Cloudy Days in the Coop - My Adventures with Chickens.

[thepick4uchicks]

Hi, everyone! I decided that it would be fun to share my adventures with my beloved chickens. I've had my flock for about two years, and I hope to have chickens for the rest of my life. I started keeping them thinking it would be nice to have some eggs, but I've now come to love them for being, well, chickens! I've yet to be faced with chicken math, but...I now must beware of the feed store during chick season. Last time I wandered into the chick room 'just to take a look,' I came out with six chicks in a box. But that's not chicken math...right? Anyway, I currently have eight chickens running around my yard and making me grin ear to ear every day. (I'll post each of their own 'profiles' in a bit. ) Some may say I spoil my chickens, holding umbrellas out so they can free-range without getting wet, taking them into the house on the frigid days to warm up for a bit, cooking them oatmeal, popping popcorn just for them, and decorating their coop for the seasons. Yet personally, I just find it as my way of saying 'thank you.' A thank-you for that egg in the nesting box that will make my breakfast, a thank-you for sending me rolling in laughter, a thank-you for letting me hold them when I need it...chickens are pretty awesome! And let's be honest...for me, there's no place better to be on those cloudy days to be out in the coop, with my feathered friends scratching around I'm looking forward to sharing the times I spend with my flock with you, and thanks for coming along for the ride!View attachment 2344437

Beauties

 

[thepick4uchicks]

Jasmine:
Jasmine is my Australop and is one of my original flock and is 2 years old. She was always very friendly as a chick, and is still happy to be held from time to time. Last Autumn, she was attacked by a large dog. While I managed to get to the scene before the attack could become fatal, I found that she couldn’t walk. She refused to eat for days, and only drank when I coaxed her to. While one leg seemed to work, the other wouldn’t work at all. Thinking it was dislocated, after several days I took her to a vet that would take a look at chickens. After four hours, they determined that she was most likely paralyzed. They explained that when the dog was shaking her around like a rag doll, her spine may have been severely injured. They gave me medicine after I refused to put her to sleep, telling me that it may help her. Jasmine was a fighter! After two weeks of giving her medicine, a check-up pronounced her to have nerve damage. She was always weak, but one day when I took her outside to be in the sun, she flew out of her bin to get around. That gave me hope. After several months living in the house and giving her medicine, she was hopping on one leg. By winter, I had a chicken tractor made. The ‘Chicken Infirmary.’ She spent those snowy days in there, nice and snug, and I would put her in the coop to stay warm. By spring, I began to introduce her to the flock again. One the head hen, she was now at the bottom of the flock, and still is. Amazingly, she began to use her weak leg to walk as well. Though she’s still slow in moving around, and her limp evident, she has gone a long way! Her favorite treat is mealworms and popcorn. And she loves to free range, despite her having a harder time getting around. She especially loves to dust bathe in my garden.
View attachment 2345203
View attachment 2345204

That and she and you are all AMAZING!!!!!

 

[Starburst]

Beauties

That and she and you are all AMAZING!!!!!

Oh, thanks!

 

[Starburst]

Kiki:
Kiki is my Cukoo Marans. While she’s not one for being held, she’s still one of the first ones to run up and greet me. Just recently beginning to lay, her eggs are a beautiful dark brown. She, like Minnie, is about 7 months old. She really is delightful, taking anything as a challenge she’s ready to face, be it a new treat or figuring out a way to sneak into the garden. She loves cooked oatmeal, but only gets it on special occasions. Though she’s a very brave chicken and strong chicken, she seems perfectly content being near the bottom. Thankfully, most of the others don’t seem to bother her.

As you can see, Minnie and Kiki are almost inseparable! They never seem to leave each other!

 

[ILoveBabySilkies]

Kiki:
Kiki is my Cukoo Marans. While she’s not one for being held, she’s still one of the first ones to run up and greet me. Just recently beginning to lay, her eggs are a beautiful dark brown. She, like Minnie, is about 7 months old. She really is delightful, taking anything as a challenge she’s ready to face, be it a new treat or figuring out a way to sneak into the garden. She loves cooked oatmeal, but only gets it on special occasions. Though she’s a very brave chicken and strong chicken, she seems perfectly content being near the bottom. Thankfully, most of the others don’t seem to bother her.
View attachment 2347320
View attachment 2347323
As you can see, Minnie and Kiki are almost inseparable! They never seem to leave each other!

She is adorable! I have a Cuckoo maran except it’s a cockerel! I do have a Golden cuckoo maran pullet though which I’m excited for her to start laying!

 

[Starburst]

She is adorable! I have a Cuckoo maran except it’s a cockerel! I do have a Golden cuckoo maran pullet though which I’m excited for her to start laying!

That’s awesome! You’ll have to let me know when she does start laying. Does your pullet have a name, by any chance, of which I could call her? Roosters/cockerels are pretty great, though I can’t have any where I am.

 

[Sally PB]

Jasmine looks just like one of my BAs, Middle. They are beautiful, wonderful chickens. Thank you for helping her to get well. Good job!

 

[Starburst]

Boba:
Boba is one if my Silkie Bantams. She is, hands down, my sweetest chicken of the flock. Whenever they are free-ranging and I come to call them in, I can see her fluffy head bobbing up and down as she runs as fast as she can on her little legs towards me. I brought Boba home from the feed store along with Minnie, Kiki, Mochi, (you’ll learn about her soon), and two others who ended up being roosters, which I can’t keep. Anyway, Boba is also about 7 months now, and if any of my chickens were to be a house chicken, it would be her. She’s always jumping up onto my lap and loves attention. She’s constantly bullied by some of her flock mates, but she knows that if she’s in my arms, they can’t get to her, so in my arms is where she likes to be. She started laying a few weeks ago, and lays almost every day currently. Her eggs are without a blemish, small, cream colored, and round. They’re so adorable! Boba likes to dust bathe in all the wrong places, like my herb garden. Actually, almost all of my chickens seem to prefer to dust bathe there. Any ideas why? Boba has trouble eating bigger things, even grapes can be difficult, but I’ve found that she adores corn on the cob.

 

[Starburst]

Mochi:
Mochi is my other Silkie Bantam. I’m pretty sure she’s a splash, but not positive. (I really hope she’s a pullet, not a cockerel. No eggs from her yet, but no crowing either...) Anyway, Mochi and Boba are always hanging out together. To be honest, I’ve never seen them apart except when Boba was attacked - and poor Mochi was wandering the yard, calling out for her friend. (Don’t worry, Boba is doing great. ) Mochi is a little more shy then Boba and doesn't love being held, though she’ll tolerate it. She’s friendly all the same, though. Like Boba, Kiki, and Minnie, she’s one of my younger chickens and 7 months old. As you can see, the chick in my profile picture is Mochi only a few days old. She sure was adorable back then! (And still it, of course!) I used to carry her for hours, and I would write with her sitting next to me. I find it interesting, that, the chicks I hold the most are always more shy when they're older. Your thoughts? Has this happened to you, too?
Mochi seems to love blackberries - but her face is always such a mess after eating them! She also loves to hang out by my apple tree -if apple tree is what you would call it. It’s very old, gnarly, unpruned, and infested with bugs. I guess Mochi loves the bugs and apples that fall on the ground!

 

[TwoCrows]

@Starburst you have the prettiest chickens!