October 14th, 2012: The $600.00 Egg Arrives!

Thank you Barbara for our very first egg.  No wonder you were scratching around in the coop last night and this morning.  What a surprise for us, and Barbara, I bet.

Behold the $600.00 egg!  Cal said it was the best egg he ever ate. 

Now the girls are having a dust bath and relaxing in the yard.  No escape tries today so far.

Both have been staying very close to the coop and us.  Mabel loves sitting on Cal's lap being petting, and Barbara jumped up on my legs while I was reading the paper outside.  They are so funny to watch, and definitely have their own personalities. 

Barbara appears to be the alpha chicken, though Mabel is no push over.

Meanwhile Annie wants to get out and play with them sooooo bad.

Life is good for the Chicken Wrangler.

P.S. The next egg is mine! 

October 13, 2012: Barbara Escapes!

Came home from my book club to find only one chicken in the back yard.   Mabel was cruising around pecking the lawn, but Barbara was no where to be found.  PANIC!!  Cal had been working on their larger chicken run in the garage when Babs took off. 

Sounds of brrrring and cooing came from over the fence and there she was in the side yard of the house next door.  Broom in hand, Cal and I did our chicken capture routine and brought her home.

Time to do the Chicken Wrangler thing and clip their wings.  Got out the magazine with the instructions and just did it.  Apparently we did not clip them short enough, and Barbara hopped up on the fence and went over again.  Capture, was followed by further clipping of both girls wings.  Cal held the girls while I clipped, then he tried his hand at clipping.  Turns out this was simple, painless procedure for the chickens, however Cal and I are sweating by this time. 

Moved the coop away from the fence. Now couldn't find Mabel. Scoured the yard, looked over the neighbors fences...no Mabel!  Holy crap where did she go?  At that point Cal glanced at the coop and there she was blightly sitting in the nesting area, oblivious to our panic, and apparently undisturbed by being moved inside the coop when we relocated it.

Cal picked her up and cuddled her and she sat on his lap for several minutes without being held onto.
Seeing him holding and talking to her, petting her and having her just rest her head on his arm was a sweet sight.  Barbara continued to explore the yard. 

I added the apple cider vinegar to their water, we added the grit and oyster shells to their feed, and put both girls back in the coop as it is now early evening.  Time for  beddy bye, and a big martini for Mommy and Daddy. 

Maybe Daddy will finish the extended exercise area tomorrow and we can continue our adventure in Chicken Wrangling. 

Adios Amigos.

October 12, 2012: Barbara and Mabel Settling In

Day two and the girls act like they have lived here for ever.  They love it when I sit with them outside and stay right next to  me except for when they venture out onto the lawn to peck around.

Barbara has the sweetest chortle and Mable has this little "brrrrrrr"sound she makes, though she just clucked for the first time a few seconds ago. 

They both live to look in the sliding glass doors at Cal and I or Annie.  Annie is very interested in them, and wags her tail like she want to play with them.

I have discovered that a broom works better for herding them, than chasing them while hunkering down and waving my arms like a goof.   

We did decide to build them a covered run that we will attach to the coop when we are away for a few days, so they have plenty of room to exercise and peck around.  They were raised to freely roam except at night. 

They wander around during the day, but head back into the coop later in the afternoon.  They both were in the roost when I woke up this morning.  It is so cute to see the, looking out the window.

My Mom came to see them today and I happened to be holding Barbara.  Mom sat down next to me and petted Barbara.  Then she told me she had been afraid of chickens since she was a little girl.  Guess she's going to get over that after 85 years.

I cannot tell you the peaceful feeling I get sitting here in the yard with the girls.  It is so lovely. 

Here is Barbara just hanging out on the patio.  Mabel is on the left behind the corner of the coop.

October 11, 2012: The Race Is On: Hen Versus Chicken Wrangler.

Day one of Chicken Wrangling has gone very very well.  The girls have already associated their coop with a safe haven. After some worrying by their new mommy they have both learned how to use the ramp up to the roost. At first they just walked around and then sat down on the grass floor of the coop.  I was concerned they would get cold.  When I looked out the bedroom window this morning, Barbara was looking out the roost window at me. 

They are very curious and chatty, chortling and cooing.  At about 11:00am we corralled Annie in the house and let the girls out of the coop.  They slowly explored the west side of the yard, pecking and chortling.  I sat down on the chaise lounge and Barbara jumped up on the adjacent chaise took a long look at me then hopped down and continued to graze and gaze.  I have been able to pick them both up, one at a time, and while they are not crazy about it yet, they do not try to peck or claw me. 

Seeing the girls playing in the yard was like a dream come true.  I have visualized so many times seeing chickens out in the yard, watching them walking around, exploring, and chatting with them.  I got to do this today.  They both were very interested in me, and kept coming back to where I was sitting to visit. 

Did some work with Annie getting her used to Barbara and Mabel.  She is already able to sit inside the dining room, with the door open and the screen shut without going nuts trying to get out and see her new sisters.  We have taken her on the leash out twice to let her them in the coop.  And, she only has access to the east side yard, which is what we do in winter anyway to try to control for muddy paws.  We did not want to further stress the girls, so kept the visits very brief.  Lots of TLC for Annie and bravos for being a good girl.  It's neat getting to use my behavioral psychology education again and seeing that, yep, it still works.

They have had visitors already as my sister Karen, her husband and thier neighbor Barbara came down to meet them.  I noticed that when people see the little girls they automatically smile. 

When Cal got back from Kiwanis, he sat with the girls outside and let them get used to him.  They continued to walk around the yard happy as two little clams.

At about 2:30pm the weather turned kind of iffy with wind and showers predicted for tonight, so we moved the coop under the patio roof .  Then the fun really began.

Cal and I had our first Hens versus Senior Citizens backyard races.  Those little girls are fast and wily.  But age and expreience triumphed over short and fast, and we got the girls back in the coop where they are now happily resting, looking out at their new yard.  The Chicken Wrangler strikes again.

October 10, 2012: The first pictures of the girls.

Barbara our Barred Rock:  She ran right up to me and chose me.  So much for a buff Orpington.

Mabel our Ameraucana.  She has the sweetest voice. 

 

Both little girls let me hold them and talk to them, and were quiet and calm during the ride home.

They are exploring their coop, eating and drinking. 

Next challenge, getting Annie used to them.  She is very interested.  And getting them used to her.

Both girls were born on May29th and are 19 weeks old.  We are letting them get used to the coop, and keeping Annie away from them for today.  Will keep her on a leash and slowly introduce her to them and visa versa after the girls get acclimated.  I love them already.

October 10, 2012: PICKING UP THE GIRLS TODAY!!

Headed out to Shingle Springs to pick up our girls, Finally!! Pictures to follow.

Today would have been my Grandpas 108 birthday!  He grew up on a farm in Iowa.  Maybe that's why I have always wanted to live on a farm.  His memories were of a hard life and the cold.  I am so blessed to be able to have a tiny farm experience with the girls without those hard times.  God bless you Grandpa.

We're Off!  TTYL.

October 2, 2012: The Chickens Are Coming!!

Finally after 4 weeks of looking for a place to get our girls, we are picking them up next Wednesday!!  I was getting so disappointed thinking we'd never get our girls.  We had hoped to find them locally, but after multiple phone messages, and e-mails  produced limited to zero results.  We had to venture further afield.

Two months ago we visited the Poultry Palace Ranch in Shingle Springs, CA. ( poultrypalace.mybigcommerce.com ) while on our way up to the cabin.  The folks there were so nice, and helpful, even though we barged in without an appt.  That was where I got to hold my first chicken.  The man there taught me how, and the little girl just settled into my arms.  Their website is wonderful.

Talked to Susan up there today and we have our appt. to pick out our Ameraucana and either an Orpington or an Australorp.  They have such a great variety of hand raised chickens and the Ranch is only about 90 minutes from here.  Who knows, we may end up with a few more eventually. 

Our coop is set up, we have the feed, equipment, treats, and plenty of TLC ready for the girls. 

This adventure which started with my friend Zahra and her chickens, has been a true learning experience.  I think I may write a post about the 7 ( 10-20?)easy steps to getting backyard chickens. 

Will keep you posted.