Chicken 201…

The Feed Yard Foodie family entered the realm of Chicken 201 this spring as we started our second flock of Rhode Island Red laying hens. After four years, the first flock suffered “laying fatigue” so it was time to replenish with young birds. The plan was to start all six chicks at once — After a cat defugalty, we ended up with two sets of three birds each about 3 weeks apart in age.

The first set of three grew too big for the horse water tank that we start the chicks in, so we spent some time Easter afternoon preparing the coop and moving the larger hens out of the chicken crib and into the big kid house…The smaller set will remain in the chicken crib for a few more weeks while they grow and become better able to keep themselves warm.

My favorite farmer has been fighting a nasty fever virus, but he cowboyed up and helped to fix a few things in the run. He seems to be pretty susceptible to the requests of his girls 😉 One of the things that I like most about the chicks is the projects that they make for Matt and the girls to do together. While on a smaller scale, they are similar to the cattle handling projects that the girls and I share.

Ashley Grace is currently teaching the hens how to leave and re-enter the coop so that they can enjoy the sun, food and water that we put out in the run. It is highly entertaining! We are looking forward to having a constant supply of eggs again.

Grandma spent the Easter weekend visiting from Florida. She got to play farmer a bit between the cattle at the pasture and the chick project at home.

Easter blessings from our family to yours!

Equal Opportunity Barnyard Supporters…

Since we missed “Thoughtful Thursday”, instead you get a Friday update on the chickens from my favorite teenager…

As you all know, the Burkholder Family gained five new members at the start of the summer. Ten weeks later, they are no longer tiny, fluffy balls that fit in the palm of my hand: the “ChickiDees” are formidable feathered friends.

“Sliding” down the ramp…

Although they were reluctant at first, the Burkholder chickens spend the great majority of their day in the the fenced in run, aka “The Forest”. Their hobbies include playing Hide and Seek in the tall weeds, squawking over the food dish, and pecking the hand that feeds them.

Juliet has also expressed an interest in becoming dog food. (A few weeks ago she was almost eaten when Shellie grabbed her from the coop and ran around a bit. Apart from being completely traumatized for a few days, she was perfectly unharmed.)

“Shellie”

Their favorite color is alfalfa dust green, as they have been known to eat the dust off the top of the food. They also enjoy cherries, and, to my disbelief, squash and other vegetables from the garden.

Our four barn cats showed quite a bit of interest in the coop during its building phase, and you will be pleased to know that the interest has not waned. The yellow cats especially, Simba and Little Bit, take great pleasure in spending their leisure sitting outside of the run. Simba also likes to climb on top of the run and peer down at his imagined entree. The chickens have eventually become desensitized to this behavior, and it is now a game to mock the cats.

All in all, I believe the chickens have transitioned into their place at Casa de Loca, and like all of our animals, have truly found The Good Life. They are rapidly growing on my own special diet of alafalfa dust, vegetable scraps, 5 Seconds of Summer music, and The Fault in Our Stars quotes.  The last ones definitely have the greatest effect……

Author Extraordinaire: Ashley Grace