Chicken Stalking

All chicken owners know the anticipation of the first egg. As time grows closer for  hens to lay, we get the nest boxes ready, we put in "false" eggs to encourage laying, we push oyster shell for great egg shell strength. We continuously count back to when the chickens were hatched. But when it all said and done, it simply comes down to waiting...and waiting. Just when you think your have a bunch of infertile hens, an egg comes. Our first egg arrived on January 25-------------------->

I could not believe it! I went out to feed and water our ladies, and just be some chance I happened to look in our nest box. (See above regarding my thought of infertile hens) There next to a plastic Easter egg was a smaller "twin." At first I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. Then I thought I was just seeing double due to the fact that it was so cold and my eyes were watering. Upon wiping my eyes, and sticking my head deeper into the coop, it was in fact our first egg. Quickly I scooped it up and ran yelling my husband name into the house. Poor guy thought something was really amiss! Our egg, a sage green, cracked from freezing, but our egg. Unfortunately, the children had already left for school and missed out on this. But that was alright, I have been the major chicken keeper and was able to bask in miracle of this gift. Then my hubby asked, "Well who do you think laid it?" Huh? I did not know. So I took a scientific stance and began my investigation.

The process of elimination:

We have five chickens. Two of them grew into beautiful young men, so they went out to live at my friend's farm. We did replace the men with two girls that were hatched during the same time. So I started with obvious what type of bird/color of egg.

Thyme: Barred Rock=Brown egg
Mrs. Babcock: Rhode Island Red=Brown egg
Miss Prissy Fluffinbottom: White Leghorn=White egg (she is a new lady)
Luna: Marans/Ameraucana mix= Colored egg
Ebbie Loo Who: Marans/Ameraucana mix= Colored egg.(our other new lady.)

Since the first three ladies will not lay colored eggs, they were eliminated as the layer. Leaving only Luna and Ebbie. Honestly I thought Ebbie laid the first egg because there was one of her fluffs on the egg. But as I thought more, I was not sure.

Immediately I Googled "how to tell which chicken is laying?" No luck. So I went to my fellow contributing bloggers and friends at Farm Chit Chat. They should know, or at least give me some advice.  Here is what they said:

1. Stalk them and see who is in the nest box.
2. Put food coloring or Blue Kote on around their vent.
3. Put lipstick around the vent.

Needless to say, we had great laughs regarding #2 and #3. My neighbors already think I am nuts having chickens in the city, what would they think if I am out there "violating" my chicken with lipstick! So I opted for #1!

Let the Stalking Begin!

I figured out a round about time that the said "egg layer" was giving me her egg just by the average time I found the first 3 eggs and when I go out to feed/water. That gave me from 7:15 a.m to 9 a.m. I was determined to figure this out.

 Oh, did I mention it is Winter? Oh, and that I live in Northwest Ohio? If you have been following our nation's weather, it has been very, very cold here. I was not looking forward to being out in the cold, but I was on a mission.


Stalking Day!

Early Morning destination, The Coop!

Here I am! Bed head, make-up smeared, and puffy eyes! Sorry for the scary picture, but it was 7:15 a.m and I literally jumped out of bed, threw on my coat, and scarf. I realized later that I had my Pajama pants on backwards and inside out to boot! Yeah, I am hot!

I proceeded to slowly walk out to the coop. Trying to be a quiet as possible. That was not happening! Even though our dog Willow is good with the chickens, she does not like it when "Mom" spends anytime near them with out her. Let the whining, barking, and jumping on the backdoor commence. That put a wrench in the whole using my stealth Ninja skills to stalk with! Grrr!

After getting Willow relaxed with a bowl full of food, it was now 7:45 a.m. and every second counts when you have a mission such as mine. When I did get to the coop, the ladies knew I was coming and were all at the door to be let out. No egg, no one in the nest box. They wanted FOOD! Grabbing my gloves I went about the chore. I cracked the main door on the coop to be able to sneak peeks at the nest box. I went back into the house because I was starting to get cold. Time was 8 a.m. I stood at my back window watching and warming up. Then I saw Luna go up into the coop. She was then followed by Ebbie. Really? both colored egg layers in the coop? *Sigh* so much for warming up! Out again I go. I stood outside of the coop for another 20 minutes. During this time Luna kept coming up to the main door squawking at me and Ebbie sat on the roost. This was not proving to be easy. About 8:45 Luna entered the nest box. Finally! I watched her move around, peck at the straw and she finally laid down. Grabbing my camera out of my pocket I figured an egg would be arriving an minute, I fully opened the coop door. Luna stopped her fussing and stared at me, as if to say "Do you mind Lady?" Snapping off a few pics, she gave me a harder stare and a low growl,  I told her "I know, I know, I don't like to be bothered when I am ovulating either." But somewhere in my mind I was not convinced that she was going to lay. Why? I don't know, maybe it had something to do with all these months of waiting, maybe the scientific part of my brain needed a conclusion, but I was determined to see this egg laying up close and live.

My determination lasted to 9:15 a.m. Chickens like privacy when laying, I get that, but I think it had more to do with the fact I could no longer feel my fingers and toes. That was all I needed was to get frostbite and have to explain to the doctor how, "Well, Doctor, I was stalking my chicken you see..." So off to a hot shower I went. The whole time I was in the shower, I knew, just knew Luna would lay that egg while I was in there. Guess what? She did, and has continued to gives us her beautiful green eggs daily.

Do you mind????

Conclusion

My chicken stalking days are over. I have come to the acceptance that the other ladies will lay. I have them set up for success. Kind of like in the movie Field of Dreams, "If you build it they will come." Our ladies have been given a place to be happy and productive layers. My advice for first time chicken owners waiting for their first egg, it will happen, when it will happen, regardless. Remember the old saying? "A Watched Pot Never Boils."Learn from my insanity, but if you too want to be a chicken stalker, may I suggest doing it when the weather is warmer.

Good luck!

Christmas with a chicken flair!

 
 
 Now that we have chickens of course I had to do something to represent them in my holiday decorating. My first idea was to create this wreath to hang on their coop. However, I love it so much, I may just keep it hanging in the kitchen. I love to work with felt, so my little Chickens are made from felt. I also incorporated feathers from my girls into the wreath. Gotta do something with those feathers from molting, right?

The Ladies of the Yard

The coop with its storm door.

" Chickens? You have Chickens? Wait, can you have Chickens in the city?" For those of us urban chicken owners, I can guarantee that you have had these questions asked of you. My answer is "Absolutely! How lucky am I!"

There are many cities across the United States that allow chickens within the city limits. Did I perk your interest? Good! Let's continue...
 Each city has laws regarding owning chickens. I strongly encourage you to research the laws first. For example, where I live we are allowed up to six hens, no roosters. The living areas of the birds must be clean and not become a nuisance, and the basic needs are to be given.( i.e.food, water, shelter)  I recommend calling your own City government or Health Department for answers. The Internet has a ton of information! However, I spent a lot of time researching the Internet for our city, and there was conflicting information on our laws. I even read city laws, which can also be a bit confusing. So your best bet is to call City Hall.

So, why would I want chickens anyway? Well, for me the answer was simple. As a family, we strive to eat clean, organic food whenever possible. We also believe in being self-sufficient as much as possible. If we can take steps towards that direction, than we will make it happen.  Chickens could add to that journey. In order to reach that goal, I needed to become informed. I read everything I could on owning chickens. Spent hours reading informational pages, and books. Believe me if it was about chickens I soaked up the information like a sponge. My husband and children said I was becoming obsessed. No, I would reply "I was getting educated." However there was a problem. As I perused all the information, I began seeing statements like the following:

 "you will love them"

"they make the best pets!"

 "they are addicting, you can't just have one!" 

"I love my chickens!"

"Wait to you watch Chicken T.V!" 

WHAT? I want chickens for eggs, so we can be self-sustaining, I don't really want them as a pet. Do I really even like birds? What are these people talking about? So I dug a little deeper in my research, and began reading people's stories and blogs. I found that I could not get enough of these stories.  I believe my heart grew just like Dr. Seuss' character The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, after he realized what Christmas was really about. Next thing I knew I have a McMurray catalog on my desk with pictures of the breeds I had to have circled. I was ready!

.We decided to get day old chicks. But that did not happen. We found a woman, now a friend who lives not far from us. She and her daughters have an incredible farm. They love chickens and had some 6 week old chicks available for sale. We were a bit hesitant, I was afraid that they would be too old to bond with our family. But we decided this would be the best way to go. We loaded up the kids, who are now just as "obsessed" as I am about chickens, and drove out to the farm.

The kids were so excited when we told them they could each pick out a chick. Bless our friend's heart as she chased these chicks around in the pen for "the one" for each of the kids. We actually all picked out a chick. We ended up with five peeping babies in a large tote. Liam was the first to name his chicken. His pick was giving our friend a bit a fuss about being caught. She kept hopping and flapping her wings. He said "I am naming her Time, because time flies, get it? Time flies?" But he agreed that her name looked nicer spelled as "Thyme" she is a Barred Rock. Lavinia's pick is "Isabelle" a Maran/Australorp mix. Avin picked a New Hampshire Red, "Graciella." My pick was a Rhode Island Red, and her name is "Mrs. Babcock." Finally, we have "Luna." She is a mystery mix. We know that she is part Maran from her Dad, but she looks like she could be mixed with an Americana. She reminds us of a Barn owl in the face. We cannot wait to see what color egg she will produce.

Isabelle

We have had our girls for over a month now, and I can not imagine life with out chickens!  I totally  understand what everyone was saying. I am in love with my flock. They do make the best pets.  I want more, I have a wish list. And yes, "Chicken T.V" is my favorite show.

Isabelle's shimmer is gorgeous!

Thyme and Isabelle very curious of the camera. I am ready for my close up!

What's up chicken butt? Graciella's backside.

Graciella and Isabelle. Love Graciella's expression.

Mrs. Babcock

Luna's cool feathers

Luna in my hubby's arms falling asleep.

Willow Vs. Chickens

"On Point"

Oh, the sweet vision of Noah's Ark or the Lion laying with the lamb is my wish  for my animal family. However, that is idealistic when it comes to my dog and our chickens. It is my dog Willow's purpose in life to torment our backyard girls. Willow is a Weimaraner. Her breed is what they call a "HPR" meaning Weims were bred to hunt, point and retrieve. They are highly intelligent, loving dogs. So I cannot completely blame her for the need to get the chickens. It is in her nature.We have had our chickens for over a month and a half. By now you would think she would get bored with them. Oh, No! If I even make the "ch" sound she is at the back door whining to get out. If I even go to the back door, she is running like a crazed beast to beat me there. When I leave her in the house to feed or let the girls out, it is the end of the world. She becomes the dog "Marley" in the book/movie "Marley and Me."  Because of her intelligence I know she can overcome this obsession. We are working with her daily, giving the command "Leave it!" and rewarding her. But as soon as we go back in the house and it is her "time" to go back out all the training is out the window. She is on "Mission Get the Chickens!" 

An E-collar on a chicken?

Our new adventure as a family is owning chickens. I have always wanted chickens. The benefits are numerous! Take away the obvious, fresh, organic eggs,  chickens provide so much more. They are natural pest eradicators,  make great compost for the garden, and make for great entertainment.
But what happens when your chicken friends get sick?

Never in a thousand years did imagine I would be spending hours scouring the web, reading books, asking other chicken owners about what was wrong with my chicken. There is a ton of information out there regarding chicken health. My conclusion to our problem was I needed to stop my chicken from scratching and wiping her eye. This is easier said then done.
 Immediately I thought of using an E-collar. An E-collar is short for an Elizabethan collar. Taken from Queen Elizabeth's use of wide, circular collars on her dresses. Veterinarians use these as a deterrent when animals have surgery, or a wound. The collar or "cone" is applied around the neck just like a regular collar. It essentially stops the animal's access to the site for healing purposes.

Here is where I came into a problem. Our chicken is only 8 weeks old. The neck area of our young lady is about the same size of diameter as my middle finger give or take. After calling every pet store, feed store, and vet's office in Toledo, I could not find a collar small enough. My industrious wheels started turning. I could make it! My first attempt was to use a Dixie cup. However, our girl was not having it. It blocked too much of her eyesight. Back to the drawing board...

Finally, I came up with one that worked for both of us. I used a lid to one of our food storage containers. For some reason there is always a lid floating around in my cupboard with out a its long lost container. All I used was the lid, scissors and tape. Voila! An E-collar for a chicken.

Scissors, Lid, Scotch tape

Draw a circle on the lid. I used another lid as a template. Then cut out circle.

Once you cut out the circle from your template, you will cut a straight line from the edge into the middle. There you will cut a smaller circle to fit your chicken's neck. Try to make your cuts as smooth as possible so that there are no jagged edges. I then taped around the edges just in case. Once this is done, put the collar on the chicken's neck. Make sure the fit is snug, but not too tight. Tape the straight edges closed.

Luna with her E-collar on!