For the love of chickens

[DharmaGirl]

I'm finally starting my chicken thread for everyone who loves chickens, and those who have chickens named after them. I originally got chickens because my son built me a coop for his senior project when I told him I was interested in chickens. I realized that they each have their own personality, their own vocalizations, and are like puppies with feathers. I have too many and 12 in the incubator. I have a selection of endangered birds, and some regular birds. I'm starting to breed Polish chickens, since I now have a nice Polish rooster.

This is lil MrM. I also have another roo named Pansy:

These guys are both frizzled, so must be bred to smooth hens. They are still chicks, and have yet to crow. I also have lil ladee

and Mini:

Love the white feather sticking up, lol.

Chickens are quite the therapy objects for me. They give me a reason to get up every morning, and I sell eggs, which pays for the chickens. I also sell chicks sometimes. Anyone else have chickens?

 

[ladee]

So happy to see the 'extended family ' doing so well. I love chickens and agree they each have their own little personality. I would love to have chickens but live in town.

Happy to know they bring you such joy!! Lil Ladee isn't so little anymore!! Thanks for the update...Chicken hugs to you!! :hug:'s

 

[MrMoonlight]

It's really fun to see the photos @DharmaGirl . Lil MrM has grown quite a bit with the head feathers, really impressive. Fun to see the others too. Interesting that you consider them "puppies with feathers", I had no idea they acted like that. Thank you for sharing with us. Hope you are doing well.

 

[littleoc]

Chickens!!!!

What’s your daily schedule with them like?

How big is your coup?

If you don’t mind answering :)

 

[ILoveLife]

Hi Mini!! :D :D :D

 

[MyWillow]

I have 4 laying hens aka chickens aka chooks as we call them here. They are very pretty and colourful. I’ve had Welsummers, Barnevelders, Rhode Island Whites, a Salmon Faverolle (she is a stunner and survived a fox attack), Wyandotte, Bantam Australorp (blue - she’s passed on now but she was the bravest bird. Survived two Fox attacks!!)....anything with double laced colours makes my heart flutter. I don’t breed but support local pure bred breeders.

Unfortunately I do lose the occasional one or two to foxes or hawks even though I lock them up at night. I try to keep my numbers at 4-6.

 

[DharmaGirl]

I have 4 coops, @littleoc, a big coop for the laying hens, and there are 19 of them. They all have names and are friendly. Doc likes to poke her head in the dog door to see if the cat dropped any cat food. I made this coop out of a metal shed. I removed the doors, framed it for a people door, installed that, bought some windows at a thrift store and installed them. I put branches up for roosts, and lovely baskets for nest boxes. They preferred to lay eggs in the boxes that held the baskets.

I have a duplex coop for the Polish babies, a Little Tykes playhouse converted into a coop for the brahma chicks when they get bigger, and a coop with a planter roof for 3 more chicks.

I have easter eggers, olive eggers, light, buff, and dark Brahmas, Cuckoo Marans, an Ameraucana, a chocolate and a buff Orpington, a gold laced Wyandotte, she's my sweetie, and a red sex link. Lots of Polish and Brahma babies.

I get up with the sun, whenever that is, and let them all out of their coops, fill and put out the feeders, check the waterers. I make them oatmeal most days, since I buy it in the bins, and they love it. I give them yogurt and kitchen scraps. They are busy cleaning out the garden for me, and getting it ready for the spring. I collect eggs several times a day, and do my projects out where they can watch and give advice.

I put together a broody coop for Doris, the lead hen, without her supervision, and she was in a snit about that and refused to use it for her babies. She likes to lecture, and will do that for up to 15 minutes at a time, and if you try to say anything, she just gets louder. She's pretty funny.

Lil MrM loves to be first. The first out the door, the first to run up to me, the first to get a bite of oatmeal, etc. He is so cute!

@MyWillow, I went from 2 to 16 in a year, but then I have 1/4 acre. I grow spinach, lettuce and kale out front all year, so the girls can work the garden. I have to sell some babies, I just wanted to be sure they were pullets before I sold them as such. I also bought from breeders, this will be my first year breeding Polish.

 

[DharmaGirl]

a Salmon Faverolle (she is a stunner and survived a fox attack),

I've always loved these, but never had them. I found a house on almost 3 acres that I could buy with cash if I sell this one. I want to work on it a bit more before I sell though. I would then be able to have more chicken pens and rotate them so the grass wouldn't be removed.

Will you be getting more chickens in the spring? Do you clean your coop a lot, or use the deep litter method? I use the deep litter, and one of my eggs customers comes in the spring to clean all the coops out. He then brings the chickens produce in the fall.
I have to spread straw in the yard, since it otherwise would turn into a mud bath since it rains from October to July here. My yard has 6 fruit trees and a willow, a dust bathing coop, and other places to hide.

I had a chick picked off by a juvenile sharp shinned hawk, and I hung netting over the babies pen, and put an old coop frame with a roof for a place to hide. Two days later, someone knocked on my door and returned the chick. The hawk had dropped it 3 blocks away, and they had taken care of it until they found the owners! I love people like that. I offered him the chick, but he lives in an apartment so I gave him fresh eggs.

Are you going to be hatching chicks, @littleoc? My incubator wasn't holding moisture over night, so out of 18 eggs, 4 hatched. I had to peel the shell off them since they were so dry, poor things. I rinsed them off and they are fluffy and happy now.

 

[DharmaGirl]

This is a silver boy Polish. I'm guessing here. 24 hours old

This is a silver girl.

This is a gold laced girl

And this is a gold laced boy. Or a tolbunt boy.
The last two are 12 hours old.

 

[Teasel]

Lovely to see the babies :-)

Must be lovely having them all. I only "met" chickens one time when I was camping but was so struck by how hilarious they are! So much character :D

 

[DharmaGirl]

Chickens are funny, and even funnier because they don't want to be funny! I'm collecting stories for a book that I will work on this winter. It is for me and my son, I doubt it will be published, but this has been a great part of our lives.

 

[littleoc]

Are you going to be hatching chicks, @littleoc?

As soon as I’m stable, I’m really hoping that I can! I was thinking just a few little booted or another tiny breed. I suppose we’ll see what’s available by the time I can :p

I cared for some not-tamed chickens (and cows, and goats, etc) on the University farm. The university I went to was particularly isolated and benefited from fresh produce and such. I ignored the meat part, I was friends with every cow and pig because they were sweet. The chickens weren’t, no one would spend time with them! But I loved the crap out of them she loved when they’d talk to me while I weeded mustards and whatever :)

Clipping their wings was fun because the rooster was very unsure about that :P