Talking about my Chicks

Something I didn't expect happened. I discovered I am fond of chickens. To tell the truth, I had never really thought about them before. I am not much of a bird person as animals go - not as far as birds for pets anyway. Not that my chickens are pets, they are too independent for that. Over the last few months they have grown, developed their own personalities, learned to answer to their name (only three are named), learned to come at a dead run when I call them to dinner, and let me know that their favorite treat is day old Denny's rolls. LOL.

One of my roosters has a congenital deformity of his feet and legs that is caused by the intensive breeding for fast growth that has caused him to grow bigger and heavier faste than his legs and feet developed to hold his weight. As a result, Hoppy (as we call him) had so much difficulty that at one point he could hardly stand at all. I tried in vain to find someone who would take him for free, butcher and eat him, thinking to have him put out of his misery. Turns out that no one cares to butcher their own chickens, even free, as it is truly a nasty and unpleasent procedure. If you had to kill your own chickens, you'd never eat one.

I'm glad I didn't give him away. Over time he has gotten much better and now gets around his large area just fine. He has good days and bad days, but more good days now and I am cautiously hoping that he might even someday be able to walk and run like the others. Meanwhile I've learned he likes to be visited and talked to. He always responds, with a cluck and a look on a bad day when he cannot get up - although he will struggle to get up when he hears my voice - and on good days he will come right to me and "talk back".

At one point I tried to give him a hen for company. I chose the girl I named "Buffy" for her color back when they first got feathers. For a long time I thought Buffy was a bit slow. She is very docile and could always be picked up, held, petted, and handled more than the other babies. I often laughed at her as she grew up, and nicknamed her "Wrong Way" because she was always the last in line and if there was a way to get lost on the way to the gate, she found it. Once she got trapped behind the open gate and I had to close it and pick her up and then put her back down on the right side. I thought she might be a wee bit slow mentally! I thought because of her gentle personality, she would be a good companion for Hoppy.

Buffy (the chicken in the photo here) had other ideas and became an escape artist! No matter how I tried to find her little escape hatches and close them, she would not stay in Hoppy's area with him. Of course, it was never very hard to catch her even though she was running loose around the ranch. I tried to return her to the main flock - but they had decided she was no longer a member and attacked her. When I lifted the top of their cage to rescue her, she flew straight up into my arms and cuddled against me, clucking her distress. I comforted her as best I could, then set her down. Buffy has been a really, really free range chicken ever since. With 3900 acres to explore, she rarely goes far from the house.

When it became clear I had three roosters and four hens in the pen, I set a rooster free to keep Buffy company. From the first day he has been dubbed Fido - because he follows me like a dog anytime I am outside. In fact, he heels perfectly to my right ankle most of the time. If I sit outside he hangs around nearby, doing his "bug patrol" thing - which I greatly appreciate! One day he really shocked me by snapping up a small mouse almost at my feet and battering it to death. Fido has discovered that when a door is open to the warehouse he gets great acoustics. Like a human singing in the shower, he can stand in front of the warehouse door and crow for, well probably hours, but at some point I go close the door! When it is time to feed, he comes to the front door and crows until he sees me through the door putting my shoes on.

At first Buffy ran screaming "I don't NEED a man" every time Fido approached her. Over time I guess she decided he is okay, and now she follows him like a proper wife, a few steps behind. We make quite a little parade when I'm outside doing chores.

One of the great little delights of my life is tiptoeing out to feed, getting as far from Buffy and Fido as I can, then calling them just to see them running pellmell as fast as their long legs can carry them to me for their dinner treats.

Now - try imagining Buffy and her girlfriends crammed into cages where they cannot move and are showered by shit from the hens in cages above theirs. No Fido, no Hoppy, just artificial hormones. Fido and Hoppy would have been raised in even more cramped conditions until they were a few weeks old, then ripped out and killed. Chickens with Hoppy's condition don't matter -they don't have room to move anyway. Seeing how large my chickens are now, I can't imagine how anyone thinks a space the size of a shoebox is sufficent for them to live in. All this campaign is trying to do is to at least get the provisions of the humane slaughter act to apply to chickens. Yeah - they were exempt from even being slaughtered humanely. Is it too much to ask for their death to be quick after a brief, miserable life?

So click the link, sign the petition, maybe add the widget to your blog page, and think about it before the next time you buy a dozen eggs or a package of chicken in the store. The country that has finally banned selling horses for slaughter for human consumption surely can manage to kill chickens humanely...

(Photo courtesy of Farm Sanctuary - link below under Factory Farming - Poultry)

Buffy decided that she wanted to lay her eggs on a shelf in the warehouse! We let her for a few weeks - you know how insistent and stubborn she can be. Like Fido, she loves those acoustics. Hens really do cackle with pride (or something!) when they lay an egg. She really wanted to raise a family, and getting those eggs out from beneath her became a bit painful! She would peck at the intruding arm hard enough to bruise, although she never drew blood. Unfortunately for Buffy, our work schedule changed and we couldn't leave the warehouse open all day with no one home. She sulked for a few days. Laid her eggs on the sidewalk a few times (not very good for the eggs, I must say), and now is hiding them somewhere out in the desert. Which probably precipitated...

Fido's Big Adventure. Last year we had a big red male coyote that, during the winter, would roll right through the yard near the house. We have many Desert Cottontail rabbits and Black Tailed Jackrabbits that come to the wildlife feeder in the front yard, as well as quite a few more living behind the barns and pens out back. This coyote and some of his coyote pals hunted all around the buildings at night and in the early mornings. We frequently saw them with rabbits, or found the remains. It is sad, but then that is the natural order. Without the coyotes, we would be quite overrun with the rabbits. However...

About a week ago, we saw that big male coyote sneaking around the house. Obviously. Sneaking. James and I stepped outside and shouted at him. He looked at us, then zipped across the front of the property towards the small pond we put in this summer. Suddenly, the coyote pounced - and Fido shot straight up like a rocket from the tall grass! He lost a few tail feathers - and the coyote lost a couple of human admirers! The hubby went after the shotgun and shot in the coyotes general direction until Mr. Coyote got the idea and, reluctantly, ran off. Fido came right to the house and jumped up on top of the coop!

Since then, if we look out and Buffy and Fido are on top of the coop - it is a sure bet that coyote is outside looking around to see if we REALLY mean he can't have chicken for dinner. Meanwhile, our two adventurers are staying a lot closer to the house these days, although Buffy is still hiding her eggs too well to be found. I suppose any day now she will run up to be fed - with a batch of fluffy chicks behind her.

Sadly, Hoppy's condition deteriorated. His bright eye went dull, bright feathers, too. He was clearly in pain and depressed. When he hardly bothered to respond at all, and no longer even tried to eat, we reluctantly decided there was no other choice. I gathered him into my arms. Hoppy draped his neck over one of my arms and snuggled, as if he knew what was coming and forgave me. We walked him well into the back pasture so as to hopefully not upset the other chickens, and ended his life, leaving his carcass for the predators and scavengers to use.

Our friends are greatly enjoying their wonderful farm fresh eggs, and there are always new people asking if we will bring them eggs, too. So the husband and I have decided that next year we will add to our flock and sell a few eggs, too.

The first blast of winter weather slowed the girls down a little, but we are averaging 3 eggs a day from just 5 hens (we don't count Buffy, since we think she is laying - but we can't find them!) Not bad for first year hens - and they are supposed to really do their best in their second year! Stay tuned!

PETA has a list of the Top Ten Reasons not to each chicken that range from because they are far more intelligent and caring than you might think, to the problems with contamination with the meat and injuries to slaughterhouse workers. It's worth checking out.

I got some great news in the email today. KFC Canada has agreed to work with PETA to solve many of their concerns about the inhumane treatment and slaughter of their chickens. They will also be offering a vegan alternative to chicken at many of their restaurants!

Now to get the KFCs in the U.S. to join in! You can write KFC here to let them know you are concerned and would like them to join with KFC Canada in treating the birds more humanely and you can Keep up with the latest on the campaign by clicking here.

My chickens are doing great. Two of the hens went and stayed with some friends over the spring and helped out by turning their garden for them! They came home with a very nice nest box that all four remaining hens say is their favorite - and it's built out of a big cardboard box. Very nifty recycling!

One of the girls seems to be getting broody again - so maybe we'll raise some of our own babies this summer.

Photo courtest of Wiki Commons

There are a lot of reasons to choose to raise your own chickens. Concerns about the world's food supply - both in terms of how healthy that food is and in fair distribution is often part of it. You can help without spending a dime.