Injured Chicken

After chores I sit outside just to soak up the farm. It's so peaceful, sipping my yerba mate tea, cuddling Cassie (Miniature Australian Shepherd), watching the chickens and trying to make room on my lap for various cats and either my computer or a book. Of late the mornings have been so chilly I need to wrap up a bit. Then when the chickens finish feeding they stop by my chair for a visit on their way to free-ranging. Even now they are all around me. Randy, our young Araucana rooster is practicing the art of being a gentleman by calling hens to him so he can share some tidbit found in the grass. All of my young roosters are beginning to behave like men instead of adolescent boys. The hens are grateful.

My main rooster, Jack (half Cochin) no longer has his beautiful long tail and is crippled from the dog attack. I kept waiting for him to get better but he has gotten worse. Upon examination I cannot see anything wrong, no open wounds, no apparent dislocations. It breaks my heart to see him try to keep up. But, he still crows, eats well and mates, so his spirit is strong. I decided to isolate him in the brooder house/pen. I put his three remaining Mables (Red Sex Link/Red Star) in with him to ease the pain of confinement. I'm giving him comfrey/nettle tea--he actually loves it--and soaking the offending leg/foot in comfrey. I put herb salve all over his leg and foot but he promptly removed it. I'm hoping he gets better before the weather turns cold. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

National Poultry Day

How appropo! National Poultry Day is this week and I am surrounded with new chicks. My New Hampshire Reds (red chickens/med. brown eggs) and the Cochins (some buff, some black) are six days old and nestled in their cardboard coop inside the Herb Cottage where they will stay for a couple of weeks. My other new chicks are coming Wednesday. Ameracanas (white chickens/med-small Easter eggs!) and Giant Jerseys (black chickens/LARGE brown eggs). Their peep-peep-peeps are just adorable. I love the shape of their little bodies. I have two heat lamps on them and keep a thermometer on the floor so I always know the temp. It should stay between 95 and 105. When they are big enough I will move them to the brooder house, then to the BIG chicken coop which we are in the process of remodeling.

I drew a chart that shows when they will begin laying, how long they will lay and how many eggs I should get. I combined it with my Mables' chart so I hope I can tell how many dozen will be available to sell at Farmer's Markets each week this summer. Mables are Red Sex Link chickens, also called Red Star (red chickens/ med brown eggs). They get their name from being able to tell their sex when they are hatched. Jumpin' Jack Flash, my rooster, is a Cochin Banty. He loves his Mables and takes such good care of them. This morning he started crowing just before dawn...I love to listen to him. He is so enthusiastic and ready for his day. Life is Good.