Family Time

Thanksgiving week we made the trip up to North Carolina to see Dave's Mom, sister and their families. I just thought that I would share some of our pictures with you.

Olivia and her chickens! She loves them. I guess owning chickens runs in the family!

Our newest nephew, Sebastian. He is so big! This was our first time meeting him.

Walter and Olivia in their new jammies!

They love Uncie Dave's gadgets and gizmos!

Mezmerized

Serious Sebastian

I caught a smile!! What a cutie!!

We love you guys! Can't wait to see you at Christmas!

More chicken pictures!!!

I love to show off my girls. More chicken photos for your viewing pleasure.

Sweetie, looking as sweet as ever.

Honey, looking pretty serious.

The newly named, Bock Choy. Yes the Bok spelled Bock is intentional. My friend's son named her.

Jacoline named this girl Goldie. It fits her well.

Rachel showing off and the rest of the girls hanging out.

And Life Goes On

Well, in case you have been wondering, I took the three remaining chickens to the poultry lab. I got the results yesterday. They had signs of Marecks and apparently had little cartiledge in their joints, or something like that. And they were all boys!! I can't keep crowing roosters, so not having to find a home for them is somewhat of a relief.

I was really sad after dropping them off. Mourning my three chicken babies. I got home and planned on a quiet evening with more of that chocolate cake and wine. Then I heard that a friend couldn't care for his chickens anymore and needed them to be house immediately. I put on my overalls, grabbed a brooder and headed out the door.

When I got to his house the pigs had been loaded and most of the chickens. I wrangled some babies out of the front yard and then loaded some hens in. I had no clue how many chickens I had in my car. Turned out there were also two rabbits that needed a home, so I loaded them into the car as well.

I dropped the bunnies off at my sister's house. They are so cute! They are white with black spots. They gave them baths and loved on them. They are so happy in their new home.

Second stop, my uncle's. He has had a lonely rooster, Rudy, for a while now. I thought he could use some company. I dropped six hens off at his house. They are so happy there! Rudy protected them right away and introduced them to the goats. Now they are a happy little farm flock.

I got to our house about dark and started unloading the rest of the chickens. I brought our rooster, Ponce, into the coop first. He knew exactly where he was!!! He walked right downstairs in the coop and got some water. Including Ponce, I added nine to our flock. One pretty red girl went to live at a friend's house. She is now named Annie.

So, we have 18 chickens now of varying ages. Everyone stopped laying eggs due to the heat and stress of blending a flock. I am waiting the eggs! Come one girls! So far everyone gets along for the most part. I might end up having to give more away, but I want to know how many roosters I have before I start getting rid of chickens. I want the girls around for their egg laying abilities.

It was a trying day. All in one day we went from 13 chickens, down to ten, then to 19!!! Of course, now we have 18, since Annie went to her new home. I mean, I had 15 chickens in my car at one time!! I think that God gave me peace to let the three sick ones go because He knew there were other chickens that needed a happy home. Here is hoping that most of the young ones are girls and good egg layers!!!

The Adventures of a Sick Chick

Caution: this is about a sick chicken. It may contain graphic descriptions that may not be pleasant.

A few days ago I discovered that we had a sick chicken. I could tell that Atta Girl had a yucky poop covered behind, but didn't think much of it. That is until I saw that flies were following her around and seemed to be swarming her. Flies do not normally follow the chickens around. So, I caught her to get a good look at her. I could tell that her backside was not well, but being only me as Dave was at work, I couldn't get a good look at her.

Friday night two of my friends from college came over and I forced Hunter to help me get a good look at her. I caught her, he held her and I hosed her down and saw that her rear side was covered in maggots. My poor girl!!!  Rebecca got a photo of us in this process that is probably somewhere on the internet. I coated her rear in diotemaceous eath- it helps prevent larvae from hatching, but I now know doesn't do much once they are present. I called my friend Laura who is an avian biologist and waited to hear what she had to say. She said that we did well and to keep an eye on her.

Saturday morning came around and we were getting ready to go to Dave's cousin's wedding in Boone NC. When I went out to check on my girl she wouldn't leave the roost and her backside was absolutely covered in maggots. (Note that when I say backside, I don't mean her vent-where she poops from. I mean the area below her vent.) We went into action to try to do something for her. A fellow chicken owner said that flea and tick spray would kill the maggots. He also had a prescription for antibiotics for his chickens that he called a refill in for near me. He figured that she had an infection that drew the flies to her in the first place. Off I went to the store while Dave packed. When I returned, we got to work.

Dave and I hosed her off again then sprayed down her rear side with flea and tick spray. As the maggots fell off we could see just how many there were. My poor baby! Of course, I got no photos of this process, but it is probably for the better. After a couple of dousings she seemed pretty maggot free. I used a hair dryer to get her feathers nice and dry. We didn't want her body temperature to drop. We then poured hydrogen peroxide all over her backside to kill whatever we could. And then I dried her off again. Most of her feathers were missing from her backside. I felt like a really bad mom that should have done something sooner. But, I didn't know!! And I keep thinking if she wasn't a pet she would have been killed. We gave her antibiotics and Dave drove her over to my mom and dad's while I got ready to go out of town.

I think that I worried the whole time that we were gone. My mom assured me that she was resting and even a little bit feisty. We picked her up on Sunday afternoon. She seemed happy to see us. Ok, not happy, but we were familiar to her.

Dave fashioned her a cage in the dining room. She can't go outside for awhile. She needs to be in a clean environment while she is healing. Here she is getting adjusted to her new surroundings.

She has a roost, room for food and water and enough room to walk around a bit. She mostly sleeps on the roost. I know that she misses her sisters. You might also be wondering why put her in your kitchen/dining room? Chickens get lonely if they are isolated. Sure we could put her away in a room, but she wouldn't see us very much. Many times when they are isolated that is when they give up. Not Atta Girl!! She will be seeing a lot of us. And Lleulu.

Lleulu still thinks that it is all about her. Can't you tell? Look at the look that she is giving me! I got out the camera and she wanted her picture to be taken. Silly kitty. She isn't quite sure what to think about a chicken in the house. She knows them from when they were little and looks at them from the back door all of the time. This is a little different though!

What cute sisters!! I'll be keeping you posted on Atta Girls progress. And if you want to see a chicken in the kitchen that isn't in the freezer or a pan come on over!! We love company!

Happy Clucking Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Girls!!

I can hardly believe that my girls are a year old! It seems like yesterday they were just eggs. What an adventure they have taken us on and oh, how we love them! We hatched Atta Girl, Daisy, Edith and Jemima. They are such lovely ladies. Live it up today girls. It's all yours.

 

More Chicken Photos

Above: Pickle, her usual curious self.

Right: Edith being her usual uncooperative self with the camera. Atta Girl is in the background.

This is Lydia's new laying spot, a bushel basket on the back porch. She found it and claimed it even though it was full of my small garden shovels and gloves. Silly chicken!!

She cracked me up hiding under the towel hanging from the hand rail. Now she lays here regularly. Dave cleared out the basket and put some straw in there for her. The other girls are curious about the basket. Now they take turns laying their eggs there.It is fun to look out the back door and see a chicken laying your breakfast!

Oh, How They Have Grown!

My girls have grown. I just had to show you how pretty and big they are. They woke me up this morning yelling about something. Maybe they were having church again. Oh well. I got up and let them out.

Pickle is my poser. As soon as you whip out the camera she wants to know what is going on. She is also a grown up now! Our baby is laying eggs!! Now everyone is laying. Not everyone lays an egg every day. When they do, we have six eggs! Boy howdy, are they pretty!! And delicious too. We'll see if they start laying a lot as the days get longer. If they do, I'll have some to share.

And here are the girls in one of their favorite spots. I love them so!

Brrrrrrr.....

It has been four days now with temperatures not rising above thirty two degrees. In the south this is frigid! We had a little snow storm. It was mostly ice on bridges and roads and school closed. I always love a snow day, especially when there is actually snow on the ground. Kids were definitely sledding. What fun!

I am over it now. The temperatures at night have been in the teens with a wind chill in the single digits. Seriously. Cold. There is still a bit of ice on our driveway and sidewalk and snow on the ground too. Our house is old and drafty, read that no insulation in the walls. So keeping our house warm is not the easiest thing to do. We are layering up and I am trying to keep something in the stove at least once a day. I do believe that I will be making bread again this week!

I have been really concerned about our chickens in this weather. I know that chickens live in much colder climates and do just fine. I have been keeping a close eye on them. We ended up buying a heated dog water bowl for their water. It kept freezing, poor girls. Now we don't have to worry about their availability of water, just if it is clean or not. They have definitely slowed down and aren't very active. What is the use in scratching around when the ground is frozen?

We have had one chicken hardship. Jemima's break broke! I have no idea how. When she was younger her beak cracked. I am assuming that with the cold she pecked on something and there was a weak spot. It scared me to death. I walked out and found a bloody breasted bird. For your information, you could compare a chicken's beak to a cat's claw. If you trim a cat's claw down too far it bleeds. Or like a finger nail when cut to the quick. She is okay and her beak looks fine. It doesn't seem to hinder her eating or drinking. Poor girl. I know that it hurt because of the sounds she was making. The other girls were great didn't peck her a bit! Chickens have a tendency to peck at blood or open wounds. I am proud of them for being so kind.

We have been keeping ourselves busy with the process of installing the wood stove. It is a bit slow going. Or slower than I expected. The concrete hearth is now poured. Micah ordered for where the glass goes. Feet for the stove sorted out. Oh, how I wish the stove would have been up and running this weekend. It would have been wonderful. At least we will be prepared for the next round of wintery weather!

This week we are supposed to get back up into the fifties. I think that it will feel like a summer's day compared to what we are experiencing now. I can't wait!!

Any more thoughts on braving the cold? What did you do while snowed in?

Back to Blogging

Ok, I have to get back into blogging mode. Life has gotten the better of me and I haven't sat down to record all of it's happenings. I truly want to keep accounts of my cooking and our life with chickens on a regular basis. I need to.

Things have been hectic around here. Dave started a new job at the beginning of December. It is quite a change and not quite what he was expecting. His schedule has changed a couple of times and currently he works evenings, which means that we hardly see each other during the week. I know that eventually we will appreciate seeing each other more and spend our time together wisely.

Yesterday we went to a Christmas tree farm to cut down our tree. I picked one with not so great pruning practices this year. Who knew?!?! We ended up with our very own Charlie Brownish pine tree. It is on it's way to looking delightful. I have to decorate it today.

Tonight we have friends coming over for dinner. I am really excited as we haven't truly entertained in a while and these folks have never been to our home. I am making a Sombrero Chicken . Haven't made this in a while. I am also making a big ol side of collard greens, mac-n-cheese, lady peas, and trying something new ~ a mixture of sweet potatoes, apples and onions. I found the recipe at Farmgirl Fare. I love this blog! It reminds me of Pioneer Woman, but different. She has tons of recipes!!! I have already made her Easy Beer Bread. We loved it. Go check her out.

Alright, since we have company tonight, I should go finish decorating the Christmas tree. Well, start decorating it actually.

I promise to write again soon!

The Girls

I can never get enough of my girls and I finally got a couple of closer pics. They are a bit camera shy, so I gave them some spoiled milk and rice. They do like it, but not quite as much as homemade tomato soup! They had the pleasure of eating the soup when Dave couldn't finish his bowl. Here they are...

Hasn't Pickle grown!! She is in the forefront here. She is so cute and the Girls really so love her. Edith is the black chicken on the left. She is starting to show some shades of green sheen on her feathers. So pretty!

Jemima, left, Atta Girl, right

Daisy, they grey quacker and Pickle in the background

Here is Pickle showing up the girls in front of the camera. She was strutting her stuff.

I just peeked out to check on them and they are in my tomatoes. It is definitely a favorite spot for them. Yesterday I looked out and thought that I saw them all under a bush. I was trying to find Pickle when I realized that there was another bird outside with them. It was bigger than Pickle but smaller than The Girls. I stepped outside for a closer look. A young hawk was sitting outside with them!!!! It didn't seem to be bothering them. I am thinking that their conversation went something like this:

Hawk: Hey Ladies!

The Girls: Hey....

Hawk: There anything good to eat around here?

The Girls: Yeah, but look out for the rats. We killed one this week.

Hawk: Rats?!?! I am definitely at the right place!

The Girls: Just don't pay attention to us, there is plenty for everyone, except rats.

It flew off when I walked toward them. Or should I say that it glided away. Literally. It was beautiful. I have seen it since apparently hunting small rodents. I hope that it catches the chipmunks so that I don't have to! You are welcome here Hawk. Just don't get a taste for chicken!

My Boys

I thought that I should introduce you to two of my boys.

First meet Trace. He is a handsome fella.

And here is Elroy. He really has grown a lot!

These boys have to find new homes. I hate to give them away. I know that I can't keep roosters, so I am starting the process of finding them a new forever family. Cheesy, I know!

I even fed them some of my delicious creamed corn. That is what is in the white bowl. They only got some because it started to spoil. They seem to love slightly spoiled food.

We love the boys and really enjoy watching them strut their stuff. I will try to keep you posted on the outcome!

Chickens are Legal in Roswell!

Hooray! Chickens are legal in Roswell! My newfound chicken loving friend Andrew has been in this battle for a while. The judge is officially ruling next week, but we already know the verdict. Check out the article in the AJC. Andrew has been a great help in my chicken hatching and raising experience, lending me the egg turner, sharing knowledge, and currently helping me nurse my sick chicky and treating my others. Whew! Way to go Andrew! I am off to celebrate with the chicken loving folks.

I will have more updates later today. Wuella is hanging in there. I am trying to increase her feedings per day to increase strength. It is not unlike a newborn baby, trying to feed her every two hours. So far she is still fighting.

Stay tuned...

This really happened by accident...

On my chicken adventure, I truly thought that I would get some day old chicks to get my small flock started. They are so cute and fluffy! I pictured opening the box when they arrived and them chirping out, " Are you my Mother?" just like in the Dr. Seuss book.

My plans changed quickly on Friday. A teacher at school had borrowed a small incubator to hatch some eggs in her classroom. She asked me to help and we anxiously awaited our shipment of eggs. They finally arrived at lunch time and when we opened the box there were 4 eggs instead of 3. Oh no! Our classroom incubator only holds 3 eggs! What would we do with a 4th egg? I quickly decided that I would try to incubate it. 

First I hatched a plan for a basic incubator consisting of a light bulb and a box. Driving home from work with my little egg in the seat next to me, I remembered that my uncle had an incubator. He had just hatched ducklings. Whew. Now I knew that I had an incubator, but was it worth it to hatch just one egg? I contacted Little Gem Hatchery. I had been in contact with them about picking up some day old chicks. They are just a 40 minute drive away. I decided to see if they had any hatching eggs. 

I got a response back very quickly! Ginny and Lee told me that they had a lot of hatching eggs ready and waiting. Could I pick them up on Sunday? Woohoo!!! I was all set. I followed the instructions that they gave me for my one lonely egg and waited anxiously. Sunday morning Dave and I drove out to the hatchery. We saw all kinds of chickens and roosters, guineas, ducks, geese and a turkey! Ginny had already filled up two egg cartons for us filled with different kind of eggs. After our tour and some advice, I paid for our eggs and headed home.

Here is what we got!
 

I really wanted to hatch Cuckoo Marans. They are pretty birds and lay pretty eggs. Yes, I judge a chicken by it's looks and eggs. Actually, I was looking for 3 things when I was looking at chicks and it applies to getting hatching eggs, too. First was what a chicken looks like. Like any pet, you want to enjoy looking at it every day. There are so many varieties! I looked for hours online. The second factor was egg production and looks. I want a decent amount of eggs and pretty eggs. I love speckled eggs, brown eggs, almond eggs. Ok, I love any eggs. The third thing I looked for was the chicken's disposition. I wanted a docile chicken that did not tend to go broody. That means that she gets moody and wants to sit on her eggs all of the time. Little Gem Hatchery has chickens that fit my bill! 

Ok, our varieties and total.

3  Blue Laced Red Wyandotte

3  Blue Cuckoo Maran

3  Welsummer

6  Blue splash Maran

6  Lakenvelder

6  Golden Lakenvelder

12 Cuckoo Maran

1 Black Australorp(form the classroom shipment)

Whew! Let's look at them again.

After they go into the incubator it will take 21 days for them to hatch. That gives us an expected arrival date of May 24th. I have to turn them 3 times a day so that the embryos do not stick to their shells. We don't have a fancy automatic egg turner. The eggs are not viable until they are in the incubator. I mean, they aren't embryos until then, just egg and sperm hanging out separately. Interesting huh? I hope that all of the eggs hatch. If I do my job, we should have success. Some never develop and that can't be helped. This will be an adventure!

40 baby chicks! I will have to sell some to good homes and the hatchery said that they would take back any we can't handle or any roosters. You can't always distinguish a boy from a girl chick for 3-6 months. It depends on the variety of chicken. We only want girls so that they can lay eggs. You don't need a rooster to have eggs. 

I think I will start sharing some things that I learned from my class on here. What do you guys think? It was so informative! They really are not difficult to care for. They take work just like any pet. 

I will keep you all updated on the incubating process and on our coop building process.

Thinking about having chickens in your backyard? Maybe I can help! I am going to have some chicks soon and I know a really handy carpenter who can build your coop. =)

Chicks in the City

Last Saturday I spent the day taking a class on chickens. Yes. Chickens.It was at Oakhurst Community Gardens in Decatur taught by a great couple, Andy and Jen. Andy is the Chicken Whisperer. He has tons of links on his blog with good chicken information. Warning: It is addictive!

 The class was so great. It was really a crash course on keeping chickens in your backyard. I have been dreaming about this for a while now. Dave is on board and we have been trying to get our backyard ready to build a coop. We have a ways to go. I think we're gonna need a bobcat to rip out old growth though! We can do it! Anyone want to help?

Here are some pics from the coop tour. We got to go to local homes that keep chickens to see their coops, chickens and ask questions. I went with my friend Kristie. We rode our bikes all over Decatur to see these chicken homes. We felt like amazing women.

Here are a few chickens scratching through some hay and scraps.

Here is a pretty lady. I think that she is striking in her black and red ensemble! The ladies were enjoying the shade of this holly bush. And let me just tell you, it was a hot day! The hottest in quite a while!

This was my favorite coop, well both of ours really. The owner did a great job. He took the best options from different coops and put them together into this one. We are going to try to recreate this in our backyard. I know that Dave can do it. I am so glad that I have such a handy husband!

These are some pretty ladies feeding in another yard. I love the black and white look!

And last a such a pretty buff chicken.

I am hooked. I can't wait to have chickens. They are so cute, are great pets and they give you something back. Yes, the Sutton farm may open it's gates sooner than we ever imagined. Naw, we are just making good use of the space we have. Chickens seem like the next step to being more self sufficient. And they are so darn adorable! More chicken talk to come!!!