Trouble in the Henhouse

 Do you see it? There...with the long neck feathers...and curling tail feathers..........

A ROOSTER!  Unmistakable when you hear the crowing.  Well I suppose that means we have four hens instead of five.  You will be happy to know he has gone to the farm and I do not mean the proverbial "farm" in the sky.  He has gone somewhere to crow his mornings away and impress the ladies all day.   Something that is definitely not acceptable on the urban farm as we have to be kind to our neighbors!  He really was a fine specimen just not for my coop.

Active Composting

In general I am a pretty lazy composter. I throw it in the bin, water it and maybe turn twice a year. When I get overwhelmed with more material than the compost bin can handle, I turn to the chickens for a more rapid result. You would be surprised how much these little ladies and go through! I just dump the weeds in and they do the rest! Scratching, eating, shredding...they love it. The extra bugs and nutrients they get are fabulous for them especially if you don't have the luxury of being able to let them roam. So, I say let someone else do the work! You have more important things to do right? We'll call it the hen house enrichment program.

Growing Growing...

There seems to be a lot of growing up going on around here. The least of which includes those baby chicks! This one is headed out to the chicken coop! In the past I have had trouble integrating new chicks into established coops. The older chickens do not seem too willing to include new chicks and will beat them up. This time I made sure the number of baby chicks(6) out numbered the old hens(2). Things went considerably smoother. I have since sold several of the chicks and everyone seems to be getting along fine!

Are you getting any feathers?

Its been few weeks so your baby chicks should have put on a good amount of feathers. Be sure you are raising the heat lamp a few inches weekly. This not only encourages them to put on their feathers but makes sure they are being acclimated gradually to life with out a lamp! I don't know about you, but I don't have a heated hen house so they have to live the guest bedroom for now! Watch your chicks closely to make sure they are not huddling and indicating that perhaps you have moved it a bit too high.

Our New Residents

Wyandotte

Buff Orpington

Bantam

Hard to believe these cute little puff balls will become fertilizing egg laying machines! Oh the fun of spring! Be sure you are checking your new charges daily. You will need to make sure that not only their cage is clean but that they are clean is well. Occasionally feces will get stuck in the fluff and build up on their backside.

Whenever you see this, use a warm rag to gently remove the feces. These build ups can clog the vents of the small birds and prevent them from regular elimination. I hope you are enjoying all the peep peep peeping!

Starting Baby Chicks

The baby chicks have hit the feed stores! I hope you are ready! If you are not, I have just the primer for you! I have used this simple set up numerous times. First you will need a box. The sides need to be about 24-36 inches tall. You want something small that is suitable for the number of chicks you have purchased with out forcing them to walk in their food or water sources. Do not choose a box that is too big as you need to be able to regulate the heat in the box with an incandescent light bulb. I like a rubber tub for ease of cleaning but a cardboard box will do. In this photo we used wood shavings. I actually prefer many layers of newspaper. Once the paper is soiled, about every other day, you can just remove the top two layers with out having to change the whole box.

Food and water dispensers that fit on mason jars can be purchased in plastic or steel. I do not have a preference here.

Regular tap water is fine. You can purchase a medicated powder for the chicks. I have not done so for the past 3 years and prefer not to. In small numbers and clean cages, I don't think it is necessary. If you do, you will need to change the water bottle daily and wash often as the jar will become slimy. For food, you will need to purchase a granulated chick starter.

Your chicks will eat this for the first ten to 15 weeks of age. Once they have most of their feathers, you can begin to mix in some other grains such as ground corn.

Regulating heat in the box is going to be one of the most important things you do. Generally an incandescent bulb in a hooded fixture is suitable. The idea is to create a warm enough space that the chicks do not pile on one another for warmth. In piling up, they will easily suffocate one another when cold. If too warm, they can dehydrate. Be sure to cover the box if you have predators in your house i.e. dogs or cats that might find them to be a tasty treat!

Cheep! Cheep! Your baby chicks will sleep a lot in the beginning so don't be alarmed. Let me know if you have questions!

Mother Nature Network: 8 Awesome Urban Chicken Coops

Something I thought you might like:
Clucking Cool

More Signs of Spring

Another sign that spring is on the horizon is the fact the the ladies have started to kick to the egg laying. In my experience, young ones really don't get started until the spring after they are purchased. Wahoo! Fresh eggs! I am thinking we will most likely get 2-3 more chicks this spring. For me, spring is not spring with out a baby something. I'm pretty sure I am not going to get away with a baby goat, lamb or calf so I better stick to the baby chicks!

Thanks ladies, your treats are most delectable!

Modern and Trendy Bee and Chicken Keeping

You have got to check this out! My husband is fastidiously researching urban bee keeping and ran across the OMLET. This page sells super trendy animal and insect enclosure systems that are sure to put a twinkle in your eye. Don't look at the price though, your heart will sink! It reinforces my theory that you can take anything from drab to fab with a little color. As I am fond of saying "If your gonna do it, might as well do it with flair!" If it requires color and trendiness to bring nay sayers on board, I say be my guest! I am not so certain that some of the setups are that easy to maintain and I am not so fond of large and plastic but for some people it takes a little more and some a little less to make self sufficiency appealing and get people interested.

New Beginnings

In light of the recent commercial egg crisis we have been particularly sad that we do not have "safe" eggs of our own to eat. Hopefully that is changing! The baby chicks that we purchased this spring are just starting to lay eggs! They are still a little small but truly a sight for sore eyes. You can see how tiny they look with the commercial eggs in the picture above. When chickens lay their first eggs, they lay what is typically called a pullet egg. Its sort of a starter egg. Sometimes not much bigger than the circumference of a quarter. It only takes one or two before they are up to speed. Depending on the breed, new hens will lay any where from 250 to 300 eggs per year. The Rhode Island Red and the Australorp are at the top of the list! My personal favorite is the Barred Rock or Buff Orpington.

Meeting the Enemy

For the second time this year I have lost more chickens to a predator. It is with unbelievable disappointment that we no longer have hens laying eggs. Despite being an urban dweller, we must still deal with these seemingly uncivil things. I remember on numerous occasions my father waking up in the night to shoot stray dogs, coyotes or what ever it was that was preying in our yard. At least on the farm we had 20-30 hens. When you only have 5, the loss of the two that were laying is almost devastating. This spring it was a fox, now we have met a mink. Yes, a mink. I have never seen one myself but this unlikely urban dweller seems to have found me. They are the size and shape of a ferret leading me to wonder how on earth I am going to secure a coop that will keep out something that can squeeze through a two inch hole. He will undoubtedly be back as he didn't get to make off with his loot because my husband interrupted him. He would of met his demise then but alas it is a little against the law to discharge a weapon within city limits. So we will have to move on to more creative methods as we morn the loss of not only some beautiful hens, but out favorite treat of fresh eggs.