The bad side

Everything in life has a good side and a bad side. I generally talk about the good side on my blog (baby chicks, fresh eggs, delightful personality's, the above picture ;). . . etc.)  But lately I've been thinking about the bad side.

 It is horrible, when your chickens are sick or injured! But, I think the bad side of chicken keeping is death. Death, is the downside of having pets in general, but having to decide when your chicken is going to die, making a date for chickens death, that's the ultimate 'bad side.' You're probably wondering, why would I ever do that? Why end your chickens life if they are still healthy and could live for another number of years? Well, the hard cold reality is, that even though chickens ca live for up to 15 years, it's only their first two to three years that their laying is the best. After that you are down to one or two eggs a week if your lucky. And even though they have gotten older and their laying has decreased, that doesn't mean they will eat any less, I even would say they eat more!
If the whole reason you got chickens was for pets, then for sure, let your chickens live out their full life! But, for me, I knew when I got my chickens, that even though they are my pets, I wouldn't keep paying for feed if they weren't laying enough eggs to 'pull their weight'.
If you haven't made the connection yet, my two eldest chickens (Demeter and Papagena), are just over two years old and have both stopped laying. Deme entirely, Poppy one egg every second week. Other than their laying being decreased, they also beat up the younger chickens a lot. Both Una and Nefi have bald patches from being 'hen pecked'. And when they're worrying about being pecked all the time, it adds a lot of stress and lowers their immune system and egg production to a certain extent.
So, I decided that Deme and Poppy's time was here and asked a friend of mine who had butchered their meat birds earlier in the summer if they would help me butcher mine. So the date is set. . . Sep.8th

--Zoë

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Early Riser

I was awoken this morning around 6:30am when I heard my chickens freaking out!!!! My sister woke up as well. We ran to the window, lifted our curtain, peeked outside, and saw a fox, quite healthy looking, circling the coop. The chickens were really scared,  throwing themselves into the chicken wire, sprinting to the other side and repeating.   We scared the fox away and the rest of the morning the chickens looked shell shocked, standing in a circle and flinching at any noise. Currently though, they are bopping around the yard and look okay other than the fact that their combs are all bloody from throwing themselves into the chicken wire.  I'm hoping to remede that situation by going outside and put a natural healing resin on their combs.  I hope that fox doesn't return!!

--Zoë

Sunflower Coop

I wrote an article about my chicken coop and posted in a coop contest on the Backyard Chickens website! You can check out my article below:

It all started a few years before when I wanted a pet. . . Who thought it would turn into this chicken addiction?? 

 Thankfully, my mom was on my side and convincing my dad was a breeze.  He was the one who made this coop for me. We had no plans and no experience in building. Pretty much, my mum and I just told him what we wanted, fetched tools, and my dad worked the whole summer making this coop for me, Thanks dad!!!! We had two pullets I had gotten in the spring as chicks, added incentive to finish the coop before the winter.  With out further ado, the Sunflower Coop!!! 

Aerial view of the coop taken from an airplane!!! (Okay, actually from my bedroom window, but still. . .)  

It took a lot of work to flatten the ground, but I love the location. Fairly dry and south facing. 

The frame is now up!

Checking out the construction of their new home. 

Two walls up and insulated (they are the only walls that are). The ceiling is up as well. 

Tail up, eyes sparkling, I think we are on the right track. 

We decided to make the back wall two doors, so it will be easy to clean and access the

water and feed dishes. 

Front door for collecting eggs! 

Painting the coop. (I know, white is very original ;) 

The nesting boxes!!!  Thanks to my siblings for the artistic talent. 

We finished the floor with linoleum. The chain is to hang the feeder off of and, you can see on the roof, one of two 1ftx1ft ventilation holes. 

And it's done!!! People and Chickens are happy!!!

Now for the Grand tour. . .

We used tin for the roof and have put rocks on top of chicken wire that was lain flat on the ground to keep predators from digging into the coop. You can see the rocks through the chicken wire on the left hand side of the coop.  

Outdoor perch and east facing side of the coop.  

In the winter we had trouble with snow and ice building up by the door and keeping it from closing.  To fix that problem we cut about a foot off the bottom of the door and nailed a board there. Problem solved!!! 

Back of the coop (North facing)  

You can't see the rungs of the perch in this picture but, we have two perches attached to the cross piece. 

We put plastic around the bottom of the coop in the winter. So the chickens have somewhere snow and wind free in the winter. 

My Girls!!!  

- Nefertiti (aka Nefi)  Ameraucana. 

- Freyja  Ameraucana. 

- Eleanor (aka Ellie)  Silver Laced Wyandotte.  

Our cat Figaro has learned not to hurt the chickens after he was chased by them when he got too close. 

- Papagena (aka Poppy) Barred Plymouth Rock.

- Demeter (Deme)  Rhode Island Red

- Una  Black Australorp 

Dimensions 

Coop: 5ft x 7ft

Run: 5ft x 14ft 

Key Things I like about my Coop

- The poop board. A must for any coop! I get free paper from a newspaper company that I put on the poop board. It makes cleaning that much easier.

- That the back wall is two doors, it is super easy to clean the coop. 

- A removable board that keeps the wood shavings from falling out when I open and close the door.

- I have a heated water dish for the winter.

Things I would have done differently

- I would have made the run bigger.

- I would have gotten windows that could open.

- I would have put windows on the east facing wall of the coop. 

Cleaning the Coop

I use the deep litter method

-Every second day I change the poop board, stir up the wood shavings, and refill the water dish, feeder, nesting boxes when necessary. 

-Twice a year I do a full clean and wash the coop.  

I love my chickens and have learned so much from BYC these past few years. 

Thanks for Reading!!! 

--Zoë

 

Una

She is my Una babuna. She gets pecked on the worst, and the reason why?  She is super timid, shy and so pretty that all the other hens are jealous ;)  Poor little Bab-una-ella!!!  But even though she gets pecked on, she still loves all the other chickens! And whenever I bring her into the garage to put vaseline on her comb or to fix up her cuts she is fairly calm but always likes to be back with her   friends :)

Nefertiti

When Nefi is laying an egg she gets all puffed up and she looks super fluffy and I always want to hug her!!!! Well, who wouldn't want to hug a super cute chick?   And that's not the only reason she is cute.  Whenever a chicken comes close to the nesting boxes, when Nefi is in one, Nefi does this super funny growly purr noise. When I hear her growl I always crack up. It's so funny, little cute Nefi laying an egg.  And then she makes this crazy growly noise.  To cute!!!

Eleanor

My number one word of advice for you if you ever get chickens is:
Never wear black nail polish.   I was stupid and did.  The result, Ellie always pecking at my fingers when I walked into the coop. She thought they were sunflower seeds!!! It would have been really funny if it had been someone else...  ;)

--Zoë

Freyja

 If you didn't think chickens could fly, then you haven't me Freyja.  The other day when I brought out compost to the compost pile I saw her looking at me from inside the coop, suddenly she flew all they way from the door to the compost pile which is an approximate distance of 13 meters!!!!
It is really stunning to watch creamy white Freyja fly over snow.  Even if it is to the compost pile ;)

--Zoë

Papagena

Even though she isn't very kind to the chicks ( she will peck them when they get between her and food) Papagena is super nice to Demeter.  When Deme was sick and in the garage Papagena looked confused and would always be looking around trying to find her.  And after I finally brought Demeter back to the coop will cozy up beside her and keep her warm. It is super cute!!!

--Zoë

You need to evacuate

I played a game outside with my younger siblings today. At one point in our game we had to evacuate some villages because a storm was coming. One of the villages I was trusted to evacuate was the Sunflower village (the chicken coop).   I had a nice conversation with Ellie who was perching on a board in front of the door of the coop.

Me:  "You need to evacuate"

Ellie:" brawk, b-brawk???"

Me: "Yes you really do."

Ellie: turns her head "brawk, brawk?"

By this time Una has come to the door and is staring at me

Me: "I'm sorry but it is true"

Ellie: "brawk, brawk, brawk???"

Ellie turns around

Me: "You need to evacuate"

All the chickens are staring at me. Ellie jumps down into the coop.

I turn and leave.  One village done, one to go...

--Zoë

Demeter

After christmas time Deme got sick.  I am not sure exactly why, maybe she was sick of the snow,  feeling depressed, or had stuffed herself with to many treats over the course of christmas (she is quite the glutton). But, she was just not her usual happy self.
So, I set her up a house in the garage gave her food, water, yogurt, and warm baths.  A few days later, she went from being on the verge of  conking out to being outside with her friends healthy and happy :) But, this is not the end, a few days later Demeter started molting, losing her feathers and growing new ones.  Obviously Deme has to pick the middle of winter to molt :P

--Zoë

Hello from the 'North Pole'

It has been so cold up here lately and has barely risen above -20C for the past few days, and dropped down to between -30C and -40C at night!!!   But, my chickens are super chickens, and have persevered.  At this point in time none of them have frostbite!!! I have been putting vaseline on their combs and I have found that it helps, because it hydrates there combs, keeping them healthy, so it is hardy for their combs to get frostbite.   The bad news though, is that the Nefi and Una have been getting hen pecked this winter.
 Due to the fact that they can't go outside and explore the great outdoors 'cause it is to cold.
To try to remede this situation I am going to buy some hay or straw for them to play in and have made a toy for them today.  I am not sure if this toy will work but it was worth a shot.  My toy is a bottle with holes in the bottom and sunflowers inside hanging from a string in the run. What is supposed to happen is that when they peck the bottle a couple of sunflower seeds will fall out.  This toy will provide hours of fun for the entire family.  Well, hypothetically.   We shall see if they are smart enough to figure out how to use it.
In my posts coming up I will focus on one of my chickens and something about said chicken  that is either amusing, cute, noteworthy or heroic.

--Zoë

Paths of snow

We have gotten tons of snow!!!!!  Am I stoked YES. Are the chickens stoked ye...... NO.
I wish they were snow chickens.  Delighted about the snow, frolicking in the snow, waiting for snow with bated breath. But,  the hard cold reality is that there is no reason for them to like it.  It covers up the ground so they can't eat yummy treats, it makes their toes really cold when they walk on it, and it keeps them confined in one half of their run,  'cause they don't want to touch the snow.  The only way you could EVER get them to touch it, is (me)  treats.  With that realization, I went outside today armed with snow shoes, compost and determination :P   I packed down a trail to the compost pile, around a tree and back to the coop.  Then, I dumped the 'fresh' compost in the compost pile and called the chickens.  What happened next was good and disappointing.  The chickens came when they saw the treats. Poppy in front leading the chicks, running on the trail but then veering of the trail and making their own through the deep snow.   Demeter, who came later,  didn't even try the trail. But she looked adorable plowing through the snow. Though practically, it wasn't that smart.   The chickens pecked and ate some compost and then walked back to the coop. Veering... on.... and.... off... the trail.  
So the good news is, that they had a pretty good time. The bad news is, they didn't like my trail ;)


--Zoë

Green Eggs and Ham!!!!

Jumbo

You know something is wrong when you can't even close a JUMBO egg carton :P 
Ouch, poor Deme!!!   

Oh, and just for the record,  on Monday the 3rd of December I got half a dozen eggs in ONE day :)))


--Zoë  


                                                                                                                                         ^Photo creds to 4 grain Jumbo egg Carton website^

Two funny little story's

Nefi:   Today when the chickens were outside I couldn't see the chicks anywhere, so I walked through our forest to our nieghbours house.  The chicks were over at the nighbours again.  I picked Ellie and Freyja up (yes at the same time!!!) and carried them across our nighbours lawn. Nefi followed me to the edge of the nighbours lawn and then started scratching in a pile of leaves.   I put Freyja and Ellie in the coop and started walking back through the forest to get Nefi.  Suddenly Nefi started making a surprised clucking noise while staring at the leaves she was digging in. I quickened my pace in her direction and watched her turn and start running through the forest back to our lawn I scooped her up and walked over to the place she was scratching and pecking. There in the leaves lay a dead mole!!!!  It had scared her.  Holding Nefi I walked back to the coop.

A cute thing about Nefi is that when you hold her she sticks her neck out and if you hold her against you, you can prop up her neck with your arm. It is adorable and makes her such a pleasure to carry!!!
A weird thing about carrying her though is that if you offer her a treat while you're carrying her she doesn't eat it, it's almost like she kinda zones out while you hold her :P

Ellie:  Today when Ellie was laying in the coop I walked over and opened up the egg door to see how everything was going.  I looked in the bottom nesting box, no Ellie,  I looked in the top nesting box, still no Ellie!!!  Then I turned and looked to my left and their she was looking in the wood shavings. She was looking at a feather.  She then picked it up and put it on her back she then turned and started walking towards the nesting box while meticulously picking up wood shavings and feathers and piling on her back, well the ones that didn't fall off.   It was really funny, but in a super cute way.

When chickens are laying they will pull wood shavings, or other nest materials, around them building their nest in the nesting box.  I guess Ellie was just building a transportable nest... on her back ;)


--Zoë

Eggtastic photos

Here are some long awaited pictures of eggs from when the chicks just started to lay. You can see that their eggs are super small compared to Deme and Poppy's!!!  

Different shapes sizes and colours :)   

I thought the eggs were pretty, zeke thought they were kinda gross :P   What do you think???

Eleanor's Egg 

From Left to Right:   Freyja,  Nefi,  Ellie,   Una?  (or it could be Ellie again)   

From Left to Right:  Ellie,  Store bought egg (Leghorn breed)  and Demeter!!!!

--Zoë

I need another nesting box.

I have been finding eggs all over the place today:    One on the ground in the run, another in the remains of a crushed egg (ewww...), one in the top nesting box :), and I just went outside and found an egg on the poop board. Eww, eww, ewwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The verdict is that Poppy is being a pest. She is chasing the chicks constantly so they can't even lay in the proper locations :(
I am hoping that if I make a new big nesting box that all the chicks could all lay in together their will be strength in numbers and poppy won't bother them. The only thing that could fix Poppy being a pest is if one of the chicks stands up to Poppy and stops letting her chase them around.  If they don't do that, by next spring Poppy will have to go :(
That is the sad news, the good news is that my hormonally screwed up pullet is not hormonally screwed up anymore!!!! That's right,  I am almost 100% sure that Una is laying :D


--Zoë

Chicken Mating

If you don't want to here about how chickens mate don't read on.  

Close-up of Una 

As most of you know, chickens mate by having the Rooster mount the hen.  And hens don't mount Rooster's. If you didn't, you just learnt something new!!!   So you would probably understand my confusion when I say Una run over to Eli and mount her.  I pretty much freaked out. Una ran away and so did Eli.  What confused me is that I was almost 100% sure that Una laid an egg the other day.

I went on the computer and did some research. What I have found out is that dominant hens will do that to show who is boss. AND that dominant hens might also feel like it is their responsibility to fertilize the other hens eggs.  I obviously didn't want this to happen because when chickens mount other chickens there will be pulled feathers and it could get really bad.  To fix this situation you have to be the rooster around the coop. And if you see your rooster/hen mounting other chickens you push her down and wiggle her tail at the base.   She will think you are a rooster.

So pretty much I don't think my brother's can call me the chicken lady any more. Maybe the rooster lady??? 

--Zoë

Integration

***Before I start this post I just want to clarify that even though the batch of chickens I got this year are NOT chicks anymore (they are pullets).   I will still call them Chicks and the older hens Hens and both groups I will call Chickens (cause they are both chickens :P)  *** 

I did NOT want to put the chickens together it scared me (I am a chicken at heart ;)   But to make myself feel like I was actually doing something while totally stalling I came up with a plan of how to integrate them gradually.     This is what I did for a stress free, integration that turned out having the chickens live together happily ever after. Sadly, that last sentence was totally false. There is no such thing as a stress free, happy chicken integration. BUT the good news is that it is possible to have a integration where no chickens get hurt (read: blood)  and with minimal stress if your not that stressed out of a person to begin with.  So, finally, here we go....

Step number one---  Let the hens see the chicks but not be able to touch them--- I would let the hens free range while the chicks were in the cozy coop. What happened was Poppy would run up to the chicken wire and scare the chicks and she would do that all the time but after a week are so the chicks would stop cringing when she would run. Deme didn't really care about them that much. 

 

Step number two--- Let the chicks and hens free range together while supervising--

I armed myself with a water gun and let them out together. The worst thing that happened was that Deme pecked Ely super hard and pulled some feathers out. After that they stayed far away from each other.    After you make sure that the hens won't kill the chicks or vice versa. It would probably be a good time to introduce other animals a.k.a Figaro. Figaro was actually spectacular in the fact that he only fooled around a bit with them and then afterward ignored them and hasn't bugged them at all since!!!   

Step number three-- Supervise them in a closed in area-- the run. I again armed myself with a water gun and put them together.  At the beginning there were some kerfuffles but in the end the chicks stayed on one side and the chickens stayed on the other. During that time I introduced them to the coop and showed them how to climb up and down.  They figured it out really quickly and they also found the perch after a few days to. 

Step number four-- Make the Integration final--  I bucked up one day and decided that it was time. I put the chicks in the coop in the evening, closed the door and walked away feeling stressed out   happy and care free.  When the light went out in the coop I went outside and put the chicks on the perch manually. They didn't go up by themselves.  I felt like they caught on fast though and a few nights after they were making onto the perch all by themselves. But the sad thing was that after two nights of happiness they started screwing up. Not all going on the perch or perching in the wrong places.  So every night I would go out and make sure that they are all up properly.  Last night when I went up they were all up on the perch so I am hoping that it will stay like that.  I have found that after they all lay eggs for the first time the older hens seem to except them more.  

And you are done.  Your chickens are now BFF's!!!

--Zoë