Ended Official BYC Mini Contest #2 - Tell us your best chicken story and you c

[sumi]

WINNERS ANNOUNCED post #142

This contest is brought to you by our BYC Sponsors
(click to view & support them)

​

If you think back over your time as chicken owner, what event/story stands out for you? What was the funniest, or most heartwarming, or just quite unbelievable thing that happened with you and your chickens? We would like to hear you all's best chicken stories and...

The three best entries will each win a 2017 BYC Calendar!

How to enter:

Reply to this thread and tell us your best chicken story. We're looking for funny, heartwarming, or out-of-the-ordinary stories and only one per member, so give us your best one.

RULES:

1. All entries must be submitted as a reply to this thread.
2. Only one entry/story per member will be accepted.
3. The three best entries will each win a 2017 BYC Calendar
4. Have fun!

We will be accepting entries until Sunday the 11th of December

If you would like a calendar, without entering the contest, please see how to purchase one HERE​

 

[ChickenGoesRuff]

Four weeks ago, during a cold snap, one of my hens, Sweetie-the-not-so-sweet, hatched out 5 baby chicks and was moved into the designated broody coop. However, while she got the message to sit on eggs and protect anything under her from intruders, she missed the memo on caring for her babies and not attacking them as intruders. Two days later, she was still not caring for her now three little babies and literally flew the coop to rejoin the flock. Neither of my other broody hens would adopt the chicks, so into the barn went the heat lamp and baby chicks. A few days later, the power shorted and the water overflowed. It was three in the morning, when I had a nightmare that all my baby chicks were dead. I couldn't shake the dream and so I did what any chicken lover would do. I jumped out of bed and ran out to the barn to find my three little babies, soaked and shivering. It was the coldest night that month, I didn't have an extra heat lamp, and the power still wasn't working. With the mental capacity of a few hour's sleep, I took all three fuzzballs, placed them inside an old infinity scarf, and went back to bed with the chicks snuggled nice and warm. When I woke up, I couldn't quite remember all what had happened, but found that all of them were sleeping peacefully next to me. Later that day, with the heat lamp back on, and the water fount drip-free, the chicks went back into the brooder. All was back to normal the next day, except that the smallest one, a tiny thing I never thought would even survive hatching, began to flap and climb the wire walls of the brooder to jump on my shoulder and preen herself by my ear. Now, every time I go out there, Fennway chirrups, flaps up, and even tries to preen my hair from atop her new "adoptive" mama.

 

[Lucky Lemon]

The first Fall that I had my chickens, I had started letting them free range during the day. I had a friend over doing some work with her husband on a clubhouse project in my backyard. She left that afternoon about 1 and went about her day. As she was driving back to her house (45 or so miles away, driving 70 MPH) she noticed a sound coming from her car. She thought that something was broken in her engine and she couldn't pinpoint the noise. She went to the pharmacy drive-through, then to WalMart to do her weekly shopping, then she drove over to the school to wait in the car rider line to pick up her daughter. Her car was fine when she was parked. She left the school and headed home and the noise was so loud that she planned to take her car to the shop the next morning.

Meanwhile, I went outside at my house to put my hens up for the night and did my headcount and was missing one. I looked everywhere for her. She is our favorite hen and my daughter was heartbroken that we could not find her. I assumed a hawk had taken her as there was no evidence of an attack.

The next morning, bright and early, I received a text from my friend with a picture of my hen. Apparently, Henny had climbed up inside the wheel hub of her jeep, and took a joy ride all over town, 45 miles away! I still do not know how she did not fall out in all of the errands that were done that day, but we are so glad she survived. My friend's husband went out that morning to check on the car, and out jumped Henny!

To further insult me, when I went to pick her up, she ran away with their dog into the woods and would not come to me. It took two weeks, her living with their dog in the woods, before we were able to catch her and bring her home!

My friend won't park her jeep in my yard when she visits now!

 

[BullChick]

It was Mother's Day weekend, and I had six chicks at home. Only a few weeks into chicken keeping, and I was ready for more! DH and I rode the motorcycle to the chicken swap. I was just looking.
I saw a small cage on the ground crammed with chickens. They couldn't even move. I was horrified! I moved on, whispering to my husband that I knew I was just looking, but... Someone had to save the poor things! Maybe just two to make a little room for the others. "How will we get them home?" "We can call a friend." He grimaced at me, and I gave up.
As we were going back down the isle, we came to the cage. Still jammed full. Hot day, no water or food. Poor things! I looked at my husband... And then we picked two. We called a few friends, but none had the time. So we strapped the box of young chickens onto the back of the Harley, and went to another biker friend's house. They didn't believe I really had chickens in the box. Why I don't know. Doesn't everyone have chickens on their motorcycle?

 

[meltel]

HOW I BECAME THE CRAZY CHICKEN LADY

"Consuela" the lone chicken wandered up our driveway one day and never left. One day she hurt her leg. I was really upset at the salon and one of my clients could tell. I told her about Consuelas leg and how sad we were. Small world-her husband is a vet that specializes in chickens!!! He has bred and showed them his entire life! We made a trade-her salon service for his vet service and he fixed Consuela.

A couple months later disaster struck-Consuela got locked out of her coop one night and a predator got her

Again I had to go into work after finding her on the lawn that morning and bawling my eyes out. My client just so happened to be in that day again. I told her what had happened and she cried with me. She immediately texted her husband and the next thing I knew, she was telling me how sorry she was for me and that her husband wanted to give me a "special" gift. She told me about these little amazing chickens he breeds and shows called seramas and had a pair for me! I got Barry and Patty a couple days later (Barry for Bill & Sheree) and Patty (for Patterson).

I am now the proud owner of over 150 chickens of all different breeds and breeding and showing seramas at a national level! I have made about 50 new close friends and finally have a hobby that I love and am passionate about. God works in mysterious ways and even during times of trouble or sorrow He is with us always and always has a plan

 

[Chicken Girl1]

One story in my years of chicken raising I've always loved. A little over a year ago we had a hawk attack the flock, we saw it and ran out to stop it ( of course I grabbed a stick along the way

, ready to beat the brains our of any creature hurting my girls). When I reached the run all the hens had gone into the coop but one and the hawk was on her. As soon as it saw me it took off, leaving the hen. I was rushed over to the hen (afraid to see what I would find, I'm not a big fan of blood/cuts). The hen was our last Red sex-link, Bess, she wasn't moving and I took a closer look the hawk had gouged a large hole in her neck. Of course my sister, the one who wants to be a nurse, wasn't home to help. I gently placed her in a box with shavings and towels and placed her in a quiet place in our basement with food and water. I call up my sister asking her what to do then I started looking up things here (BYC). I cleaned up the wounds best I could, but we were pretty sure she was going to die. Well, slowly but surely she was getting better (we had to hand feed her with mush), though she would always lean her head towards the side she got the injury. She also showed signs of being blind in the eye on that same side. I still remember the first day she stood up and straightened our her neck and just looked at us, I was so happy! It took her a little less then a month to recover fully (she could walk straight, stand normal, and could see with both eyes!!!), she even laid a few eggs while recovering. After we integrated her back into the flock she would always try and get back into the house, it wasn't unusually to see her peeking through a window but the door when the flock was free-ranging. She would always make a soft clucking noise and run to us when we were outside. Over all she was the sweetest hen I've had (even putting up with my little brother who liked to carry her around with him everywhere and just talk to her

).

Here are some pictures of her

 

[sunflour]

Two strikes and then all Home Run's - Road Runner’s first eggs.



Road Runner, now my #1 BR hen, had some problems in learning when and where to lay eggs.

Her first attempt began in a nest box in the afternoon. But she heard me bring treats into the run. So she pranced out and down the ramp and promptly joined in at the treat tray….the first egg was laid while she was running down the ramp - and surprisingly it was unbroken.

Her second attempt was also in a nest, but at night. While all her flock mates were going to roost, she was sitting in a nest box. I thought she was just going to sleep there. Then about an hour after dark, she came out of the nest singing proudly, left the coop and went out into the run…. then she noticed that no one was around and the world was black, so she began clucking and fretting. I shined a flashlight through a coop window to show her the way. And with the speed of the Real Road Runner, she ran up the ramp into the coop and jumped onto her roost position. I was shocked to find a freshly laid egg in the nest.



After two funny beginnings, she has always made sure to lay only in the nests and during daylight. She is the only hen in my flock who still lays an egg nearly every day at almost 4 years old.


So both Road Runner and I learned our first of many lessons:

• Never lay an egg while walking, running, or after sunset.
• Never assume chickens only lay eggs in the mornings.
• Never, never disturb those who are or may be laying eggs.
• Never underestimate the value of having a Coop Cam
  

 

[Fun Chicken]

As a new chick mom, I read all I could before getting my babies home, so I knew to watch for poopy bottoms, and how to deal with them. It was all fine, except that the chickies had not read about it, and therefore were rather put out by this barberic custom. I tried my best to make it as painless as possible for both of us, and I really don't think it hurt them at all, except for their pride. In any case, before long as soon as they saw me, they ran to the other side of the brooder complaining bitterly! I was kind of heartbroken because I didn't want to be seen as a mean old lady to be feared. So I looked into it and found that by handfeeding them treats they would eventually come to trust me. I got some nice freeze-dried mealworms and started handfeeding them. At first they just looked at me like "lady, you're nuts if you think that's tempting enough to get us to come near you". So I just sprinkled them on the hay after a few minutes. Little by little, their curioisity got ghe best of them and they came and started picking them up. In no time, I was happily feading my nuggets out of my hand. But the truly special moment for me came when my largest chick,a RIR I named Scarlett (although she might be a Rhett) was next to me but she was not interested in the mealworms, so I tried petting her and she sure seemed to like that! So I kept petting her and talking to her, and she looked up at me, and I just knew she wanted me to pick her up. So I did, I held her and petted her for a few minutes and she loved that!!! So now, whenever I give the girls mealworms, I usually pet a few of them who will let me do it,but I always pet or pick up and pet Scarlett.

 

[sumi]

I love that photo in the contest intro! Sumi, wasn't that one of your chickies?

Yes

That was my little Joy… A runt chick that took weeks to hatch and then didn't want to grow. But she was a joy for the 5 months she hang in there and and she spent a lot of that time riding in pockets like that!

 

[CuzChickens]

A Rey of sunshine
Rey was a birthday present to me from my younger brother, I received Rey along with her 14 siblings (or more like, adopted siblings), eight Golden Laced Wyandotte's, and seven Partridge Plymouth Rocks, Rey being one of the Rocks. I loved those chicks, and I spoiled them. Alot.

When they were 2 weeks old (somewhere in there), I decided to make a cage in the existing coop so I could put the chicks in there so they could become acquainted with the adult birds. I put them in there and they were fine for a few days. Until Rey decided to go exploring, that is. Rey tried to slip under the wire of the poorly made chicken wire cage and proceeded to slice her back from the base of her tiny head to two thirds of the way down her little back. As she tried to get out, the wire stuck into her wing. My little sister found her, and came to get me. When I saw her she was half dead. I got the wire out of her and took her into the house, once she was out of the wire, she began to perk up a bit and start chirping.

We made an emergency trip to a friend, he was a veterinarian. He stitched up the hole in Rey's wing where the wire had stuck into her. He gave me a cream to put on her and said that she might have a chance. Ray spent the next few days alone where she could heal I put the cream on her frequently and she started to look a bit better. Since she was alone she enjoyed hanging out with people, and she would often sit on my shoulder while I walked about feeding the other chickens.

One day, I was in a hurry. I was going on a hike with some friends. I ran about feeding the animals a bit quicker than usual. When I got back into the house I put Rey in her rehabilitation pen and begin putting on my shoes. Rey wanted to be with me, so she jumped out of her pen and onto my head. My mother came in and saw me and gave me the ''what in the world am I going to do with you look''. I did not think she would say yes, but I asked my mother if I could take her with us on our hike. She said yes. I jumped into the car with Ray on my head, and paper towels, and a mason jar lid for water.

Rey happily rode on my shoulder during the hike. At the top, I tried to set her down to get some good pictures of her. Rey did not want to be away from me, so she followed me and would not let me get any good pictures of her. Oh well, I thought at least she is here. I forgot to bring food for Ray, so she ate some cherries and some sunflower seeds from the trail mix.

I had fun with her that day, and a few days later Rey and her sisters were moved out to a pen or they could eat fresh grass and enjoy the sunshine. I temporarily forgot about trying to introduce them to the other chickens.

Part 2

Rey and her sisters had a blast in the new pen. They enjoyed fresh grass, sunshine, and lots of bugs, they really enjoyed it. Ray still enjoyed it when I came out to see her and she loved it when I fed the animals because that meant she got to be alone with me.

When Rey was 10 weeks old, tragedy struck. One day I was out feeding the animals, and I looked down at the pen I saw something was amiss, so I ran down quickly. When I looked inside, 5 of the little pullets lay in a pile, dead. Rey lay off to the side with her head twisted under her neck almost dead. The rest of the chickens were happily walking around with not a care in the world.

I picked up Rey, and she lay in my hands without moving. I did not think that Rey could live through this, but after what had happened to her just 7 short weeks before, I decided to give her every chance I could. I set up a crate for her to recover in, but she just lay there. Mama said that she was in shock. I had found out that weasels suck the blood of their prey, and Rey was suffering severe blood loss.

In the days that followed, I had to feed her every little while, she could not move but when I put food and water in her mouth she would swallow. After one week of me feeding her, she began to be able to eat on her own, but I still had to feel her crop to make sure that she had enough food. After another little bit Rey was able to hold her head up better, and then, she could stand up. The next couple days, she could walk around if she leaned on something. It took her 3 weeks, but Rey was able to walk around by flapping her wings, though every now and again she would fall down.

After 4 weeks, I began putting Rey outside during the day so that she could eat grass and bugs, and hopefully get iron and protein. During the nights, I brought her inside so that she could sleep where she was safe from weasels. I had moved her sisters into the big chicken coop where they were safe from the weasels.

As Rey healed, I begin to see that things were still wrong with her. Her hip was crooked, and her wing could not tuck into her feathers like it used to be able to. I have a friend that told me she most likely fought the weasel and injured herself as the weasel held on, or that the weasel stepped on her when he was piling the other chickens up.

After 5 weeks of healing, I was finally able to turn Rey back out with the rest of the flock. After being alone for so long, she was scared of the other chickens, and wanted to be with me. But she eventually got used to them and today she still runs around with them and has gotten along with them for the most part.

A few weeks ago, I took her with me to a potluck that we had at a local brewery. Everybody loved Rey, and she became quite popular. She ate the watermelon from the fruit salad and the corn from the corn on the cob and enjoyed riding around on my shoulder and getting all the attention. As the sun went down she started to get sleepy, I set her down on the barrel, and took some pictures of her in front of the sunset she sat there until we went home. I enjoyed taking Rey places with me and I hope I can do it often. Thank you for reading my story and I hope you enjoy Rey's story as much as I have

Rey was recently featured as POW (picture of the week), and you can find pictures of my rey of sunshine here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/my-rey-of-sunshine.

Geez, and I said I was not going to enter and of these. Sigh.