Pecking Order

A week after putting the chicken saddle on Mable I went out to the coop, and found her crouched in the corner shaking.  I bent down to find her neck a bloody mess.  The other chickens (I'm guessing it was a group of them) had pecked her neck and plucked her feathers out.  I immediately put her in a cat crate and brought her into my CICU (Chicken Intensive Care Unit).  I put a gauze with Furazone (an antibiotic) on her neck, fed her some warm oatmeal, and then left her alone to calm down a bit.  I had to calm down, too!

Shannon came home after picking up another heat lamp for her, and we doctored her up. 

I put a gauze with vet wrap on the wound, and we set her up in a vacant horse stall.  We put a bale of hay down, a heat lamp, food, water and some goodies.  She remained still for several days, and I continued to clean her wound.  After day 4 she started getting up and walking around.  I had taken the vet wrap off at this point so she could peck the ground comfortably.  I fed her a high protein feed, scrambled eggs (strange, but true!) and lots of fresh fruit.  I think she likes being the center of our attention!

 

After a week, I see that not only is her wound looking so much better (look at that nice scab!) but her feathers are starting to come back in on her back, wings and neck. 

 

Those dark grey things are the feather follicles coming through.  I will keep her quarantined until she is completely healed.  I'll keep you updated on our sweet Mable's recovery!

Dixie Chicks Version 2

I got 9 chicks April 1st.  I've been meaning to update you on their progress, but time gets away with me.  I bought them before my precious Dixie Chicks were murdered eaten by a hungry fox or raccoon.    It seems hard to believe that Pyper was holding these fluffy little chicks just a few months ago...

Then they grew into teenagers.  We had them in a horse stall to separate them from the other flock, which became only 2 birds over night.  In order to protect them all, Shannon made a chicken run off of their coop.

It's not pretty, but it's effective.  This saddens me, because I loved calling my chickens and have them run to me like well trained puppies.  They would convene around the back porch and wait for me to throw out tidbits of love to them.  Our neighbors complained about them in their yard, so we had to build something to contain them.  I'm still bitter, but I grudgingly understand.  Not everyone loves my chickens like I do.  Crazy, right?

We opened the coop doors to both the teenager and adult coops one day and they all mixed in the barn.  Ida Mae and Mable, the adults, certainly showed the younger ones who was in charge, but no feathers were lost and no feelings were hurt. After several days of this, we threw them all together in the main coop.  Now, they are all considered adults, even though my younger hens haven't started laying.  However, of the 9 I bought, I have 4 roos.  *sigh*  Oh, well.  I enjoy watching them prance around, and crow.

Joshua named this white roo, Patrick.  I'm guessing from Sponge Bob?  I don't let Pyper watch that craziness, but hey, it's a roo.  He LOVES to crow.  And he loves Mable.  That's Mable in the back.

The handsome roo in the middle (red with green tail feathers) is Hawk.  He's gorgeous and seems to be pretty mellow.  The white and black one is Liberty.  She's a hen. 

Here's my sweet Ida Mae.  She's broody and sitting on 2 eggs right now.  Shannon and I candled them, and it looks as though they are fertile, but we'll find out for sure around July 26.  She rarely leaves her nest.  Her comb and waddle have become VERY pale, but from my reading, this is normal.  I've been hand feeding her meal worms and Shannon thinks I'm crazy.  I just love my chickens. 

This is Crock Pot.  He's the most handsome of all of my roos, I think.  I really like his personality.

And this is big handsome guy (on the right) is Puff Daddy.  Yes, I know he's white and he's not a rapper.  But he has big fluffy, puffy cheeks.  The white lady next to him is Foghorn Leghorn because she's a...LEGHORN!  The buff colored one in the back is Thelma, her sister which looks nearly identical to her is Louise.  The black and white one behind Puff Daddy is Liberty.  They are all Easter Eggers, except for Foghorn.  They will lay blue, green, or brown eggs.  They have greenish colored legs.  Foghorn will be my only white egg layer.  Her legs are bright yellow.  They are very docile and let me hold them.  I love them and their sweet ways.  

Shannon and I are trying to decide what to do with the 3 roos we don't keep.  Eat or sell?  I'm leaning toward eating.  But which ones?  Puff Daddy is a bit aggressive with the ladies, Hawk is nice, and Patrick is too loud.  My favorite one is Crock Pot.  What do you think? 



*Yawn!*

Raegan's 7 month birthday came and went on the 12th. I was out of town on a business trip to Richmond, but still thought of my little girl that day. It's been a difficult month to say the least. Everyone says each child is different, and it's so very true. Raegan has been unusually fussy this month, and extraordinarily clingy. My friend, Brandy, my sounding board for all things parenting, made me feel a bit better yesterday. She pointed out that the 6-9 month stage is the clingy, "don't get out of my sight!" phase every baby goes through. I really need to read up again on the developmental stages again. Clearly, I have forgotten so much since Pyper was this age, just 2 years ago. Any time Raegan is put down, she screams. Especially at bed time. She wants to be held 24/7, and it's exhausting. I wear her as much as possible, but the lack of sleep is really taking it's toll on all involved. My mom, dad, and sister watched the girls this week while I was out of town. They said they can't do it again. At least not watch them at the same time. Raegan was waking every hour or two at night crying as though her heart would break. Mom couldn't take her eyes off Pyper because Pyper has a tendency to try to murder Raegan when left unattended. Mom and dad asked me time and again how I did it, and questioning my sanity as to how I want more children. This is the typical "after work" routine. She craves being touched, comforted and soothed. I do love attachment parenting, but it's exhausting all the same.

At the park with my Itty Bit.

Easter morning bunny. She and Shannon were the only ones to go to church as Pyper had a stomach bug. Raegan cut her bottom two teeth on March 30th. She's very proud of those two teeth.

Easter morning. The only pic I got before my camera battery died.

Finally successful at back wearing. It's still a work in progress, but I am able to get so much more done around the house and outside now. This particular day, I cleaned up the chicken coop, fed and watered the chickies, loved on the horses and cleaned the house. All while wearing her.

Sleeping (or lack thereof) has been an uphill climb for us as well. Raegan is by far, the laziest baby ever. She can roll over, I have seen her, but she refuses to. Shannon and I both think that if she would just roll over onto her tummy, she would probably sleep better. She can also hold her own bottle, but doesn't. She will instead scream until you give in and hold it for her, and then instantly latches on and drains it. While feeding, she loves to reach her little arm up and pull your hair. She's sitting up now, too, and liked to sit on the floor and play with toys until about 2 weeks ago. Now, she just wants to be held or worn. Oh, well. I try to keep telling myself that one day I will miss holding her little body and feeling her soft breathing as she falls asleep in my arms.

I was given a quote and tell anyone that will listen:

This year wherever possible I will announce in word & deed, "Hey! My children aren't burdens. In my eyes they are weightless."

Chicken Tonic

Ida Mae eyes the Chicken Tonic in the bowl...

The last week or so, I have noticed a marked decrease in egg production. The girls deserve a break, but I also wanted to ensure they were feeling their finest. In the evenings, I typically find 3-4 eggs in a nesting box. Lately, this is what I find.

My collection for the day. Thinking the girls may be getting ready to molt, and noticing their combs looking a little limp and pale, I decided to whip up a healthy treat for them. A Chicken Tonic.

I blended Vitamin C, Echinacea, carrots, celery tops, asparagus, garlic and water into a fine puree. They gobbled it up. In the top picture, Ida Mae was the only one that explored the tonic in the great outdoors. The rest ignored it all day. Until I put it in their coop that night. It was gone in no time flat.

I love Stewpot's coloring. He is so shiny. He seems to be weathering fine, but the ladies look a bit worse for wear.

Also, I try to supplement their calcium with baked egg shells. I know, it sounds gross, perhaps a bit cannibalistic, but, as you can see--they love egg shells.

So, if your chickens need an immunity boost, whip up a Chicken Tonic pronto!

A Roo (?) and a Roost

So sorry about the lag in between posts, but we had a severe thunderstorm last week, and our Airport (Apple wireless router and modem) was blown to smithereens. The second one in 2 years. I'm seeing a theme...Anyhoooo! There are lots of pics in this post, as we've been busy and I've been taking pictures!

While watching the Dixie Chicks grow, I've noticed "Mable" (right) has developed a distinctive comb and waddle (the red fleshy bits on top of her head and under her chin). Her sudden growths have far exceeded those of her sisters, Myrtle (left), and Ida Mae (Bottom). Not to mention, her feather color is different than the other Rhode Island Reds we have. "Mable" has blackish-green feathers coming out at the base of her tail and around her neck. None of her RIR sisters have these colors. This leads me to think that "Mable" is really a Roo. A Rooster, that is. Pooh...I mean Stew. So, "Mable" will be renamed "Stew Pot." He'll be in the stew pot if he is hateful and mean to any of my girls or to my family. Now, I do understand that there are benefits to having a Roo. They protect their flock of women, and if I ever want to expand my flock, he will be an essential part of that endeavor. BUT, I have also heard of nightmarish stories of aggressive Roos and my mom has scars on her legs from the spurs of such beasts. Shannon is not in agreement with me on the sex of this chicken. He just thinks "Mable" is in the 90th percentile of growth compared to the other ladies. I think he's in denial. So, for now, we have a transgendered chicken.

Shannon built the girls a nice roost, and to encourage them using it, we put their favorite treats on several levels. It worked. That night, when I tucked them into bed, Goldie was already hunkered down on the top roost.

Goldie and Ida Mae checking out the roost and the watermelon.

Once they figured it out, we put the watermelon back on the floor. The next morning, it was nothing but a green shell...

We decided it was time to let them out to forage. They love going out, and run past me as soon as I open the doors in the evenings. They still come in and out of their coop, but mostly stay outside eating grass, clover, bugs and scratching through horse pooh.

Here's Myrtle, Blanche, and Goldie enjoying a beautiful day outside.

Hammish, our mighty barn cat/hunter, was at first only interested in a chicken dinner when he discovered them in the pasture. After the girls ganged up on him, pecking his ears and paws (he bears the scabs on both), he soon realized 9 against 1 weren't good odds, so he has become their faithful flock protector. He lays out in the pasture, surrounded by his girls, basking in the sun listening to their clucks and coos. His eyes stay in what seems like a constant state of half closure and contentment. He's in heaven with his Dixie Chicks.

We decided to go ahead and hang their feeder and waterer. The girls were roosting on top of the small waterer we had in there, and the water was a constant mess. So far, I love how this has worked out.

Two of the girls check out what Shannon and I are doing to their coop.

Shannon starts the process of putting up roosts...

We used recycled materials from around the farm. No use buying new, when the girls are just going to sleep and pooh on them...

The finished product. The top roost is a landscaping timber, and the bottom two are decking boards that we bought as face boards for our 4 board fence. They were damaged, and instead of taking them back to Lowes, we decided to just use them. The side braces are old oak from the barn...probably about 65 years old or so.

The girls checking out their new diggs.

Completely unrelated to chickens, here are some pretty pictures of my lillies that decided to finally bloom. They are near our side door and the smell is heavenly...

This one is my favorite. What's growing in your garden???

The Awkward Stage...

The Dixie Chicks are now 3 weeks old, and have left the cute a fuzzy stage behind. They are now sporting the "dinosaur" look as I call it. Their feathers are really coming in, you can certainly tell in the picture above the Black Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds are just that. Black and red. They have huge feet compared to their bodies, and they like to stretch their necks and peer at you with a quizzical eye...

The black one here is Blanche. She's my favorite (for now). She is the one that is the most demonstrative and the one that is always the first to try a new treat. The two in the back are Ida Mae and Goldie.


Here are the girls eating their plain yogurt. I originally recycled a cup of strawberry Greek yogurt Pyper didn't finish, and they LOVED it, but with it having artificial sweeteners, I figured it may not be good for my ladies. So, I decided to go with plain yogurt for them. I also figured if I wasn't going to give artificial sweeteners to my chicks, I shouldn't/wouldn't feed it to my human chick either. Sorry, Pyper, you're going to get plain yogurt with fresh fruit in it from now on...





This RIR that is facing the camera is Myrle. She is a hoot. She's always on Blanche's heels and is her right wing gal.





You may be wondering where I'm coming up with these names. A while back, I started naming my animals after family members whose names were quite....antiquated. That's PC, right? Knowing I'd never name one of my children Mable, or Elmer, or Nelly, I've decided to honor my relatives by naming my much loved pets after them. The Dixie Chicks will all be named after my Grannie Iney's sisters and then other female relatives.





My Appendix mare, Iney, is named after my Grannie Iney, and her signature color was purple. So, my horse Iney's signature color is purple as well.

Last week we bought 4 goldfish for our water troughs. These two are the only 2 that have survived. Gold Member and Goldie. Willie and Willamina died. Gold Member and Goldie are thriving, and we realized it's because the horses were using their watering trough the last few weeks, so we were adding water, thus Oxygen, to the tank. The others up top didn't have any additional water, or shade, so they essentially cooked. Lesson's learned. We will add water to the troughs whether or not we are using them.

This is Smelly Nelly. She was named after one of my Grannie's sisters, Nelly. I added the Smelly part because she used to have a problem with gas...that's all I'll say about that.

This is Hammish, or Shannon's cat. He named him. He wanted to name our future son (if we ever have one, Hammish). I was horrified by this name, and decided when we adopted this kitty HE could be named Hammish instead. Whew! Dodged that bullet. Anyways, Hammish is our garden kitty. He lays in the garden for hours waiting, and watching for any movement. He normally takes care of any pests that venture out there. Here on the back deck, he likes to perch, because he have a perfect view of the garden below.

The Dixie Chicks!

Shannon and I (mostly Shannon) have been working hard on finishing the coop and brooder for the chicks. Shannon spent all day on Wednesday predator-proofing the coop. Tuesday night, I set up the brooder. Basically, it's just a 5 ft baby pool for the chick containment. I then put together a left over medium moving box and Shannon attached the legs, which was some left over trim work laying around in our barn. He attached the legs so the box would sit about 10 inches off the ground to provide a concentrated heat source for the chicks. He then cut a 6 inch hole on the top of the box to release the heat. I threaded the heat lamp cord up through the hole, and wrapped the cord around a spare piece of wood. This will allow us to regulate the temperature. Starting temp should be around 95 degrees and reduced 10 degrees/week. I used a 250 W red heat bulb. A red bulb is suggested to prevent excessive chick aggression. They literally can go coo-coo if a regular white light is used. Who knew??? Anyways, the piece of wood along the top of the box allows me to adjust the height of the heat lamp without worrying about clips, and such. I put down paper towels initially because I had read several accounts where newborn chicks mistake the pine shavings for food. This blocks up their intestines, and they die. So, as a precaution, I heeded their advice and used paper towels. We plan on switching to the shavings today, since they now know what is considered food.

*As a side note, if you follow this bedding advice, do not use newspaper. It leads to leg problems such as straddle leg. This is caused because the newspaper is too slick, and does not provide proper grip for the little legs.*

The chicken coop is a converted horse stall with access to the outside. Here, the door, with access to the barn aisle, needed to be re-evaluated. The top was open, so Shannon added this top dutch door, with a screen of hardware cloth. We don't suspect any hawks, owls or barn kitties will be able to break into the coop with this sturdy door. Also along the top line of the stall, Shannon added wood to seal off the coop from the inside of the barn. Again, to prevent any flying predators or curious cats from entering.

This iron guard was so the horses could look around and check out what's going on in the barn. Now, with a heavy screen behind it, it will provide outstanding cross-ventilation for the coop and prevent any flying or 4-legged critters from squeezing in. You may think this is excessive, but you will notice a bit of the ladder to the left of this picture. That is the ladder to the hay loft. I've seen our one, very adventurous cat, Smelly Nelly, climbing this ladder to get to the barn swallows that nest in our rafters. I wouldn't put it past her to climb the ladder, squeeze through the bars to eat the chicks. She's hard-core like that.

And, without further adieu....

Here are 3 of our "Dixie Chicks!" From Left to Right: The black one is a Barred Rock, the yellow one is a Buff Orpington, and the red one with stripes is a Rhode Island Red. I got 3 of each breed with a total of 9.

They finally discovered the feeder after Shannon had spread out their food on the paper towels. They were certainly happy little chicks!

The more they ate and drank, the more they poo'd. It was pretty gross, but hey, it happens!
I love hearing their little "Peep, Peep, Peeps" coming from the coop.

Just plain cute...but not for long...

This is me and Blanche. I had a Great Aunt named Blanche, and she had dark brown to black hair, so I thought it was appropriate. She also lived to be 102 years old...I wonder how long this little Blanche will live. hmmmmm....

Until next time, see ya!

THE END