The Flock 2015

We have been fussing over our feathered babies for the past week or so and I must say that these chicken mamas are acting like pros! As the girls are getting older they are taking on more responsibility with our chickens. I must say,  I am quite impressed with how well they are doing with our tiny new chicks. They have been feeding, watering and butt wiping (because that is a thing with baby chicks.) Don't they look like proud mamas?

The flock this year consists of 25 birds of 5 breeds, however 3 of them will be leaving us when they get bigger to be city chickens at my sister's house. We loved the breeds of chickens from our first flock and they were great layers so we decided they were a necessity, but I couldn't resist throwing in a couple more breeds. This years flock includes: 4 Rhode Island White, 4 Barred Plymouth Rock, 4 Cinnamon queen, 5 Easter Egg, and 5 Single Comb Rhode Island Red. Here are pictures of our chicks at one day old. Grow, chickens, grow!

Easter Egg

Cinnamon Queen

Barred Plymouth Rock

Rhode Island White

Rhode Island Red

Mail Order Chickens

We laced up our shoes and zipped our jackets up to head out. There was so much excitement and chatter between the girls that buckling in took much longer than it should have, but alas the car shifted into gear and we headed off down the road. These chicken mamas were off to pick up their new flock. As we pulled up to the post office and strolled inside the girls shared the exciting news with everyone they passed. They were met with strange looks and the question, "You're picking up chickens at the post office?"

Of course to most this would seem like a strange transaction, I mean chickens in the mail?? I get it. But for someone purchasing chickens for the first time it seemed like the best way. We weren't connected to anyone raising and hatching chicks and after hearing stories of less than healthy chicks from stores that wasn't a route I was too comfortable with. Health is of utmost importance as these birds are a food source for us. We want to make sure the chicks are from healthy, non-medicated birds. We also wanted to be able to pick a specific breed and only pullets and if we sought out someone hatching backyard chickens we would be limited in what we could get. Our attention shifted to hatcheries and we decided it would be the best decision for us. We researched and found a reputable hatchery and read about all the breeds of birds they offered, their decision not to medicate and the ability to order chicks at different times and our decision was solidified. The only thing with this hatchery was it was too far to drive which meant our chicks would be arriving via the US Postal Service.

I'll admit that this seemed quite strange to me. Who in their right mind puts freshly hatched chicks into a box and onto a truck to drive them all about? Turns out it's not that strange, or uncommon. It isn't much different than if we would have gone to pick them up and put them in our own car to drive home. The chicks hang out in their box all snuggled together and seem quite fine upon arrival. A quick dip into a water dish and they are eating, drinking, sleeping and growing just as any other baby would be!

We raised our first flock last year that consisted of three different breeds and we were not disappointed. We had healthy, laying chickens that were quite entertaining to have around. Our plan was to continue to add a few birds to our flock each year so we would have a rotation of layers and a few birds in the freezer. It seemed that the mail order would continue to be a good method for us as it provides healthy birds of breeds of our choosing that we order whenever we see fit.

Unfortunately our first flock met an unlucky fate (RIP ladies) but we are starting with our second flock a little wiser in the ways of raising chickens. Our second flock is busy growing, spending their days under the heat of a lamp and being fussed over by their chicken mamas (AKA my girls.) At some point we may seek out someone local to purchase a chick or two from. We may even get really brave and decide to hatch a few chicks of our own, but for now we are liking our mail order chicks.

If you want to check out the hatchery we order from you can find them here. If you want to read more about our experiences with chickens you can read about it here.

The Great Chicken Massacre of 2015

January 20, 2015 will always be remembered at the Lynch Homestead as the day of the great chicken massacre. I woke leisurely at 7:30 that morning and pulled open the curtains to find a back yard filled with feathers. Quickly throwing on some clothes I ran out the door and too the coop to find evidence of an attack. There was not a live chicken to be found. Chicken one and two were snatched from the roosting bar where they slept. The third and fourth made a run for it but were taken down just outside the run. Chicken five ran towards the house but was caught along the way. Six and seven made it to the fence line, but not through. Eight was caught in the orchard and nine, who was the only one with a body to recover, laid beside the burn barrel. We decided it was likely raccoons that attacked because whatever it was had to be able to go through or over the fence, reach roosting bars, make little noise and we found feces beside chicken remains that looked like it belonged to a raccoon.

The chicken business has been tough! After battling the neighbor's dog and losing 5 to him and two more (one to another dog, one to a broken egg inside her) I thought we had finally resolved the issues. We were ready to move beyond the chicken deaths and get ready for new birds a little wiser to what to expect. I never imagined my (poor) decision to leave the coop open on an unseasonable warm evening led to the rest of our flock being destroyed. Thankfully the girls were away spending the night at their grandma's house (thus the waking leisurely at 7:30) so they did not see the mess the raccoons had left behind. It took my husband and I a couple hours to clean up the feathers and pieces of birds that were left strewn across the back yard and to clean up and close up the coop. My husband was very sweet, taking care to console me because he knew how upset I was.  I spent the rest of the day looking for any chickens that might have gotten away and might be hiding. I knew it was highly unlikely considering there were individual spots where the birds were attacked and all were accounted for, but I wasn't ready to admit it.

When the girls came home they were excited to go check for eggs so I had to break the news to them. There were tears and we talked about what happened (in non-graphic toddler terms) and we talked about how it's okay to be sad and upset. These girls spent every day since the chickens arrived last April tending to them so having none was going to be an adjustment. Through the tears Amelia ran outside to see if it was true and she turned to me and said, "We still have a coop, are we still getting our new chickens?" I told her we would be and she went right to work telling me all the things we needed to do differently to "save our chickens from Roscoe (the neighbor's dog) and those bad coon rats." I guess they are pretty resilient when it comes to the loss of animals! (This may work in our favor when it comes time to butcher for the first time.)

So now we are back to square one with chickens and will once again be anticipating the arrival of our new flock and counting down the days until we have eggs again. We will be making a few adjustment to the coop before welcoming the new flock and we are discussing movable runs to be able to better protect the flock. I still prefer to free range our chickens, but in the end we will have to decide what is best for the homestead as a whole. Spring will mean many new beginnings!

Farewell First Flock

Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen

There has been some stirring in the coop as of late. Two chickens lost to neighbor dogs and another due to casualties of stress from the ordeal has lead to some unforeseen developments. Our once timid (and sometimes seemingly banished) Cinnamon Queens have taken the opportunity to raise themselves in this chicken hierarchy. The past few days my husband and I have notice that with a few chickens out of the picture there is some new found confidence among these birds and they have become, well, quite bossy! The chickens who were last to eat and chased out of the coop to lay have now, as a group, taken first dibs at treats, chased others away from the water dish and I even found my beloved lap chicken laying in a different building! Oh how the times have changed! My once mighty Barred Rocks have become submissive to these Queens. As long as everyone understands their position there is no problems though sometimes hens whose pecking order has been disrupted can act out violently towards others in an attempt to establish themselves dominant.  It seems as though everyone is adapting to their new status and there hasn't been any issues. I'm particularly relived since cold weather is approaching and the hens will start to be in close quarters with each other in the next few months. Inside the coop we added another roosting bar and threw down some extra bedding in preparation for them spending more time in the coop rather than free ranging on our two acres and hopefully they will settle in nicely for the winter.

Here they were enjoying the nice weather while it lasts. The girls and the chickens were very excited about the freshly turned dirt to play in!

I had to make the husband climb up and collect the eggs the Barred rock had been laying, half dozen total! And inside pieces to the mower no less!

Chicken Woes: Broken Egg Inside Chicken

It has been a traumatic couple of weeks as a chicken mama. After losing a chicken to the neighbor's dog we woke the following morning to follow a trail of feathers into another neighbor's yard where another dog had gotten one. The first attack left one bird traumatized, as I found her pacing the yard and spinning circles right after it happened. I was afraid she had been the initial target and maybe had just been lucky enough to get away but after looking her over a couple of times I found no wounds on her. I brought her back into the yard and gave her space as she hid under the back porch. I went out that night to make sure she had returned to the coop with the others for the night and when she had I thought that she would be fine and that she was just shaken up.
The next morning I went out to find that she had assumed her position under the porch again and I lured her out with a grape to look her over again. Again I found nothing and I thought that maybe she needs a little longer to settle down. Shortly after looking her over I realized another chicken (the second one) was gone and i was distracted from her as I went in search of the other. Again that night I went to check on her and she had gone to the coop. The following morning I found her again under the porch and I noticed her comb was a bit droopy. I expressed my concern to the husband who responded by saying that he would be hiding under the porch too if everyone was getting eaten.
I tried to lure her out that day with no luck but later that evening she was out in the back yard with the other chickens. I literally jumped up and down, clapping with excitement because my chicken was okay! She was still moving slow, but she was out with the others and I was relieved. The next morning she was under the porch, but as the sun got higher in the sky she was out with the others. She was moving slowly and standing strangely and I started to wonder if she was egg bound. I wasn't sure who had and hadn't laid, as there are many chickens and they were all a bit shook with the dog incident. I text the husband to tell him I was going to bring the chicken in for a soak, just in case she was egg bound. He insisted I wait a day because 1) I'm not expert and I literally was just searching for a reason she was acting strangely and 2) he is not a fan of bringing chickens inside. I agreed I would wait and when I went back outside I found one of the girls holding her. I reminded them that the chicken was not feeling well and we needed to give her space. She sat the chicken down and when she did a bit of egg was pooped out. I shooed the girls out of the coop and thought that maybe the problem was solving itself. Maybe the stress had caused her to not fully develop the egg and it was going to be one of those messy soft-shelled eggs.

It turned out I was very wrong.

As I entered the coop the next morning I found the chicken laying sprawled out in a nesting box with her head hanging low and her eyes blinking slowly. I gently picked her up to bring her in and I realized I could feel her bones very pronounced under the feathers. I brought her into the kitchen and put her in the sink to soak and began googling her symptoms and that is when I first read about eggs breaking inside the hen. After forcing her to drink some water I wrapped her in a towel and laid her to rest in a box while I did more research. When I went in to check on her she had pooped and passed more egg but there was no trace of a shell. I knew then that it was a broken egg I was dealing with and did what the researching told me to and I reached inside her with a lubed up, gloved finger to feel for shell. I felt nothing. I continued to give her water and offer her food but I knew things weren't going to end well for chicken. She was too weak to hold her head up. I was surprised when I woke the next morning to find her sitting a little more up right but after passing more egg I again tried to search for shell pieces with no luck. We left the house to run an errand and when we returned she had passed. The girls were very sad to say goodbye to another chicken and I was sad that I wasn't able to help her. There is a lot to learn with our first flock and I hope that the hard lessons are over! Next time I will recognize the symptoms and hopefully be able to help before it progresses as it did with this hen.

After researching I think that what happened with this chicken was the stress from the dog attack led to her not eating or drinking. The not drinking led to dehydration which in turn led to the egg being unable to pass as normal. When the egg became uncomfortable I think she ate and drank less putting her into an even more weakened state. When she was picked up by the girls I think the egg was crushed and was then cutting into her. I believe the egg was still high inside her and that is why I couldn't feel shell and why she was still able to poop.

As a result of this we have started a collection of things to have on hand to help our chickens should we find ourselves in this situation again. The list includes; rubber gloves, baby aspirin, petroleum jelly, and Epsom salt.

How I found her in the coop.

Taking a soak in the sink.

She was too weak to hold her head up so she was resting on her beak.

Freshly blow-dryed after another soak. 

RIP "Elsa Chicken" #4

Birds and Bushes

When I was looking for a house with the husband I was so excited for a home that was all ours, a home where we could do whatever we wanted, where investments would be our own and long term. We could finally do things like plant an orchard and put flowers in the ground, things that we hadn't be able to do in a rental house. One year later we are settled into our home and we are doing such things. We have poured ourselves into our home and getting it to the state is in now. Imagine then how it felt when, after all this hard work, someone/thing is starting to destroy things. I tried to talk to the person, I talked to others, I cried angry tears, I yelled out of frustration (in the privacy of my own home to my husband, not at the people) and now I'm just not sure what the next step is. 

Lets say you planted some lovely bushes in your front yard. These aren't just any bushes, these are the bushes you have wanted for so long! They were expensive, they were researched, purchased from the most reputable seller, shipped at no small fee and looked after daily. They were growing beautifully until one day when you came out to find the neighbor's dog had dug up and destroyed one of your bushes. What do you do in that situation? I decided to approach the neighbor, after all I had told them in advance about these bushes and asked them to keep their dog out of my yard out of fear it would destroy one. I didn't imagine that the neighbor would become so defensive and flat out deny what I had seen had even happened. Fast forward a few weeks later and the same thing happened again! Again I approached the neighbor this time to be greeted by more hostility. I was told that I should put my bushes in the back yard where the dog wouldn't be able to get to them behind the fences. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! The nerve of some people! I should put MY things in my BACKYARD so your dog can be in my front yard?!? I was retelling the story to another person and before I could finish they actually said to me, "you're just going to have to keep them in your back yard." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Am I just crazy? Am I the only person who thinks that I should be able to do and have whatever I'd like wherever on my property that I please without fear of someone's dog coming onto my property and destroying it? 

Lets change the context a bit and see if it changes your opinion. Lets say that they aren't bushes but kittens, sunning themselves in the front yard against the fence. If a neighbor's dog comes onto your property and kills you kitten does it change your opinion? Does it make it your fault for not keeping your cat in the back yard? Does it negate what the dog did? Are the neighbors not liable for the damage?

They aren't bushes that the dog is destroying and it isn't kittens, they are my chickens. The ones that I raised from chicks, that the girls and I have cared for, the ones that are feeding my family. I researched the types of chickens, I researched the care of chickens, I have made educated decisions on how I would raise and care for these birds based on what is healthiest for them and, in turn, us as we consume eggs and eventually meat. Our chickens free range on our 2 acres where the majority is fenced and occasionally they hop the fence to eat the fruit from a crab apple tree in the front yard. These yards are not stacked on top of one another as in the suburbs, there is substantial space in side yards as well as from the house to the street. These chickens hang out within a few feet of the fence line well onto our property. On two separate occasions the neighbors dog has entered our yard and taken a chicken from along the fence and drug it into it's own  yard where he kills the chicken. We have no legal right to shoot the dog once he is on his own property so we have tried to talk to the neighbor to solve the issue to no avail. Does the fact that it is the chickens being killed change your opinion?

We made a point to introduce ourselves to the neighbors as we moved in, brought Christmas cards and gifts, wave as we see them because having relationships with our neighbors was important to us because 1) we have small children who will inevitably be talking their ears off, kicking balls into their yard, riding bikes down the street etc 2) I'm a social person and I like to reach out to people and a sense of community is important to me and 3) because we knew we were getting chickens and the person who previously lived in our home liked to welcome neighborhood dogs into her yard with treats and we knew that needed to stop for the safety of our future chickens as well as my sanity (because I despise stepping in dog poop when we do not have a dog.) Every neighbor responded well to our requested to keep their animals off our property... except the one. We battled and battled with that dog to finally break the habit of being in our yard and worked tirelessly to close every hole in the extensive fence line. We made every effort on our part that we could to resolve the issue without conflict yet the neighbors find us to be the problem, not their dog.

I'm frustrated with the situation because it isn't getting better and a second dog ate a chicken the day after the last one. I guess I don't see the difference between a bush and a bird, my yard is my yard. Because my birds a food source for us does it make it okay for a dog to eat them? Is the neighbor no longer liable? I understand that there is a risk in loss because we choose to free range our chickens, however unless my birds leave my yard I feel there is a responsibility on the part of the neighbor for the loss due to their animal entering my yard. Simply making a real effort to keep the dog on their property and an apology would have gone a long way. Now that we realize this is going to continue to be a continuous issue we have some decisions to make. Do we go against what we decided and enclose our chickens, taking away all their freedom, having to compensate with more store bought feeds and overall making them more stressed by the confinement? Do we document and try to get compensated for our loss? (we have invested a pretty penny in these chickens) Do we take one on the chin and keep going? 

Rest in peace "Elsa Chicken" #1, 2 & 3

Chicken & Waffles: An Update on The Ladies

From the moment the tiny chicks arrived at our home an adventure began. Our girls have loved caring for their chickens and watching them grow. It started easy enough; feed, water, clean, repeat. We have watched them grow from little puff balls into beautiful, full grown chickens with full combs and waddles. When The Ladies hear the back door open they come running and they follow us all round the back yard. The girls refer to themselves as "chicken mamas" and they take great pride in their chickens.

Cinnamon Queen

We have eggs!

After four months and one week of feeding and caring for our flock we were rewarded with our first egg! Since there are so many of them it is hard to say who laid the first egg, but I'm giving credit to my lap chicken because she has been the biggest out of the chickens for some time. (And I may be biased towards her.)

Our First Egg

Our First Flock

On a cool April morning we woke early and I loaded the girls into our car with a promise of a surprise they would love. Little eyes lit up with excitement as they tried to guess where we could be going and what we could be doing. (I was surprised at how excited they got at the idea of going through the car wash!) We pulled up outside the post office and into the parking lot. Disappointment washed over Amelia's face as I put the car in park. "Are we running errands!?" she demanded. I smiled in response into the rear view mirror. Marinn was pleased as could be to march into the post office. We haven't done near as many trips to this magical place with her as we had Amelia so she was happy to tag along. I could see Amelia was disappointed with our destination but she didn't miss a beat, instructing little sister in appropriate post office behavior. As she began to explain to Marinn what you do at a post office she began to get excited, maybe we would be getting something mailed to us! We pushed through the double doors that lead to the lobby and Amelia exclaimed, "They're here!" Two steps into the lobby there was the unmistakable sound of chicks peeping. After weeks and weeks of waiting our chicks had finally arrived!

Chickens were high priority this year. Fresh eggs from chickens that we raise and care for is another way of being self sustaining and teaching our girls responsibility. What better way for little ones to be rewarded for hard work than large, brown eggs they retrieve themselves? These chickens will be a source of eggs and meat for us and a way for us to eat healthy, knowing how the animals were fed and cared for. This is our first experience of raising something with the intent of them being a food source. I feel that this first flock especially will be a great learning experience for us and in the end I think we will all have a much greater respect for where our food comes from.

The chicks were sent to us at one day old and from the moment we carried the little puff balls into our home the girls were smitten. They were by my side as we cared for them, feeding, watering, wiping tiny chicken butts (because that is part of chicken parenting), and cleaning their home. They learned to hold them gently and talk softly around them and to check the temperature to make sure they were comfortable. As the chickens began to get bigger they would help me carry them outside to get fresh air and they would dig for worms to feed them as a treat. Now that they have moved out into their coop they help fill the feeder and give them fresh water. There is lots of chasing of chickens and squeals of delight when one is caught. They won't be laying until the fall but I already am excited to see the look on the girls' faces when they collect the first egg!

Two Days Old

One Week Old

One Month Old

Six Weeks Old