How Do You Make a Chicken Diaper?

  

Moshe with the blue coffee container and some of the Peeps

      Up here in the North Georgia Mountains we have experienced a brief reprieve from the weather the past few days.  It has been a blessing, a time to enjoy the outdoors, a break from the constant vigilance of tending the wood stove.  Moshe has been letting the chickens out of the arks every afternoon so that they can forage for seeds, greens, and any bugs that are still in the ground.  They are so funny!  This afternoon when I came home from town, they all ran to meet the Jeep.  They might be "dumb animals", but they sure do know who we are, what our routine is, etc..... They recognize the sound of our voices.  If I stand in the dining room and look out at the Peeps' coop, they look at me and - literally - jump straight up and down! And the older chickens come a' runnin' when either of us is carrying the  blue coffee can that we tote their chicken pellets or cracked corn in.
  

they will eat out of our hands

      So, Sunday morning I had this idea... The "Peeps" are growing up, and it bothered me that they stay cooped up (no pun intended) all the time, while the older chickens wander by.  I suggested to Moshe that we let them out to graze the yards as well.  After a brief discussion of the pros and cons, we decided we would try it, and, if need be, physically put them back in their coop at dusk.  It has been hilarious watching their antics the past few days.  The roosters are definitely  displaying competitive rooster behaviors;  Cogburn was even silly enough to challenge Brewster - our big old rooster who is more than double Cogburns' size.  Some of the peeps couldn't quite figure out how to get out of the coop the first couple days,  but today they had no problem.
  

Chicken Little is in the far left of this photo

      All of them - with the exception of Chicken Little - knew right away how to get back into the coop for the night.  Every evening Chicken Little roosts in the boxwoods next to the back porch, and, every evening I get her out of the boxwoods, cuddle her for a few moments, then place her in the coop with Pretty Face and all the Peeps.
     A couple months ago I wrote about the strange way that we got Chicken Little.  At the time, we assumed that she was a "Peep", about the same age as all our other Peeps... Now I'm not so sure... All the other Peeps have grown, but she is still just the same.  The other chicks are two to three times her size.  It's so ironic that I named her "Chicken Little"!  I named her that because she seemed to fall out of the sky and into our yard.  But now her name is even more appropriate.  She is the cutest little bird I've ever met!!!  I'm wondering if she might not be a year or two old... not a Peep at all...
     I told Moshe I'd like to figure out a way to make diapers for her and keep her inside as a pet.  That didn't go over real big for some reason...
      SHALOM  Y'ALL - TWYLA

Them Chickens is Confusin' Me!

        Yup.  Every time I think I understand chicken behavior, they throw me for another loop. A month or so ago, we tried to put Pretty Face back in her original coop with. her "sisters" and they nearly pecked her to death.  We ended up putting her back in with her babies, creating a sort of commune for her, her peeps, and the other peeps we had raised indoors.  We introduced an orphan, Chicken Little, to that brood, and, after a brief rejection, all the peeps have included in her in their routine.
     That being said, here's what happened yesterday/last night. Moshe let all the chickens out on the front yard yesterday afternoon "to graze".  Oh, they were happy!   They ate what little grass and green weeds that remain in the yard,  had a gourmet buffet on the remnants of the winter garden... romaine lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, swiss chard... After the past two weeks with snow and ice and hardship,  I'm certain they were as thrilled as a chicken can get.
  

    But, then came evening.  As expected, the chickens went back into the arks. But, when Moshe went outside  to make an official count, there was a little bit of a discrepancy.  For one thing, Brewster was in the ark he doesn't normally live in... I think we all know what THAT was about!  Naughty, naughty Brewster!!! Moshe corrected that by moving him back to his original ark.  But there was still a discrepancy in hen numbers.  It seems that one of the hens from Brewster's ark was also in the opposite ark.  Problem is, she looks identical to the black hen that's already in there with all the golden comets.  So, Moshe just left them "as is". I was worried about it - afraid that the other chickens would attack her - but, Moshe said he'd check them in the morning and move her if need be.


Well, this morning all the chickens were living together in complete harmony.  No pecking. No cackling or crowing.  No ostracism.  Complete harmony. Eating, sleeping, drinking, laying eggs.  So, now we have come to the conclusion that if we move the chickens around at night, they won't know the difference come morning...

Hey! How'd YOU get in this post?

 maybe I should stick to the kind I collect and decorate the kitchen with!


Shalom   Y'all - 
         Twyla

Chicken Run!

some neighbor's chickens

 Last night Moshe and I watched "Chicken Run".  He had seen it before, but I hadn't.  Goodness, did we ever laugh! (Or, should I say "cackle"?)   One of the silly lines was a comment from a rooster, saying that a particular hen was "poultry in motion".  And, of course, that reminded me that I haven't blogged jokes for a while.

      #1: Q: What is a chicken's ghost called?   A: A poultry geist

     #2: Q: What do you call a movie about poultry?  A: A chick flick

more  neighbor's chickens

     #3: Q: Who was the world's fiercest chicken?  A: Attila the Hen

     #4: Q: How do poultry farmers seal a business deal?  A: With a warm hen shake

     #5: Q: Name three poultry games.  A: Quack-Gammon, Crow-Quet, and Chinese Chickers

     #6: Q: What do you call a chicken who wears a bell on her necklace:  Q: An alarm cluck

     #7: Q" What do chickens serve at birthday parties?  A: Coop-cakes

Moshe's comment: "Do these feathers make my butt look big?"

     #8: Q: Which day of the week do chickens hate?  A: Fry-Day

     #9: Q: How do chickens bake a cake?  A:  From scratch

    #10: Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?  A: To show the possum that it CAN be done!

    #11: Q: Why did the chicken cross the playground?  A: To get to the other slide.

    #12:  Q: Why did the turkey cross the road?  A: To prove he wasn't chicken.

    #13: Q: Why didn't the chicken skeleton cross the road?  A: He didn't have the guts.

    #14:  Q: Why did the chicken cross the basketball court?  A: He heard the referee calling fowls.
             
               Okay, okay...  Enough with the groaning...  You  KNOW you laughed at some of them!

                          Shalom Y'all - Twyla
 

Brewster's Harem

This afternoon, while I  worked crazily on projects for Thanksgiving and Hannukah,  Moshe let all the chickens roam the yard near their arks (moveable coops).  This was the first time Brewster-the-rooster has been outside the coop since Moshe built it.  He was a LOT tamer outside the coop than he is inside. I guess when he's in there, he feels more threatened by people and dogs... no where to run, no where to hide... Well, anyway, they had a great time.  They dug  in the grass and leaves, finding "treats" such as bugs and salamanders. (Glad I'm not a chicken!) 

out for a stroll...

Moxie, keeping her distance...

      A couple times they tried to sample the greens growing in Moshe's winter garden, but we stopped them and herded them back down the hill.  Moxie was hilarious.  She couldn't decide where to be or what to do.(So many chickens; so little time.)  She tried to tell Brewster what to do, but Brewster pecked her nose 'til she whimpered like a kitten.  Never one to give up,  she quickly found some more receeptive chickens to herd around the yard.  Now, completely exhausted, poor Moxie is stretched out on the floor between our desks,  no doubt dreaming of chickens.

Shalom Y'all - Twyla



Ahh, The Peaceable Kingdom

Pretty Face

     Life is a learning experience.  And life on the farm is certainly a learning experience!  We never cease to be amazed at the occurrences here on our little homestead.
     Last weekend we moved all the baby chicks together -  3 that Pretty Face recognized as the ones she'd hatched, and the 6 that she rejected having been brought in as newcomers when a week or so old. We put all the Peeps together, thinking it would be best to combine them before they got to an age where they'd fight. (Admittedly, we don't know what that age would be, but we were basing it on the fact that the girls are acting like hens and the boys are acting like roosters.)
      So, together they went, and they did very well as one big family.  But, poor Pretty Face.  She remained in her little broody coop.  Alone.  She could see and hear her babies, but couldn't get to them.  It made me sad from the first moment. She cried and paced in her courtyard.  I was certain that she wanted to be with her babies!  Moshe kept saying, "Oh, she'll be alright."  But I just didn't think so...  More out of concern for me than Pretty Face, Moshe agreed to try putting her in with all the chicks.  It didn't work at all!  She pecked ferociously at the 6 "intruders", while happy to see her 3 chicks.  She went back to her solitary life.
     It bothered me all week.  It bothered me every time I looked out the back door, every time I went out to get in the Jeep, every time I went to get firewood, etc.  Ohhh, it bothered me.  I knew that Mamma chicken was mourning.  She paced nervously and talked incessantly.  I knew - like only another mother could - that she was missing her babies terribly. But, neither Moshe nor I could figure out what to do about it.

Peeps and the Peep hole

 

 Then, last night insomnia stuck.  I solved 2 or 3 problems during my middle-of-the-night-sleeplessness.
One of the solutions was the Pretty Face situation.  My idea was confirmed later in the morning when I spoke to my parents on the phone.  Mom grew up on a big farm with lots & lots of chickens.  When I described my idea, she said it was exactly what they used to do with the broody hens.  So, here it is:  We moved Pretty Face's broody coop adjacent to the Peeps coop, cutting a "Peep-sized" hole in the chicken wire so that the Peeps can go from cage to cage but Pretty Face has to stay in her territory. We figured Pretty Face's 3 Peeps could visit her, yet still interact with the other Peeps.  And, if the other Peeps came into hostile territory they could escape through the Peep hole. (No pun intended.)  My hope was that they could ALL learn to get along...
    

the combined coops

When the deed was done, sure enough several chicks went through into the broody coop.  Pretty Face immediately took her babies under her wing.  She started out scolding and pecking at the other Peeps, but in less than ten minutes she was accepting them all!  At one point I looked out the back door and Pretty Face had 6 chicks with her - and, only 2 were her original chicks.  Another time she was drinking simultaneously with 4 chicks, only one of which was "hers". 
     Moxie was really helpful during the transition.  While Moshe was cutting the chicken wire and moving the broody coop, he let Pretty Face walk in the back yard.  We knew she wouldn't go far... not with her babies so close by.  Moxie the Wonder Dog walked alongside Pretty Face, keeping track of her like a shepherdess with her sheep.
     And CassPurr?  He slept on the dining room chair that he has claimed as "his", totally oblivious to any and all the world's problems.  A total success story.

                 Shalom Y'all - Twyla

Peep and Bo-Peep

Peep, born a few hours after Bo-Peep

Bo-Peep, the firstborn

Well, the photographer is back from his trip to Atlanta, so we have a few  pictures of the new babies, Peep and Bo-Peep. (Two chicks so far... we will wait on the other egg a couple more days.)  We are amazed at how tiny and perfect these chicks are.  They are bright-eyed and alert and demonstrating "chicken behavior". So cute! Walking and scratching the straw, cuddling up with their proud Mommy.  Pretty Face is, indeed, very proud of her young 'uns... But, she knows and trusts
 us, so she allows
 us to hold her babies.
 Even the dog stuck
 her head in the little
 broody coop and
Pretty Face was
casual about it.
 We are blessed.

One of the babies' eggshells

     Can you imagine what it must be like to peck your way out of an eggshell?  Let me tell you, this thing is tough!  I tried to separate the membrane lining from the outer eggshell, and couldn't do it! I read somewhere that part of the chicks'  development depends on their pecking out of the shell.  If you try to "help" the process, the chick will die.  It's sort of like the surfactant that premature babies lack because it develops in the last stages of pregnancy.  Preemies often succumb to respiratory failure due to the lack of surfactant. And so it is with baby chicks; they need their full time to develop.  The way God creates things is so miraculous, isn't it?

The proud Mama with her babies...

Shalom  y'all

     Twyla