Buff Orpingtons and their friends

The temperature is swinging wildly – from flurries just a few days ago to 95 today. It has my golden girls totally confused! They haven’t been laying as consistently as they did through the winter. Perhaps a mixture of spring fever and winter blues.

I thoroughly checked for mites this weekend - vents and all – as an external parasite can cause stress. Clear as can be, thankfully. I pondered what else I could do to make them happy…

I knew I could let them out of the run more often. But after letting them freely roam the yard on a few occasions, I was convinced they are a bit too fearless for that. They wander far into the woods. I always follow them, like a shepherd herding sheep – but I do have better things to do than meander around in the woods with the chickens.

So I created a “yard” for the girls. Its made of some old plastic fencing and the stakes we used to demonstrate to the snow plow drivers where not to plow along the property line. It’s certainly not fancy, but I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that noticed. Chickee did get a little excited when she saw me digging nearby – she flopped over the top of the fence in an eager quest to find a worm. Beyond that, it has been a fabulous solution. Everyone is getting out to stretch their legs, eat some bugs, and scratch in the grass. Brownie is happily contained in the same space. Perhaps she forgot that she can fly!

Because I am smarter than a fox – I still only let them out when we are in the yard. No sense in fencing them in to make it easier for a predator to capture!

The new coop is complete!! We are just waiting for the lumber company to find time in their very  busy schedule to deliver it. When that’s in place, I plan on running some fencing between the two coops. I’m just a month away from baby chick delivery!

While we actually have snow in the forecast for Thursday of this week, the past several days have been well into the 70′s.  The warm air and view of grass instead of snow has definitely created quite a bit more activity in the coop. Every time my golden girls hear my voice, they press their little bodies up against the fence. They endlessly pace back and forth the front of their run, and try their darndest to squeeze between my legs when I walk in.

So, under several sets of watchful eyes, we opened the door and let them explore. I’m not sure who was the most excited, my two little boys, the chickens, or me. It was so fun to see grass and dried up leaves left over from last fall fly through the air from scratching chicken feet. The boys dug up worms and dangled them as they called,

“Here chick, chick, chick!” Even though the girls are a little on the hefty side, nothing could stop them from being the first one to the worm. It was simply glorious.

 I was surprised by how far they wandered from the coop. I had this funny idea that they’d politely stay in the grass. While they all stayed together, they went further into the woods then I wished they would have.  We’ve had a number of predator sightings since we got here last November, so I just followed a few steps behind them to assure the fox, raccoons, and coyotes I was the leader of this pack.

At first I left Brownie locked in. I wasn’t quite ready for my little chuckar partridge (who wandered into the yard one day and ultimately adopted us) to spread her wild little wings. But after just a few minutes, I had to give her the choice. I couldn’t bear watching her poke her beak at the fence, calling after her coop-mates. I opened the door, and as soon as I moved away from it she darted out and joined the others. She kept up with the flock as they traveled.

I couldn’t coax her into the coop once the chickens went in, and I couldn’t leave the door open without them running out. So I locked them in and her out while we ran a few errands. When we returned, the chickens were inside the coop roosting for the night and she was standing on top of the coop. As soon as I opened the coop door, she took her place inside next to her friends. There you have it. With the chance to regain the wild, she opted for the coop.

When I tell my kids stories about happenings prior to their birth I tell them, “you weren’t here yet, you were just a prayer.” How on earth does that relate to chickens you might be wondering…

Well, the six baby chicks I have on order are expected to hatch on June 17 – so I guess today, they are just a prayer. With all other breeds revealed (Easter Egger, Black Australorp, Speckled Sussex) there’s  just one left to share.

I’ll be adding a salmon faverolle to my flock. How does she fit? As goes the personality of the rest of my new hatchlings, she’s described with words like calm, docile, sweet, and shy. There’s a chance she’ll get picked on, even as a chick – so we’ll keep an extra close eye on her. She’ll be yellow and fluffy when she arrives, but will be easily recognizable because she’ll have 5 toes. As she matures she’ll develop a beard and feathers on her legs. As it turns out, she’ll be a prolific layer – the eggs are adding up. Selling eggs may be in my future.

As amazing as this little hand-picked colorful flock will be, I am most excited (and quite honestly most nervous) about the faverolle rooster chick who will be accompanying the girls to my house. Yes, I’m exploring rooster territory! Just look at this amazing creature – he’ll add the most color of all, both in feathers and personality. While I believe that any rooster can be both naughty and nice, faverolles are described as calm and dignified and not as aggressive as other roosters. I’ve read countless articles about raising a rooster that doesn’t chase the kids down and attack without mercy. A novice I will be, but at least I’ll be a well-read novice!

It’s been awhile since I’ve given a status update on Brownie. Brownie is the Chuckar Partridge that adopted us last year. She fluttered into the yard one day, and through her own diligence, patience, sweetness, and probably plain old luck - was able to convince my three buff orpingtons that she should become a coop-mate.

It took about a month before she had the courage to follow the chickens into the coop, and about another month before they’d let her stay without chasing her out. Now she’s just part of the family. I often wonder if she’d be happier on the outside of the coop fencing. I got my answer one night when I inadvertantly left the coop unlatched. The wind blew the door open – and that’s how I found it when I went out to shut the girls in for the night. At first sight of the wide-open coop door, I instinctively clutched my chest to keep my heart from plunging to the grass. Horrible scenes played in my mind in the moments I stood there wondering if they had escaped, or worse…

Then I heard that glorious throaty sound chickens make when they are roosting for the night. I gathered my courage and peered around the corner and inside the coop. I was thrilled to see my three golden girls and beautiful adopted partridge nestled closely together on the roost.

I took that as an affirmative message that Brownie liked it right where she was. Unsure what type of accommodations we should make for her, we didn’t do much. She eats what the chickens eat. We are sure to send the hens in one direction with some scratch, then sneak her a special supply of mealworms that only she can see. She enjoys the fruit and veggie tray that gets delivered each morning, and has her turn at the suet feeder full of kale.

We do still have the little house we made for her before she decided to call the chicken coop home. Jason and the boys built this in hopes that she’d have sense to take cover if a hawk or other predator endangered her existence. She didn’t use it much back then, but I have seen her duck in there from time to time. After all, she is different. She’s smaller and definitely at the bottom of the pecking order. I guess someone has to be, right?

I am a little worried about her safety and happiness with the newbies on their way. We’ll see how things go. Fortunately, we’ll have an extra coop on our hands since we are expanding – so if she ends up getting beat up or hen-pecked, I’ll move her to her own house and order her some family members. Yes, I have done the research – you can order Chuckar Partridge chicks!

My expansion is all about color – I can scarcely see the honey colored feathers of my Buff Orpingtons as they scratch the hay in their run – they just blend right in. They are the friendliest, most huggable chickens I’ve met and they need some diverse coop-mates.

I’m seeking blue or green eggs with my Easter Egger. I’m seeking multi-colored feathers with my Speckled Sussex. What about black? I could make some really great earrings with black feathers! I once fell in love with a black Wyandotte chick – but the more I read about them, the more comments I see about their assertiveness, and desire to be at the top of the pecking order. Since I first seek peace, I kept looking. I think I’ve found the perfect breed – the Black Australorp. 

She’ll be a good layer, in both hot and cold temps (that’s good, because we get extremes at both ends of the thermometer!) And I love the words chosen to describe the Black Australorp: peaceful, dignfied, dependable, and absolutely delightful. And black isn’t the only color you’ll see on her. She has black feathers that will glisten with a blue and green hue in the sunlight.

I’m still doing extensive research on how to add to your flock – peacefully. I’m learning lots of tricks, and am anticipating just a week of pecking order repositioning once I get them all together. But that won’t be until this fall. We’ll keep the babies in a separate coop until they are similar in size to my current flock. For now – I look forward to June 17th, the date my new babies hatch and begin their journey home.

“The rafters go up tomorrow,” said the shop teacher. I was amazed at just how much work had been completed on my new chicken coop!  Well, it’s really more of a cottage than a coop, but progress nonetheless!

After reviewing what felt like thousands of coop designs online and in books/magazines, I couldn’t find the coop that was just right for my expanded chicken family.  Fussy? For sure! But I’ve lived through being unable to fufill my desire to add birds to  my flock because of lack of space – this time I want to make sure there’s no limit (well, at some point there really should be a limit… more on that at a later date.) 

So I turned my attention to “sheds.”  I found this cottage shed and knew instantly that it would be perfect. I simply emailed this picture to the shop instructor with some dimensions.  The enclosure will be 10×12, and the run is still in the design phase.  The class worked on determining how much wood/other supplies were needed, they ordered from a local lumber company, and away they went.

I’m not so sure about the curtains, but the porch is simply charming. We’re going to add a window on either side, covered with 1/4 hardware cloth for some natural light inside. The doors will have windows as pictured.  Insulation is a must, and MUST be covered. (I had a few sleepless nights after I discovered my hens were pecking at the foam board insulation on the ceiling of my current coop – fortunately it moved through, PHEW!) More on the build of the interior as the building gets further along.  Here’s the work in progress! Exciting times.

 You might be wondering how this is going to make it from the shop classroom to my backyard. The kids are building it on “skis.” The plan is to load it onto a flatbed and slide it off into the yard. Let’s hope all of my excitement is not for naught, and that really is possible. We shall see at the end of May!

The local high school shop program has ordered materials and construction on our new coop is underway! With that project on task, it’s back to planning for those new baby chicks! The Easter Egger I ordered will add some color to my egg basket, now how about some color in the coop!

I currently have 3 buff orpingtons. They are beautiful creatures with golden feathers that glisten and sparkle in the sunlight. One is as pretty and friendly as the next, but I am the only one who can tell them apart. As I mentioned in my last post, Easter Eggers are a mixed bag and you really don’t know exactly what you are going to get. I may get another buff colored hen.

There’s no doubt that I’ll have some amazing color with my new Speckled Sussex. At maturity, she’ll covered with mahogany feathers with white tips. They are said to get more speckles with each molt – so just like us they get prettier with age! Beauty is just one benefit of the Speckled Sussex, she’s cold hearty, calm, friendly, and easily handled (this is quite important as it requires some chicken patience to accept the clumsy hugs of a 3-year old). She is also  a great layer of creamy light brown eggs. She won’t be much of a flyer, so our homey coop and run will make her quite happy.

Of course all of my chickens will need to get along with the kids – so I was particularly happy to see this comment when reviewing the Speckled Sussex breed profile on about.com Small Farms.

“This Breed May Be Right For You If…You have young children, because of their great personalities. Also good for places with colder winters.”

There you have it. With my first 2 choices revealed, I’ve already got colorful eggs and colorful feathers. I can hardly contain my excitement!  

June 17 is an important day! That’s the day my 5 new baby chicks will hatch and be shipped from mypetchicken.com. See more information about mypetchicken.com at the end of the post.

I’ve got a completely mixed bag coming mid-June. The first choice I’ll share with you in this post is the Easter Egger. They are friendly and cold/heat hearty. But the true reason that I chose this type of chicken is because they great layers of large blue and green eggs, and (rarely) white, creamy brown or even pinkish eggs. You never know what you are going to get with an Easter Egger, but it’s bound to be fun. Keep in mind – each hen will lay one color of eggs. So you won’t get blue one day and pink the next. She’s no Easter Bunny, after all! 

For a truly colorful egg basket, I probably should have ordered more than one. But as excited  as I am about blue or green or pink eggs, I’m equally excited about my other selections. More to come on those in a later post. I easily could have gone nuts and ordered 20 baby chicks, but I’m trying to be mindful of my tender heart. I’ve seen many a reference about hens going to the chicken soup pot once they stop laying. To each his own I say, but no chicken soup pot of mine will be filled with one of my feathered friends. So my plan is to add a handful of chicks to my flock each year – that way hens will mature out of their peak egg laying years gradually, and there will be new young layers behind them to keep the nest full. And, this way I can personally get to know a variety of different breeds to determine which ones work best for me and my family.

Incidentally, if you are wondering what the difference is between an Araucana, Ameraucana or Easter Egger (Olive Egger,Rainbow Layer) – here’s a great post that explains it all!

Mypetchicken.com is a fabulous choice for purchasing baby chicks if you desire a reputable hatchery with low minimums. Many hatcheries that you order from have a minimum of 15-20 chicks, so they add roosters for warmth to get any order up to the minimum. Depending on where you live, you may order as few as 3 or 4 from www.mypetchicken.com. And, if you haven’t had the opportunity to purchase your copy of Young Chicken Farmers: Tips for Kids Raising Backyard Chickens - you can add a signed copy to your cart as you order your chicks

I’ve had a “country” address for almost 3 months now. I’ve got everything unpacked and decorated – let’s say I’m at peace with the house.

That being said, the PODs weren’t even unloaded when I got a serious itch to expand my flock. No expansion possible with my existing coop. The wheels started turning – so much to consider. I tried to find a pre-built coop that was insulated well enough to keep my girls warm when the wind chill kicks up temps in thirty below range. Do they exist? Perhaps, but my vast internet search turned up nothing.

My beloved hubby built my existing coop – which I love. But with a laundry list of projects that need to be tackled outside and the fact that I don’t exactly NEED to expand my flock, well exhausting his time and resources hardly seemed like the right thing to do.

So I turned my attention to something more in the pre-built shed department. That would give me PLENTY of space, right? Space indeed, but at a staggering cost. Sadly I was out of ideas.

Then it hit me. I remembered seeing some wood sheds along the edge of the football field at my local high school last spring. Near the sheds was a signed posted, “FOR SALE.” Eureka! I’d ask the high school shop teacher if his class was in need of a new project.

Fortunately for me, and my unhatched chicks, he graciously agreed (although now it’s called the construction program, not shop!) Call it what you want, for the price of lumber, a small donation, and a few months time – I’ll have my new chicken coop. I simply sent him a picture with the desired dimensions and away he went. I’m so excited – it will look more like a chicken cottage than a coop. We’re going with a 10×12 enclosure. We haven’t discussed the details of the run yet – but I’m pleased with progress thus far.

Next time I’ll share the breed of baby chicks I ordered, and why. I’m adding color to the flock!

While the chickens didn’t seem to get their feathers ruffled about the sub-zero temps we experienced this month, their combs paid the price. You can see Goosey’s nice comb here. Yes, it’s a little black because the dirt from the dust bath sticks to the vasoline I use to protect their delicate little red parts. Despite my frequent vasoline applications, she lost  one of the points on her comb. She was a little upset the morning I noticed it, and it definitely looked sore.

There was a white bump where the point had been, and it was a little swollen. With no udder balm on the premises, I turned to the only ointment I had on hand – bacitracin. Luckily, within a couple of days a new point emerged. In the days it took for that to happen, both Chickee and Buffie had the exact same experience.

I’m happy to say that everyone’s all doctored up and quite happy again. Egg production slowed while we lived through the comb trauma. The good news – in the next 30 days our average temperature jumps to 50 degrees. Spring is on its way!