Keeping the Girls at Home

Chickens love to explore. Mine will escape when given the chance and since my neighbors have a problem with chicken poo on their neatly manicured lawns I have to be the warden. When they were younger gals and not quite so plump they could easily fly over the four foot fence surrounding our backyard. It is truly amazing how well a Rhode Island Red on the lamb can play chameleon in a residential neighborhood. It wasn't long before I grew tired of chasing down escaped inmates. That's when the scissors came out and the girls got their first "haircuts". Clipping their right wing feathers put the brakes on unauthorized flights and made for happier neighbors and less stress for me.

I've also had to reinforce my fence line several times as my chickens will dig along the edge with such energy it would put Rover to shame. In several areas planting a line of plumbago along the fence has provided a barrier and put an end to our real life "Chicken Run" drama. Its been quite a while now since anyone has made a break for it and I think they've realized all attempts are now futile. Perhaps they've learned that the grass is not any greener on the other side of the fence even if its cut a little neater and prettier over there.

Momma Wannabees

On this Mother's Day I felt a tinge of sadness for my hens. Raising chickens in an urban area restricts me from keeping roosters on my land. So each day my hens labor steadfastly to lay an egg in an effort to bring forth new chicks just as nature intended. And yet despite their best efforts all this work is in vain at least from the hens viewpoint. While my family enjoys the results of their industrious work the hen is doomed to repeat their daily effort like a scene out of the movie, "Groundhog Day".

My sadness is short lived though as I recall the hen who stuck her head in a wide mouth mason jar my son had left on the grass while catching bugs. Poor thing lacked the grey matter to back its head out of the jar and ended up stuck there for over an hour. Yes, poultry are definitely not the smartest animals by far. For chickens ignorance truly is bliss. Thankfully, they will never know that they have missed what has become my greatest experience- motherhood. Happy Mother's Day to all.

Cats, Kids, and Chickens

Hunter stalking the 10 week old chicks.

My daughter hanging out with the cat and chickens. All one big happy family now.

When we brought our baby chicks home from the feed store last year I had my doubts that all God's creatures, especially the ones at Little Ant Farm, would get along. I prepared myself for a bumpy adjustment as our cat, Hunter of all names, was sure to see our new additions as more of a happy meal than family members. Those first few weeks while my room doubled as a chick nursery, I was extra vigilant about keeping the door to my bedroom closed in order to keep Hunter from making off with one of the chicks. Once they had feathered out and were ready for the coop we had to be careful to lock the chickens away whenever we could not keep our eyes on them.

As they grew bigger the chickens were allowed to free range more which allowed the cat to see them as just part of the family. Occasionally, I would catch Hunter stalking quietly through the tall grass pretending he was some cougar from a Wild Kingdom episode. But a few quick pecks from a full-grown fowl put him in his place and they mutually agreed to call a truce. Now, our birds free range all day long in our backyard returning to their coop only for egglaying and sleeping. Neighbor cats who climb our four foot chain link fence and think they will stop off for some birdfood soon find their stay shortlived. These girls can sport some attitude when pushed!

Now that peaceful coexistance has been achieved with cats and chickens perhaps I can begin work on the tougher challenge of getting my own teenage sons to get along with one other.

Dustbathing

Watching our chickens dustbathe is always good for some cheap entertainment. And at Little Ant Farm we're always up for cheap entertainment. Several times a day they will make their way over to a corner of the yard dubbed the sandbox. They will toss and turn in the dirt, kicking their legs and throwing clumps of sand and dirt hurling through the air covering themselves with sand like kids at the beach. After a nice bath of dirt they will stand up, stretch in the sun and then shake themselves much like a soaking wet dog- just substitute dustcloud for watershower.

Dustbathing was a most unexpected perk of raising chickens. Chicken novice that I was it surprised me when one day my kids came running into the house screaming that one of the chickens was dying. Not sure what was wrong I turned to the forum at backyardchickens.com and quickly learned that dustbathing is a very normal behavior of poultry and one that serves an important function. By throwing the dust between their feathers chickens are able to suffocate parasites and mites. It is do it yourself pest control for chickens. Beyond that it truly appears that they really enjoy the activity. So if you've had a bad day and are in need of a good chuckle just pull up a chair and watch the birds take a bath, a dust bath that is.

Our Chickens

Its been just over a year since we brought home our four baby chicks and joined the growing number of urban households who raise chickens.

Because our lot is so visible to neighbors and code enforcement I opted to apply for a proper permit through the city and avoid any problems. While we were keeping the chicks in our home waiting for them to grow feathers we built our coop. After an official visit from code enforcement we received our permit which allowed us to keep four chickens on our land. It was pretty ironic that the officer who did the inspection had absolutely no clue about chickens and what he should be looking to inspect. He seemed more concerned about the unregistered camper my brother had parked on the side of the house.

At ten weeks of age the chicks had feathered out enough to make the move to their new diggs. My kids and I had so much fun watching them scratch for bugs and worms. Finally at 21 weeks we were surprised with our first egg. It was a tiny little thing but we were thrilled. Before long all the girls were laying one egg per day and over time the eggs grew to be a mostly extra large size.

Caring for the birds has been quite easy. I wake up at dawn, open their coop and put out fresh food and water. At dusk the girls make their way back to their coop and jump up on their roost. I lock them up for the night to keep any predators away. Eggs are gathered once a day and at least once weekly the coop is cleaned out with the manure going to our compost bin. The return for my efforts is well worth the work involved .