Sept. 3, 2012

Kiwi

At 6 weeks, the Araucana babies are all alive and thriving.  Gender is becoming apparent for some of them:  Kiwi and Raven are certainly male, and I think Oriole is too.  Some colors are obvious to me, but others aren’t.  The genetics behind the different colors is challenging too.  Five of them were striped as chicks which indicates they are wild type (e+) based, but they are all so different from each other that it’s still a puzzle.

Raven

Oriole and Wren 

Oriole, who started out with brick red and black down, is now feathered in a dark wild type pattern with a lighter pattern on his breast.  His light, patterned tuft contrasts nicely with his darker body.  His breeder has indicated that he was produced from a black x black-breasted red cross, so we shall see what he becomes.

Oriole at 3 weeks

Kestrel

Kestrel, who started out with dark stripes on a rufous background has turned beautifully golden.  The breeder says this one is black-breasted red, but I’m not so sure--the color looks more buff to me.  Unfortunately, Kestrel has several strikes against becoming a breeding bird, with his clean face, short back and yellow legs.

Kestrel and Bunting

The black chicks lingered on Craig’s List long enough for Jet and Onyx to start crowing.  I set them up with Ebony in the new mobile coop because they were starting to chase poor Coral and the older hens around.  It seemed there was always a commotion surrounding them, and after they were moved, things did quiet down a lot.

Ebony, Jet, and Onyx

They spent one day happily enough in their new quarters, showing off for the hens spending the day in the spa while I worked on the fence.  That evening, one by one, they flew over their fence to go back to the main coop.  Next time I try this, wings will be clipped!  By the next day all 4 were sold, destined to become urban chickens, crowing notwithstanding.  I offered to take them back if there were problems, but apparently all is well.

Meanwhile, Clucky has become broody once more, so at the risk of becoming truly overcrowded, I have ordered 6 more Araucana eggs from another bloodline to arrive this week.

They're Here!

While we were waiting for the Araucanas to hatch, we did indeed fit the extra A-frame coop with wheel casters.

Not getting any safer!

A day early, the hatch began.  After reading at length about the perils of shipping eggs and poor Araucana hatches in general, I was really hoping at least 2 of the 22 eggs would hatch (to break the broodies and so each baby would have a sibling for company).

As usual with all things chicken, I have been lucky.  Eleven eggs hatched!  Of the ones that didn’t, about half seemed infertile based on sloshing sounds inside and the rest seemed to have died late in incubation, caused by the lethal tufted gene.  I didn’t have the stomach to open any up after the hatch, and I never candled them either during the incubation, preferring to let the hens do their thing undisturbed.

I have a rainbow of chicks!  I’ve spent all week working on sorting them all out and naming them.  I’m trying to hand tame them to the degree that the hens will let me.  I’m bribing them with dried meal worm treats which have been a big hit!

Kiwi here has come by his/her name honestly.  And despite the miserable pose, this chick is the one closest to the ideal, with a tiny tuft on each cheek and no tail.  Another chick, Oriole, has a single tuft, and they’re the only ones I think.  I only see one, Dove, with an obvious tail.

We’re not out of the woods yet.  After I had purchased the eggs, I found that Araucana chicks tend to be fragile, with some post-hatch mortality conferred by even one copy of the tufted gene.  They’re also highly prone to Marek’s disease, and apparently suffer from inbreeding depression from a limited gene pool.  My thoughts are to just treat them like I have all my other chicks and let the hens raise them with the flock.  Anything I raise here has to be able to thrive under my conditions.  They all seem quite vigorous so far.

While I sure didn’t plan on hatching 11, my plan is to keep them all until they get their mature feathering when I’ll know their genders and colors.  Then I’ll come up with a breeding plan.

Meanwhile, Goldi, then Clucky weaned the black chicks, so I posted them on Craig’s List today.  Jet, Onyx, and Ebony all ended up being boys, and Jet especially is masculine, chunky, and beautifully iridescent.

A New Direction

It’s been an eventful summer thus far.  Goldi and Clucky hatched out four beautiful black chicks in early June.  I had tried to only set the lavender Orpington eggs, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to see.  All the chicks thus far have resembled the mother rather than Finn, but I suspect (not knowing poultry color genetics well) black must hide under his mahogany speckled pattern to produce these babies.  One of them does have some lavender down.  They are named Coral, Ebony, Jet, and Onyx, but I confess to not being able to tell them apart.  The moms keep them so well under cover, I can barely get a glimpse of all four at once--its just like watching wild birds.  I think of them collectively as “The Blacks!”

Just a few days after they hatched out, I had to go out of town for a couple of nights.  Last year I was able to leave the compound door open whenever I was gone and all was well, so aside from recharging the fence battery and making sure everyone had enough food and water I wasn’t too concerned.  I came back to a disaster.  Dan and Puppis were outside the electric fence and Ann and Colter were missing.  Upon scouting around, I found plentiful raccoon scat inside the fence and also inside the coop right in the nestbox where these young birds still slept.  I found two small piles of feathers matching the missing birds in the wooded area of the run.  I found how the raccoon had gotten in--up a small sapling outside the run that now had a broken branch dangling inside.  And then I found that the grounding wire had come off the fence charger (probably when I replaced the battery) leaving the fence stone cold.  If I had tested the fence before I left, I would have caught it.  A hard lesson.

Dan and Puppis went happily back into the run when I opened the fence for them, so my main concern was that the raccoon might still be inside the fence invisible up in the thick canopy in the wooded section.  I checked carefully and made sure that I was out at dusk to catch him coming down.  I never saw him, but was faced with a new problem.  Dan and Puppis were frantically pacing the fence, thrusting themselves under Flicka (who raised them), peeping in their maturing voices, terrified.  I caught Dan as he prepared to launch himself over the fence, and meanwhile Puppis burst through the (uncharged, since I was inside) fence mesh and into the thick weeds.  I put Dan in the coop, and hunted for Puppis, but she was gone.  She didn’t return in the morning, and a few days later, I ran across a pile of her feathers too.  Dan continued to be frightened at dusk and it was a good week before he willingly entered the coop again at night.

That same night, I decided Goldi, Clucky, and the new chicks would be safer in the main coop than in the broody suite (with it’s unsecured next box lid).  As soon as it got dark, I moved them in, locked down the coop, and made sure the fence was smoking.  Lesson learned!

After he settled down, it became apparent that Dan was lonely.  I’ve seen that until maturity and beyond, chickens hang out with their age groups.  Without his siblings, Dan was really at loose ends.  The older hens wouldn’t have him, so he tried to join the moms and new babies.  They weren’t thrilled with him either, so he skulked around just beyond their reach.  He idled on Craig’s List until I was thinking I would have to offer him for free and then he would certainly be dinner.  Just a few days ago, I finally got an offer.  Dan got to go be the rooster and hawk guardian for 11 pullets his age.  He will be a king!  And he got to keep his name too since the buyer’s son’s name is Daniel!

As this summer’s record heat ramped up, Flicka went right back to broodiness followed promptly by Zen.  These two hens shared chicks successfully last year, so I didn’t hesitate to put them together, but with Dan lingering unsold and unloved I was getting concerned about the number of “mutt” chicks I was producing.  I’m still not comfortable raising boys destined to go straight to someone’s table, so I redoubled my effort to find local pure-bred hatching eggs.  I found some people who raise Buckeyes, but they were located in Dayton (quite a drive), and while Buckeyes are a nice breed, they don’t really “call” me.  Last year I had thought I would concentrate on Orpingtons--I really love my broody hatchery buffs, but the lavenders, who are much closer to the standard are really suffering in the heat in their fluffy layers.  And honestly, even when they’re comfortable, they do just sort of sit around.

So I bit the bullet, set up a Paypal account, and went hunting for hatching eggs online despite all the obvious perils (not to mention expense!) of shipping.  I found an ad for true Araucanas and that was it.  This breed is derived  from a combination of two Chilean chicken races.  In the US, they are ideally rumpless, ear-tufted, and lay blue eggs.  They come in only a few standard colors, but I soon found that it’s so hard to get rumpless birds with tufts (neither trait breeds absolutely true, and the tufted trait is lethal when inherited in two doses), breeding for color tends to be secondary with beautiful, unpredictable results.

I was smitten with this breed because it seems to be the closest thing to the rumpless birds I worked with at Hiram.  I’m not sure what breed those were--maybe just bantam Easter Eggers, but they were all colors of the chicken rainbow, bearded, muffed, rumpless of course, and laid colored eggs.  Araucanas will suit me now because they will be individually identifiable from a distance (without bands), they are reputed to be friendly, fearless, and inquisitive, they have normal feathering so they won’t bake in the summer, a small pea comb that won’t freeze in the winter, and fertility issues apart from the lethal gene limiting the hatch rate.  I still don’t want a large number of birds here, so if my broodies only hatch out a few at a time, that would be ideal.

So I placed my order and received 22 (!) eggs safely in the mail.  I slipped them under Flicka and Zen and now we wait.  They came without a guarantee of course.  Shipping eggs is always a risk, the weather has been brutally hot, and there are the issues specific to Araucanas.  I hope I get at least one though so the hens won’t have to go through another round.

This started out as a hunt only to find pure-bred eggs so I could more easily sell the chicks, but my wheels are really turning now as I count them, still unhatched.  I have an extra A-frame coop that I haven’t used as yet.  I have a vision of putting it on wheels and getting another string of fence and a charger.  I could probably keep about 4 Araucanas in there (they’re much smaller than my current chickens--the roosters mature at a pound lighter than little Belle) and move them around the yard.  I’ll keep my current mature chickens of course (“the Blacks” will be sold after they’re weaned--probably pretty readily since they carry lavender).  They’re my pets, and what a terrible thing it would be to sell them off now just when their productivity is waning, but I’m thinking that any new ones I add will be Araucanas.

Broody Spring

After a very mild winter with no losses other than the grass in the run, spring came on suddenly with 90 degree temperatures in March.  Clucky responded with immediate broodiness, and as soon as I was sure of her I set her on some eggs in the broody suite.  Within the week, Flicka had followed suit.  I spilt the eggs and set up both hens in the adjacent nest boxes.  A couple of days later I came home from work to find Clucky pacing frantically inside the broody run and all the eggs under Flicka.  Flicka had actually stolen Clucky’s eggs!  The nest boxes are right next to each other, but there is a wall between them.  She must have carried them under her wings.  I have never heard of such a thing!  At any rate, Flicka had laid her claim, and Clucky had broken so I returned her to the main flock.

Puppis and Flicka

In mid-April, Dan, Ann, Colter and Puppis hatched.  Dan and Ann are Sussex-Orpington mixes, Colter is Zen’s and Puppis is Bucky’s.  Flicka mothered them for exactly 6 weeks before returning to the roost at night, and the chicks are now posted for sale on Craig’s List.

Colter and Ann

Goldi went broody early on in Flicka’s incubation.  I wasn’t about to disrupt Flicka again, so I let Goldi hang.  Once Flicka and chicks went out to the main enclosure, I moved Goldi into the suite.  The evening I did this, Clucky went back to broodiness and this time the two broodies are getting along well.  The next batch of chicks is due on June 20.

I had reduced the run to one length of fence over the winter, and decided to run it into the woods this year to spare my lawn.  We mowed a path and I spent a morning in freezing rain placing the fence, only to realize the next day that the small cherry grove within it was highly toxic.  I found out that 2 ounces of wilted leaves can kill a horse, so I thought an experimental taste might do in a chicken.  I then spent another morning moving the fence back to the yard.

RIP Bucky

After I did this, I released the chickens from the compound and noticed Bucky was sneezing constantly.  This did not bode well and I tried to catch her to separate her from the others.  She wouldn’t be caught so I decided to get her off the roost that night.  By that afternoon, she had stopped sneezing and I never heard it again.  About two weeks later I came home to find her dead under the roost.  It’s a mystery--she seemed well, was bright-eyed, shiny-feathered, and her crop was full.  The picture above was taken about a month before she died.  She had been a sickly chick and was pretty low on the pecking order, but her death came as a shock.

After a month or so of chickens scratching outside my window and dealing with my burgeoning allergies, I decided to move the fence again to the woods on the opposite side of the coop which are largely cherry-free.  This was done in the heat on Memorial Day weekend and it was hard work to clear a path through the now-lush undergrowth.  I’m still leery of predators trying to brave the fence in its new location, but so far, so good.

Dan

December 3, 2011

Winter approaches, but we haven’t had any significant cold or any snow at all as yet. The days have shortened enough so I seldom see the chickens in the daylight during the week. We took down the second length of fence so the propane tank can be accessed, but moved Steve’s latest hawk guard “contrapulation” over so the chickens can have an extra playground.

Today Silver naps on top of it in the morning sun. They seem to have accepted the reduction in their space, but I have been seeing more aggression from the (molting, grumpy) older hens toward the pullets too. The pullets try to stay out of range, but they all look splendid so I’m not too worried about them.

Bucky has beautiful plumage, but has been left with an odd tuft of feathers on her neck which I assume was caused by her earlier pecking injuries. I hope she loses it with her molt.

They’re not laying yet with the short days, but they’re 23 weeks old so they could start any time. Holly especially has taken on a mature look.

The “mommies,” Flicka and Zen have recovered nicely from motherhood and their light molt and Flicka’s back to laying again.

Finn has beautiful new plumage too, and is looking especially well.

Here a molting Rachel “kisses” him. I don’t know what this behavior is. She approaches and nibbles him lightly around his beak and he just stands still with his head raised and lets her. She has done it since Finn’s first day here, but I’ve never seen from any of the other hens. It seems sweet--a grooming gesture if not an actual kiss!

The Chicken Show

In the fall of my sophomore year at college, after I had been working with the chickens at the bio station for a year, Prof gave my friend Frank and me $100 and sent us off to buy some chickens at the Ohio National poultry show. I was without a car in college, so even the prospect of a road-trip was exciting. We drove the two hours down to Columbus listening to the “Flashdance” soundtrack.

In my year with the chickens I had learned a lot about their care and I had gotten to know about the various breeds that we kept. We had a good variety, from the common egg-laying Leghorns to the unusual, naked-necked Turkens and the top-knotted Polish. There were game breeds too--Aseels and bantam Old English games, so I had worked with a lot of different breeds (but curiously none of the ones I keep now).

Silkie

The poultry show opened my eyes. In the huge, chilly hall were hundreds of caged chickens, the roosters creating a din that had to be shouted over, the dusty air smelling of chickens. I was instantly smitten with the fluffy poodle-like Silkies (in those days coming only in black or white) and also the rainbow of modern games, their long skinny legs lending them a stilt-like quality; they looked more like shorebirds than chickens. There were broad, double-breasted bantam Cornish and well, giant Jersey Giants.

Bantam modern game

Our $100 went pretty far that day. We came home with Silkies, a trio of bantam blue rocks, birchen modern games, and white-crested Polish bantams. We rounded up boxes at the show for transport, but I remember that some of our new chickens had to ride the two hours home in paper bags!

Polish

Over the years I returned from time to time; I ended up living in central Ohio after I was done with school, so it was never much of a drive. Every time I went, especially after I had my house in the country, I’d spend the next few weeks dreaming and planning for chickens until the business of the holiday season distracted me. But always, in late fall, my thoughts turned to chickens.

Last year I went to the show for the first time in many years when my new chicks were only 2 weeks old. As I walked from the parking lot, the noise and smell hitting me, exhibitors unloading chickens in wooden cages from the backs of pickups, the decades fell away and it was like I was in college again. Only this time I had chickens of my own.

Shamo

Yesterday I went again, determined not to buy any since my flock is finally down to a comfortable size. I didn’t get any, but this time I was stopped in my tracks by the Shamos. You can’t doubt the T. rex-chicken connection after you’ve been stared down by one of these! I was also drawn to the Sicilian buttercups with their antler-combs. Neither of these breeds would thrive in my unheated coop, but they are striking birds.

Buttercup

Birthday chickens

Finn, of course

A year ago I ventured out to the post office before dawn on a snowy, windy morning and brought home my first chicks. This first year has been quite an adventure, but a successful one: there have been no losses.

The birthday chickens are looking a little rough right now. It’s the right time of the year for molting, but they’re too young for it. Chickens molt at 18 months of age, which is in the fall if they’ve been hatched in the spring like most are. I’ve been finding a lot of loose feathers, but Belle is the only one who seems really committed to the molt. Adding protein to the diet is usually recommended to help ease them through the process, but they’ve been eating chick starter since Elizabeth and Mario were hatched, so they’re getting plenty of protein.

Belle, a little worse for wear

Goldi, with pumpkin treat

Clucky wondering if it’s really a treat

Rachel digging in with Clucky

I’ve been struggling with the decision of whether and when to sell the young birds. The grass is showing some wear and their space will be halved when I take down the extra fencing (which I need to do before the ground freezes so the propane tank can be filled later this winter). There are three social groups at present based on age--the older hens without babies and Finn, Clucky’s four pullets, and Flicka and Zen who are still in mommy-mode with Mario and Elizabeth. At ten weeks the moms are looking worn out and are showing no signs of cutting the cord.

Flicka after 10 weeks of motherhood

Zen, looking worn out too

Elizabeth

After selling both males and Acorn from Clucky’s brood, I am still left with four pullets. Mario does have to go, but I was worried that since he’s a mixed breed there wouldn’t be any takers unless I offered him for free. So I finally decided that I would sell both Mario and Elizabeth and offer a deal if someone would buy both of them. Within an hour of posting them on Craig’s List I had a taker.

Mario

I went out before dawn yesterday morning to wrangle the babies. I had decided to put them in the kennel until the buyer arrived in the afternoon so they could have some contact with Flicka and Zen, and the moms wouldn’t be tempted to try to fly out to them. Even though the moms were once hand-tamed, I have not handled the babies and they are pretty wild. It was a rodeo even in the dark. I was able to get Elizabeth pretty easily, but then I had to trap Mario in the corner under the roost and while he yelled, Finn crowed, and Zen attacked me. When I had to catch them later in the afternoon it was even worse because everybody knew what was up. Next time I do this, I’ll try to tame them a little beforehand and wait to sell until the babies are weaned. Although it was a stressful day for everyone, they are lucky birds because they are going to be pets in their new home.