The Time Crunch

Recent days have been filled with increased attention to the loud and smelly teen like (eat, sleep, and argue) chickens still living in our house.  The chicken coop is nearly done, but the size of the chickens, their ever increasing chatter, not to mention their stink has caused a "get it done now" urgency to the coop construction.  It is funny to think back on when I first thought of making this little portable coop.  I looked over a few plans, and thought naively "that looks simple".  Well over three weeks later and the coop is nearly done, but for me and the family this will not be soon enough.   

In addition to the chicken time crunch we also have increased the time needed to get the weekly groce

ry shopping done.  When you attempt to purchase food from local farmers, as we have bee

n doing more lately, it changes the one-stop shopping at Safeway into a longer process. We have enjoyed getting some of our weekly food at a couple of local farms in a nearby vall

ey.  New discoveries:  

• Raw whole milk from the Dungeness Valley Creamery
• Farm fresh eggs from a couple of local farms (girls will help with this later)
• Fresh veggies from Nashes Organic Produce

Please see attached photos of progress on coop see above and local the milk photo is courtesy of "mostly-filler" (Thank you Lee). 

Footnote:  Phase one of operation "My Chickens!" has begun with our dog Sunny.  Phase one activities include blocking off the kitchen and bringing the girls out of their pen to nervously walk around on the floor while the dog is allowed to meet the birds.  All the while we assert our Alpha pack leader dominance over Sunny exclaiming "My Chickens!" so he understands that he isn't allowed to harass, nibble, lick, suck-on or otherwise taste the girls in anyway.  Thank you for this idea goes to John Grogan author of Marley and Me who wrote an article about his current dog Gracie and training her to not eat his family chickens.

-George 

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Spinach versus Earwig

This is Leigh (Chick Whisperer) again with the latest interesting tidbits on feeding our chicks.

As George has told you, they are getting bigger, noisier and smellier. They're still really cute, though, even if we now have to clean their tub, water dish, and food dish daily. 

George threw spinach in the tub a couple of days ago and, at first, they didn't know what to do about it. They starred at it...with their heads cocked. Pretty soon they figured it out, though, and now they start fighting over who gets to peck at the spinach.   

George and I have been talking over what to feed them a lot lately ( I guess we don't have much of a life!), and been really curious about when we can start feeding them different food (like maybe bugs...or grittier food). Since we don't know exactly how old they are, we have been playing it by ear. The other day I spotted an earwig crawling across our floor and I decided to throw it in the tub, thinking they would be even more thrilled with the earwig, versus the spinach leaf that had been almost obliterated that was sitting limply in the wood chips. 

I was wrong! They definitely came over to have a look at this fast-moving little pinching bug (I hate earwigs!!) but soon lost interest and went back to furiously pecking at the spinach!!

It was pretty funny to watch, needless to say. They definitely provide us with lots of entertainment. 

-Leigh (a.k.a Chick Whisperer)

The Coop

The noise and smell of these young chickens was cute a couple of weeks ago, but now fills our livingroom to a level that seems to be growing exponentially everyday.  The cute little peeps are now frantic- flapping- squaking noises necessitating cranking the volume on the netflix movies we watch at night.   While the noise isn't always bad the smell from the nitrogen rich poop production has certainly doubled within the last week.  That said, there is increased need for a permanent outside structure (coop) that we can move these girls into soon.   Luckily for me I have been blessed with a work friend that not only has a great set of wood working tools and a shop that dwarfs most houses but she also has great skills and when I mentioned our family needing a coop, she jumped at the chance to design and build this project with me.  Now let me be perfectly frank that without her help this coop would certainly have taken me way past my very limited carpentry skills.  So, as you view these photos and notice the clean angles, and cool design the credit goes to "Tam" who lucky for me doesn't seem to mind giving up a couple of Satudays to help us in our quest for getting closer to the source of our food.  

Here are some photos of the project.

-George

P.S. By a recent family vote, we have decided (over careful deliberation...as naming chicks is very important for the kids) to name the blonde chick Tam, in order to thank our good friend who has helped us to make these chicks a home. 

The Chick Whisperer

I have given myself (Leigh) the nickname of "Chick Whisperer". Everyone in the family agrees that this is an appropriate nickname for me, since I am able to put our baby chicks to sleep almost every time I cluck at them. 

I first noticed this phenomenon about a week ago when we had only had the chicks for a couple of days. When I approached their tub, I wanted them to be calm and, of course, they were not. Anyone out there who has had baby chicks knows that it is rare to see them just kind of chilling out. They are usually pecking at the ground, or trying out their wings, or running around or pecking each other! (Establishing pecking order, I guess.) 

I don't know why I clucked at them...maybe because I do it with my dog, Sunny, when I am calming him or giving him pats...maybe because I grew up near farmland and had a best friend with horses, that she used to calm by clucking at them. Whatever the reason, it definitely just happened naturally. 

When I did it at the chicks, they immediately stopped pecking and cocked their heads at me. ALL OF THEM!!! "Weird," I thought. I wonder what would happen if I kept clucking. So, I kept clucking about 30 seconds. By the time 30 seconds was up, they all had their heads in the cedar chips and were snoozing!!

If you have chicks, you may already know this. This is our first time. We are definitely novice chick parents and every day is a new adventure in parenting. SO, it was a surprise and, who knows, it may come in handy when we are trying to collect their eggs when they get a bit bigger. 

-Leigh

Why Bother?

When considering changes like our family is trying to make questions like "why bother" sometimes nag at the back of my mind.  A recent article by Michael Pollan in the New York Times attempts to analyze this question and in my opinion paraphrases nicely the thoughts that go into an effort like the one that we are beginning.  It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the global warming crisis if you read all the news that continues to be generated recently.  It is easy to critically examine the issue and come to the conclusion that any change we attempt to make isn't going to do enough to make a difference and this is probably true.  

Is it me or have we already entered a time of rapidly changing climate?  Have we already reached a point of no return?  I like to feel we have time, but I also know that even though our families efforts may be trivial and given the big picture (developing India and China) not really going to make a difference.  The effort alone is important to us. 

Please see comment below for a permanant link to the article.

-George

Which came first... the chicken, or the coop?

Well, it's me, Rahne. Before I begin, let me explain that there are five members of our family not including the chicks. Kelly is my brother (see "Chicken Fun"), and George and Leigh are my parents (see "Why Chickens?"). They have been posting as well, and will continue to post. We also have a dog, named Sunny, who you can see in the background of the picture under the post, "Why Chickens?" He is eating  grass. (ORGANIC grass.)

Today, my dad, George, spent his time with some work friends making a "Chicken A-frame," as he so humorously put it. The chicken a-frame is designed in such a way so that it can be picked up and moved around. This way, the chickens and the ground works together so that the chickens still are technically producing "free range eggs," and the ground is fertilized from the chicken's waste and their turning up the soil.  

Unfortunately, although the chicken coop is turning out quite nicely, the chickens cannot enjoy the pleasure of living inside the new chicken coop because of the weather and their age. Even though it is "Spring" (note the quotation marks) we are still experiencing winter- like weather. But don't blame it all on global warming... here in the Northwest, the weather is already irratic... global warming just helps it and gives it a nudge along the way. We've been getting hail and snow, even in April!!! 

-Rahne

chicken fun

hi welcome to chicken run website i want to tell you that how much i like chicks. When my dad said where going to get chicks i was proud i love chicks.I couldnt belive it the chicks where arracanas a good kind of chicks. I watched them alot it was my best time.so My dad is soon going to get eggs from them when there big, I dont like that idea i want more chicks.If you want chicks go to airport strret and a pet shop is there if you want to buy some go there.  Bye have fun with the website chicken run.

-Kelly