August 27, 2012: Chicken Wrangler Headed To The HIlls

I'm off to day for vacation up in the Sierras.  No computer connectivity up there so will be off the grid for a week.  But I will be thinking about you and my girls who will be arriving in 14 days.

No chicken's up the hill, but lots of squirrels, chipmunks, ring tails, a bear or two, hopefully no mountain lions, and for Gosh sakes no rattle snakes this time.

Just sitting in the river with my book, a glass of wine, with my sister.  Then Cal is coming up, then my cousin Judi and her hubby Darrel  and maybe her grandkids.  Some of our neighbors may be up, so we usually get together for cocktails.

Karen and I are headed to Tahoe for lunch Tuesday to our favorite beach front place, the Beacons.  It is right on the lake, with a great view, relaxed atmosphere, and great food.

See you next week fellow chicken wranglers.

August 26, 2012: Not about chickens today.

Today I learned that a dear old friend is gravely ill.  I was over whelmed with a feeling of shock, followed by anguish, then tears.   How could this be happening to this vital, exuberant, funny, loving, fun-loving woman I have known for so many years?  Then I prayed, then sent out word to add her to our church prayer list,  now what do I do?

I feel helpless.  I know most of us have lost loved ones, and we all know what that feels like.  We know life is tenuous, a mere breath in time.  What can we do?  Grieve, cry, scream, pray and then go on living, and loving.

Faith sustains me through these difficult times.  And having someone, something to love and cherish.

It may seem silly to some to see me writing about chickens, so mundane and unimportant.  And perhaps it is in the greater scheme of things, but not in day to day living. 

I can only live each day, not the past  (oh well yes, I do live in the past sometimes - who doesn't) , certainly not in the unpredictable future....just today.  And I want as many things as possible to love and nurture in my daily life. 

God, family, friends, dogs, chickens, what ever we love brings meaning to our life.  Sometimes there is nothing to be done, but to love, trust in God, and live. 

God bless you.

August 25, 2012: Celebrity Chicken Wranglers

Yesterdays post got me thinking about what other celebrities might have chickens.  Tori Spelling can not be the only one, and she is not the only one to dress up her pet chicken.



So I hit the Internet for some info.  Here's what I learned:

Barbara Striesand and Julia Roberts both have chickens running free on their properties.  Alton Brown and John Cleese also have chickens. John even has a blog showing his chickens coming in the house.  So do Martha Stewart, Jerry Hall, Jennifer Aniston and British actress Joanne Lumley ( remember Absolutely Fabulous?  I loved that show, She played Patsy.).

I also learned that England has gone nuts over pet chickens.  So this isn't just about us nutty Californians.  What we call backyard chickens the British call garden chickens, but essentially they are chickens being raised and cared for in urban settings. 

I learned that you can train a chicken to use a cat box to go poop, and that many people have chickens as house pets. I've had to broaden my perspective! 

I also learned that there are tons of websites about urban chickens, videos on You Tube, and chicken newsletters you can join.  I just joined another one, BackYard Chickens.  I think that's good way to learn about what other people have done, what pitfalls to avoid, etc.

Meanwhile, this morning my book club met here before going out for our meeting.  Everyone wanted to see the coop!  Renee made me promise to have an open house when the girls arrive.  Perhaps a "Coming Out Party" like the debutantes?

Only three more weeks to chicken lift off. 

                                                              Little Red Riding Chicken.

August 24. 2012: If Tori Spelling Can Do It So Can I.

Tori Spelling with her chicken, Coco

Yesterday I told my friend Barbara about my chicken adventure.  Was I surprised to learn from her that there are even famous ( or semi-famous) chicken wranglers out there. I thought Barbara was delirious, having just had surgery, but apparently actress Tori Spelling has a pet chicken named Coco she even dresses in matching dresses, and carries around with her.  I was delighted to see her holding Coco like a treasured per versus an inanimate object.  More later.

The very first time I tried to hold a chicken I realized that they do not want to be picked up or held by a stranger. So they run like hell.  They are lot faster and more agile than I. 

Finally I did corner the little girl and with coaching from the chicken keeper I was visiting, I gently picked her up.  I talked to her quietly the whole time, and she settled right into my arms.  She did not try to peck or scratch me.  But I learned two valuable lessons related both to life in general and chickens in particular.

1.  In  life, perhaps the things we chase after so hard to try to catch,  are not ready or willing to be caught.  Maybe we need to try a different approach, or pick a more willing goal.

2.  Chickens want to get to know you before they will be your friend and let you hold them.  Like people some breeds are by nature more docile, and even friendly.  They still want to feel safe with you before they stop running and let you pick them up. 

How you approach the chicken is also important for backyard chicken wranglers. What is your attitude towards your chickens?  If like me, you see them as darling little things that you want to pet and hold, your approach is going to be different than if you see them as a means to an end. i.e eggs. 

I read an article on the "proper" method of holding you chicken which really turned me off.  I guess if you have dozens of chickens it made sense, but for me, with a few girls, it was very cold, no fuzzeling at all.

I do not want to hold my chicken like a sack of flour, facing backwards under my arm.  I don't like travelling  backwards.  I want to see what's ahead.  That makes me feel more secure, and I bet it's the same way for chickens.  I may even be OK with one of the girls pretending to be a hat.

August 23, 2012: Chickens, Chickens Everywhere: What's Up With That?

Took my Mom downtown to our main thoroughfare, Plumas St, yesterday.  We now have a shop devoted to all things avian called "Birds Eye View".  It is a lovely shop with a beautiful array of items from decorative things, to books, feeders, and chicken related goodies.  Of course I added to my chicken paraphernalia.   I am aiming for a tasteful nod towards chicken art, but am worried my house will look like a chicken obsessed individual lives there.  I am not obsessed, I am just fond of chickens!

 Latest purchase.  Isn't it pretty?



Again I was reminded that there is a huge resurgence of interest in chickens in this country and abroad, if my blog followers are any indication.  I recently joined the Chicken Keepers Newsletter which is based in Australia I think.  People down under name their chickens, talk to them and generally treat them like we chicken wranglers do.  They love their garden chickens too.

As a therapist I am interested in what is behind this chicken- loving phenomena.  Surely it can't only be the eggs.  In an earlier blog post I mentioned my friend Vickie who thinks it is a desire to return to a simpler time, with chickens being a symbol of a peaceful, bucolic  life. 

Those of us who have ever farmed will tell ya it ain't all that simple or peaceful, but for the backyard chicken wrangler it is pretty easy.

Maybe its the gentle clucking or bocking sounds chickens (hens) make.  Kind of a sweet, melodious voice.
Chickens are also pretty, with colorful plumage and a funny little waddle.  They are entertaining to watch.  The flock dynamic is a little like any office in the world.  As I have said before, we can learn a lot from chickens.

I think that it is all of these things, plus the novelty of having chickens in our city yards.  Everybody has a dog, cat, gerbil, guinea pig, etc. but to have chickens in the city sets you apart.  It gives you a whole new set of folks to commune with, fellow city chicken wranglers.  The kids are out of the house, the nest is empty, so what can I take care of next?  Ah, I know!  Chickens! 

What ever the reason I say "hats off".   Sometimes we don't need to know the root cause or functioning of something to enjoy the benefits.  Like my car for instance, I have no clue how it works, or my cell phone.  Who cares!  These things help me have a good life, and so does wrangling chickens.



August 22, 2012: Urban Carnivores: Protecting the Girls

Who would hurt a sweet little hen?  Urban carnivores, that's who!

Even though we live in the city, our chickens still are at risk from predators, and not the 2 legged kind either.  These beasts creep around the yard, sleep in our front porch, tease our dog, and go their haughty way..yes they are CATS!

Don't get me wrong, I love cats, and have had them as pets for years, though not since Henry my orange cat died 11 years ago.  I have fed the occasional neighborhood cat who swings by my porch, never thought a thing of it.  Annie, our dog, likes cats, though the feeling is generally not mutual except for Sassy the cat up the street who goes gaga over Annie on our walks. 

But cats are the most common urban chicken predator!  They go after the chicks but will even attack a full grown hen at times.  

We may have the rare opossum that strolls through the neighborhood, and there are definitely rats in the star jasmine on the back fence, but these do not present the ongoing threat of the neighborhood bully, "Prince". 

He lives across the street, but comes by and wanders around our back yard when Annie is in the house.  He even has the nerve to wander past the sliding glass door right in front of Annie who then runs 90 miles an hour out the dog door to try to get to him.  He, the clever little monster, knows how to get to the fence, up and away from Annie, just in time.  He is audacious.

But, I am not going to let these 4 legged furry creatures hurt one feather on the head of my girls.  We have plans for the predators to include:

 1. a totally enclosed coop for the girls to stay in at night, which is up off the ground,
 2. Rat "food" to control the rat population ( though I have not seen a dead rat in the yard in years),
 3. judicious observation of any hawks or owls, again have never seen them around here.  But I know they are there and we will be vigilant. 
 4. While I would love to let the girls roam free all day I know that we need to keep them in the coop when we are not in the yard, or vicinity.

I've got these battery operated owl who have yellow eyes that glow.  Terrifying if you forgot you turned them on.  That can scare the crud out of you seeing those yellow eyes looking in at you.  .  I'm going to bring them down from the cabin and install them around the coop area.  That should give the cats, rats and raptors something to think about.

The yard is not a fortress, but it is pretty secure, and of course we are armed, so bring it on you four legged, or flying fiends.  We will protect our girls.

August 21, 2012: Chickens Can "Grow" On You.

OK, so up until last night the plan has been to get two maybe three hens.  As you can see, our darling little coop will only hold 2-3 comfortably.  Lying in bed last night talking "chickens", my darling husband said: " ya know I've been thinking about how we could turn our west side yard into a larger chicken coop area".

My response "  WHA?" 

When did Cal become a fellow chicken wrangler?  I mean he has supported my idea to get city chickens.  He's read about chickens.  We assembled the coop together and he built me my flower box for the nesting area window.  But so far he has not expressed any desire to fuzzel, cuddle, hold or pet a chicken.  I have seen this as my project, which he is in favor of, but certainly more for the eggs than the girls themselves.

Has my husband, who until we married never even had an inside dog, fallen in love with chickens too?

I mean he did adjust to having my dog Lucky ( now waiting for me in heaven ) sleep on the bed with us, and I caught him kissing and cuddling Lucky.  With our new dog, Annie, he is plays what I call 'bite and fight"on the bed at night with her, and I have awakened to find him with his arm around her, or kissing her sweet little head.  So clearly he has come to love our animals. 

Now he is suggesting getting more than 2-3 chickens, I believe he mentioned 6 chickens.  And he wants to name one of them Henrietta.  Is this like Field of Dreams?  Build it and they will come?  I think he is coming to see the simple beauty of chickens.  I am so happy!  Welcome to my world honey.

2 chickens? 6 chickens? The more the merrier!  And one will definitely be named Henrietta.

August 20 2012: Chickens on Your Shoulders!

We were just skyping on Facebook with our beautiful daughter Kristine when the conversation turned to chickens. That happens a lot lately.  Turns out she has a friend who has Buff Orpington hens, one of the breeds we are considering.

These little girls are so friendly that they actually sit on their human Mommy's shoulder and cluck to her.  They are gentle, and loving little things, and of course there are the egg, bug eating, and yard fertilizing benefits as well.  Kristine sent me the cutest pictures of some little girls, and of a very interested pet cat, examining a carton of chicks. 

MargeMabel

Chicken on the right:  "What did you mean by that remark, Marge?" 
Chicken on the left:  " Mabel, you are so sensitive.  I feel like I have to walk on egg shells around you".

Today on his walk with Annie our dog, Cal stopped to talk to a neighbor who, turns out, has 6 chickens in hiss yard.  He raised them from chicks and now they like to sit in his lap and be petted, and talk to him.  He says he get about 5 eggs a day.  Those are some happy hens.  He must fuzzel them alot.

I am seeing how chickens can bring folks together by providing a simple joyous subject to talk about, a few minutes away from the strife in the world.  I see myself strolling around the back yard with a little hen on my shoulder chatting with me about her day.

Thank you Kristine for adding to my chicken delight!

August 19, 2012: Chicken Anticipation.

I'm a planner.  I am logical, rational, and pragmatic most of the time.

When we were planning our last trip to see the kids and grandkids in London, we had to start months in advance.  We had to save the money for the trip, make all the travel arrangements, coordinate with  kids to make sure we had a schedule that fit into their busy lives, and get all of our ducks in a row here at home.  We had a lot to do, and proscribed times frames to get things done in.  You know, like  lose 50 lbs. (yeah, well, that did not happen), check to see our passports were up to date, get a pet sitter lined,  a million details. 

Let's jump forward to today.  I WANT MY DANG CHICKENS!  I started thinking about getting chickens 2  months ago.  Turns out unlike a European vacation,  getting chickens is a lot easier and less complicated.  Especially when we ordered the coop and it came in less than a week.

We also had talked about not actually getting the girls until we got back from our vacation, so that we would not be getting them, then immediately leaving,  before they could get used to the coop, the yard and the dog and of course Mommy and Daddy.  I wanted to fuzzel them, talk to them, see what they wanted to be named, and love em up a bit.  You know, make them feel at home.

I have done a lot of online research on caring for chickens, looked at dozens of breeds, finished decorating the coop, fuzzeled a few chickens, just to get the feel of it, and I am ready!  WHERE ARE THE GIRLS?

I feel like an expectant mom waiting to deliver.  The nursery is ready, the layette is ready, the basinette is ready.......having anticipated the arrival of the girls for several weeks, I am now tired of waiting.  You probably are too.

Even though I know it is best for the girls if we wait to get them in three weeks versus tomorrow, I still want those little hens pecking around the yard ASAP. I  know, I know.  I need to be patient a bit
longer, but I am not know for my patient nature,  Capisce?

Any suggestions on names, or ways to handle my chicken anticipation? 

August 18, 2012: Chicken Lovers Unite

Today I read an item in the Chicken Keepers Newsletter that just warmed my heart.  A lady from Australia talked about her feelings for the two little hens that run around her yard.  She described one of her little hens laying her first egg, and how the older hen stood by to lend a "hand" and moral support.  It was so sweet and she clearly loves her little girls.

More and more I am discovering that chicken wranglers are a bunch of like minded folk who see the simple dignity and beauty of chickens.  Not so much those noisy roosters, but then they have their own thing going on. 

For example, last week we ate breakfast at Perkos ( did I mention they have a great senior menu?  Lame I know, but what can I say).  Saw a little black hen with 8 chicks following behind her.  I raced  to get a picture, but she shooed them into the bushes and then turned to face me, clucking a warning to leave "dem babies" alone.  What a good mom.  It was then I saw how dignified and brave that little hen was.  Not too different from mother's everywhere I think.  Almost immediately another little tan hen ran across the street to provide suspport for the Mommy.  Here she is clucking loudly at me:

The rooster stood about 10 yards away crowing like a fool, but never coming any closer.  What a chicken!

Anyway I think being a chicken wrangler is just another way of saying chicken lover.  I am one, and I am in good company with millions of people all over the world.



August 17, 2012: Aloha Chickens!

Kauai Chicken

By now you all know that about my love for chickens.  I also love Kauai.  The Garden Island of Hawai'i is one of the most beautiful places on earth.  It is also where my husband proposed to me and where we went on our honeymoon.  Chickens---Kauai---  Hmm.  

If you have been to Kauai you know that there is a huge population of chickens just roaming around.  For non-Hawaiians waking up on the first day of your once a year vacation from the daily grind, at dawn, to the crowing of a plethora of roosters can be surprising, and then immediately annoying.  What is going on?  Where did all these chickens come from, and why are they running loose all over the island. 

Our first visit there the chickens, who are fearless, waited for us at the patio door.  When we opened it, they strolled on in took a lap around the dining room table and the garbage can before we got over our shock and escorted them out.  There after they came daily, though now we were wise to them and kept them outside.  Only the roosters were annoying.  The Hawaiian hens are very laid back, or hung loose or whatever they call it.

Our outing to Ke'e Beach to go snorkeling also provided some new experiences as chickens, while not actually getting in the ocean, did enjoy sunbathing.  Actually they enjoyed scrounging around all the families on the beach.  They did not beg for food.  They demanded and grabbed what they wanted, though no one was injured.  Kauai'ans just shoo them away or ignore them.  Vacationers seem much more disturbed, probably because chickens don't typically run the streets of their home towns.

Turns out chickens ( moa in Hawaiian) came to the islands with the first settlers, who in turn came from the Marquesas.  They apparently were a hearty breed and adapted well.  Chickens inhabit all the Hawaiian Islands, but not to the extent they do Kauai.

Why, you ask?  This is a fascinating example of "not thinking things through".  On all the other islands farmers imported mongoose to help combat the rat population that was decimating the root crops.  The thinking was that the mongoose would keep the rat population under control. 

One small error in that theory was that while mongoose hunt during the day, rats are nocturnal ergo they are never eating at the same time, so to speak.  However, chickens are up and at em early each day, providing mongoose with a delicious alternative to rat.  Since mongoose were never imported to Kauai, there was and is no natural predator in the island,  Chicken are at the top of critter food chain on Kauai.

Of course Hurricane Iniki a class 4 Hurricane, which destroyed much of Kauai in 1992 also contributed to the freedom loving chickens who apparently were blown all over the island when their coops were destroyed.

So don't be surprised to see a chicken on your patio chaise lounge next time you visit Kauai.  Mean while Aloha and Mahalo.

August 16, 2012: No Roosters "Aloud"!

Ah what a bucolic sound, roosters crowing just before dawn.  I live about 2 blocks from a rural, agricultural area and so can hear the little darlings at 0 dark 30.  The first rooster crowing sounds so sweet, gentle even, welcoming the day!  HOWEVER, when he is joined by at least 4 other roosters and the crowing persists for some time, it looses it's appeal.  What if it were right next door?  OMG!  My sleep pattern is already iffy.  This would kill me. 

Normally I am a firm believer is government staying out of my life, the less government in my life the better. EXCEPT for the local ordinance that prevents one from having roosters in the city.  I love that one.

We can have up to 12 little hens, but no roosters and what a great "law".  This is not just a selfish, got to get my sleep thing for me, it is also a being sensitive to others thing.  1. All of my neighbors chose to live in the city, versus on a farm.  2.  Almost all of my neighbors work and need their sleep.  3.  Even those who are retired still need their sleep.

A few years ago, our goofy next door neighbor decided he'd have a couple of peacocks in his back yard, just over the fence from our bedroom.  Ever hear a peacock scream in the middle of the night.   After your heart stops trying to jump out of your throat, you shout What The Hell Was That?    Let me tell you it makes a rooster crowing seem like the soft purr of a kitten.  Clearly this man (still single by the way) has not learned that he does not live in a vacuum. 

Of course we already knew that due to his 2 foot high weed infested front "lawn" and dirt and weed filled back yard.  Not a great neighbor I'll tell ya..but he does drive not one, but two Mercedes.  This makes him a well-off boob.  He must have been raised in the proverbial "barn". 

The peacocks finally disappeared, poor things, but goofiness remains. 

Even though we won't have roosters ( don't want them anyway) we still plan on moving our coop around the yard, but away from the bedroom side of our neighbors houses.  Even gentle clucking can be disturbing to some, though I just cannot imagine that, and we want to be good neighbors.  Now if we could just get the guy right behind us to stop shooting baskets just over the fence, on the concrete, at 10:30pm, we'd be golden.  He relives his years of high school basketball routinely later at night and I think there is either beer or cocktails involved.  

Have a wonderful quiet day, dear Blog Buddies.

August 15, 2012: Chickens Keep Me Young!

I turned 65 this year, and while I know that chickens won't literally keep my young, they do represent a chance to learn something new.  And that is vital to staying engaged with life. 

Chickens are also the realization of a dream to live in a rural area on a little farm.  I may never live on a little farm, but I am getting my chicken's.  There is a vitality in learning new things, and that can happen at any age, or stage. I am blessed with good health, and no real infirmities ( just the groaning when I get up from a chair).  I don't want to waste that.

Learning about my girls is a way to start on a new and different path.  Nothing dramatic or life shattering, just raising a few hens, but it feels great! 

I am learning so much about chickens, but it could be any topic or interest.  I call this " just close your eyes and sign",  meaning take the risk.  It seems easier sometimes to just let things be, getting stuck in a rut of same old same old.  But that is not growth, it is stagnating.  I do not like that word. 

It has taken some effort, though not much, to take the plunge into chicken wrangling, but it has brought new ideas, new discussions, and even new friends into my life.  I do not intend to sit on the couch ( unless there is a chicken on my lap), watching TV and letting the best days of my life pass in lassitude and doldrums.  That can become a habit that is too hard to break. 

Maybe wrangling chickens is a metaphor for life in general.  While chickens have a routine, they do have to adapt to change, just like all of us.  When we first get them, I know they will be scared, unsure and wary. Who wouldn't be.  But... I will begin teaching them new things, while they are teaching me. 

I have a whole list of simple dreams I want to realize.  Things like going to a Cal Berkeley game, writing a book, and eating eggs from my own sweet hens.

August 14, 2012: Do Chickens Sweat? Keeping Your Girls Cool

It is hot a hell this week!  I mean unbearable, cranky 24/7 hot, and road rage hot! What the heck did we do growing up when we had no Air Conditioning I our homes or cars.

I have a number of followers from other countries and I ask you not to judge us as weenies before you ask yourelves:  If you live in an area of extreme heat, would you prefer to have air conditioning?  Hell Yes You Would. 

Many people in the US do not have this luxury either, God Bless them.  We did not have AC in my house until I was in my late 20's and none in our car until 15 years later.  I'll tell you it is one of the greatest inventions since panty hose.

There are options for folks without AC in our town when the temperature stays so high for so long.  The Malls and theaters are all air conditioned, the Senior Center stays open all night so seniors citizens can have a cool place to sleep, and usually a breeze comes up in the early evening ( not this week, but usually).

The temperatures over 100 are predicted to last several more days and I've been asking myself, what do we do to keep our chickens healthy in extreme heat?  OK, I know chickens have been around for eons, foraging and pecking in really hot and really cold climates, but so what?  I don't want my girls to suffer, get sick or even die because I was laissez' faire about their well being, just like I will break a window on a car with no windows open, and dogs in them, in the heat.  I care about my pets and let's face it some people are just stupid about their animals.

So Chickens, how do we keep them healthy in extreme heat.  Turns out the Internet has beau coup resources about the care and feeding of chickens, so I found several great articles that talk about this issue.

1.  Since our coop is portable, we will keep it in the shady part of the yard.  No direct sun on the windows or openings. 

2.  We will provide our girls with lots of ventilation when they are in the coop, even using a fan when the temperature gets to be 90-100 degrees.  We have dry heat here, so humidity problems are usually not an issue. 

3.  Our girls need adequate, fresh water and easy access to it.

 4.  Lastly, I had not thought of feeding the chickens different feed when it is really hot, but this is a good point.  Just like humans, when it is very hot we need lots of fluids, and light meals so as not to generate to much "internal combustion" or heat through digestion.  Chickens can stop laying and even die from being feed to heavy of a diet of things like corn, during very hot days.

If it gets too hot, the girls can come on inside and join us on the couch, right under the ceiling fan, with the AC on 75 degrees.  LOL.

And NO, chickens do not sweat!!

August 13, 2012: Why Did The Chickens Cross The Road: Donuts of Course?

As old as this question is, I have never heard a definitive answer until I saw the Highway 99 Chickens.  What are the Highway 99 Chickens you ask?  Along a busy section of Highway 99 and at a major intersection live upwards of 25 chickens.

According to the local newspaper, these families of chickens live in the bushes right next to the busy thoroughfare.  They forage in the parking lot of a Raley's grocery store, visit the local Wendy's hamburger place for handouts, turn up at the Perkos to look cute and ask for snacks.

When the mood hits them, they cross the busy street to get donut holes a small donut shop. Which the owner says they come crowing for,  routinely.  I told you chickens have a routine!

And they have been doing this for over 40 years.  And yet, no smashed chicken along the road?  Nope, I've never seen one in the 35+ years I have been driving along this stretch of highway.  When the chickens, including multiple generations, decide to cross the road, traffic stops until they are safely across.

Occasionally lady shoppers have been harassed by aggressive roosters, but come on ladies,  use your toe-wedge if you have too.  Then as I mentioned in one of my other blog posts, one kindly but misguided lady here decided to rescue the chickens.  She was unsuccessful, as the chickens don't need rescuing.

Yesterday my brother in law met some buddies for breakfast at Perkos.   As he exited, he was interrupted by a very cocky rooster strutting along the walkway, followed  by a hen, and 12 little chicks.  Just moseing along, no worries.  People love these feathered denizens of the roadway.  They are a tradition in our town, like the ducks in the Peabody Hotel lobby in Memphis Tenn., only along a dusty street versus an elegant hotel.

This is a largely agricultural community and the area they live in used to be farm land.  Apparently the chickens came from nearby farms, and have just stayed.  Some believe that disillusioned chicken wranglers have dropped off some of their flock when they tire of taking care of them.  Can't imagine abandoning a darling little chicken, but some folks aren't a sensitive to their charms as I.

So in answer to the age old question, chicken's cross the road for donut holes.  And just in case you think I am making this up, here are some pictures taken along the Highway.

August 12, 2012: Chicken Clothes ?

I think we can all admit that sometime in our past we dressed up our pet cat, or put a spiffy little chapeau on our dog.  Now, there are whole stores that cater to pet clothing. 

I have sweaters for Annie, and a rain coat, and a fleece parka for going to the cabin in the snow, but I draw the line at tiny Harley Davidson leather jackets, sheepskin capes, and wedding dresses.  I mean they are cute as hell, but totally undignified.  My dog would cringe in shame if I tried to suit her up in a leopard skin leotard.

This started me wondering about chickens, and clothing.  Yes I have an active and often useless imagination, that is true, but one has to ask the question...do those of us who love chickens feel the need to put little tiny derby's on them, or tutus? 

Well my friends, it turns out that we are all crazy about our pets, and even pets with benefits ( chickens) do not escape the humiliation of being outfitted by well meaning, and slightly off kilter chicken lovers. Case in point:

The chicken in the lovely blue knit sweater (?) clearly has an mommy or daddy who wants her to be warm, so must live in a cold climate....and have way too much time on the their hands.. and a bunch of blue yarn left over from the last afghan they knitted. 

I almost don't know what to say about the two chickens, one hen and one rooster I think, who have complete ensembles, including shoes for the guy on the right.  What the hell? 

Do these chicken belong to Paris Hilton who dresses her pets to match her outfit?  No self respecting chicken would be found dead in the barnyard in these outfits.  That's a poor choice of words as the other chickens would definitely go berserk seeing these two prancing around the yard and death could ensue.

My point I guess is not so much that we are all nuts, but that if you are going to dress up your chicken, make it functional not just decorative.  A chicken diaper perhaps, or a combo diaper/egg catcher for the lazy hen who can't make it back to the coop to deposit her egg.

Any thoughts on this?

August 11, 2012: Chickens and Jerry Springer

When I see chickens I feel a sense of peace.  Why is that?  Does anyone else out there get that feeling?  I'd love to hear from you. 

I have been astounded by the number of people who are reading my blog.  I never realized that so many people all over the world would want to read any thing I wrote, let alone keep coming back day after day. 

Thank you so much fellow chicken lovers. 

You have posed some great questions and provided me with many things to consider as I embark on chicken wrangling.   For example, Vickie asked if I'm worried about the girls following Annie into the house through the dog door.  I had not thought of that!  Chicken are smart and learn quick. Do we have to prepare for hearing the click of chicken feet across the wood floor. 

I now have visions of coming home and finding Annie and the girls lounging on the couch watching Jerry Springer, drinking diet coke and eating chips. 

I see myself chasing the girls around the house with them looking back at me, laughing.  Turns out they can run pretty fast, and bob and weave pretty good.  

Some breeds are harder to catch, like Leghorns.  Apparently they go nuts when you try to catch them.  Other breeds are friendlier and will squat down when approached.  That's the kind of chicken I want.  I read that Orpingtons are like this.  They also lay brown eggs and are docile.

Once I catch the little girl, I will need to learn to hold her right.  The way they show you in the books is tucked under your arm, backwards, with beak towards your back.  I prefer to cuddle them in my arms.  I  hope this works and that I sustain only a few chicken inflicted injuries.

Lastly, when I woke up today I had a little poem running through my head related to my future chicken.  Thought I'd share it. with you.  Now don't judge, OK?

" There once was a chicken named Mabel, who lived in a coop with a gable, She strutted her stuff and fluffed up her fluff and put yummy eggs on the table." 

August 10, 2012: What's For Dinner?

My Italian grandma Michelina, and her sister Louisa were fantastic cooks.  Both killed it with Italian food.  Grandma married an Englishman from Iowa, so her repertoire expanded to accommodate the ":meat and potatoes" diet of his upbringing. ( though Grandpa told me he never had anything but chicken necks and fried potato skins til he was grown and gone from the farm).  You see they were poor, and the men and older kids got the good parts and actual potatoes.  I love fried potato skins to this day. 

My Great Aunt, through an arrangement brokered by her older brother Catello, married another Italian, Edward ( Uncle Etch)to Karen and I).  He was crazy about his twin, blond great nieces and since he and Zia never had children, they lavished us with love, and we could do no wrong.  He was from a different region of Italy, actually from Lucca, in the north while Grandma and Zia were from southern Italy, Meta di Sorrento outside of Naples. 

Most of you probably know that each area in Italy has it's own regional cooking and dishes, based on what grows/is raised there.  Kinda of like the USA.  So Zia learned to cook northern Italian dishes.  Hence forth my sister and I enjoyed a childhood filled with a variety of delicious meals.

One dish I truly loved was Zia's rabbit which she browned in olive oil, with cloves of garlic and black shriveled up Italian olives.  Then baked in the oven just swimming in olive oil, where she had added chunks of potato to brown and crisp in the combined juices of the rabbit, garlic, olives and of course olive oil.  Holy crap that was so good, and none of us ever worried about the fat content. 

Once I lost my Grandma and Zia, the rabbit was lost too.  Until one day at Corti Bros. in Sacramento, I discovered fresh rabbit in the butcher shop. Imagine my delight.  I would recreate Zia's famous rabbit.  All was good until I got home, put stuff away, unwrapped the rabbit parts and realized..... This looks alot like my kitties, naked.  The legs and haunches were identical.  The cats were also eyeing me somewhat fearfully as they noticed the resemblance too. 

I could not do it.  I cooked the rabbit, but simply could not eat it. How could I eat my beloved Foxie, Bumie and Henry?  Cause that is exactly what it looked like, only without the fur.  My neighbor John benefited from the discovery.  He did not have cats as pets.  Even though my kitties have gone on to wait for me in heaven, I still cannot bring myself to eat rabbit.

Now that I am embarking on chicken wrangling, will I find that I simply cannot eat chicken any more?  Will I see my little hens every time I look at a Chicken McNugget?  OMG what will I fix for dinner if this happens?  I am willing to risk it due to my love for chickens but......

I will not be buying an aquarium any time soon.  And you can bet I will not be adding a cow to the Cornils menagerie.

P.S. No pigs, sheep or lambs either.

August 9, 2012: Chased by Chickens

Since starting my blog as a chiciken wrangler, I have had numerous comments about being chased by a chicken.  Even Sheldon, on Big Bang Theory had a childhood trauma involving a chicken and being chased up a tree.  Apparently the sight of a feather laden beast, approximately 4-7 lbs. in weight, who has no teeth, still fills the heart with fear!

I will admit being chased by a rooster as a child, and haven't we all been sent scurrying for safety by huge, mean, beaked creatures known a geese,  They are big and vicious!. 

But lovable little hens? 

I can understand being anxious when confronted by a rampaging rooster.  With wings out-spread they can resemble the T-Rex they are distant cousins, or the terrifying Velociraptors.  Those damned things, first glimpsed in the Jurassic park movies, still haunt my nightmares.  And they were smart and could open doors!

Chickens are smart, but would require extensive behavioral training to open the dead-lock on my front door, not to mention, they could not reach the alarm keyboard to turn it off. 

So when your in the house, you rule.  The chicken doesn't have a chance.

What changes when you step outside, that makes chickens seem dangerous?

I am much more afraid of crickets who are erratic and can jump on you, causing you to evacuate your bowels and bladder.  Snakes ......well just, ...snakes!  Now there is a creature that can actually hurt ya.

I am afraid of snakes.  All that crap about " they are more afraid of you then you are of them"..BS.  then why don't they stay hidden instead of crawling out and sunning them selves on my deck.  Afraid my butt!  They probably enjoy seeing and hearing me scream bloody murder and run for the shovel. (I have never killed a snake and believe in live and let live, unless they come in my house).

Just because we have a near miss on the freeway, does not keep us from driving, so one bad experience should not keep  us from embracing loving little egg laying hens.  Face you fears folks, and go hug a chicken, but keep the beak away from your face, OK?

August 8, 2012: Feathering Your Nest: The Chicken Philosopher Strikes Again.

"Feathering your nest" means planning and saving for the future.  It means creating a comfortable, beneficial environment to thrive in.  Some of us have IRA"s, investments, and savings, some of us, sadly, don't.  What about chickens?  How do they figure into this scenario? What do they know about investing?  Well nothing, but they do know who to thrive.

First of all, chickens have a daily routine designed to keep them safe and productive.  They wake up at a certain time. forage, hunting and pecking for their livelihood, and then retreat to their safe haven to produce a nest egg.  Their daily routine helps them stay healthy and strong. 

Secondly, once a year they begin to lose their feathers, called molting.  It occurs as a result of several things like fewer daylight hours,  or even stress.

It looks pretty awful and really is a physical drain on the chicken, but it is a necessary part of the chickens life cycle. It is a healthy process for the chicken, but not much fun, and probably uncomfortable.  For the chicken wrangler it means a big mess as feather are flying everywhere.  But it keeps your chickens healthy.  It's like puberty, only it happens every year.  Their health is dependent on this painful period of change.

During this time, just like with teenagers, chickens need a lot of fuzzeling, nurturing and understanding.  While chocolate which cures most mood swings in humans, chickens need protein rich treats.  I guess they really need comfort and support.  Not too different from humans huh?

Coincidentally, as a chicken wrangler, you may be able to parlay the feathers your chickens lose during molting, into you own nest egg.  Not only are chicken feathers pretty, but they can be used for crafting, fly fishing lures, and decorative items.  A little exploring on your computer can lead to resources for how to use chicken feathers and who buys chicken feathers.

Take a lesson from your sweet little flock, feather your nests, roll with life's painful punches, and create a safe healthy haven to thrive in. 

August 7, 2012: The Whole Coop

Sorry to be late in posting.  Spent the morning finishing the decoration on the coop and putting it together.

The coop is done, complete with flower box, window trim, tiny jeweled chicken decoration,  and lots of love.  I love it, and can't wait for the girls to see it. 

In a few short weeks we have gone from " gee I'd love to have me some chickens " to  full blown two story designer coop gracing our back yard.   5 weeks until chicken time. 

As you can see it was a prefab coop, and arrived in 4 days.  We contemplated building our own, but frankly I wanted it during the year 2012, so........

All tolled we've invested about $300 in chicken related materials.  We figure another $40.00 for three chickens, and then about $15/month for food.  That's cheaper than our dog and she doesn't lay eggs.  However she is the smartest, sweetest, cutest little dog ever born and gives unconditional love routinely, so that's easily as valuable.

She was very interested in the coop while we were putting it together, probably thinking it was a spiffy new crate for her.  We did not let her in to explore it as it is chicken-living territory.  Don't want her" laying" claim to  it.

Now that we can see the interior dimensions of the coop we can get the right size feeder and watering apparatus.  Then wood shavings and straw for the laying boxes and Presto, pets with benefits is launched.

Am I nuts to feel so happy and excited about getting a few chickens?  Nutso I may be, but how can feeling happy be bad.  Those little feathered females have a lot to teach me and I have a place in my heart all ready for them.

Now I need a nap.  Clucks away!

Aug. 6th, 2012: What's The Scoop On Chicken Poop

Frequently, when I mention to a non-chicken lover about our impending adventure into urban chickening, the person will ask " what are you going to do about the poop"?  I started to get worried that I had overlooked an apparently overarching problem.  Is the poop lethal?  Does it have a half life like Plutonium?
Can three little hens actually produce so much poop that we will have to move?  I began my look for the real scoop on chicken poop.

I think of myself as a glass is half full person ( well, most of the time anyway).  So I went looking for the upside of poop.  Turns out there is a huge upside and very little downside, especially with so few chicken's.

Who knew that chicken poop was the be all and end all of manures that, when composted, can turn your garden into a lush oasis of greenness.  Sounds wonderful, but ah...we don't have a compost pile.  I haven't composted since 1976 during my hippie phase on a commune in Oregon. But I figured if millions of people over the centuries could compost so can I.   I found simple DIY compost bin instructions in issue of Hobby Farms, Chickens magazine.  We can even add the chicken bedding ( organic material) to the pile. 

Also our little prefab coop is movable,  so we can move it around the yard. Plus the girls will be running around the whole yard a lot of the time happily spreading the poop over a much larger area than the coop offers. 

I am not much of a Gardener anyway, though I do love garden art.  I mean we do have a small container garden for herbs and one single tomato plant which is threatening to give us 2 tomatoes this year. So the composting may never actually happen, but it sounds good doesn't it? So farmery.

Anyway, now when the naysayers bring up the issue of chicken poop I can disabuse them of their fear.  If I do compost the chicken poop and other chicken evacuation accoutrement, I can offer to sell them some of our superior garden enhancing product.  No, on second thought I don't want to literally get into the manure business.  I already get into enough figurative manure as it is.

So those of you out there who are considering urban chickens, never rear.  There is nothing to fear.  Chickens know how to do it.  We just need to get out of their way.  Ciao Bellas

August 5, 2012: " I'm Sexy And I Know It": Chicken style.

Went to the fair last night and visited the chicken's.  Then had the most fantastic fair food ever created...The Corn Dog!  I mean it was rockin!!  Just the  right amount of batter, really good tart mustard,, and smoking hot.  Oh yeah..back to chickens. 

The beautiful little girls and some very impressive guy chickens were either strutting their stuff , eating, drinking water or relaxing.  And guess what?  Almost all of the girls had to have been fuzzeled because when I walked up to their cages and talked sweet to them, they all came closer and exhibited a real interest in me! 

Almost all had recently laid eggs which apparently are collected for each chicken, with the most prolific chicken be named the winning egg producer.  I bet they don't even realzie they have won.  Ihope that the chicken wranglers at least give them a treat for all this effort.

I also got to pet a lovely white hen.  We also realized that chicken's are big!  There were some humungous hens that looked like they weighed 50 lbs.  It as probably the feathers, but damn!  Cal and I agreed these girls would be giving our dog Annie a run for her money, size wise, and could hold their own in a doggie-chickie dust up. ( though we will be doing some extensive anti-chicken fighting training).  I think I'm going to have to do some anti-doggie fighting training with the girls too.  Or buy bantams.  Except with bantams you get tiny little miniture eggs. So cute!

I am including a picture of Gracie, a lovely little girl, who was just  adorable.  She looked me right in the eye, and just like our dog, I  saw this wonderful honesty and lack of guile.  Earnest, that how she looked.
I fell in love.

A few cages down was Henry, the almost picture perfect rooster who was preening, crowing, and strutting around just like a handsome man who knows he's sexy.  What an Ass!!  The kind of "bad boy" girls go wild over.   And ladies we all have at least one Bad Boy in our past, es verdad?

See you tomorrow.  Here are the pictures of Henry and Gracie.

Aug. 4th, 2012: Secrets of " Fuzzeling" Your Chickens

Yesterday I visited the person who opened the door to city chickens for me, my masseuse, Zahra. 
She is a true chicken whisperer and mommy to a flock of 22.  She shared that her husband had reported 9 eggs laid in one day by her girls.  9 eggs, one day, 22 chickens; that's a banner crop of eggs.  Zahra said that she had gone out and "fuzzeled with the chickens that morning.   So what is fuzzeling?

Turns out it is like "mothering" the girls, chatting with them, petting them, just being loving and sweet to them.  This is what I intend to do with my girls.  I mean we talk to our house plants, and they can't even come running when we call them, or show any real interest in us at all.  Chickens will.

Ever since embarking on this adventure I have run into dozens of people who share my interest in chickens.  Not all of of them are the fuzzeling type though.  Some just want the eggs and the idea of sustainability, being able in some small way to take care of ourselves without depending on the grocery store for everything.  I can get behind that.  Of course there are the large egg conglomerates, but I think very little fuzzeling goes on there.  In fact I try not to think about those places at all.

I am the fuzzeling type.  I fuzzel babies, animals, my husband, friends, even inanimate objects.  When I was using biofeedback as a adjunct to my psychotherapy practice for folks with somatic complaints, I learned that I needed to make friends with the equipment.  Talk nice to it, treat it gently OR, it could turn on you.
Think AV equipment at any seminar or training you have attended.  9 times out of 10 there is an equipment Snafu?  Why?  I saw my equipment, laptop, PP projector as my allies not my enemies.  Just that attitude adjustment alone saved my butt many times both in my practice and in the trainings I did.  Wow. that was kind of strangely, accidentally profound.

Anyway, I believe in fuzzeling.  I love the word, thank you Zahra.  My girls will all the fuzzeling they need. 
I will teach Cal  how to fuzzel, though he is getting real good at fuzzeling our dog Annie.  All of us need  fuzzeling, don't you think?  Have you fuzzeled someone today?  If not why not?

Get out there and fuzzel ( especially your chickens), it will pay off in ways we cannot even imagine.
Go chicken fuzzelers everywhere.

Aug. 3, 2012: James Bond and Chickens

Since I began my adventure into the world of chickens via this blog, 237 people have been reading me!  People from the US, Russia, Korea, and The Netherlands, so far. I thought just my family and a few friends might enjoy my nattering about my love for chickens.  I am blown away.

I have learned so much about chickens and thought I'd share some chicken trivia today.  Did you know that according to Ian Fleming,  James Bond preferred the eggs from Maran chickens?  They lay chocolate brown eggs, and appear to be very sweet chickens.  They are also really pretty.  I've never had a chocolate brown egg, but I do love anything chocolate so.....

Did you now that chickens are the closest living relative of the T-Rex?  Is that really true?  My husband told me he read that on a chicken cage at the Fair yesterday.

I am going to the County Fair tomorrow to actually see some chickens, and hope to be able to cuddle with some of them.  I need a chicken fix!  We have a real old fashion small town County Fair with the usual: livestock showing, pig kissing, funnel-cake eating, corn dog munching, Frito Pie spooning.  A veritable cornucopia of cardiac incident inducing foods.  Can't Wait! 

Cal is working at his Kiwanis Club booth making hamburgers, hot dogs, garlic fries and the infamous Frito Pies.  He tells me he visited the Art exhibit yesterday and says my photos could be winners.  So maybe next year I will enter one or two.  Yes I take pictures too.  Nothing fancy, and anyone who has the right apps. can create a masterpiece.  Perhaps I can combine my love for chickens and my photography.  Chicken art seems to be big right now. 

Tomorrow we construct the coop which has now received a coat of sealant and is ready to assemble. 
I want my chickens!! 

Ciao fellow chicken lovers.

August 2, 2012: Fifty Shades of Grey....Chickens

Thanks to my dear friend Sue for inspiring the title of today's blog.  Chickens are really quite beautiful creatures.  So many varieties, colors, personalities.  Yes I said personalities.

I believe every living creature has a personality, that which  makes them unique.  I am an identical twin, and while my sister Karen and I share many characteristics, we are different people.  For example, she is only mildly interested in chickens,  mostly she is interested in eggs.  Even chicken eggs are all different. 

"Chickens, The Essential Poultry Publication", has a great article about the color of chicken eggs and how many factors effect the color of a chickens eggs.  Did you know that chickens with red ear lobes lay brown eggs ( except for Araucana and Ameraucana).  After molting, the egg color changes, and some medications will effect the egg color.  AND, stress can effect egg color, making hens lay lighter color eggs.  Hens have stress?  I mean laying a big old egg several times a week does seem stressful and probably painful, but it make me feel sad that even sweet little hens have stress.  What is this world coming too, when even chickens have stress.

I plan on creating the most stress free environment possible for the girls.  We live in a city, so varmints other than cats are few an far between.  Our back yard is lovely, shady and green, and blissfully peaceful..well except for the dog, but we will get her trained to love the girls. 

Our yard will be a sanctuary where the girls can joyfully peck and  poop, free from the threat of critters.  Well except for Prince the big black cat from across the street who strolls through the yard flipping the kitty Bird at Annie our dog from time to time.  Perhaps Prince will have to take a toe ride over the fence.

August 1, 2012- The Coop on the Stoop.

Yahoo!  The chicken coop arrived today.  Well the box with the various pieces of the coop showed up.
My husband is so excited about getting the coop together.  It is a really cute two story all enclosed chicken home.  There is a sweet little window in the actual coop area, and Cal is going to build me a tiny little window box so I can add some small potted plants ( probably plastic as I am not known for my green thumb).  I want the girls to be cozy.   

Looks like that it could  used a sealant, even though it says that has already been done.  It is also portable, so we can move it around the yard to allow the girls to freely fertilize the entire lawn.  I do want to be able to see it from the living room windows and dining room slider.  Somehow seeing that chicken haven out back fills me with an "alls right with the world" feeling. 

Next we will be purchasing the feeder/waterer component, wood shavings for the laying area, and feed.  I may not be able to hold out until September to get the girls.  I definitely want at least one Araucana. 
And maybe a Wayandotte, and a Ameraucana.  That will give us three good starter chickens, blue and turquoise and white eggs.  We'll have to see. 

The closer we get to fruition the more I feel like this is exactly the right thing for me to be doing.  Why chickens, why now?  I guess once a caregiver, always a caregiver.  Also as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I really loved working with and training my Rat, and Annie our dog.  Or maybe they trained me, either way it was cool. 

I'm attaching a couple of pictures of the coop's arrival, and another type of chicken, a Sussex.  They are another good starter breed, but with brown eggs.  SO MANY BREEDS, SUCH A SMALL COOP!