I just joined because 2 chickens showed up at my place

[QueenMisha]

Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you.

 

[taogal]

Hi folks! I guess it's time for an update! My 2 itinerant chickens are still with me! I tried making some shelter options for them as winter approached but they still insisted on roosting in the trees all winter. We had a few weeks of 30 degrees with nonstop rain, then below freezing with bitter 25 mph winds.

I worried so much about these two, riding out the weather on a pine branch 30' off the ground! I did some reading about chickens in cold weather & concluded that I needed to give them a boost of fat and calories to fortify them against the cold.

So, in addition to layer feed, I gave them a cornmeal pancake every AM, made with cornmeal, egg, powdered greens and bacon grease.
They grew quite a bit, feathered out nicely, and rode out all the inclement weather in the trees.

Then two weeks ago, the rooster discovered his libido and there were some rough, awkward moments that the hen wasn't too happy about.
One day she didn't come for breakfast and I got worried. Then a couple days later she was back for breakfast and there was more unpleasantness with the rooster. She took off and I figured she had decided to move on to a rooster-free zone.

I discovered 2 days ago that she hasn't gone away--she's been hiding under a brush pile and she's laid eggs! And furthermore, she's made a nest under the brush pile and is sitting on 12 eggs!! She's very broody, so I'm scrambling (unintentional pun) to learn all about chicken maternity!

I'm not really sure when she laid these eggs, so I'm also scrambling (haha) to get some kind of coop/pen/run made. The rooster has tamed up pretty well, but the hen is still skittish about letting me get close.
But she doesn't budge when she's on her nest, so I'll probably just build some kind of temporary structure around her and her brush pile to shelter and contain any chicks, if the eggs hatch.
Then I'll concentrate on a bonafide permanent coop and fenced enclosure.

PHEW!! I have really backed my way into being a chicken rancher! Lol!

Thanks so much to all of you who welcomed me when I joined in November! I was so busy during the holidays I just didn't have time to come back to BYC! It was all I could do to keep my feral chickens fed

But it looks like I'm really in the chicken biz now, so I'll be around more.