Crop Bound

 He everyone, 

So I had mentioned about a week ago that my new rooster seemed to have a pretty large lump on his chest. Well, tonight I noticed he was wincing and shaking his head as if something was wrong. I read up on it and did some research and I think his crop may have been blocked. Without doing anything drastic, I took the time to massage his crop in an attempt to loosen any blockage that may have been there. I also read that I should have tried to get water into his mouth with a little olive oil, but alas, I didn't have the materials at 9pm to do that. If it doesn't seem better, I will have to attempt to lift him at a 60 degree angle and get him to regurgitate whatever is in there. Everyone says that's where it gets messy and it smells super fowl.

The most important thing I read was that it is important to lift the chicken right side up every 10 seconds so that they can BREATHE. I was disgusted by the person I watched who was holding their chicken by her feet and just squeezing the fluid out of her crop. Don't be that person.

Below is the most helpful video I watched. I will update the perch tomorrow if I end up having to do more. Fingers crossed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAX7VdX8r-s

Introducing a Young Rooster to Older Hens

I woke up yesterday and was scrolling through Facebook when I saw a friend's post with a beautiful Easter Egger/Black Sex Link mix rooster looking for a home. I had been thinking about "renting" someones rooster next spring to try to hatch my own chicks. I also recently learned that roosters actually do help protect the hens in case there's danger. We have a lot of coyotes and I had red that roosters actually tend to sacrifice themselves by putting themselves in between the hens and the predator. How heroic. The reason why I didn't really want a rooster for a long time was because they scared me. I was traumatized by one as a kid at my friends house and I just didn't want to deal with the aggression. However, starting with a younger rooster is promising. Also, I was told his father was very mellow. My chickens are now 21 weeks old, this rooster was almost 9 weeks. I was so excited to meet my rooster that I wasn't even thinking about the age difference as a big deal. Even though I did a little research and listened to the advice my friend gave me, I still think I should have done a little more research. Skip to the bottom for the full story on what went down.

Birds are weird. I knew that there was a process involved in introducing a new bird to the flock. Introducing more hens is different than introducing a rooster. I must have read 20 blogs, forums, and watched 10 videos of people introducing new birds to their existing flock. I must say, everyone does their own thing depending on the variables surrounding each farm's situation. I did read that I probably shouldn't let my rooster hang out with my hens until he's at least 14 weeks old and big enough to defend himself. At this age he will be better at establishing dominance and have a better idea of how to protect the girls. A lot of websites said to keep them quarantined from eachother for weeks to make sure that no diseases are spread. However, knowing the person who had him and reading that only 10% of bird flue cases are backyard flocks, I took my chances. Of course, I notice him sneezing a bit. This could be because of the fact that he was in a box for an hour in the car, the fact that it was really cold, or the fact that he was anxious. As a precaution, I put 5 drops of HomeoPet Feline Nose Relief (It's what I had) into the small mason jar I had containing his water. 

I have 9 Barred Rocks, 3 Isa Browns, and one White Brahma. In doing my research I learned about the "pecking order" that chickens establish within each flock. I didn't know it had a name, but I did know that my alpha female was Daisy, my Brahma, second to Pastrana Chicken, Barred Rock. Both of them run the coop and have first dibs on food. They're the definition of #bosslady. 

What went down:

9am I got to meet the rooster. I put him into a wire dog crate with some hay, a box, food, and water. Shortly thereafter, I opened the coop doors and let my hens out early. They were very curious and the rooster seemed uneasy. It also decided to be the first cold day of the summer at only 50 degrees F. They were so cool to watch.

11am I thought I would try to hold and pet the little rooster. I learned that the little chicken claws are actually more painful than the full size ones. I talked to him while I held him. The hens gathered around me and kept pecking at my ankles causing me to cut our meet and greet short. I put him back in the crate.

2pm I pretty much did the same thing that I did at 11am, but I gave him a couple of meal worms after I gave my hens some treats. Then I let him walk around the perch in the coop because the hens weren't around.

5:30pm I squatted next to the crate, opened the gate, and welcomed the hens to check him out. The poor rooster freaked out because two hens entered and he bolted out of the crate flapping his wings. He was practically attacked by 2 of my Isa Browns who were more aggressive than I have ever seen. Thankfully I was able to corner him and grab him relatively quickly and bring him back to the crate. It pained me because the poor bird just wants to be free. Ok, I thought to myself, what have I gotten myself into? It was at this time that I felt a lump on the front of his chest that I hadn't ever noticed on my other chicks. I looked it up and I think that I just felt his crop. Really hoping that's what it was.

6:30pm Let's try introductions again. I opened the crate just a little and let one of my friendly Barred Rocks enter. The rooster again, became uneasy and started bolting around the small area in the crate. The Barred Rock was more focused on eating the starter food than the rooster himself. I removed the food, closed the door to the crate with the two of them in it and observed. They stared eachother down for a bit, and the rooster got nervous and retreated to his box as an attempt to hide. This actually trapped him giving him no way to escape. The Barred Rock wanted to check out the box and of course, she pecked him. He freaked out, then she freaked out, then I removed her and decided to give him a break.

7pm The sun was no longer hitting his crate and it was getting windy so I moved him in the crate, into the coop, with the rooster in it. This is big because he was now in the hen's house. All the hens surrounded him, my Brahma paced on the side of the crate aggressively. The Isa Browns tried pecking him from the outside of the crate. The Barred Rocks really seemed to be the most civil about the entire ordeal. Except for Gerty. I swear she was trying to eat me today. She was once the favorite. I waited for the hens to settle down and I cracked open the gate on his crate to pet him and hold him and talk to him. I didn't hold him long as he was pretty wrestless, but when I set him down in his crate, I gently pet him and for the first time, it seemed like he trusted me. I put my finger under his beak and lifted his head which seemed to mesmerize him. I continued petting him on his wing and his neck while talking to him. 

8pm All the hens were in the coop, on their perch, waiting for me as usual. The rooster was actually ontop of his box in the crate looking pretty comfortable. Someone said to try putting him on the perch while it was dark as the chickens would be less aggressive. However, I just didn't feel great about doing that especially after the scary moments during the afternoon. 

9pm I'm typing this post and just hoping that I don't have to keep him in the crate long, but coming to the realization that he might need to be separated from the hens for a few weeks in that crate so he can get bigger. I'm actually wondering if after 11am tomorrow, when the hens are done laying, I just let him hang out in the coop during the day.

Side note, I came inside that afternoon digging through the cabinet for lunch and came across "Shake n Bake" and the name for the rooster just came to me. Ricky Bobby.

Building Nesting Boxes

We had originally tried using some plastic buckets as nesting boxes. We quickly learned that our girls were much bigger than the buckets and that they couldn't turn around in there. After getting eggs much earlier than we expected, we decided that we needed to actually build our own nesting boxes.

The good news was that we had just remodeled our (once plywood) bedroom with sheet-rock walls. This meant that we had a lot of plywood to work with. Everyone does something different for their hens based on the number of hens they have. I had red 1 nesting box for every 5 hens. That seemed like not enough boxes for my 13 ladies. 

Now for the nitty gritty details. We built 7 boxes that were each about 1 square foot. So it was more like 1 box for every 2 hens (even though they only use 4 of them at the moment). We put a roof on the top of the boxes that was aggressively pitched because we didn't want the hens to sit on top and poo all over their lovely boxes. They have the entire rest of the coop for that. Next, we thought about how we would have to clean out the boxes and how it would be nice to be able to flip the lip on the edge down to easily scoop out. The reason there's a lip to begin with is so that the hay doesn't fall out every time the hens get nested and jump out. To do this, we used three hinges that are pretty sturdy. The hens are all pretty happy and even though they all sleep on their perch, they still spend their mornings in their boxes.

Eggciting News!

Hi everyone,

So sorry for the delay in posts. I've been wrapping up my Master's capstone and it has taken a lot of my time, but I'm back!

On August 5th, with the Barred rocks being 18 weeks old, we saw our first egg! Now that is surprisingly young in comparison to the six months I had originally read about. I was so excited and we have gotten more and more eggs each day. Today is August 26th, yesterday we had 8 eggs, today we had 5. It is pretty sporadic right now. Our 8th egg yesterday was laid later in the day and wasn't fully developed. It looked like a ping-pong ball on the coop floor and felt very squishy and delicate. It freaked out my boyfriend, but I thought it was fascinating. 

Switching to Layer Pellets/Crumbles

It is about that time that I switch my chickies to big girl feed. They are coming up on 18 weeks already!

Firstly, I didn't know I needed to choose between pellets and crumbles. The best thing I read was that the crumbles are easier to break down and digest than pellets. That being said, I assume that the pellets are less messy than the crumbles. I don't think it really matters, but for funzies, I'm going to buy the Purina Layena Pellets and the Crumbles and see which one disappears first.

Note: there is also a mash option that is almost like powder which seems really annoying so I didn't even put it into consideration really.

I read that, 

"As stated, crumbles and pellets are essentially the same thing presented in different forms. Whether in crumble or pellet form, chicken feed is typically a mixture of grains, protein, vitamins and minerals. Both types provide the same level of nutrients to your brood — dependent, of course, on the quality of your feed and whether you’ve opted for organic. The key differences you’ll discover are:

• Texture: Crumble is a coarse, loose texture that is typically easy to eat thanks to its soft consistency. Pellets are compact cylinders that hold their shape nicely, making them easy to store and serve.
• Manufacturing: As we’ll explore below, crumble and pellets are processed using different machines — a crumbler or a pelletizing machine.
• Convenience: While both pellets and crumble are popular options, they’re convenient in different ways. Pellets are the most widely-used and easy to find chicken feed option, making them more convenient for farmers. They also ensure consistent nutrition in every bite, since all of the pellets are the same size! Lastly, they offer low mess and minimal waste. Crumble, on the other hand, seems to be the easiest to eat, making it a convenient option for a quick feed and for birds that are particularly young or senior in age."

https://organicfeeds.com/chicken-layer-crumbles-vs-pellets/#:~:text=The%20Difference%20Between%20Layer%20Crumbles%20and%20Pellets&text=The%20key%20differences%20you'll,easy%20to%20store%20and%20serve.

Building a Coop

There’s a lot to keep in mind. 

1. You want it to be big enough for your flock
1. The minimum rule of thumb is about 2 to 3 square feet per chicken inside the chicken coop, and 8 to 10 square feet per chicken in an outside run. More square footage is better. Skimping on space requirements for a flock of chickens can cause stress, cannibalism, pecking, and sometimes even death. https://www.dummies.com/home-garden/hobby-farming/raising-chickens/how-to-determine-your-flock-size-and-space-requirements/#:~:text=The%20minimum%20rule%20of%20thumb,pecking%2C%20and%20sometimes%20even%20death.
2. You want to make sure there are no holes for predators to sneak into
3. Be careful when it comes to hanging a heat lamp.
1. If it's too close to the hay, it can cause a fire. As good as fried chicken is, this is not the way to do that.
4. Give them perches and nesting boxes.
1. I've read that one nest is good for 3-4 birds. I still think the more boxes to build, the better
5. Waterproof roof
6. Sturdy enough for your environment
7. Allow for plenty of airflow.
1. It's nasty and dusty in those coops. It helps to have a window or 2 to let in some fresh air and create a draft. Just make sure you have some kind of screen in the window to block out predators.
2. Also be sure to have a way to close those spaces tight for cold days.

Important Considerations for Free Ranging

Free ranging seemed like the most logical idea for me, being on top of a hill in the middle of nowhere. There are a lot of benefits, but there are also a lot of things I didn't even think about when I first bought my chicks.

1. They poop everywhere. 
1. On the porch, the deck, the lawn, the concrete slab, everywhere.
2. My poor UPS driver and USPS mail person probably walk in it when they drop off my packages on the porch. I've tried chasing the chickens off the porch, but they still continue to find their way
2. They eat everything... including your favorite plants.
1. I just got a Rhododendron that I want to plant, but have been holding off because my chickens seem to really like the taste of it even though it's poisonous to them.
2. They destroyed my bleeding hearts plant. 
3. They seem to really just want to eat all things all the time.
4. Keep them away from your garden
3. They MUST be cooped at night.
1. We live where the weasels, coyotes, foxes, and bear roam. If we didn't put them away at night, they would make a great dinner for any predator.
2. A lot of people struggle to do this. At first, I was chasing them with a hoe to get them out from under the coop and using a broom to guide them into the coop. Running around, out of breath, almost every night. At first I thought, "hey, you know this is making me healthier" but in reality it was just super annoying.
1. My solution was putting their food away in the morning. At around 7:30pm every night (during the summer anyway) they are all waiting on their perch in the coop for me to bring in their food and lock the door. Being free range, they graze and eat bugs and grass so they never starve, though they act like it every time I bring their feed into the coop. I do give them some feed at around lunch time every day. I could easily switch to just taking the food away midday and putting it back in the coop at night.
2. Different things work for everyone, but it's easiest to train them as young as you can.
3. ALWAYS DO A COUNT OF THE CHICKENS AT NIGHT
4. If you live where people stop by often, make sure they don't have dogs with them. They will try to eat your chickens no matter how sweet they may seem. 
1. See my post about socializing them early for tips on how to introduce chicks to your pets.
5. Get the largest "Slow" sign for your driveway that you can. I have one that is small and everyone ignores it. 
1. I am lucky that my chickens are rarely in the road, but the amount of dust the dirt road produces makes it hard for chickens to see and hard for people to see. 
2. I've noticed that if you just sit on your porch and glare at people as they come up the driveway, they slow down.