Success with Star

February 26, 2009 at 6:11 pm (Uncategorized)
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With a lot of training over the last month or so, I’ve managed to knock Star’s prey drive toward the chickens waaay down.

Now I can let the chickens roam loose in the backyard for several hours in the afternoon, and I don’t have to put them away (which is like sheep herding only much crazier) every time I want to let the dogs out for a bit.

Of course, I still supervise when dogs and chickens are in the yard. I can tell Star still has inappropriate thoughts about doing bad things to the chickens, and when I see that look come over her face, I get her attention right away.

But her behavior has changed distinctly. It is now very manageable and I expect her to get better over time.

Dozer, as always, is completely unconcerned with the chickens. He’s been around all kinds of critters since he was a little puppy, so it’s no surprise.

Pit bulls and chickens, living in harmony? Can do!

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No Idea

February 24, 2009 at 4:25 pm (Uncategorized)
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Cackle’s name doesn’t fit her nearly as well as “Caterwaul” would have. This morning I woke up to hear what sounded like a cat in heat, yowling loudly in my yard.

Bleary-eyed, I stumbled outside in my robe, prepared to chase off the predator that was undoubtedly tormenting my chickens.

The sound was coming from Cackle, and once I was outside, I realized it was some sort of crazy clucking noise. It’s the sort of sound I might expect from a hen trying to lay a particularly big egg, except that she was just standing there on a cinder block (Squawkers was “occupying” the nesting box).

Then Cackle caught sight of me, gave a final yawk, and dashed behind the hen house.

I still don’t know what that was all about.

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Field Trip

February 24, 2009 at 4:16 pm (Uncategorized)
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Since Peeps has some pals to hang out with now, I feel a lot safer letting them roam the backyard for a few hours each afternoon without supervision.

Here are some pics. We named the light brown female “Squawkers” and the dark brown is named “Cackle.” Squawkers is the only one laying eggs right now for some reason.

Squawkers is the one on the left, Cackle is the one on the right.

Squawkers is the one on the left, Cackle is the one on the right.

Come along, ladies. There are bugs by the shed.

Come along, ladies. There are bugs by the shed.

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Peepers Shuts Up

February 22, 2009 at 1:50 pm (Uncategorized)
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The two hens have been here for a week, and things couldn’t be better. I need to get some photos!

The difference between these two hens and Cluckers is noticeable. We get normal-looking pale blue eggs on a regular schedule–once per day–and the hens are shy but not completely unapproachable. They run around a lot. And they make chicken noises, something Cluckers never did.

The best part is that Peepers has stopped crowing. Even the neighbors commented on how quiet he’s been. I guess his ladies are keeping him too busy to crow! He is one happy rooster.

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Hens in the Works

February 15, 2009 at 11:38 am (Uncategorized)
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I found a local guy who raises chickens and who is thinning his flocks a bit. He had a variety of hens to choose from, including Ameraucanas, so I asked for two of those. Yay!

Finally, Peepers will have some lady friends, and I will be able to let him roam in the backyard with less supervision because he will have a little “flock” that can work together against the stray cats. It won’t just be tiny, tasty Peepers (he’s still small, but the Ameraucana hens are rather big compared to a cat).

I can’t wait. I’m picking up the hens tonight. Gotta think up some names for them.

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Pictures of Peepers

February 14, 2009 at 7:13 pm (Uncategorized)
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I’m still trying to find some hens for the Peeps without much luck.

In the meantime, here are a few pics of Peepers, taken yesterday. It’s funny, he’s got just a few brown feathers mixed in with the black and white ones.

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A Meme

February 8, 2009 at 3:36 pm (Uncategorized)
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Our friend Daisy tagged Peepers for a meme. There are three choices, but I think the only one we can do for Peepers is the 5×5 meme, so there’s not much choice there. 🙂 Anyway, I have to pick the fifth photo in the fifth folder and then tell about it.

Now, as it happens, I don’t really keep my photos in nested folders, so I’m just going to go to the “Chicken” folder and find the fifth one. Hopefully that one will be Peepers…

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This photo was taken in September 2008. Dozer was really not sure what to do about this little bitty bird. He does not have a good track record with birds; he’s been beaten up by almost every bird we’ve ever had, big and small, and I’ve been very protective about the few birds that were too sick or injured to peck him. So he’s not a fan of birds and tends to either ignore them completely or avoid them. He knows they Are Not Toys!

Our new dog, Star, on the other hand, seems to feel that chickens are things that should be eaten at any opportunity. I don’t blame her for following her heart, but she is not allowed to be near Peepers unless she is on a very short leash.

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Hangin’ With My Peeps

February 2, 2009 at 12:43 am (Uncategorized)
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Today Byrd and I decided to try and take Peepers’s mind off the recent loss of his lady (though it’s unclear what’s on his mind in the first place) by letting him cruise around the front yard while we gardened. He seemed to have a nice time, cackling and squawking and picking at things. I got some nice shots of him in the pansies before he started eating them and I had to relocate him into an unweeded bed, much to his disgust.

I’ve heard a new rooster crowing in our neighborhood, coming from a backyard about five or six houses down the street. This rooster and Peepers have been having crow-a-thons for the last few days. Either the roosters in the feral flocks are quieter, or else they are just farther away and harder to hear, because I really don’t hear any of them crowing to the extent that Peepers and this newcomer go at it.

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Sad Farewell to Cluckers

January 31, 2009 at 12:16 pm (Uncategorized)
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The double-shelled egg was apparently, in Cluckers’s case, a sign of more serious problems. By yesterday afternoon she had basically retired to the nest box; by yesterday evening she was not eating, drinking, or running away from us (that’s when I knew there was a big problem).

I took her inside for the night and kept her on a warm heating pad in a laundry basket. She began drinking excessively some time after that, but would vomit the liquid up. By this morning–I got up at 7:30 because I knew I would have to make a vet appointment, not an easy feat on a Saturday with a chicken–Cluckers was breathing heavily, basically nonresponsive, and could not keep her head up.

A x-ray and vet exam indicated she had reproductive tract problems and gastrointestinal problems (I could not pronounce or remember the exact names of the disorders), and furthermore that she had apparently had these disorders at a low level for a very long time. The vet said this could explain why she kept laying shell-less or soft-shelled eggs, why she looked so scraggly even a month after we had brought her home, and though I hestitate to say anything bad about the person who gave her to us, possibly why that person handed her over without telling me anything about her (not even her age). Apparently, at some point Cluckers’s various issues finally got to the point where she could no longer function.

The vet said even if we did everything possible to try to save her, there was still probably only a 20% chance she would survive. And even if she did survive, it was entirely possible that this would be a recurring problem.  Several hundred dollars later, having been told the poor prognosis, I decided to have Cluckers put to sleep.

I feel a little bad that I didn’t take Cluckers to the vet for a general checkup when I first got her; they might have spotted the issues at that time. But she was so hand-shy and so easy to stress out, I was waiting until she was a little more handle-able.

The only small consolation is that this is not an infectious disease, so Peepers is not in danger.

Cluckers now lies next to Penny, my prairie dog, deep in the backyard soil. Farewell, dear Cluckers, we hardly knew ye.

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Egg Inside an Egg!

January 30, 2009 at 11:06 am (Uncategorized)
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This morning’s coop cleaning netted a rather interesting and unusual discovery. Cluckers laid an egg… inside an egg. For some reason, the outer shell didn’t stay together when she laid it (though it was not any thinner or more brittle than a typical shell).

The first photo here is exactly how I found it. I did not touch it.

The outer eggshell was a lighter color, almost white, whereas the inner eggshell was the typical light aqua color Cluckers usually lays.

The outer eggshell was a lighter color, almost white, whereas the inner eggshell was the typical light aqua color Cluckers usually lays.

I did touch and turn the outer shell to take this second picture.

However, the inside of the outer shell was aqua. It was like the outer shell was inside out.

The inside of the outer shell was aqua. It was like the outer shell was inside out.

Part of the eggshell was still stuck to Cluckers’ rear feathers. I will have to figure out how to catch her so I can clean her rear end.

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I’m not sure whether this counts as egg number 4… or egg numbers 4 and 5.

The intact egg is a little more oblong than a typical egg. I’m curious to see what’s inside it; it felt rather heavy. But it will have to wait until I’m ready to use it.

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