November 28, 2012: Chickens Feet

Got a new issue of "Chickens" magazine.  It is full of great tips and info. about backyard chickens.  There is even an article about how to train your dog to herd your flock.  It gives breeds that are best at this.  Poodles are not on the list!  I was shocked and dismayed.

Our poodle mix Annie must be an extraordinary puppy cause with a few sessions of behavioral training by yours truly, she now goes and " finds the girls" on command. 

She does not chase them, of course they no longer run from her either.  All three are very good at casually slowly moving away, or in Annie's case, towards the chickens.  She pretends she is very interested in sniffing some blade of grass, but I can see that her little brown eyes never really leave the chickens. 

I also learned that chickens can get frostbite on their feet, wattles and combs, but generally only in snowy wet climates.  Another thing to worry about.  Actually I am getting more laid back about them.

However, if you live in snow country, beware!  Lay in a supply of petroleum jelly to use on the exposed feet, wattle and comb regularly.  Of course you will have to catch the chickens first.

Meanwhile Cal and I are planning an expanded chicken pen. The girls need more room and a permanent place to have their coop, and the lawn needs a break.

Here is how we work on a project together:   I usually come up with an idea.  We talk about it, and go away and think.  I come back with easiest, simplest, most effective plan that can be accomplished quickly and cheaply.  Cal, my engineer husband, comes back with the Taj Mahal of chicken pens that will take weeks to complete.  He loves projects.  I see this kind of thing as a job to get DONE. Must be the nurse in me.   He enjoys the planning and process.

Together we are a great team.  I'm learning that not all projects are "jobs" and that the process can be as fulfilling as the end product.  I think Cal has learned that some projects, like the chicken pen for the girls, are time sensitive due to weather, chicken needs and me. We have learned to listen to each other. 

So instead of chain link fence and metal posts cemented into the ground, we're doing a  2X4 frame, with chicken wire, fully enclosed 5 X 12  foot pen, on the west side of the house that we can put the coop in, and walk into, with a slanted top that we can secure a tarp to to keep the girls dry in winter and shaded in summer.   We're work together well.