Today, we had NO soft eggs. Hurray! And now two black australorps are laying. We had an amazing egg day. Eleven eggs!
My husband gave away a dozen to some family who were nearby in camp. They ate them all before they left.
Now, the black australorp hens are good sized hens. They have just begun to lay, but their eggs are not starting out as tiny as the golden comet's and cherry egger's eggs did. Instead of small sized, they are starting out almost as big as our biggest medium sized eggs are.They aren't large yet, but they have just begun.
Most pullets lay small to medium eggs starting out. Sometimes extra small!
But since the black australorp ladies (hens) are so large and wait so late to start laying, I would guess their body's are more advanced at egg making, lol.
Now here is something new to me. (Remember, this is my first time to raise chickens, so there will be many things I am still learning.)
The black australorp chicken eggs have been having a little blood on them when they are layed. So I looked this up. (This is two BA, not just one of them doing this.) My husband and I guessed that this is because the eggs aren't small, but the chickens are still newbies. That is what I found on the Internet to confirm this theory. The hens are still not as flexible as they will be, and the eggs aren't very small, so it their bodies have to get used to stretching inside. Fun for them, huh? Poor lady hens! I pray they will become flexible without being harmed quickly.
As time goes by their eggs will continue to get bigger. All of our chickens are supposed to lay nice large eggs that we bought from Cackle Hatchery.
The ones that we bought from our local feed supply store remains to be seen. And they are taking longer to mature. We are not sure where they acquired the Ameraucana chicks, so we don't really know if they are true Ameraucanas or if they are Easter Eggers.
Since they are taking so long to begin to lay, I dare say they may be the real thing. Their colors match the Ameraucana club's website. But I guess it doesn't really matter as long as one of them or both of them lay pretty, pretty eggs.
I bought them for the eye candy their eggs will be in my cartons, lol. But you know, they are wonderful hens too personality-wise. At least mine are so far. Now if they would just start laying.... but the longer they wait, the more it looks as though they are authentic for taking so long to mature inside. I heard the easter egg chickens start to lay about the time my earlier chickens began. So it's a good chance they may have actually gotten them from a genuine Ameraucana breeder. We'll see...
My other's who have yet to lay (that I know of) are our Sussex chickens. I've heard two different stories of when they should start laying as well. But they are getting to be nice sized! They are as big as our black australorp hens. While the Ameraucanas are looking like they will be about the size of our golden comets.
But the two sussex pullets and the two ameraucanas are apparently not ready. When the rooster even thinks about mating with them they absolutely refuse him, loud and clear. I am kind of glad, he is a huge black australorp and the ameraucanas are bult like jungle birds with their light frames. Especially the one we call Mrs. Owl. The other is Mrs. Hawk and she is built more like a regular hen that Mrs Owl.
Our rooster stands right on the hens when he mates. I don't even know how the golden comets and cherry eggers take his weight. One time I heard popping noises like joints popping. That made me realize he may not be able to stay. He is so cute, but he is sooo big! I'm sure he's fine for the bigger hens, but the smaller ones may not fare so well when he grows even larger. Our chickens are only twenty six and twenty seven weeks old. So Mr. Rooster is still a growing rooster!
Our Goal
To eat and provide healthier eggs that don't hurt our bodies like store bought eggs do. And better tasting eggs too! I also want to share my experiences and pass along what I find out along the way. I also pray insome way, that you are entertained or inspired, as well.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
One of our black australorps was seen laying today. I am so happy that at least one of my four BA hens has begun. They are now over 26 weeks, almost 27 weeks old now.
I am still waiting on our Ameraucanas to lay (2 of them). I can't wait to see their eggs and add them to our egg boxes.
We are getting an average of 8 eggs a day now, not counting the soft eggs and blooper eggs.
I don't think the speckled sussex chickens are laying yet either. Come on ladies, momma wants to see you lay some eggs... lol!
I am still waiting on our Ameraucanas to lay (2 of them). I can't wait to see their eggs and add them to our egg boxes.
We are getting an average of 8 eggs a day now, not counting the soft eggs and blooper eggs.
I don't think the speckled sussex chickens are laying yet either. Come on ladies, momma wants to see you lay some eggs... lol!
Too many soft (eggs without shells) eggs.
It's starting to get old. My husband goes into the chicken barn early, super early, before the sun is up early, and usually finds two soft eggs. Eggs with no shells, only a membrane surrounding the egg, have been a consistent problem for a chicken in our chicken house. And yesterday, the problem compounded, there were four of them. Grrr...!!!
I want to know which chicken is the habitual offender. From what I understand, just adding oyster shell to their diet may not do a thing. That this is an internal plumbing goof up. And that some chickens can't be "cured" of it. We have given whichever one it has usually been plenty of time to straighten out. Now we have to figure out the "who it is" part. Problem is, it happens in the night. No fair! They are already cold before my hubby gets in there. And now the chickens are eating the soft eggs. I'll add more when we find out who has the problem. There were three egg bloopers today. :(
Update: Problem solved for us! See my post called 'Chicken Eggs Without Shells (Soft Eggs) Problem Solved!'
I want to know which chicken is the habitual offender. From what I understand, just adding oyster shell to their diet may not do a thing. That this is an internal plumbing goof up. And that some chickens can't be "cured" of it. We have given whichever one it has usually been plenty of time to straighten out. Now we have to figure out the "who it is" part. Problem is, it happens in the night. No fair! They are already cold before my hubby gets in there. And now the chickens are eating the soft eggs. I'll add more when we find out who has the problem. There were three egg bloopers today. :(
Update: Problem solved for us! See my post called 'Chicken Eggs Without Shells (Soft Eggs) Problem Solved!'
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Metal Chicken Waterer's Have Handles That Won't Hang Properly
Here is your average galvanized metal chicken waterer:
I am not enlarging this picture because I don't intend on trashing ANY particular company for this, because they ALL seem to have the same handle that I have found at the stores near me.
And is the problem: You have to hang these metal waterers for them to function right. There has to be tension to pull the handle up in order for the water to keep reveling as the chickens drink the water. Okay?
But this is where the trouble begins. If you hang the waterer by the handle, there is no point or anything else to keep the chain or the rope from sliding to one side of the handle or the other. And if the waterer isn't kept level, the water starts coming right out, flooding the chicken's floor and the litter that's on it. Not good!
If we leave the lid off and just set on a raised surface, then litter and chicken poo will get in. :(
Currently, we sit ours with the lid on, on a raised surface, with a rope tied to the lid with the tension just enough to barely work. It's not hanging from the ceiling, but the rope goes up and over the inner chicken wall and is tied to something on the other side.
I am NOT happy. How many years have backyard chicken farmers been around now? Long enough for the makers of these waterers to realize there is a flaw in all of their metal chicken waterers. And yet, why don't they fix them???
Like I said, I am not singling out one company alone. This travesty of a handle is on them all.
My husband tried to bend the handle with something to make it the right shape, but he couldn't do it without risking a total break in the handle.
This isn't a cheep item to buy either. It cost us almost twenty dollars! (They are all in the $18.99 region.) If I invest in something, I should be able to expect it be functional. Please, makers of metal chicken waterers, do something to improve your handles. How come I see the correct shape of handles on metal feeders, but not on the waterers?????????? How about a handle that doesn't slide?
I am not enlarging this picture because I don't intend on trashing ANY particular company for this, because they ALL seem to have the same handle that I have found at the stores near me.
And is the problem: You have to hang these metal waterers for them to function right. There has to be tension to pull the handle up in order for the water to keep reveling as the chickens drink the water. Okay?
But this is where the trouble begins. If you hang the waterer by the handle, there is no point or anything else to keep the chain or the rope from sliding to one side of the handle or the other. And if the waterer isn't kept level, the water starts coming right out, flooding the chicken's floor and the litter that's on it. Not good!
If we leave the lid off and just set on a raised surface, then litter and chicken poo will get in. :(
Currently, we sit ours with the lid on, on a raised surface, with a rope tied to the lid with the tension just enough to barely work. It's not hanging from the ceiling, but the rope goes up and over the inner chicken wall and is tied to something on the other side.
I am NOT happy. How many years have backyard chicken farmers been around now? Long enough for the makers of these waterers to realize there is a flaw in all of their metal chicken waterers. And yet, why don't they fix them???
Like I said, I am not singling out one company alone. This travesty of a handle is on them all.
My husband tried to bend the handle with something to make it the right shape, but he couldn't do it without risking a total break in the handle.
This isn't a cheep item to buy either. It cost us almost twenty dollars! (They are all in the $18.99 region.) If I invest in something, I should be able to expect it be functional. Please, makers of metal chicken waterers, do something to improve your handles. How come I see the correct shape of handles on metal feeders, but not on the waterers?????????? How about a handle that doesn't slide?
Cherry Egger Chicken Breed
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| Cherry Egger Pullet (point of lay), twenty three weeks old |
I am writing about the breed, the Cherry Egger chicken today. Why? Because when I was choosing chicken breeds, and later wanting to know more about them, they are to scarce on the internet to satisfy my enormous curiosity!
I did find the one picture that many different hatchery sights share, apparently. Like no one has really bothered to take any pictures of their cherry eggers.
I did find a few out there, but nothing specific, just some mentions and a couple of photos.
I myself, took a chance on this little talked about breed. Why? Because I wanted to pick three breeds for my order of fifteen from Cackle Hatchery (we were very satisfied with our order since the chicks all arived alive, and only 1 chick turned out to be a roo out of fifteen, not bad!), and I chose them for the number of eggs they are projected to lay, and so they can be the pretty red chickens of our diverse flock. lol!
I also thought it would be fun to see who outlays who on eggs. All three of our varieties are brown egg layers. All three are supposed to be layers of large eggs. My husband's requirements!
So WHAT is the genetic makeup of a Cherry Egger? (They are a hybrid breed of course!) The information available states the the parents of the Cherry Eggers are Rhode Island Red roosters crossed with New Hampshire Red hens, though some say it is vice-versa. Some sights just state they are a mixture of different breeds to produce an egg production chicken. And maybe it's worded that way because a New Hampshire Red chickens were developed a long time ago by crossing Rhode Island Reds with other breeds to get their own version of a red chicken that is a good layer.
But the difference is, if you breed a New Hampshire Red with another NHR, the breed holds true. But if you breed a cherry egger with a cherry egger, you get a lesser quality mut.
They get to be a decent size chicken in the heavy breed category, but not too terribly big to where they eat you out of house and home, supposedly.
hens: seven and a half pounds
pullets: four to six pounds
roosters: nine and a half pounds
cockerals: seven to eight pounds
Wow! Heftier than I remembered!
They are supposed to be adaptable, and winter hardy. And I never found any info on if they go broody much or not. I will assume not since they were developed for laying 250 - 300 eggs a year. And I read somewhere they start laying early, at about twenty weeks old.
Now my experience so far. My five Cherry Eggers developed at the same rate as our Golden Comets, though the golden girls had more mature combs, except that is, for Little Red. We wondered if Little Red was a "Fred" because she suddenly sprouted a big red floppy comb, lol. It's cute.
Around that same time, I also noticed Little Red doesn't like to share, especially eating space. Or standing space sometimes. She is also kind of a loner when she wants to be. She doesn't mind wandering or staying without the others nearby when she is foraging. Little Red is her own chicken and says so when she needs to. But her bark (peck) is quick and short lived.
And then there's Hagatha!!! What can I say? She's mean for the fun of it. She looks for a reason to chase down a chicken and holds grudges. If there is a fight, it's usually her as the instagater. She won't make it long with us I fear. She seems like the most aggressive Rhode Island Reds I have heard tell of and wanted to avoid. Too bad. She was one of our first chickens to lay, but some are double yolkers, some are soft, and some are normal. She has on occasion layed two soft eggs or two normal eggs, or a normal and a double yolker back to back. Mostly softees though of late (eggs with no shells, just membranes and normal insides). As soon as she comes out of the chicken house, she lets some poor chicken have it. And she tries to regulate who can be inside the chicken house with her, and even then, they may still get punished. She is a psycho chicken.
Our other three Cherry Eggers can be a wee territorial, or be just fine, depending on their moods, but they are usually fine with the other chickens. And Little Red is blending in better too, since she started laying. (I was sooo relieved to see she wasn't a Fred!) I kind of am getting fond of Little Red.
Hagitha's normal egg shells are a pretty, sort of terracotta brown with red speckles on them. (You see the speckles after you wash the bloom off the egg.)
Little Red's eggshells are kind of a brown with a leaning toward a nice tan shade. So they don't ALL look alike. (There's just something manly about Little Red, lol!)
Hagatha is our lightest red Cherry Egger, and the largest, while Little Red is the deepest red with a small sleek physique (I told you she appears a roosterish, lol).
So far they are laying almost every day. I haven't caught the other three Cherry Eggers in the laying box yet. Hagitha began laying at twenty one weeks, and Little Red at twenty three weeks old.
They are now twenty five weeks along as of this blog.
Now here are the photos that contain our Cherry Eggers.
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The chicks that are more red are the Cherry Eggers. The backside view of an eight week old Cherry Egger sunning herself in her new pen. The next two photos are taken when the Cherry Eggers are seventeen and a half weeks old. The top photo shows the Cherry Eggers foraging in the center, surrounded by the speckled Sussex's and Golden Comets. The photo underneath is Hagatha, just starting to show her crazy eyes. She is in the corner with a Black Australorp pullet and an Ameraucana looking on.
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Sunday, October 14, 2012
Weather Is Changing
Here in Maine, our summers don't last long. This year is no different.
Our chickens have never seen winter yet. I already feel sorry for them. The weather has been drastically different, either rainy, cold, or both. They look so miserable that this change is happening to them. How dare it? lol.
They are trying to find out where those luscious bugs are hiding now. They are hardly anywhere to be seen.
When I let the chickens out of their pen for their four o'clock p.m. evening run, they literally DO run. It has been so windy and nippy that the girls and the rooster are grateful to run to the thickets and the tall pucker brush to do some protected scratching and pecking. I call it "toe-ing in the pucker-brush".
It was mainly rainy today. It stopped in time for their evening adventure though. But the pucker-brush was wet. So even though they had finally dried off from the earlier rain (why DO chickens insist on being out in the rain, anyway?), they had to be willing to get wet again in order to get the special rewards of what all is in there.
Meanwhile I am thinking of this winter and the chickens having to be all cooped up together in the chicken coop for long stretches. This is Maine after all.
I have been looking for ideas on how to protect our girls, and to keep them happy and healthy as well.
Let's talk about the chicken yard first. It has been suggested to make wind barriers so they CAN go outside now and then. And then of course one would need a snow barrier so that the pen won't fill up with the white stuff.
What are our choices here? Tarps and special netting to keep the snow off at least an area of ground. While we are on the ground subject, hay would be good for them to walk on, to protect our chicken's feet. From what I read, they don't like walking in the white stuff too good. And since they are bare-footing it, I can't say I blame them!
For us, a strong tarp with a wood frame, made to be higher in the middle over the yard so the snow won't cave it in, seems to be more economical for our budget than the special "netting" that is made to deflect snow, not just hawks.
As for the wind barrier along the pen's fence line, get creative and work within your budget. One thing that has been suggested is straw or hay bales stacked along the fence line. They make a nice solid wall and would deflect predators from easily digging into the pen.
I am also concerned though about the chickens getting enough vitamin D. Even humans have to take supplements for this up in our part of the world in the winter months.
I have read some insulate their chicken pens, while others say they don't, that it's not necessary if you have chicken breeds that are winter hardy, and you take care that their water doesn't freeze, etc.
Speaking of freezing water, we plan to buy a heated base to keep the water above freezing. Although I have seen that a few like keeping more than one water container for the chickens. As one freezes, they switch it our with a fresh one and bring the frozen waterer in the house to unthaw. Then they switch again. I think this would be a riskier and a more energy consuming method (human energy that is!). I'm all about safe and convenient.
Also finishing the final layers of our chicken roof, and taking care of drafts are on the important list. But I also am concerned since they say you have to have some ventilation as well to let out excess humidity and ammonia odors which is bad for their lungs.
I can see I need to study on this some more..... feel free to leave comments on your own thoughts, ideas, and solutions.
And then there are the greens they don't get in the winter. I am reading about winter wheat, and alfalfa and such. I have also read it is good to get a ball shaped cage, or a suet cage, to hold things like cabbage, lettuce, etc. so the chickens can peck at them instead of each other (hopefully, lol).
Our chickens have never seen winter yet. I already feel sorry for them. The weather has been drastically different, either rainy, cold, or both. They look so miserable that this change is happening to them. How dare it? lol.
They are trying to find out where those luscious bugs are hiding now. They are hardly anywhere to be seen.
When I let the chickens out of their pen for their four o'clock p.m. evening run, they literally DO run. It has been so windy and nippy that the girls and the rooster are grateful to run to the thickets and the tall pucker brush to do some protected scratching and pecking. I call it "toe-ing in the pucker-brush".
It was mainly rainy today. It stopped in time for their evening adventure though. But the pucker-brush was wet. So even though they had finally dried off from the earlier rain (why DO chickens insist on being out in the rain, anyway?), they had to be willing to get wet again in order to get the special rewards of what all is in there.
Meanwhile I am thinking of this winter and the chickens having to be all cooped up together in the chicken coop for long stretches. This is Maine after all.
I have been looking for ideas on how to protect our girls, and to keep them happy and healthy as well.
Let's talk about the chicken yard first. It has been suggested to make wind barriers so they CAN go outside now and then. And then of course one would need a snow barrier so that the pen won't fill up with the white stuff.
What are our choices here? Tarps and special netting to keep the snow off at least an area of ground. While we are on the ground subject, hay would be good for them to walk on, to protect our chicken's feet. From what I read, they don't like walking in the white stuff too good. And since they are bare-footing it, I can't say I blame them!
For us, a strong tarp with a wood frame, made to be higher in the middle over the yard so the snow won't cave it in, seems to be more economical for our budget than the special "netting" that is made to deflect snow, not just hawks.
As for the wind barrier along the pen's fence line, get creative and work within your budget. One thing that has been suggested is straw or hay bales stacked along the fence line. They make a nice solid wall and would deflect predators from easily digging into the pen.
I am also concerned though about the chickens getting enough vitamin D. Even humans have to take supplements for this up in our part of the world in the winter months.
I have read some insulate their chicken pens, while others say they don't, that it's not necessary if you have chicken breeds that are winter hardy, and you take care that their water doesn't freeze, etc.
Speaking of freezing water, we plan to buy a heated base to keep the water above freezing. Although I have seen that a few like keeping more than one water container for the chickens. As one freezes, they switch it our with a fresh one and bring the frozen waterer in the house to unthaw. Then they switch again. I think this would be a riskier and a more energy consuming method (human energy that is!). I'm all about safe and convenient.
Also finishing the final layers of our chicken roof, and taking care of drafts are on the important list. But I also am concerned since they say you have to have some ventilation as well to let out excess humidity and ammonia odors which is bad for their lungs.
I can see I need to study on this some more..... feel free to leave comments on your own thoughts, ideas, and solutions.
And then there are the greens they don't get in the winter. I am reading about winter wheat, and alfalfa and such. I have also read it is good to get a ball shaped cage, or a suet cage, to hold things like cabbage, lettuce, etc. so the chickens can peck at them instead of each other (hopefully, lol).
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Chicken Eggs, Double Yolks And Eggs With No Shells
So you think once the chickens start laying, having chickens will be the same, day after day. Oh, but that's not quite true, at least not in most chicken houses, lol.
We have been averaging seven eggs a day this week, so far! Whatever will we do when those nineteen hens are ALL laying?
But for now, I want to share a story about our Golden Comet, Fluffy.
Fluffy is not a noticeable G.C. personality-wise. She doesn't particularly stand out to us in any way except for the fact she has gams that look wider than the others, and she is fluffier. Especially from the rear. It is hard not to name her 'Fluffy Butt'. (We have a couple of extra fluffy Black Australorps as well, but this isn't their time to be mentioned.)
Anyway, Fluffy seemed an itty bit slow getting out of the pen when I opened the gate for the chickens to come out for their free-range time.
But though I sort of noticed her taking her time, I didn't have reason to pay a lot of attention.
After they had been out for a while, I noticed Fluffy walked to a spot and just stood still, looking way too still, just standing there, on the side of a hill in our yard.
I watched her a few minutes and then mentioned it to my husband, who also had noticed her stillness.
My husband decided it was time for them to return to their pen for the night, so he started giving them their evening temptation scratch and food pellets (they have regular mash and pellets in their hen house feeder, so scratch is a morning and nightly treat).
I started rounding up the strays ( going and getting on the opposite side of the chickens who didn't run toward the chicken pen immediately, and heading them that way ).
Fluffy wasn't reacting, so I went and stood close enough to her to make her want to walk away from me. Still standing on the opposite side of the way I wanted her to head, I inched closer to her, and then I made as though I were reaching down to pick her up. This made her move, even though she moved slowly.
I finally got her to the pen. She had a hard time getting there though. But she was in. She found a spot and stood still again.
The other chickens were eating their scratch eagerly, but she wasn't interested in doing anything but standing still.
My husband encouraged her into the chicken house since we could tell by looking at Fluffy she was EGG-BOUND. That dreaded word!
We hadn't ever seen Fluffy get into a laying box yet, so we are going to assume this was her first time to finally need to lay, okay?
We waited for a bit, and my husband went and checked on her progress. We pretty much knew Fluffy was feeling too heavy to jump up to the nesting boxes, so we weren't surprised when he found what she was able to finally squeeze out, was on the floor. It was an egg with no shell, AKA: a soft shelled egg. She was still in distress, but she had managed to get up on the roost bar that is in front of the row of nesting boxes. (We have one higher than the top of the roosting boxes as well.)
She was half in the in front of a box, a little bit inside one. Her rear was parked in there with the rest of her outside the box, leaning on the roost bar when I went out there later.
I was cooking supper when I felt 'impressed' to go lay my hand on her and pray. So I did. I told God He would have to make her not shy away from me, in order to touch her while praying.
I'll say here that God is The Healer, not me. I have no 'magic', or power in or of my own self. We Christians are to be vessels, with the Lord as our source. He flows through us, not designating us as "little gods" as some have suggested mistakenly. That is not correct teaching. You can't find that in the Bible unless you pervert what is written. That would be a perversion of the Gospel, a New-age belief. The glory would go to themselves in that upside down teaching.
I was trusting in God, not myself, to touch Fluffy. When we pray, that is who we should pray to. When we trust in God (Jehovah our Father God, Jesus God's Son, and God's precious Holy Spirit, all one together in unity as always, make up the Holy Trinity who is God).
Now that you know Who I trust in, I felt to pray as a willing vessel for Fluffy. I was just obeying a prompting I received in my spirit, God's Holy Spirit communicating to me in my spirit.
So I left the part of making the chicken cooperate to God. Fluffy didn't move when I touched her. (She thought about it!) She only flinched at first and then she decided she would let me get away with that.
After I was done praying, Fluffy heavily moved away from me, without completely standing up. It was like she was doing a squat-walk (the best I can describe it).
I noticed after she moved that there was another soft shelled (no shell) egg where her bottom had hung into the box. That one was a bit deflated looking because the membrane that held it into an egg shape had leaked some.
The membrane on these type of eggs is like a balloon texture. They feel like they are made of latex. (See photos below)
We have been averaging seven eggs a day this week, so far! Whatever will we do when those nineteen hens are ALL laying?
But for now, I want to share a story about our Golden Comet, Fluffy.
Fluffy is not a noticeable G.C. personality-wise. She doesn't particularly stand out to us in any way except for the fact she has gams that look wider than the others, and she is fluffier. Especially from the rear. It is hard not to name her 'Fluffy Butt'. (We have a couple of extra fluffy Black Australorps as well, but this isn't their time to be mentioned.)
Anyway, Fluffy seemed an itty bit slow getting out of the pen when I opened the gate for the chickens to come out for their free-range time.
But though I sort of noticed her taking her time, I didn't have reason to pay a lot of attention.
After they had been out for a while, I noticed Fluffy walked to a spot and just stood still, looking way too still, just standing there, on the side of a hill in our yard.
I watched her a few minutes and then mentioned it to my husband, who also had noticed her stillness.
My husband decided it was time for them to return to their pen for the night, so he started giving them their evening temptation scratch and food pellets (they have regular mash and pellets in their hen house feeder, so scratch is a morning and nightly treat).
I started rounding up the strays ( going and getting on the opposite side of the chickens who didn't run toward the chicken pen immediately, and heading them that way ).
Fluffy wasn't reacting, so I went and stood close enough to her to make her want to walk away from me. Still standing on the opposite side of the way I wanted her to head, I inched closer to her, and then I made as though I were reaching down to pick her up. This made her move, even though she moved slowly.
I finally got her to the pen. She had a hard time getting there though. But she was in. She found a spot and stood still again.
The other chickens were eating their scratch eagerly, but she wasn't interested in doing anything but standing still.
My husband encouraged her into the chicken house since we could tell by looking at Fluffy she was EGG-BOUND. That dreaded word!
We hadn't ever seen Fluffy get into a laying box yet, so we are going to assume this was her first time to finally need to lay, okay?
We waited for a bit, and my husband went and checked on her progress. We pretty much knew Fluffy was feeling too heavy to jump up to the nesting boxes, so we weren't surprised when he found what she was able to finally squeeze out, was on the floor. It was an egg with no shell, AKA: a soft shelled egg. She was still in distress, but she had managed to get up on the roost bar that is in front of the row of nesting boxes. (We have one higher than the top of the roosting boxes as well.)
She was half in the in front of a box, a little bit inside one. Her rear was parked in there with the rest of her outside the box, leaning on the roost bar when I went out there later.
I was cooking supper when I felt 'impressed' to go lay my hand on her and pray. So I did. I told God He would have to make her not shy away from me, in order to touch her while praying.
I'll say here that God is The Healer, not me. I have no 'magic', or power in or of my own self. We Christians are to be vessels, with the Lord as our source. He flows through us, not designating us as "little gods" as some have suggested mistakenly. That is not correct teaching. You can't find that in the Bible unless you pervert what is written. That would be a perversion of the Gospel, a New-age belief. The glory would go to themselves in that upside down teaching.
I was trusting in God, not myself, to touch Fluffy. When we pray, that is who we should pray to. When we trust in God (Jehovah our Father God, Jesus God's Son, and God's precious Holy Spirit, all one together in unity as always, make up the Holy Trinity who is God).
Now that you know Who I trust in, I felt to pray as a willing vessel for Fluffy. I was just obeying a prompting I received in my spirit, God's Holy Spirit communicating to me in my spirit.
So I left the part of making the chicken cooperate to God. Fluffy didn't move when I touched her. (She thought about it!) She only flinched at first and then she decided she would let me get away with that.
After I was done praying, Fluffy heavily moved away from me, without completely standing up. It was like she was doing a squat-walk (the best I can describe it).
I noticed after she moved that there was another soft shelled (no shell) egg where her bottom had hung into the box. That one was a bit deflated looking because the membrane that held it into an egg shape had leaked some.
The membrane on these type of eggs is like a balloon texture. They feel like they are made of latex. (See photos below)
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| These are eggs with no shells, just surrounded by a thick membrane. One lays flatter than the other because its membrane is leaky. |
 |
| Same eggs, but I cut the membranes open with a pair of scissors so you can see the insides are intact. Also the membrane is brown, like the shell would have been, had it finished forming. Most people decide on throwing the soft shelled (no shelled) egg away, due to their being no shell. The thought of eating an egg without the shell brings thoughts of bacteria. They are worried that the membrane alone doesn't keep out the bacteria. I threw mine out as well after I photographed them.
We went ahead and ate our dinner, and then my husband went to check Fluffy's progress. No more surprises, and she was moving about normally and quickly. He went to reach for Fluffy to move her into a box, and she moved away in an agile manner and looked at him as if to say, "Hey, what do you think you are trying to do?" lol. We believe she is healed. And we are thankful.
Our other unusual layer is Hagatha. Our bossiest, moodiest hen, a Cherry Egger. She has layed one soft shelled egg herself twice, though she wasn't in distress. And they weren't back to back either. The first time Hagatha layed an egg with no shell, it was only her second egg. Her body is just not quite regulated yet. It came out too soon before it had a chance for the shell to form, that's how we get a soft shelled egg.
Another time Hagatha laid one like that was the morning after the hens all got their wings clipped. So stress caused that one to happen. One of the chickens layed an egg without even the membrane to give it a shape! Of course one or more of them ate that one.
Hagatha has also been laying double yolk eggs at times. And one day she just flat out laid two whole eggs back to back! I don't care what you say, I looked in and saw her in the nest box. I waited for her to come out, but she was taking too long to lay the egg (I though), so I went into the house and ate my breakfast. I came back out and she was STILL in the same nesting box. I had looked for eggs earlier and that nest box had been empty. I waited outside for her to finish. I was getting concerned, when Hagatha jumped down and ran out to rejoin the other chickens. I went to get her egg, and that's when I saw she had done two.
Now if I hadn't have seen the box was empty before she came and got into it, I would just assume she was laying her egg next to someone else's egg. But that's not the case.
I googled on the computer to see if it was impossible. It's not! I found others who also had certain knowledge (not just suspicion) that their chicken layed twice in close succession like that once or twice.
Now I will show Hagatha's double yolk eggs:
 
Top picture demonstrates the double yolk size difference from the pullet's normal little egg in between the two double yolk eggs.
The lower picture is another perspective as they sit so much higher in the carton of pullet eggs.
Our pullet eggs are still little of course though some are getting to be medium size now. We can't wait the hens to start producing large eggs as these are supposed to when they have matured some more!
  The bottom picture in of the two double yolked eggs cooking next to two single yolked eggs.
Don't these pictures just make you hungry for eggs with toast on the side? Yummy!
I will eat these of course, after I give thanks to God for the chickens and their eggs. :)
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Sunday, October 7, 2012
They are 22 and 23 and half week old chickens now!
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| You can see a few of Rooster's former, long neck feathers still attached. His neck feathers molted for some reason and they are growing back in nicely, but I assume they will be long like his feathers on his saddle. What a handsome Black Australorp rooster he may live to be if he behaves! |
Our chickens are obviously old now. Four are twenty two and half weeks and the other sixteen are twenty three and a half weeks old.
Here are some more photos. Enjoy!
This is Dora The Explorer at 23 & 1/2 weeks old. She is a Golden Comet. And she is the one who pushes boundaries with no fear (In case you missed my other blog about Dora, lol).
This Golden Comet is Goldie. As you can see she has a lovely, kind of red-gold glow. She is getting more confident and brave too. But she is has a pretty good temperament.
As you can see our Black Australorp rooster (the one 'oops!' in our order from the hatchery we used) has grown a lot since the last time he was photographed. His name used to be Queenie, but you can see how that no longer applies to HIM. He has no name just yet. I just refer to him as Rooster.
And sharing the second photo with Rooster is one of our Ameraucanas (we shall see when she lays eggs if she is a true Ameraucana or not, we bought both of ours at the feed store we go to). Her name is Mrs. Hawk. She is gorgeous though, at least I think so! She is one of the 22 week old chickens.
This time Rooster is standing with one of his sisters, a Black Australorp who isn't named. But look at the breast that Rooster is aquiring. He is starting to look mighty yum-yum. I joked about naming him Yum-Yum. When I see him I think about how he is looking more and more tempting to eat! There are a couple of his sisters starting to look the same delicious way, but I want to see how they lay eggs first, before I even think of that. But the rooster... we weren't wanting a rooster... but we'll see.
This is a picture of sweet Snowy, another Golden comet. Some have speculated she is a he because of the amount of white/cream color on her. But she was our second chicken to start laying. I assure you that she is our most 'girlie' chicken we have in the flock. She has such a sweetness about her. She likes attention and prefers to sit on my shoulder more than my lap.
This is our other Ameraucana on the right. Her name is Mrs Owl. She is more social with me than Mrs. Hawk is. She is quite curious too. We love that she looks rather exotic!
This is one of our Cherry Eggers. 23 weeks old. A very nice red color, and are great layers like the Golden Comets, though they way more territorial and not as happy-go-lucky. If they weren't such great layers I might be tempted to have fewer than the five I have. But they do lend that nice red color to the flock.
In these two pictures above, you see our Speckled Sussex's, Roadrunner and Friendly. (I know which is which by their tails, lol, otherwise they could be identical twins.) They are only twenty two weeks old, and see how speckled they are! I was worried I would have to wait until they molted to get this many speckles. Not!
We love our Speckled Sussex, Friendly. She really does like hanging out with, and greeting the humans. She is a lot like Snowy in personality. But a little more shy about letting us catch her. The speckled sisters aren't laying yet. But they are an old English breed and should take longer, like the Black Australorps.
I was trying to get a shot so you can see how huge this Black Australorp hen is (the one on the ramp). She isn't headless, she is just grooming herself under her wing, on her other side. But you can sure see her girth and her huge amount of downy type feathers. And of course, that's Mrs. Hawk again in the background.
Mrs Owl, looking curious as she often does, lol. She looks mean, but is really not. She is hard to catch though. Rooster has not made a bride of either of the Ameraucanas yet. They won't let him, yet.... the Sussex's are the same way.
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| Mrs. Hawk, Ameraucana |
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| Some of the flock. |
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| Notice how much larger Rooster (Black Australorp) is than little Snowy and the others! |
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| Ah, yes, this is Hagatha. Our most bullying alpha hen. She, of course, is one of the Cherry Eggers. Good thing she lays eggs so nicely! |
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| And this Golden Comet's name is Sassy. She is the biter and pecker of the Comets. She really likes to be loved though, she is just a stinker and gets nervous or jealous easy. She will bite me though if I reach out toward her. But if we pick her up, she is very docile. |
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| In this picture of Friendly, you can see the bluish green sheen in the dark parts of her feathers. |
This Cherry Egger in the middle is Little Red. For a while we wondered if she would be a small rooster because of her comb being more rooster shaped and she developed it sooner than her sisters. But then I saw her lay an egg. I was so glad! She's a nice looking little red hen, isn't she? She is more independant too, than the other chickens. She doesn't like them eating too close to her, and she doesn't mind grazing further off from the gang sometimes. But she doesn't really cause any trouble if they stay out of her 'space', lol. But for some funny reason I like her. I can't tell you why.
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| I just can't get enough shots of Rooster, can I? |
 |
 |
This is Fluffy Butt, I mean Fluffy! Lol, it really is hard not to name her the former. She is our Golden Comet that is the lightest shade except for snowy. You will read more on her shortly. She will be in my next post. |
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Finally, Let The Egg Laying Begin!
My daughter and son-in-law are due to arrive today and our chickens are twenty and twenty one weeks old with no eggs yet.
My thoughts were that hopefully they will start laying while they are here.
Guess what? The first egg was found today! We are so proud...
It is small, and we have no idea who did it, but we are proud.
Update: The egglayer got seen. She is one of the Cherry Eggers. Hagitha to be exact. (Hagitha can be a real biddy to the other hens.) But we are still proud. Her first egg was on Sunday, and she didn't lay again until today, Wednesday.
Update again: We have two egglayers now. The Golden Comets couldn't let the Cherry Eggers be our heroes so now one of them is laying, our smallest one, although her comb was a bit ahead of her sister's combs, and a bit more colorful too, Snowy.
The first egg was on the floor underneath the nesting boxes. But ever since then, all eggs have been laid in the nesting boxes. Good job, ladies!
I could tell Hagitha was agitated about something that first morning. She was running up and down the pen's fence line and doing emphatic, desperate chicken screechy noises (The Cherry Eggers can sound very upset very easily. And Hagitha has always let me know when she is disturbed or miffed about something.)
But I could see it in her eyes and as well as see it in her body language she wanted to go into the woods. Of course, I wasn't about to make her wish my command. I felt she was in a real panic though. I talked to her through the fencing, trying to calm her. (I didn't dare open the gate!)
She would look at me and do her Hagitha verbalizations and run searchingly some more. Finally, I said, "If you have to go lay an egg, then get in the barn and do it!" I didn't yell, but I was a little exasperated at her antics, lol. I had pointed toward the barn while talking to her and she was watching me at the moment. She then ran up and down the fenceline once more sounding off and looking longingly at the woods behind the pen, and then she shot into the chicken house. She came back out and went back in. That time she was gone, and quiet for a few minutes. I waited out of curiosity.
When she reappeared she was her regular self again and not anxious. So I walked away. My daughter had pulled up in the drive with my son-in-law. We chatted awhile and it was all forgotten until they wanted to see the chickens.
We did a thorough chicken nest check, nothing. And then I saw it when I bent down and looked underneath the boxes, in the far corner nearest the chicken's exit. It was so cute!
I guess Hagitha's dramatics weren't for nothing that time! You could tell she wanted to get away from the crowd. But what a panic attack she had!
Snowy was totally the opposite. She was seen practicing sitting in the nest boxes shortly before the real thing happened. It like she was trying or having some sort of nesting urge before the real thing happened.
They have both been good egg layers with only an occasional day off, but where Snowy has been having all regular, small, normal brown eggs, Hagitha has had some irregularities. two or three eggs were larger than the pullet size and had double yolks. She has also laid a soft shell egg (one with no shell, but a balloon-like membrane to surround it). But the soft shell egg showed up the day after the hens got one wing (each) clipped. This was stressful to the hens. Not the fact they got a wing-clip as much as the fact we had to chase them, trap them, and handle them, lol. Wasn't that a noisy moment! So the day after we got the no-shell egg, an egg without a shell or a membrane dropped by another chicken on top of the nest boxes and already eaten (we found the wet spot and leftover whites that had soaked into the pine shavings, and yes we got rid of the affected litter and put fresh litter there). And by then we had one more egg layer. So there was one egg that was normal. Who knows which one did the normal egg, but because of the box it was found in, I suspect it was the newly laying cherry-egger. It tends to favor that box.
And that's another thing, there seems to be box favoring. Hagitha a certain end, and Snowy favors the center boxes, while the other cherry egger (we know now it is Little Red).
And then came the day that I saw it was actually Little Red that lays. I was doing a happy dance because everyone worried she was a small rooster. She showed us, didn't she? And we are glad since one hen already turned out to be our rooster. Who needs two? But she is a good little layer too.
I have also caught Sassy laying, and Brownie. Both are golden comets. And I think I have seen Dora pacing in there thinking about it (golden comet again). I can't prove she lays, but one day recently we found seven eggs instead of four. Wow!
So as you can see we are off to a great start now. And the eggs have moved up in size to medium in just a couple of weeks.
These are some of our beginning eggs, the smallest ones are on bottom though I put a small one down front so you can see it. And some eggs look plain until you wash them, and you see their pretty speckles. So I cheated and washed them for the picture. As you can see they are still damp.
Most people don't wash their until they are ready to use them, so they don't wash the 'bloom' off of the egg. The bloom is a slime coat that dries quickly. Some people feel that this coat keeps bacteria from entering the egg while it's sitting in the box, waiting to get used. Whichever way you feel, do wash the egg before you crack it or boil it.
But when a speckled egg is gathered with the dried slime coat on it, you can't see the pretty speckles, they just look the color of dirt, until you wash them.... :)
My thoughts were that hopefully they will start laying while they are here.
Guess what? The first egg was found today! We are so proud...
It is small, and we have no idea who did it, but we are proud.
Update: The egglayer got seen. She is one of the Cherry Eggers. Hagitha to be exact. (Hagitha can be a real biddy to the other hens.) But we are still proud. Her first egg was on Sunday, and she didn't lay again until today, Wednesday.
Update again: We have two egglayers now. The Golden Comets couldn't let the Cherry Eggers be our heroes so now one of them is laying, our smallest one, although her comb was a bit ahead of her sister's combs, and a bit more colorful too, Snowy.
The first egg was on the floor underneath the nesting boxes. But ever since then, all eggs have been laid in the nesting boxes. Good job, ladies!
I could tell Hagitha was agitated about something that first morning. She was running up and down the pen's fence line and doing emphatic, desperate chicken screechy noises (The Cherry Eggers can sound very upset very easily. And Hagitha has always let me know when she is disturbed or miffed about something.)
But I could see it in her eyes and as well as see it in her body language she wanted to go into the woods. Of course, I wasn't about to make her wish my command. I felt she was in a real panic though. I talked to her through the fencing, trying to calm her. (I didn't dare open the gate!)
She would look at me and do her Hagitha verbalizations and run searchingly some more. Finally, I said, "If you have to go lay an egg, then get in the barn and do it!" I didn't yell, but I was a little exasperated at her antics, lol. I had pointed toward the barn while talking to her and she was watching me at the moment. She then ran up and down the fenceline once more sounding off and looking longingly at the woods behind the pen, and then she shot into the chicken house. She came back out and went back in. That time she was gone, and quiet for a few minutes. I waited out of curiosity.
When she reappeared she was her regular self again and not anxious. So I walked away. My daughter had pulled up in the drive with my son-in-law. We chatted awhile and it was all forgotten until they wanted to see the chickens.
We did a thorough chicken nest check, nothing. And then I saw it when I bent down and looked underneath the boxes, in the far corner nearest the chicken's exit. It was so cute!
I guess Hagitha's dramatics weren't for nothing that time! You could tell she wanted to get away from the crowd. But what a panic attack she had!
Snowy was totally the opposite. She was seen practicing sitting in the nest boxes shortly before the real thing happened. It like she was trying or having some sort of nesting urge before the real thing happened.
They have both been good egg layers with only an occasional day off, but where Snowy has been having all regular, small, normal brown eggs, Hagitha has had some irregularities. two or three eggs were larger than the pullet size and had double yolks. She has also laid a soft shell egg (one with no shell, but a balloon-like membrane to surround it). But the soft shell egg showed up the day after the hens got one wing (each) clipped. This was stressful to the hens. Not the fact they got a wing-clip as much as the fact we had to chase them, trap them, and handle them, lol. Wasn't that a noisy moment! So the day after we got the no-shell egg, an egg without a shell or a membrane dropped by another chicken on top of the nest boxes and already eaten (we found the wet spot and leftover whites that had soaked into the pine shavings, and yes we got rid of the affected litter and put fresh litter there). And by then we had one more egg layer. So there was one egg that was normal. Who knows which one did the normal egg, but because of the box it was found in, I suspect it was the newly laying cherry-egger. It tends to favor that box.
And that's another thing, there seems to be box favoring. Hagitha a certain end, and Snowy favors the center boxes, while the other cherry egger (we know now it is Little Red).
And then came the day that I saw it was actually Little Red that lays. I was doing a happy dance because everyone worried she was a small rooster. She showed us, didn't she? And we are glad since one hen already turned out to be our rooster. Who needs two? But she is a good little layer too.
I have also caught Sassy laying, and Brownie. Both are golden comets. And I think I have seen Dora pacing in there thinking about it (golden comet again). I can't prove she lays, but one day recently we found seven eggs instead of four. Wow!
So as you can see we are off to a great start now. And the eggs have moved up in size to medium in just a couple of weeks.
These are some of our beginning eggs, the smallest ones are on bottom though I put a small one down front so you can see it. And some eggs look plain until you wash them, and you see their pretty speckles. So I cheated and washed them for the picture. As you can see they are still damp.
Most people don't wash their until they are ready to use them, so they don't wash the 'bloom' off of the egg. The bloom is a slime coat that dries quickly. Some people feel that this coat keeps bacteria from entering the egg while it's sitting in the box, waiting to get used. Whichever way you feel, do wash the egg before you crack it or boil it.
But when a speckled egg is gathered with the dried slime coat on it, you can't see the pretty speckles, they just look the color of dirt, until you wash them.... :)
Friday, October 5, 2012
To Trim, Or Not To Trim Chicken Wings? And One Or Both Sides?
Okay, we have one Golden Comet that thinks that if we don't let her out of the pen to go free-ranging at the usual hour, then she should go ahead and "let herself out" by flying out.
At first she would stay right near the pen and graze. Later she got bolder and would come on up to the birdfeeder (they like to eat the seed that falls to the ground of course!). The bird feeder is right outside the window where I sit at the computer.
One time two other chickens flew out with her over the fence. My husband witnessed that one.
So I began to go online and find out how to trim chicken wings so they can't do what our Dora The Explorer was doing. (We named her that while they still lived in their cage. She wasn't afraid of staying near the door whenever I opened it for anything. She would flirt with me like she wanted me to pick her up and then vamoose out the door to explore the room and look for more food, like hers wasn't good enough. Thus, she would make me have to catch her when I was done with whatever I was doing for the chicks. She is always pushing her bounderies looking for new territory.)
I read of different opinions out there on whether it is cruel to trim their wings. (We put it off as long as we could, believe me!) And I found people disagree concerning whether to trim one wing, or both wings. And finally different diagrams and videos show different amounts of how much, and which feathers to trim. And still others declared it didn't work either way, that theirs still flew out of their pens. Ahem, we will asume that there was a trimming flaw there, like maybe they didn't trim enough off? But anyway, one learns even from those testimonies not to be TOO frugal if you trim your chicken's wings.
The final straw was when Dora flew to the decorative overpiece that frames in the beautiful gate my husband built for them (yes, that gate got built! Now if we can finish the roof before winter). Dora flew straight up and perched there like it was nothing. Let me get a picture of that gate.
As you can see the highest piece of wood, over the gate, makes a lovely perch to a chicken!
That is Dora The Explorer at the gate. She is easily identified from her sisters by that nice white waving at us on her (always) upraised tail. (Every one of my Golden Comets has their own unique markings.) The Cherry Egger next to her is her disciple most of the time.
So now you decide for yourself. Should you trim your chickens wings when they start "exploring" without your permission? We have all kinds of wild life here in the Maine woods. (We do live in a rural area.) And we have dogs in the area as well. People try to keep a good eye on their dogs but we do have one that has snuck over here and is known for "playing" with chickens. It just doesn't know any better.
I do let mine out in the evening to free-range. But I and my family are available to manage them and keep them from going places they ought not to. I also want to stay on good terms with our neighbors, know what I mean?
So for their safety and so forth, I went out armed with a sharp pair of scissors, having already decided on my favorite instructions and video demonstration to follow. My husband saw me and came to help with relish. (He'd been telling me to get the knowledge so we could get it done!)
Dora was the first target of course! She was not happy when she saw we were coming for her (my husband had got her down from the top of the gate, and back into the pen). It was quite the chase and the chickens squawked loudly! It sounded like murder was afoot. But it was all for a good cause.
We caught her, And my husband held her and we got her wing stretched out. (Look for a video as well as a diagram, to show you which feathers are the flight feathers.) Then I spotted the next row of feathers above the long fringe of flight feathers. I cut the bottom row (long flight feathers AND the short flight feathers) aiming to cut along the bottom of the row I sighted above the flight feathers for my eyeball reference. I looked underneath the wing to make sure there was nothing to hurt at the place I wanted to cut. (Do not cut skin, meat, or any part of the feather that will shows pink or red in it, that is the quick and it will bleed just like a cat or a dog's would!)
I cut in a smooth line just under the edge of the row I discussed. It went well. We chose NOT to cut both wings. We would see if one wing would do the job. I know there are those who think a chicken has a hard time walking with just one wing. NOPE. They walk and run beautifully with one clipped wing, and one regular wing. It really just depends on your feelings. I like them having one side with a beautiful wing. The clipped side doesn't look bad either, and I don't notice it being there.
It was a hard decision to make since I always enjoy watching chickens run and have flight races together. Now they just run. We did every chicken except the rooster. Our rooster hasn't ever tried to get out, he wants to be with his ladies. And we want him to be able to fight for them if necessary (we have hawks in the vicinity).
So that's our story of clipping nineteen chicken's wings. It was quite a chase in the pen, and some ran into the chicken house. We shut the door, lol. So we did some outside, and some inside the chicken house (much easier, they couldn't get to far!). A VERY loud situation, but then we gave them special treats afterward to calm their nerves and fear. Food ALWAYS helps where chickens are concerned, lol. They forgave us quickly. And now no one flies out or up either. This will last until they aquire new feathers. (Such as through molting.)
I do insist on you looking at many different instructions with photos and diagrams, as well as a few videos demonstrating how to clip a chickens wing(s). Then choose the wisest instructions. Don't overdo, and don't underdo.
But I will say my chickens don't have a balance problem with just one wing trimmed. They are perfectly able to do all but fly. And they can still run from that rascally affectionate rooster when they choose!
At first she would stay right near the pen and graze. Later she got bolder and would come on up to the birdfeeder (they like to eat the seed that falls to the ground of course!). The bird feeder is right outside the window where I sit at the computer.
One time two other chickens flew out with her over the fence. My husband witnessed that one.
So I began to go online and find out how to trim chicken wings so they can't do what our Dora The Explorer was doing. (We named her that while they still lived in their cage. She wasn't afraid of staying near the door whenever I opened it for anything. She would flirt with me like she wanted me to pick her up and then vamoose out the door to explore the room and look for more food, like hers wasn't good enough. Thus, she would make me have to catch her when I was done with whatever I was doing for the chicks. She is always pushing her bounderies looking for new territory.)
I read of different opinions out there on whether it is cruel to trim their wings. (We put it off as long as we could, believe me!) And I found people disagree concerning whether to trim one wing, or both wings. And finally different diagrams and videos show different amounts of how much, and which feathers to trim. And still others declared it didn't work either way, that theirs still flew out of their pens. Ahem, we will asume that there was a trimming flaw there, like maybe they didn't trim enough off? But anyway, one learns even from those testimonies not to be TOO frugal if you trim your chicken's wings.
The final straw was when Dora flew to the decorative overpiece that frames in the beautiful gate my husband built for them (yes, that gate got built! Now if we can finish the roof before winter). Dora flew straight up and perched there like it was nothing. Let me get a picture of that gate.
As you can see the highest piece of wood, over the gate, makes a lovely perch to a chicken!
That is Dora The Explorer at the gate. She is easily identified from her sisters by that nice white waving at us on her (always) upraised tail. (Every one of my Golden Comets has their own unique markings.) The Cherry Egger next to her is her disciple most of the time.
So now you decide for yourself. Should you trim your chickens wings when they start "exploring" without your permission? We have all kinds of wild life here in the Maine woods. (We do live in a rural area.) And we have dogs in the area as well. People try to keep a good eye on their dogs but we do have one that has snuck over here and is known for "playing" with chickens. It just doesn't know any better.
I do let mine out in the evening to free-range. But I and my family are available to manage them and keep them from going places they ought not to. I also want to stay on good terms with our neighbors, know what I mean?
So for their safety and so forth, I went out armed with a sharp pair of scissors, having already decided on my favorite instructions and video demonstration to follow. My husband saw me and came to help with relish. (He'd been telling me to get the knowledge so we could get it done!)
Dora was the first target of course! She was not happy when she saw we were coming for her (my husband had got her down from the top of the gate, and back into the pen). It was quite the chase and the chickens squawked loudly! It sounded like murder was afoot. But it was all for a good cause.
We caught her, And my husband held her and we got her wing stretched out. (Look for a video as well as a diagram, to show you which feathers are the flight feathers.) Then I spotted the next row of feathers above the long fringe of flight feathers. I cut the bottom row (long flight feathers AND the short flight feathers) aiming to cut along the bottom of the row I sighted above the flight feathers for my eyeball reference. I looked underneath the wing to make sure there was nothing to hurt at the place I wanted to cut. (Do not cut skin, meat, or any part of the feather that will shows pink or red in it, that is the quick and it will bleed just like a cat or a dog's would!)
I cut in a smooth line just under the edge of the row I discussed. It went well. We chose NOT to cut both wings. We would see if one wing would do the job. I know there are those who think a chicken has a hard time walking with just one wing. NOPE. They walk and run beautifully with one clipped wing, and one regular wing. It really just depends on your feelings. I like them having one side with a beautiful wing. The clipped side doesn't look bad either, and I don't notice it being there.
It was a hard decision to make since I always enjoy watching chickens run and have flight races together. Now they just run. We did every chicken except the rooster. Our rooster hasn't ever tried to get out, he wants to be with his ladies. And we want him to be able to fight for them if necessary (we have hawks in the vicinity).
So that's our story of clipping nineteen chicken's wings. It was quite a chase in the pen, and some ran into the chicken house. We shut the door, lol. So we did some outside, and some inside the chicken house (much easier, they couldn't get to far!). A VERY loud situation, but then we gave them special treats afterward to calm their nerves and fear. Food ALWAYS helps where chickens are concerned, lol. They forgave us quickly. And now no one flies out or up either. This will last until they aquire new feathers. (Such as through molting.)
I do insist on you looking at many different instructions with photos and diagrams, as well as a few videos demonstrating how to clip a chickens wing(s). Then choose the wisest instructions. Don't overdo, and don't underdo.
But I will say my chickens don't have a balance problem with just one wing trimmed. They are perfectly able to do all but fly. And they can still run from that rascally affectionate rooster when they choose!
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