Growing Pains

One afternoon not so long ago I gazed out at my chickens happily roaming their enclosure and I felt that I had got it right. No aggression, the grass, if not thriving at least surviving in the outer run, no one pacing the perimeter looking for greener pastures. Ahhh.......

Then Clucky went broody and I figured having a hen raise a couple of chicks wouldn’t be that hard. And now my numbers have doubled (although luckily Zen has broken and Rachel decided it wasn’t a good idea anyway, so hopefully we’re done for the year). To accommodate this, and other eventualities, I ordered two small A-frame coops and another strand of electric fence. All the components are here, but lots of work will be required to get it all set up, and honestly, just getting the spa together has taken all summer (and while now workable, it has yet to be completed). My vision is to add the fence to the existing one to double the enclosure space during the summers and remove it in the winter (when the chickens are more coop-bound anyway) to allow access to the propane tank. I have one A-frame set next to the main coop and the dog kennel will be attached to it next to, but separate from, the inner compound. This will be for broody hens and birds that are part of the flock but need to be kept separate. The other A-frame is in the back corner of the yard, and this will be used with the spa whenever I have an ill or quarantined bird. Meanwhile, the spa can be used for its intended purpose which is to move around the yard and provide greens and a diversion for whomever I put in there.

Last Saturday morning I was out in the run with the babies and noticed that Buckthorn, one of the little Barnevelders, looked slightly droopy. All the others were running around, but he was sleeping. After a bit, he came to and ran to the others, so I stopped worrying. The next afternoon, we arrived home to find him suffering from bloody diarrhea and his neck pecked bare by his siblings. I put him in the brooder on the porch and treated his wounds with Blu-Kote (it is and it does--I still have it on my hands), and his coccidiosis with medicated chick starter and neomycin in his water. He seemed pretty miserable after the Koting (which must really sting), and I worried that he might not make it through the night. He survived but he hasn’t exactly bounced back. He seems less ill though so I slipped him under Clucky with the rest of the chicks last night, and all are spending the day in the spa. He isn’t being overtly picked on (he’s still pretty blue), but he stands out from the rest as being mopey. He’ll be going back into the brooder tonight.

The rest of the kids are enjoying their vacation from the desert of dirt and wood shavings that is the inner compound. None of them are tame--Clucky’s been a good mom and I have been too busy these last couple of weeks to spend any time with them. I also had to spend the first few weeks wrangling them back inside the coop every night, first when Clucky decided to have them all sleep outside with her, and then later when she started going into the coop for the night with some of the chicks leaving the rest, unable to comprehend the ramp, to scream outside. Now they can all negotiate the ramp, but I’m viewed as big trouble! It was quite the rodeo this morning trying to get them into the spa.

They’ve all been named and now since Bucky’s misfortune I can also tell them all apart! Gender is still a mystery, although I feel Hazel here is definitely a boy. He’s a hulk, noticeably bigger and heavier than the rest and he stands very upright. He had the gall to bite me a few days ago when I was wrangling him inside for the night. He’s one of the Wyandottes--not the blue-laced red that I ordered, but a gold-laced. Blue does not breed true, and two blue-laced parents will produce 50% blue-laced, 25% gold-laced (the lacing is black), and 25% splash (mostly white)-laced which is what I think Dandelion is. If Hazel and Dandelion end up being male and female, I could breed them together and end up with all blue-laced--a consideration for later! Dandelion was initially the runt of the group, but just in my short time with them this morning, has shown himself to be the most fearless of the bunch--at least of me. He was happy to approach me more closely than the rest even though I came without treats.

The two lavender Orpingtons are very similar except in size. Silver’s the bigger of the two and Blackberry’s the smaller one with the puff of a tail. Silver’s showing the most interest in pecking at Bucky’s neck, but not really in an aggressive way.

Acorn is the other Barnevelder. She seems shy and quiet. The breed is known for docility and if either one of these two end up being roosters, he would be the one I would consider keeping as a back-up for Finn (or a replacement if Finn continues on his feisty trajectory).

Holly is a speckled Sussex, the offspring of Finn and Rachel. He was from one of the two “safety eggs” I set under Clucky just to make sure something would hatch if the other eggs didn’t survive the transport. Shows what I know--the other Sussex egg didn’t hatch! Already outgoing like his parents, Holly is very fast. He was the last one I was able to round up this morning. If he ends up being a she, I’ve promised her to Nancy who only ended up with two Sussex pullets out of six from our original order, and has recently lost one of these.

So I’m feeling stressed, but all is basically well. I’m not happy about having to maintain three separate groups of chickens, but I’m working out the logistics. Once all the enclosures have been finished, it will go more smoothly.