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Chicken Antics
Our poor little Betty White is terrified of the older hens, and probably should be. Ruby and Tweedledum charge her whenever they enter a space and spot her. They usually just strike once and move on. There’s not been much feather loss, and there has been no blood, but Betty will see one of the big birds coming and hide her head in a corner. When the big ladies leave the run to lay eggs or go into their backyard,…
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The Chickens Get Their Own Backyard
The chickens are angry at me this week because they’ve been booted from the yard. I finally got tired of them kicking all the dirt and mulch out of my flower beds, wandering into the neighbors’ yards and getting closer and closer to the street where neighbors regularly walk dogs. Without a fenced back yard, free range was just too free, and with spring around the corner, I didn’t want to have to deal with them uprooting the wildflowers I’m…
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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…
