Backyard Farmgals

How many of you have heard about a chicken tractor?  If you are not in the know, it is a marvelous idea: a mobile home for chickens that you can move around a yard (large or small), giving your chickens opportunity to range without wandering far off.    We have seventy chickens at the farm.  With so many girls, we occasionally get an injured or picked on bird.  These girls need a sanctuary away from the pecking order that can become vicious and eventually deadly for a chicken that isn't quite normal.  These girls that need a little extra TLC end up in my backyard.  If they can rehabilitate they are eventually moved back to the farm.  We have a few that can't go back, and they become permanent residents.  We have a blind chicken named Helen and a chick with hip dysplasia named Dot.  These two girls will stay here forever.  I have a small yard, 0.25-acre, and these rehab girls make a marvelous mess of my little plot.  We als...

We got new chicks about two and half weeks ago, 25 peeping baby Speckled Sussex, and one unknown rare breed.  Murray McMurray adds a rare breed mystery chick to your order.  I think this is so fun, and a great way to get people interested in breeds other than the standard Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds.  There are many endangered and breeds that could use a little "advertising", most are great layers and can be used for meat.  Ours is likely a Blue Andalusian, the boys have named her "Miss Blue", and of course she is the favorite chick because she is different and easy to recognize.  We went with Speckled Sussex this year because my oldest farm hand is smitten with the breed.  He draws them non-stop.  You should have seen his face when he came home from school to hear his Sussex chicks peeping as he walked through the door.  He was elated and is still smitten.  He loves their "spots" on their wings.  The breed is out of Britain a...

My boys are so proud.  Proud as peacocks, to be exact!  This week was fair week and my two farmhands took their 5 best chickens to put on display in hopes of ribbons and chicken champion glory.  Imagine their surprise when on Wednesday morning, they stepped into the chicken house to see a large, green, chicken-topped trophy staring back at them. I think the plastic rifle really makes the picture here.  Will insisted on bringing it, and posing with it.  Boys!?!??  I sometimes wonder what planet they are really from!   Reserve Champion Junior...  *gasp* Which is a really fluffy way of saying second place.  Jane, the Silver Laced Wyandotte, was beaming as only a Reserve Champion Junior chicken can!  First place was taken by a gorgeous black and gray rooster with feathered feet.  I think that his feet won over the judges, that, or he was bribing them with chicken feed! Jane.  Doesn't she look like a Reserv...

Our peeps are now a week plus a few days old.  Looking at them throughout the week, you would think that they haven't grown or changed much.  However, I brought home some day old Australorps to add to the flock, and the difference between the week olds and newbies is remarkable.  The week old chicks are starting to feather, they are considerably larger and a lot more active.  The newbies spend more time under the light and sleep quite a bit more.  It is amazing how fast they grow! A week old Ameraucana next to a day old Australorp... these girls get big fast! A little bit about Australorps: they are the Australian take on the Orpington (get it...Austral + Orps), and they are HUGE!!!  These have long been one of my favorite heritage breeds, but I have never been able to get any where I live without ordering them direct.  A new farm store opened by us and they brought some Australorps in, and I immediately took twelve.  These lay brown eggs...

Little hands holding a Rhode Island Red Have you ever held a baby chick and felt how soft and delicate it is?  Chicks are one of my most favorite things in this world.  I love the soft fuzz, the peeps, the sweet little chicken toes, all of it!!!  No matter how much I love them, my kids love them more.  We surprised the kids with 12 new baby girls yesterday.  I had to share the pictures with you all. Will is elated!!!  He is my chicken whisperer, he loves his girls! The kids were elated.  We brought home four different breeds, three of each.  Ameraucanas, Black Sex Links, Golden Sex Links, and Rhode Island Reds.   Golden Sex Links A couple quick tips on new chicks.  If you are thinking of bringing some home, make sure that you have thought it through.  I have rescued far too many chickens because of poor planning on someone's part.  It was getting so frequent that someone would try to drop their chickens off, ...

L eft to right: Egg, Jane, and Lizzy I thought that I would quickly introduce you all to the six chickens that live here at the house.   The rest of the flock (another 40) is up at the farm.  Honestly, I can't imagine a backyard without chickens.  They have become part of the landscape for me.  I love looking out the kitchen window while I cook and watching the girls pluck their way through the yard.  I have had chickens in the yard for eleven years now.  I think back to that first flock and realize how much I have learned over the years.