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Before the Last Frost
Way back in 2011 I posted a series “10 Weeks of Vegetable Gardening” sharing how I prepare for the upcoming spring and summer garden before the last killing frost of the season. That series was created on my previous blog, and some of the content and pictures have been lost in the migration. As I was scrolling through those old posts yesterday, I also realized how much has changed in the garden and how much my boys have grown! Just…
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Flock Swaps
I was warned that this chicken thing can get really addictive. The eggs are great. Planning and building the coop was fun. Problem solving is challenging. What is addictive is walking across the yard and realizing two chickens are following at my heels, I stop, they stop and scratch around in the dirt. I walk, they walk. I stop and turn around, they scratch at the dirt. I have a fan club now thanks to a treat called Crackleberry Nugget…
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An Update on Betty White
I spoke to someone at The Urban Chicken about how to tell if the bullying has gone to far. Obviously if there is bleeding, the bird needs to be separated as chickens are drawn to the color red and would potentially peck it to death. The other dangerous sign is if the bird stays off by herself. This would mean the chicken has been rejected by the flock and it isn’t trying to rejoin. The fence divider in the run…
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Nursing Our Silkie Back to Health
Miss Betty White has been a house guest for a little over a week now. She’s a Silkie pullet, and we think she is about 10 – 12 weeks old. She and her sister, Vader, fell ill before New Year’s Eve. Vader didn’t survive, but Betty is on the mend. When we first brought her in, she was lying on her belly in the run and was limp. There was no peeping, no walking, and her head was caught in…
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One Silkie Down
As a newbie chicken mama, I’ve been very lucky to not face tragedy for over eight months. Though we live in downtown, we have our share a predators — hawks, foxes and raccoons are all regularly spotted. Our coop and run are pretty well protected, but I let the ladies free range for extended time most days. Typically if I am home, the birds are in the yard. Though they tend to stay in our backyard, sometimes I have to…
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Integrating the Chicks
A week and a half ago we introduced Betty White and Vader to our flock and started what is formally known as “integration”. I’ve read many posts on integrating new chickens into a flock, and I’ve basically followed none of the advice because it’s freezing outside and we can’t wait around for all the girls to get the warm fuzzies towards each other. It’s taken us the full week to figure out what the chicks need and where they need…
