June 15, 2013: House Cat, House Chicken: What's the Diff?

I haven't posted for a while so I've got a lot to say.  Most of you know we live in a place in northern California that gets very hot in the Summer.  Not Mojave Desert hot, but very hot nonetheless.  Miserably hot, and if anyone says's "yes, but it is a dry heat: I will smack them, cause 115 is damn hot, and dry heat feels like a blast furnace. 

Well last Friday and Saturday is was hellishly hot, and I was so worried about the girls.  We did get a fan that goes on automatically in their chicken yard, and they have ample shade and water when out in the yard, but we close them in the chicken yard at night which is shady, but still hot when it's a scorcher.  I decided last weekend that I would bring them in if they seemed to be suffering. Then I thought, hey, I can't stand to go out of the air conditioned house, so they must be suffering.

So first I wetted down the floor of the chicken yard and the patio. The lawn had already been watered.  That produced negligible relief.  I then got a great idea for these kinds of emergency situations.  I brought our large dog cage in the house.  It is on wheels and is designed to transport dogs on planes etc.  I place newspapers on the bottom, and Cal brought in the girls one at a time.  We put them in the dog carrier, in the entry way to the living room on the cool tile.  I put their water in with them and waited for any reaction. 

The only reaction we got was blissful cooing and cococcoing as the girls enjoyed the joy that is air conditioning.  We are so fortunate to be able to have and use A/C.  We kept them with us through the hottest part of the day and/or until they pooped twice.  Then I moved their fan so that it blew right into their coop.  It wasn't as cool as the A/C, but a whole lot cooler than the ambient air outside.  I put ice cubes in their water containers, and they did fine. 


The only difference between having a house cat, and a house chicken is pooping issue.  And lets face it, those of us who have had cats know they don't always use the litter box.  And I am sure with enough time and effort I could teach the girls to use a litter box.  But I digress.

Since then Carl, my brother in law and fellow chicken wrangler, told me about setting out a large shallow pan of water in the shade that the chickens can stand in.  Apparently cooling off their feet by standing in the water helps them tolerate high heat.  Come to think of it, it does the same thing for me. 

So now I have a plan for the future very hot Summer days. 

Next.
Several months ago, in fact right after we got Mabel and Barbara,  I read that chickens liked yogurt and that it was a good source of protein for them.  So I bought a big container of non-fat strawberry yogurt.  I carefully set out a bowl for them to try.  They walked in it.  They did not even try it.  So Cal and I ate strawberry yogurt for several weeks.  Oh well I thought, they eat raisins, cherry tomatoes, and mandarin oranges.  Can't have everything.

Let jump forward to last week.  I am sitting happily on the patio in the morning, drinking coffee and reading the paper, while the chickens cruise around the lawn.  I have a lovely bowl of nonfat Greek blueberry yogurt ( fruit on the bottom) over diced fresh cantaloupe.  Mabel comes running. jumps up on the chaise lounge, walks up my legs right up to my bowl and stairs over the rim of it at me.  I get nervous.  Is she turning Veloceraptor on me?  Gingerly I took some on my spoon and offered it to her.
She went nuts and as the picture shows she literally got it all over her beak in her eagerness to eat the yogurt.  Clearly this was the end of my meal for the day as she an Annie finished off my breakfast.

Why did she eschew it when I bought the girls their own yogurt?  What changed?  Here is my theory.  As with pets in general, anything you are eating they want.  And, now that the girls have learned to be social and to trust us, she was no longer afraid to barge into my breakfast by lying up and walking on my legs.  What ever caused the change, it was hilarious. 

Also found a chicken sitter to the girls for when we go on vacation.  That is a load off my mind.
I think that is all the pertinent facts for now. plus dinner is ready, so off I go.  Ciao
amici. 

June, 4, 2013: Chickens Eat Spaghetti

Did you know that if you feed spaghetti to chickens, they eat it one strand at a time, and they treat it just like a worm.....and they wipe their beaks after every strand.  So fastidious, from birds that poop right next to their food. (Check out Chickens Eating Spaghetti videos on YouTube.)

This week, after reading the latest edition of "Chickens" , we decided to try giving the girls some different treats.  They loved blueberries, really liked yogurt, and went goofy over cherry tomatoes.  They I thought I'd see if they would like bruschetta spread.  YES!!! They even ate the garlic bits.

Clearly my girls are of Italian decent just like their Mama.  Bambinas Mia.

In my last post I mentioned that  it is very hot here, and this is their first summer  ( they are just barely 1 year old).  Well they seem to be doing pretty good,  however, I inadvertently moved one of their water sources out onto the lawn from the chicken yard, and place in the shade of a tree.  They ran to  it and drank like crazy. 

Apparently they do not want to walk all the way back to the chicken yard to get a drink.  We also have been putting ice cubes into their water reservoirs to keep the water as cool as possible.  We are also changing the water daily and adding apple cider vinegar to help keep it fresh. 

News flash:  Mabel climbed from Cal's arm onto my shoulder and sat there with her little head right next to mine and we walked around the yard.  So sweet.

May 31, 2013: Summer Is Here: Our Chickens are Way Cool

While chickens tolerate the cold pretty well, they don't do so well in very hot weather.  We live in the hottest dang part of the Sacramento Valley and will be hitting 100 degrees F on Sunday. 

Our girls already have a covered chicken yard, on the shady side of our house, enclosed with chicken wire to ensure good ventilation, and they have plenty of water, but.... will that be enough?  When we are at home, they are free to run around our shady yard, but when we aren't here they are locked in the chicken yard.   Their coop is in the chicken yard.  What to do?

Our neighbor, who also has chickens uses a" mister" that sends a fine spray of water over the top of his chicken yard, but I'm not keen on all that moisture in the chicken yard, messy and maybe giving them foot rot.  Plus that means turning water off and on, and using lots of water, plus how do you do that when you are away?

I came up with a clever and I think very functional and easy answer.  We bought a cheap standing fan, put it in the corner of the chicken yard facing the coop for maximum ventilation and cooling.  We use a timer, and an outdoor extension cord and programed it to come on at 11:00am when it starts to get hot, and off at 11:00pm when it generally starts to cool off.   So far it is working great!  We can leave for the day or several days and know that the girls will be cool enough. ( we always have someone check on them if we are gone over 3 days and have a big feeder and two waterers).

Meanwhile the girls are doing great, still giving us two eggs a day like clock work.   We had a dish tonight using their eggs.  It's an Italian version of poached eggs.  Put 1 tbs. of olive oil in a non stick frying pan, set on medium heat, add garlic and 1/2 cup sliced onion, and saute' onions until transparent.  Add a pinch each of oregano, basil and herb de Provence.  Add one can of diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup of chicken broth and one tsp of sugar.  Bring to a simmer letting it reduce just a little bit.  Break 4 eggs into the tomato mixture, cover pan and simmer until eggs are like you like them.  Sprinkle with fresh grated parmesano reggiano.  Serve in two bowls, with a slice or two of grilled Italian bread rubbed with garlic, and a small green salad.  Thank you Barbara and Mabel for
a healthy delicious and easy Friday night meal.  Ciao Amici.

May 15, 2013: More than just eggs:The Benefits of Having Back Yard Chickens

Some folks keep back yard chickens strictly for the eggs.  Nothing wrong with that.  Eventually you will get a return on your original investment, 7-10 years down the line, depending on whether the chickens become pets and live like little queens in palatial coops with air conditioning and heating, or, you see them as simple egg laying machines who live in a drafty box under the house ( in which case you should not have backyard chickens).

The eggs are delicious, unadulterated by whatever egg factories feed their chickens.  Just natural delicious protein.  But there is so much more to having back yard chickens.  Those of you who do not have backyard chickens will perhaps have a hard time relating to this, but trust me, they bring so much to the table, in addition to the eggs.

Here is an example:  On Mother''s Day I made dinner for my Mom, her boyfriend, my sister Karen and her husband.  After dinner Karen's Stepson John dropped by with a lovely plant for her.  John is a hard working business man, who like his Dad is a "hard room" when you tell a joke.  That means they are largely stoic.  They are both funny guys, but it takes alot to make them laugh.  Cal and I had to do the Harlem Shake, complete with masks and music just to get a chuckle out of our brother in law.  Anyway I digress.

I asked John if he would like to see our chickens, thinking he would not be interested.  After a bit he said," let's see those chickens".  So out we went into the backyard.  I corralled the girls who were kicking rocks in the corner of the yard, and herded them around the hedge.  Here they came in all their feathered glory, trotting along side by side, making their sweet little chicken sounds.  John asked me what kind they were, etc. Then just stood as if transfixed watching them cruise around the yard.  The sun was shining, the grass was so green, the trees kept the yard shady and cool, and the hens just were  being hens.  After a minute or so he said, " they are so peaceful to watch".  It was such a bucolic scene.  Right in the middle of the city.

I told him how the chickens bring a sense of peace, quiet, and tranquility to our yard.  How we often sit outside and watch them hang out. 

I asked Cal to bring out some raisins, and he showed John how they love raisins and jump up for them.  He wanted to feed some to them, and did, letting Barbara and Mabel eat raisins out of his hand.   I could not have been more surprised if he had sprouted wings and flown over the fence.

See what I mean.
These two little Chickens give us eggs, and tranquility.  I highly recommend it, but only if you discover that you love chickens, otherwise buy your eggs from the market and call it good.

May 10, 2013: When is a chicken like a pigeon?

 

Pigeons are known to have certain annoying behaviors.  Typically chickens do not share these behaviors, but.......yesterday I glimpsed Cal our back holding Mabel.  I wanted to hold her too, so quickly ran outside to take a turn. 

Placing my arm along side Cal's Mabel quickly hopped over onto my arm.

That was when I learned how chickens are like pigeons,

If you take a close look at the picture above you will see a picture of a bird perched on a my arm, like a statue.

Now, think about what pigeons do while sitting on statues.

Yes that is right. 

A small amount of chicken poop somehow landed on my arm.

 

Oh yeah, her she is on Cal's arm.  She did not poop on him.

I still love her.

 

May 2nd, 2013: Toys for Chickens



 



My dear Brother in Law, Carl,  sent me an e-mail with accompanying video of his chickens enjoying the chicken version of basketball.  Several of his hens were jumping, and vying for the key position, and seemed to be having a great time, plus getting exercise, and a healthy snack. 

So not wanting to deprive my girls from the same fun opportunity I made my way to the produce section of the local market and purchased a small head of cabbage.   Cal put a hole through it and threaded a string so we could hang it at chicken height from a tree in the back yard so our girls could play chicken basketball too. 

First Cal hung it from a tree we could not see from our patio.   That would not due as I wanted to see my girls frolicking ad having a good time.  So he moved it to another tree closer to the patio, but it was on the far side of the tree.  No.

Finally he got it hung just right, and we set the girls free and stood back to watch them play.  They walked right past it, never even giving it a glance.  So we gave it a push so it swung a bit, you know, trying to get their attention.  No. 

So Cal said, maybe they don't realize it is food, so he tore off a leaf and gave some to the girls.  They turned up their noses, still no basketball game ensued.  I pondered what could be the problem.  I e-mailed Carl to get his opinion.  He said they  needed a chance to discover that it was food. 

It has now been three days and the cabbage is looking like the most unusual wind chime, just swinging in the breeze.  WTH.

I finally came to the realization that Carl's chickens are numerous and free range, foraging for food, so to them a hanging cabbage is like low hanging fruit.  Our girls are only two, and have an abundance of food in their feeder, plus scratch, raisins and mandarins oranges.  A wilting cabbage is not match for any of that.  Besides they would have to work for it by jumping slightly, which I am sure they consider "beneath" them.

I short, we have two spoiled city chickens, and one butt ugly wind chime.

April 13, 2013: Hidey Ho Chicken Lovers

Just back from a fantastic 3 day respite from chicken wrangling.  Spent time with my Italian Cousins over in Bodega Bay.  Did not see chicken one!  We left the girls home with our pet sitter, Sally, who took care of our dog Annie, Karen's dog Lucy and of course Mabel and Barbara.  Sally is not afraid of chickens and joyfully collected the eggs daily. 

Cal and I prepared the girls for our absence by cleaning their run and coop.  We refilled their watering device, and their feeder and made sure they had plenty of shade as it was supposed to get warm.

And how did they thank us, you ask?  By making a  holy hell mess in there.  They emptied the feeder all over the floor,  they walked and pooped on it.  They kicked most of their portable dust bath filler all over the place, I mean it was a mess!  Here we rushed out to let them free as soon as we got home, and they walked out leisurely into the yard never even glancing at us.  Ungrateful little farts.
Then I remembered that this was the longest time we had ever left them since they were little girls.  They were pouting! 

So Cal picked up Mabel and brought her in the house for R and R, walked around with her and gave her extra pets, then spent some extra time with Barbara.  I joined them for some Mama talk and cuddle.

Today we are back to normal, that is, as normal as you get when you have backyard chickens.  I decided to take a nice bath in my garden tub which is on the east side of the house.  You know, bubble bath, diet coke over ice, and my Droid to play Words with Friends with.  I have a lovely view of the star jasmine covering the fence.  Very relaxing.  Then I hear a squawk and looked out and down to see two little girls looking up at me.  I'm like, WTH are you guys doing over here and how did you find me.  They did not reply, but clearly had scouted me out. 

They always find Mama.  They love Daddy, and love to play with  him, but they come find Mama to feel secure.  Just like little kids.