Blogger Chicken

The girls have moved!

2011-07-11T07:46:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, the girls moved to a new home for personal reasons. We are so happy to share with you, their new location and family. They live not too far from our house here in Ohio. They look so happy in the shade on their new land. THanks, for giving them a great new place to live, Truli. We will surely miss them.

Finally! ABOUT TIME! Our girls are laying again.

2011-03-07T13:02:00.001-08:00

The shot with the two blue/green eggs are our first two eggs of spring. YAY!

This is our egg shown next to my sister-in-laws egg. That's a double yolk in that giant momma!

No word? That's cause our girls are moulting.

2010-10-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

Learn more about moulting here.

Poppa Bear, Momma Bear and Baby bear?

2010-07-16T09:05:00.001-07:00

Hahahaha. Here is a shot from my sister-in-law.

Her current chickens laid the big one, and her new chickies that just started laying laid the next two. What is UP with that little one?! hahahahaha.

Sookie laid her 2 eggs!

2010-07-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

Yep! Yesterday, Sookie laid an egg in her kennel and then last night we took her back out to the coop to sleep with her sisters and this morning she laid the other. HIP HIP HORRAY!!!!

She's no longer egg-bound! She's a happy chicken.

Chicken Burger! Oldest Drive-in Restaurant in Canada!

2010-07-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Tracey Rudolph at the CHICKENBURGER in Halifax, Nova Scotia!

Sookie: Egg Bound!

2010-07-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

OK, so another chicken ordeal. Saturday, went out to the coop to pick up Barb's remaining feathers and saw Sookie. Sookie's vent was NOT attractive and it looked like she had hemorrhoids. I could tell she was in pain, because she want' moving or eating and was low to the ground. Took her to the vets. We were there for almost 5 hours and they took x-rays. Yep, TWO EGGS STUCK! Soooo, what does this mean? Since Saturday, we have been giving her antibiotics for a small infection around her vent, liquid calcium twice a day in a syringe in her mouth and vitamins in her water... along with extra oyster shells in her protein layer food and yogurt and greens. We cut the cracked corn. The vet said that this ordeal happened because all Sookie was eating was the cracked corn and not her layer food (which has all the calcium and vitamins to produce a strong egg to lay) Basically her shells on the eggs were too soft and thin to lay, hence them being stuck. So, now we wait. She's acting well. She seems like a normal bird. We dealt with her being sick last year and didn't think she would make it. But Dr. Mohan is just wonderful. He knows how to take care of birds! Because she's acting well could be that she's gone broody and doesn't want to lay yet. OR she laid them and ate them, if they were soft. Stay tuned!

Green Chicken Coop: NEW WINDOW SHIPPED!

2010-06-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to give a shout out at Green Chicken Coop. Dan at GCC was SO thoughtful! I sent him a letter with regards to Barb being taken by a predator from the coop. And before I knew it, I had a nice thoughtful email and a package at my front door within a few days. He personally rebuilt and mailed us a new stronger window. These guys at GCC are GREAT to deal with. They really do build wonderful coops. They have been showcased on the Martha Steward Show. We have the The Victoria design. We love it.

Thanks so much. We really do appreciate it! I will share new pics when it's installed.

One of The First Ladies finally laid an egg!

2010-06-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

GREAT NEWS!

One of The First Ladies (the hens of our friends in Ohio) finally laid an egg! Yep, my friends, Jeanne and David got their first egg! Here is a picture of proud David with the prize. It's a big one! It had double yolks!

We will catch the beast!

2010-06-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

WARNING: THIS IMAGE MAY MAKE PEOPLE SAD, seeing all the feathers.

However, I was telling my husband, at least whoever took her, didn't just kill her and run. He/she had her for dinner. No waste. We are setting out a trap this week. We are now being told, it may be a fox, since it did so much damage. STAY TUNED.

RIP: Barb the chicken killed

2010-06-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

It is with great sadness that I regret to report, our chicken, Barb was killed in the middle of the night, Thursday June 17th. It was a raccoon, we believe, that took her life. I was on vacation, so I did not see the mess and sadness the raccoon left. My husband, Dave was going out to feed the girls Friday morning when he noticed the feathers everywhere and the mesh wire was ripped apart in their coop window. So sad. No Barb. She was taken with just feathers left everywhere.

Barb was at the top of the pecking order. She was the bird in charge. She was the one that always let me pet her soft feathers. Yes, we may have called her the mean one at times... But she was the strongest of all of them. She was the alpha hen. We bet that she was picked by the raccoon because of her fight that she put up to protect her sisters.

She will be missed. I know some may say, "she's just a chicken". But when you raise them from day old peeps, and name them... They each have their own personalities.... It's just tough. She was a pet. And a great chicken.

We will miss ya Barb.

RIP.

Ouch! Very large egg!

2010-06-09T07:36:00.001-07:00

My sister-in-law's chickens lay some big ones every once in a while. Geesh!

The first ladies are in the White House

2010-06-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

My friends built this coop for their hens. How darn cool is this?!

The first ladies have made it to the white house!

2010-04-22T08:50:00.001-07:00

So my friends, Jeanne and David decided to take up chickens. Yep. That's right. We're all getting inspired by chickens and their personalities and of course, their yummy eggs. So they moved their 8 Golden Comet hens into their new home. David built it. It's gorgeous. It even has a solar panel for the automatic door! Each hen is named after a first lady. I don't have the list... but how cute is that?! So here ya go folks. Some great shots of their new home, here in Ohio.

Today, the hens turn 1! Happy Birthday!

2010-04-06T08:10:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Chickens!

Wind up and lay!

2010-04-05T07:13:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a happy Easter!

5 eggs from 5 chickens!

2010-03-30T07:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I am thinking that Sookie, our chicken that was sick last year, has layed an egg. We never thought she would lay.

We have 5 hens and this past weekend, I went out to the coop and found 5 distinctly different eggs!

How cool is that!?

It's that time of year again...

2010-03-29T10:52:00.001-07:00

they totally gross me out...

Each Easter season, Americans buy more than 700 million Marshmallow Peeps, shaped like chicks, as well as Marshmallow Bunnies and Marshmallow Eggs, making them the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy.
As many as 4.2 million Marshmallow Peeps, bunnies, and other shapes can be made each day.
In 1953, it took 27 hours to create a Marshmallow Peep. Today it takes six minutes.
Yellow Peeps are the most popular, followed by pink, lavender, blue, and white.

Formation of an egg

2010-03-22T12:12:00.001-07:00

Those are egg yolks that are maturing and then it goes into the oviduct and a day later out pops an egg! Sick. But cool at the same time.

Make 17 Meals from One Chicken

2010-03-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

Yep, 1 chicken! However, I am not eating mine. Mine are for eggs. But this is pretty interesting!

HEN Salt & Pepper Shaker with Stand

2010-03-01T07:12:00.000-08:00

The oval or egg shape salt & pepper shakers are made heavier at its base to keep the container upright. The magnet inside the base further keeps the container in position on the metal stand without falling down. The soft cover of the container can be easily removed by gripped its edge slightly to push out or separate from the plastic base.

Color Vision? It's for the Birds.

2010-02-25T09:53:00.000-08:00

Chickens' Color Vision Far Superior to Humans

My friends, David and Jeanne just got new chickies!

2010-02-17T18:06:00.001-08:00

They got 8 Golden Comets... born on Monday.... how cute!

Chicken Ark

2010-02-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

Thanks for this cool forward, Ryan Gialames:

Go green and get fresh eggs for free with help from the Chicken Ark ($500). Handcrafted from renewable Douglas Fir timber, each ark provides space for up to four medium laying hens, and offers them a covered run, elevated roost, and separate nesting box — all the tools they need to leave you with nutritious eggs that are both better and cheaper than the one's you'll find at the local supermarket, while keeping your grass trim as a bonus.

Campaign for a Free Range Future!

2010-01-25T11:07:00.000-08:00

This is what they are doing over in the UK!

http://www.chickenout.tv./

My chickens eating yogurt this morning for breakfast

2010-01-22T06:12:00.000-08:00

Yep. Just them eating yogurt.

PBS: The Natural History of the Chicken (DVD)

2009-12-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

I got this for Christmas from my husband... man, what a WONDERFUL dvd! SERIOUSLY awesome!

Most people best know the chicken from their dinner plates -- whether as thigh, wing or drumstick. Consumers barely pause a moment to consider the bird's many virtues. Filmmaker Mark Lewis (Cane Toads: An Unnatural History and Rat) expands the frontiers of popular awareness and delightfully reveals that this small, common and seemingly simple animal is as complex and grand as any of Earth's creatures.

Got some chicken poop lip balm for Christmas!

2009-12-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

Check it out!

Grandpa says: If ya got dry lips put chicken poop on 'em so ya won't lick 'em.

Can you figure out which one is the double yolk?

2009-11-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

Submitted by Jon Boyd. Unreal!
That HAD to hurt!

OMLET coop: Eglu!

2009-10-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

I read about these a while back... and my friend Jeremy sent the link to me, so I figured I would share it with y'all. Check it out. Pretty cool chicken coop. Great for the burbs! Check out OMLET!

21 eggs from Barb so far...

2009-10-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

She's the only one laying... weird. All the hens are living happily together now. They are all getting along. Phew! Our son found 6 eggs that were hidden by the coop this weekend... that brings us to a total of 21 eggs gathered so far. Go Barb!!!!

Joke of the Day

2009-10-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

I found this on a blog... thought it was appropriate!

Chicken escaped! CHICKEN RUN!

2009-09-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

So I put Jimmy in with Sookie. Incase you don't remember, Sookie was the ill chicken that we had to quarantine for a while... when we tried to put her back with the flock, her 4 sisters attacked her. So she's been living by herself for a good couple months now. Lonely chicken. Well, I read in a book the other day, that you start with your lowest ranking chicken and slowly put them all together in an open new space. And do it at night. So I did. I started with Jimmy and took her out there a few nights ago and she and Sookie seem to be getting along fine. Well, last night, I got home late and checked on the two, out in the big open fenced in garden, and there was no sign of Jimmy. I looked for a half an hour... finally, I found her. She flew out somehow, over the 8 foot fencing and was sitting in the dark perched on the back deck railing. Anyhoo... here are the two of them. I gotta put another chicken in there tonight. I think I will grab Betty.

Raising Backyard Chickens: newyorker.com

2009-09-25T06:34:00.001-07:00

Susan Orlean on raising backyard chickens: newyorker.com

Shared via AddThis

Chicken Dominos and Chicken Drinking

2009-09-23T12:31:00.001-07:00

Two images that came my way this week.

One (Tracey, Oakville, Ontario) Chicken Dominos. WEIRD!

Two (Jon, Mansfield, Ohio) His 9 thirsty hens drinking water.

FINALLY! We got eggs!

2009-09-22T09:53:00.001-07:00

So yeah! It's celebration time! Barb has laid an egg a day since Thursday the 17th. What a glorious day! That little tart made some yumminess for our breakfast.

Here are some pictures...

first two eggs (overcast sky blue, which will ALWAYS be Barb's egg color)... you can see the size compared to my feet. Little smaller than the average egg. Then what they look like in a carton... then what they looked like fried up... then scrambled with toast and garden tomatoes... and to top it off, Grandma Mary's home made concord grape juice from their harvest next door. YUM!

CHICKEN LICENSE PLATE!

2009-09-04T07:15:00.001-07:00

OK, so my friend Tracey, who lives in Toronto, Ontario, CANADA was at a Jay's game and took this picture with her phone. HAHAHA. Now if you guys know me... I have a funny license plate too (picture of my truck with my MMM MEAT plate. But I thought I would share this one... cause, ya know. It's chicken stuff. Still no eggs. But I found out it's because of the breed of chickens I got... they take a little longer... Patience....

NEWS: Police find pipe bomb stuffed inside chicken

2009-09-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

Police find pipe bomb stuffed inside chicken

Device was large enough to harm a person if it went off, Conn. cops say

SIMSBURY, Conn. - Authorities in Connecticut are wondering who stuffed a raw roasting chicken with a pipe bomb and left it on a roadside.

Simsbury police Capt. Matthew Catania says a motorist noticed the chicken Monday morning. He says the bomb was large enough to harm a person if it went off.

The road was closed while the Hartford Police Department's bomb squad came and blew up the chicken.

Nobody was injured. No arrests had been made Monday night.

What happens when an egg explodes?

2009-08-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

see for yourself...

The Chickenburger

2009-08-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, so less than a minute ago, my friend Tracey sent me a photo of where she is at this moment.

At the oldest drive-in restaurant in Canada! The Chickenburger. Check it out! It's in Nova Scotia, Canada. She took this photo on her phone.

Got BALLs

2009-08-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

So.
Dave bought some balls last night at Dicks.
Golf Balls.
I put them in the hen house in the nests.
I also put up a privacy cloth so they can feel more comfortable.
Hopefully this will get them BROODY!

Cross your fingers. We gotta git some eggs!

;)

This is how I feel about Barb the Chicken

2009-08-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

I need to buy this sign. It refers to Barb.

No eggs yet. WTF.

2009-08-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

So I either have lazy hens (if one's lazy, they're all lazy) or they are not comfy about their nesting areas.

This weekend, I will put golf balls in their nests for them to sit on and block off their nesting dorms to give them more privacy. I can't believe I don't have any yet. So disappointing. My sister-in-law has 10 hens and in 4 weeks, they have pooped out 162 eggs. I have major egg envy.

If these birds aren't going to lay, they are going to be dinner. haha.

So I will leave you with this funny video... interesting how chickens leave their head in one position no matter how they move.

Classical Chicken with Gonzo the Muppet

2009-08-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

I have always been a fan of the muppets... this one brought a smile to my face. Watch it here:
BOCK BOCK!

A Real Treat

2009-08-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

Chickens love treats.

This right here is cucumber, celery, shredded cheese and mealworms.The mealworms are high in protein and are great to give during the nesting season. Dee-lish! The big bowl is for Barb, Betty, Jimmy and Ronald Reagan. The small dish is for Sookie, who is still living by herself in the HUGE fenced in garden. This weekend, we plan to get Jimmy in there with her so she's not alone.

Sookie: CHICKEN ON VIDEO!

2009-08-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hey... thought it would be cool for people to see Sookie in live action. Check out the small clip. It's tiny... but I never posted a video before... so let's see how this works.

Thanks!

All the hens at 17 weeks

2009-07-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

I took these last night.

In the one photo you can see the three nesting dens.
Empty and soon to be full of eggs soon! Well, I hope. ;)

One picture is of the coop with the 4 hens and the other picture is Sookies blue/gray den and her area.

Sookie (yellow like Ronald Reagan) is in the garden area fenced in outside
Betty is a mix of red and black
Jimmy has a red head
Barb has a black head
Ronald Reagan is yellow

How to Pick Fresh Eggs: Consumer Reports

2009-07-29T07:28:00.001-07:00

Just found this article in Consumer Reports on How to Pick Fresh Eggs.

Lonely Chicken?

2009-07-29T06:59:00.001-07:00

So this morning, I went out to check on Sookie.

She was just standing in the rain.

;( This makes me sad.

I felt her crop and it has food in it, but it should be fuller. She's not eating enough. I think she may be stressed out.

Sooooo, I think I may put Jimmy in there with her.

She's the smallest of the beasts, besides Sookie.

I was reading that doing something like this may be the best bet.

To be continued.

(cute photo)

The coop

2009-07-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

This is where they live!

I bought the coop online at Green Chicken Coop.

Sookie, our tame chicken

2009-07-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

Sookie is pretty tame. I guess she better be, since we nursed her back to health... $250 bucks later! Hopefully she will lay some golden eggs.

All the chickens are due to start laying this weekend. SO EXCITED!

Can't wait for our first organic fresh eggs!

Will Sookie be accepted back into the flock?

2009-07-28T09:18:00.000-07:00

Sookie was out sick.

So this is the story.

One day, (about 3 weeks ago) I was out in the yard and found Sookie in the coop, immobile and panting on the grass.

I grabbed our pet taxi and rushed her to the Avain vet (the bird doctor).

There we met with Dr. Mohan. See picture.

The vet weighed her. Asked how old she was (3 months) and said that a bird her age should weigh closer to 3 pounds. Well, Sookie weighed less than a half pound. Yikes!

He did some throat cultures on her.

Checked her crop and said that it had SOME food in it but she felt VERY ill.

He gave her all kinds of shots and medicine. He gave us shots to give her, drops to give her and a feeding tube with food to mash up and give her. WOW.

$250.00 later, we got home and placed her in a box in the house with a heat lamp and just prayed that she would pull through.

We woke up the next morning and she was laying flat with her head in her water dish. Oh no. Not a good sign. Her feet were paralyzed also. Which is common in sick birds.

My husband thought we should stop her suffering and put her out of her misery. She looked just about dead. TERRIBLE.

But, we figured, we got the meds and stuff... let's go to work and see how she is when we get home.

We got home. She had her head up. SWEET! AND, she took her meds, ate some cucumber bits and looked a tad bit more alive.

So we waited. Went to bed. Got up and she was sitting up a little better. She drank water and ate food... and we pumped food into her stomach the night before, gave her her shots and meds.

As days passed, Sookie began to get better, slowly but everyday was better.

The results came back and she had a bacteria in her throat. Klebsiella.

I called the doctor, asked when she would stand up. And he said, if she's eating and drinking, she will stand soon. Just keep her from the rest of the flock for a couple weeks.

Sooooo, Sookie is all better. I will post a picture of her. She's become very tame and pet-like. However, when we introduced her back to the flock, her sisters, they did NOT accept her. We tried to put her in at night like I have been reading about... but no luck. Barb is a bitch and Ronald Reagan teams up to peck at her.

The pecking order is in full order.

So today, Sookie is hanging out in my fenced in garden. We will see how she does there for now.

Yeah Sookie!

"Henbag" chicken purse

2009-07-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

Check this out!

Have you heard about the chicken purse that's causing a ruckus amongst fashionistas? This is it! Just google "hen bag" or "chicken purse" and see for yourself. Blog posts and opinions abound. One thing's for sure: it makes a statement!

http://www.mypetchicken.com/Chickenwear-Henbag_chicken_purse-P647.aspx

Today is the day I start a blog about my peeps

2009-07-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

So yeah, I have 5 laying hens:

Barb

Betty

Jimmy

Sookie

Ronald Reagan

They are 3 months old.

I bought them from Meyer Hatchery:

http://www.meyerhatchery.com/

They are Ameraucana Standard females. I paid $2.70 each.

They were sent to my house via UPS. Unreal, huh?

So I picked this breed for their temperment, egg color and well, they just seem to be an all around good egg laying bird for a hobby farmer like myself.

This is their description:

Colored Egg Layer. These birds are excellent layers and produce eggs that range from olive green to turquise blue. This hardy breed was developed in the U.S. in the 1970's using Araucana birds from South America. Like their eggs, they come in as assortment of colors. They are favored for their eggs, but are large enough to be used for meat. Average mature weight: roosters 5 lbs, hens 4 lbs.

So... let me get this blog thing set up before I start writing a ton of stuff already!

;)

Cheers,

Jamie