Musical Chickens

Remember those sweet little chicks we purchased a little while back?

 We bought nine because we know some of our hens are aging out of laying and we wanted to have a younger generation contribute.  We initially planned on keeping six of the nine and selling the other three to friends who wanted to add a few more to their flock without have to worry about setting up for small chicks (heat lamp, secure housing, etc.).

Well, those little dearies grew up.  The kids were (for the first time) brave enough (and interested enough) to continue holding them beyond the wee-chick stage.  So, for the first time ever, we had tame chicks, now pullets.  The weekend our friends took their chicks home one of our Buff Orpingtons hatched out six chicks.  We haven't had a hen successfully hatch out chicks in awhile.  And, the times they have, three was the most, no matter how many eggs they were setting on.  We were thrilled, but that meant even more chicks.

Jamey moved them to the nursery box in the chicken house (a 3x3 foot wooden box with a chicken wire lid complete with their own food, water and straw) to give them their own space. 

The pullets (still in the chicken tractor) were still too small to move out into the chicken yard with the adults.  They would've been chased through the fence mighty quick, so we called up said friends and asked if they wanted some more pullets.  Thankfully they and friends of theirs did, so they came and picked up all but one of the pullets.  The one they left behind had become Sam's pet.  She was the tamest of the bunch, allowing Sam and the rest of us to hold her, sometimes even falling asleep in our arms.

We were happy to move the hen and her chicks into the tractor and hoped the lone pullet could co-exist with them there.  Within the first 5 minutes, the hen attacked the pullet three times and the pullet attacked one of the chicks once.  Sam was in tears and the rest of us couldn't stand it either.

 So.  At this point, we have a hen and six chicks in the chicken tractor, about 25 hens and one rooster in the chicken yard and the pullet who lives in our yard.  The pullet has been named Hilda (by Sam).  Sam takes her into the hen house at night where she may or may not sleep- every morning when we wake up, she's already in the yard, happy to explore and peck about on her own.

She adores people.  She follows us around, practically asking to be held.   When Miriam holds her, she sways back and forth as if she's holding a fussy baby.  She even followed us into the house when we got home from church one Sunday (and was quickly redirected outside).

I think all the moves are done for awhile.  My head was starting to spin.

Okay.  I have to tack on a little Hilda story.  One evening, at dusk, after we were all inside thinking about bedtime (our kids go to bed early).  I walked past the back door and saw Hilda hanging out right outside.  She got all excited when she saw me, bobbing her head from side to side.  When she realized I was only going to stand there and not come outside with her, she tried to roost on the top lip of Jamey's boot, a pretty precarious spot.  Sure enough, soon the boot began to wobble and she had to jump up and onto the lip of the shoe basket.  That wasn't quite to her liking either, so she hopped up onto the water pump box.  By now, the entire family had gathered just inside the storm door to watch her.  Once she saw all of us there, peering out at her, she stood up and looked as if she was going to jump down.  The kids started coaxing her shouting, "Jump, Hilda, jump!"  She kept adjusting her feet and then all of a sudden that silly bird flew right into the storm door window at (my) head level.  She dropped to the ground, unharmed, shook it off and walked away almost as if to say, "I meant to do that."  We couldn't believe she would try to jump to us like that.  Jamey and I kept looking at each other and laughing.

So now Jamey and Sam plan to train her to fly into their arms.  We may have enough antics around here to start our own circus after all. Pin It

Maintenance

A friend of the family helped me catch this blog up a bit to this day and age.  Left to my own devices, this site would become sorely behind the times.  Oh?  It had already?  Shoot.  See what I mean?  I needed help.

One of the things we he did was to make it easier for some of you to keep track of what's going on with us.  As of today, you have options!  You can follow me on blogger (lower right hand column), subscribe to my posts through a reader (like google reader, yahoo, etc.), sign up to get email notification when a new post is published OR follow me on twitter.  No, as of yet I don't twit or tweet or whatever it's called, but you can find my posts there under JaneAtThyHand.  See the right-hand column for these links.

My head is spinning.  Is yours?

OR, you can just keep doing whatever you're doing to get yourself here.  I would miss you if you didn't.

One other thing I'm trying is to provide excerpts of my posts down the page so when you visit you can read the beginning of the post and then hop over it (and other ones) if you're not interested in the content (that never happens, right?).  How it works is this...you will start reading a post and then boom! it will stop, but below the stop will be a link that says, "Click here to continue reading".  If you click that, you'll be taken to the rest of the post.

Let's practice.  Guess what happened here last night!!
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Betty, Our Fourth Broody This Year

Our fourth broody hen is named Betty after my grandmother because she enjoys watching our chickens when she comes to our house. We love it when you come, Grandma.

Betty sat on a clutch of about 10 eggs and only two chicks hatched and remained alive. Four other eggs hatched (to varying degrees) but the chicks never made it. This seems to be the trend for us. We get a couple healthy chicks and about four die in the process of hatching. I'm not sure if this is the proper ratio of dead to live chicks or if our hens (or us) are doing something wrong.

Anyway, Betty's chicks are as adorable as chicks come and they are living happily outside in the chicken tractor. More chicks are on the way. We went ahead and placed an order for more Wyandottes (this time silver-laced) in hopes of bolstering egg production so we can supply more friends.

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Time Stands Still...Almost

What my mother says is true. When you have a baby, the world seems to stop. Well, at least in the mother's mind. I forget that people are going to work, heading off on summer vacations, doing all the things people do this time of year. I'm just consumed by this new life, whether she's getting enough milk, if she has a tummy ache or if she's just tired, how Sam and Sadie are handling things. My life is in my house, my little world.

Main Garden

But, life is moving on around me. While we were in the hospital, my mom and sister picked strawberries for the last couple times. Mom and Jamey have been picking and putting up peas (I've helped a bit with the shelling). We have stopped picking asparagus and now have to do our best to restrain ourselves and let them become tall, ferny fronds. The red raspberries are ripening and the kids have picked a few black raspberries. The lettuce has gone to seed as has the spinach. We've begun using swiss chard, carrots and onions in meals.

Back garden

Jamey built a gate and a permanent fence to keep the chickens where we want them to be. No more pussy-footin' around with temporary fences that those little stinkers can wiggle their way under. Our latest (4th this spring/summer) broody hen is still setting, due to hatch chicks in a week. Jamey has garden weeds under control. He made a bunk bed for the big kids.

Red Raspberries

My mom did an incredible job taking care of all of us. She was with us for a week and a half (We miss you, Mom!). In addition to making all our meals, she weeded all (yes, ALL) my many, many flower beds which hadn't had any attention since...hmmm...last summer? She did laundry, cleaned the house, washed windows, read countless books to the kids, changed many an itty-bitty diaper and even made up scavenger hunts for the kids.

Newest broody

Me...I'm still nursing and nursing and nursing, sometimes napping, gaining strength, easing back into chores and finally blogging some again. My world is slowly getting bigger... with an emphasis on slowly. Slowly feels just right. Pin It

Fanny

Poor Fanny (she's a hen if you're just tuning in). After setting on a dozen eggs for 26 days, Jamey took her off yesterday. We know 26 days is too long to wait for chicks- they usually arrive in 20 or 21 days. Fanny hatched a chick on day 23, but it died right away. It appeared that she never got off the nest to let it come out properly- it was pretty well flattened.

She was so determined to set and wait for her chicks to hatch. This makes me sad. Not just because I'm fairly emotional right now and I happen to be waiting for my chick to hatch, but because we're pretty sure it was our fault.

After Jamey took her off her clutch and we leg-banded her blue (we want to make sure she's had adequate food, drink and rest before we let her set again- if she even wants to), he opened her eggs in an attempt to figure out the problem. There were chicks inside- in varying stages of development- mostly young.

The mistake we think we made was not putting fresh eggs under her when we moved her to the broody box. We had done this with Emma. Giving them fresh eggs gives a better chance that the eggs are viable since when they are deciding whether or not to become broody, they may set on their clutch for several days (thus starting the chick development process) only to get off again for long enough to stop the process. Once they are in the broody box, they have been setting on (and sometimes off) the clutch for several days already. When we move them in, they really have nothing else to do and we can keep a better eye on them without disturbing the whole flock.

We're not sure how this explains the one chick who did hatch. Maybe Fanny or another hen laid it in with the others just before we moved her. That's our best guess. If anyone has another suggestion of what may have gone wrong, we'd love your ideas.

We're facing less of an egg yield and wondering if our two-year old layers aren't laying as often and the decision of what to do with them. I think we should provide some sort of hen retirement plan, but Jamey prefers the more practical harvest and stew option. So, while we decide about the older hens, do we order more chicks or hold out for another hen to go broody?

I have a feeling this is going to be the last time I think about these chickens for a little while. I do still feel for Fanny. All that setting and waiting and hoping. All for nothing. What keeps me from getting weepy is the fact that she has a bird brain and is probably over it by now. Pin It

This Week

Well, friends, I am still here cooking my baby. This Thursday is my due date. My feeling is that this baby is going to come late. I'll just be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't this way.

Jamey keeps picking and bringing in strawberries. He picks every other day. We've found that if we pick less often, we lose some to rot since we only pick the really ripe ones. Those have the best flavor and when you have the luxury of your own patch, why not wait to pick until they are at their peak?

On Sunday, Jamey picked 16 quarts. We've been setting aside large bowls to eat fresh and then crushing and freezing the rest (without sugar). The crushed can be thawed and later made into jam, pies, etc.


We are eating strawberry everything. Here are some strawberry pancakes we made the other night. They are nothing fancy- just whole wheat pancakes with a cooked crushed strawberry sauce made with a little brown sugar and cornstarch to thicken it.


No, you're not seeing double. On the right we have Fanny (I finally named our second-ever broody hen. I named her in honor of what my fanny is about to have to do). Fanny is due to hatch her chicks tomorrow- I was SO hoping I would beat her- I guess there is a slim chance of that, but I doubt it.

On the left is a NEW broody that we just moved over the other day. Whose idea was it to name all these broody hens, anyway? I guess it was mine. We'll see how I'm feeling when her eggs get close to hatching- maybe she'll be named "Sleepy" or something of the sort.


We're still eating lettuce, spinach and asparagus. Sadie is still in love with worms. I must tell you a little Sadie story. The other night, Jamey and I went to small group (occasionally we meet without kids). My brother and his wife babysat Sam and Sadie. When we got home, they told us that Sadie had found worms and had buckled them into the swing, gave them swing rides and sent them rolling and flopping down the sliding board. Such a little momma already.

That's all the news for now, I suppose. Enjoy this beautiful day!! Pin It

Keeping Track

As we started thinking about introducing Emma and her three pullets to the rest of the flock, I started wondering how in the world I was going to be able to tell Emma apart from all of her sister hens. This really bothered me. It didn't bother Jamey. It bothered me because I wanted to know if Emma liked doing the whole setting and hatching chicks thing or if once was enough for her. If one of the hens started setting, I would wonder if it was Emma again.

Then, we have this new hen who is setting (sorry, we still haven't chosen a name for her) and I know I will wonder the same about her once she's back in the mix. What about their chicks? I will want to know whose chicks are whose. I just like to know these things.

Plastic Spiral Poultry Legbands from Cutler's Supply, Inc.

On line I went and came across these poultry leg bands. Problem solved. The other night, Jamey crawled into the chicken tractor and banded Emma and her pullets. Emma's band is red and her pullets' are pink. The other momma hen and her chicks will sport different colors. (The bands are more like bangle bracelets- they are not tight around their legs.)

How glad we were (even Jamey was glad) that we had banded them. Emma had started getting a little nasty toward her offspring. We weren't sure if it was an attempt to toughen them up or if it was her way of saying, "Get me out of this blasted tractor- I've been stuck in here with my kids for two straight months!"


The night we tagged them, we moved them into the roost with the others. Emma and the pullets stayed on the ground that night. The next day, they didn't come out of the roost (or weren't let out) until evening and when they did, the other hens chased the pullets through the fence into our non-chicken yard and were mean to Emma. We let the pullets back into the tractor to grow up a bit more and left Emma to find her place amongst the hens again. Since she has a red band on her leg, we always know where she is, or if she goes missing, can go look for her. Jamey found her the other afternoon quarantined in the roost by herself and felt sorry for her. He let her out into the non-chicken yard to free range for the rest of the day.

The hens found something yummy. See Marv coming up from the top left of the photo? "What are you ladies peckin' at?"

He just had to come see for himself.

So, that's where we are. The pullets are back in the tractor donning pretty pink bracelets. Emma is trying to fit in with the flock under our watchful eyes. Our second broody is still setting on 12 eggs- serious business that it is. Oh, and we may have another hen going broody.

This reproductive bug is catchy around here. Pin It

Emma's Sister Hen

If you have been reading here very long, you know that early this spring one of our hens became broody (go to the right sidebar and click 'broody hen' to read more). This was our first one and we were thrilled. She ended up with three surviving chicks- all are doing well, still in the chicken tractor and will soon be transitioned to join the rest of the flock.


Here is Emma and her pullets/cockerels (we haven't bothered to figure out what they are yet).


And, here is one of Emma's sister hens (I prefer not to use 'sister wives', even though that's what they really are). Yep, we have another broody hen and once again, we are very excited.

Please excuse her poop. When you gotta go, you gotta go.

When Emma was setting, I was jealous that her chicks would come before my baby would. Not this time- I think I'm going to win this one.

My belly and knees (just in case you've never seen anything so large).

We need a name for this momma- the hen, not me. Any suggestions?? Pin It

Loose Ends

The other week I asked for smelly-diaper advice. Thank you all so much for your tips. Since starting the dry bucket method, I had only seven diapers in the pail. Yep, my little Sadie kept her cloth diaper dry for three nights in a row, so we switched over to panties and except for one accident, she's doing great. I am going to have about one month of no diapers to change- whoohoo!!

I washed those seven soiled diapers and here is how it went down. I used the dry pail method, only sprinkling baking soda between the soiled diapers. They sat in the bucket for about a week. I washed them in cold water with less than a tablespoon of detergent and added vinegar to the rinse cycle. I ran the rinse cycle a second time (this time only with water) and hung them to dry on drying racks inside (it's been rainy here). In the past, hanging them inside would have meant that the whole downstairs would have smelled like pee. Not this time!! They have a touch of odor, but nothing like before. It seems that the dry pail method worked. I didn't want to change too many factors at once for fear I wouldn't know what worked (if anything did). I'm saving all your tips for once this new baby comes. Who knows how the amount of diapers and the content will change my results. Thank you, again!!

I haven't said much about Emma and her chicks lately, but they are doing great and growing so very big. They don't much look like chicks anymore. Here are a couple photos for you.


The kids have been cracking me up lately. Maybe it's because I'm spending a different kind of time with them nowadays. Instead of keeping busy with chores, I try to keep my feet up. This leads to a lot of reading and snuggling and talking. They are getting big doses of mommy time before this new one arrives. I hope they don't go into some sort of withdraw....

Anyway, the other day at lunch, Sadie asked for "four minutes more beets". I wasn't quite sure how to interpret that, but it struck me as very funny. She is also saying things like, "Somethin' smells fuzzy." Also, not sure what that means. Sam, after we said grace before lunch the other day, said, "Whew. I almost fell asleep. You're voice is so beautiful." Yes, he was talking to me. I don't know where in the world that one came from.

Sadie's activity of choice outside is digging up, holding and talking to worms. She even tells them that she loves them.

Our strawberries are covered in blossoms and baby berries which means lots are on the way. I hope this baby isn't allergic to strawberry milk.


That's all for now, but who knows...I might be back. I'm a bit flitty these days. Oh, and these are for you....

Lilacs and Snow Balls

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Mini April Photo Tour

Let me take you on a little mid- April tour. Put on your open-toed sandals. It's warm today.

All these haphazard green plants, growing and strengthening are our strawberries. There are no blossoms on them yet, but last year we started picking around the end of May, so those blossoms should be on their way.

Here we have some blossoms. This is our lone pear tree. We chopped down our old Keiffer pear trees last fall out of spite and because the pears were hard to reach and the trees rather ugly. In a couple years we hope to replace them with new trees (probably not Keiffer pears).

Here we have garlic and little rows of sweet lettuce- both of which I can't wait to sink my teeth into.

Emma and her three three-and-a-half-week-old chicks are still doing great in the chicken tractor. The chicks aren't looking so chick-y anymore.

They are pushing real chicken feathers and act just like their mama...chasing the occasional fly that enters the tractor and dusting themselves in the little hollows they've dug out.

Not much to say here...other than I love tulips.

Remember that Name That Sprout contest? Well, those sprouts have turned into plants and are awaiting a move outside.

Red raspberries pushing leaves. I can just imagine Sadie, red-fingered and red-mouthed.

Here come the troops, making sure that the camera in my hand isn't a little bag of bread crusts.

I really wanted to show you pictures of our asparagus poking their beautiful little heads up out of the ground. They are just starting to poke through, but since we mulched them a bit heavier this spring, their little heads are gourmet-white (scroll down, past "Asparagus and Urine", to the second paragraph under "Cultivation"). We've picked a few spears and are patiently waiting for more.

Once they start coming, they will be honored with a post all their own. Pin It

Out in the Fresh Air

First, the bad news. About a day after the fourth chick hatched, it died. We're not sure why. This just happens sometimes. The good news is that the other three are doing beautifully, as is mama Emma. See the LABELS list in the right hand column under 'Broody Hens' to read more about Emma and her chicks.

Emma was already teaching them how to scratch and peck in the pen. She would purposefully spill out chick feed from the feeder onto the wood floor and then scratch and peck through the straw, tapping her beak on the floor to show her chicks where the food was. Scratching in the grass and dirt has to be more fun, so we were excited to move them outside and felt confident it was okay since the Broody Hen Wizard gets them outside soon after hatching, too. So, on Sunday, we moved Emma and her brood outside into the chicken tractor.

After Jamey carried Emma outside to the tractor, he came in for the chicks. We tried transporting them in a box without a lid, but forgot that six and seven day old chicks can already climb very well. Instead, for fear they would fall out of the box, he scooped them up in his hands.

Sadie just had to hug them before he took them outside.

Once they were in the tractor, Emma immediately got to work teaching them how to scratch, hunt and peck in the grass. They were very attentive. At one point, Emma caught a fly out of the air, spit it out on the ground and tapped at the ground until one of the chicks caught on and gobbled the fly up.

Now, let me explain this one. It's the cutest thing. Occasionally, a chick climbs up on Emma's back as if they're playing horsie. Emma tolerates it for a little while and then rolls her body to the side, gently dumping the chick off. For the life of us, we couldn't get a picture with the chick on her back. So sorry.

Here's a little sequence for you, showing how these little chicks get in under their mama. Emma appears to be sitting, but she's actually squatting close to the ground to allow them space underneath. Talk about sore quads.

The four of us sat outside and watched this little family for about an hour after getting them settled. Somersault enjoyed watching, too. For different reasons, though. Don't worry, they are safe and sound inside.

Talk about a chicken picture fix. You should be good for awhile now, right?

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