out.  I knew we had about 6-7 layers so I took my egg basket because I learned my lesson yesterday.  I had a green egg in my pocket and when I bent over to pick up something our of the yard, it fell out and broke all over the sidewalk.  I could kick myself.  So I learned my lesson...carry the egg basket every time.  I love all the different colors.  The speckled ones are just eggs with raindrops on them.

I'm thinking I might be looking at my first chocolate egg from the Marans.

Check out the size of this baby!  Is there such a thing as a triple yolk?

I'm telling you, she's a big old egg!

And a double!  We have been getting lots of doubles!

 

Another good chicken story...after school the kids all like to check the nesting boxes.  I was in the house getting my shoes on when Doodles comes in all excited saying there was a chicken in the box laying an egg.  Right!  So Kelli, Cooper, Doodles and I head out to the Little Girls.  And sure enough, Dory was in the box about ready plop one out.  I got out my phone and got ready to take a video.  It wasn't but three pushes and a green egg plopped out.  I thought I got a video and Emmy was gong to be so jealous.  NOT!  In all the excitement I forgot to change the setting to video!  Dang it!  But I did get a great shot of a 2 second old egg.

 

Just went out in the dark with a flashlight to make a last chcek to geta current egg count...* for today.  And Dory was sleeping in on of the nesting boxes.  Might have to tackle that in a few days.

 

Egg-cellant

A weeks worth of eggs so far!

Guard Dog

The chicken guard dog was on full alert today...only she laid inside and looked out the door all day.  Think she might not feeling o great today.  Her fall allergies have kicked in and that means meds that make her sleepy.

 

 

Egg Production In Progress

If my calculations are correct we have 6 layers!

RayJeana, The Runner

RayJeana is the hardest chicken to 'catch' in the lens.  She is always on the move or under a bush where it is too hard to get a shot.  She might be my second green egg layer!

The Wallflower

Inez is such a pretty chicken.  She should be out strutting her stuff but no she is always on the outskirts of everything.  A loaner.

And you can always count on her to be the last one in at night.

She's Doing Well

Her split beak doesn't seem to be bothering her at all.  Yesterday I caught her on the nest!

I think I am doing a pretty good job helping them get that little extra layer of fat to keep them warm in the winter.

Another Stinker

She's got that kind of mean look.  She, Keithetta Renetta, and maybe even Susie are the main ring leaders.

I love the small downy feathers on her backside.