Sunday Reading - New Additions

 

I picked up three new hens for the depleted chicken horde the other day. I figured it was a good time to do it before it starts getting too hot and I found a guy selling year old hens anyway so I wont have to worry about the whole chick raising pain either. I am not the chicken raiser around here nor have I ever been, that having always been my son's job before. I have always preferred to just add already grown birds into the mix myself and it used to be there were so many people begging to get rid of Red-Sexed links hens every Spring it was just the easiest way to do it (usually remains from smaller scale egg production operations I always just found it easier). Years ago when I was taking care of my mother everyone was always interested in adding unique chicken breeds into the flock so we had a huge variety and a large number of what I would call damaged chickens.

Damaged birds were Ex-Egg producers that had lived in cages or huge building/barn floors their  entire lives and had no clue how to even be a free range chicken.  We had birds that would bunch up together in some corner of one the barns and I would have to lead them into their coop at night with a  flashlight, we had birds that would eventually end up on one of the porches and demand their own private cage so they could be brought into the house at night.

We actually ended up with at least three of those. I called em house chickens and they were a hoot. I would set them inside every night and someone would let them out and open their cage door every morning and they would sleep on top of the dog during the day. We actually would occasionally get the sheep riders too, who demanded a personal sheep to ride around on 24/7. They were rare but were a real pain to get broke from that activity and had a problem with reverting back after I thought I had em trained too.

So adding these three new hens was not something I took on lightly cause I still don't know how this is going to turn out honestly. I used to have a modified stall that I kept the chickens in but after the retirement of the our volunteer night watchman (The best guard dog that ever lived) I had a hell of a time  keeping them safe. It was then that I bought an above ground chicken coop kit and reduced the flock size down to less than 8 birds. 

With just the wife and I now egg production is not something we care about so the chickens are just decorations for us really. We have been happy with this arrangement and the chickens have been a source of entertainment for the neighbors over the years too as they laugh at me while I try and mow the lawn while herding these birds out of my way.

Over the last few years our mixed flocks of misfits would go visit the neighbors, claim one of the barns when it rains, sometimes follow one of the local farmers while planting and tease the eagles every chance they got. We had one of those big fluffy Russian breed roosters who was the most hen pecked whimp of a rooster I ever met but was a local attraction for a few years until he finally died a few years back. Since then another neighbor came by and gave us an extra easter egger rooster who was raised by the last remnants of some Road Island Red hens (who had trained the old rooster) and a few new chicks my son had raised. It was a merry band of chickens until the coon attacks we suffered this Fall and Winter.

So we were down to one young hen and this very well behaved Rooster this Spring and they were obviously very lonely, hence my decision to add these three new hens to the group. 

I picked em up Thursday night and have left them in a big cage right under the coop well protected and comfortable for a couple of days. This was to allow the two remaining birds to get to know them and for these new birds to at least get use to this particular spot. After a few days I moved em to the coop last night and then let them out with the two remaining birds this morning.

As near as I can tell so far two of the new birds joined the Rooster and old hen and are off foraging with em now. The Rooster is juiced and keeping a close eye on his new girls as he leads em around to all the nice bushy spots and is constantly talking to em and entertaining em with his crowing skills. One of the new girls seems totally un-impressed  and is just hanging out near the coop by herself pecking. We will see how evening goes and if they come to the coop on their own or not. This is the danger time trying to get these three into the new routine so I plan on keeping a close eye on em today.

Luckily I have all my chores and mowing caught up so my only real plans for the day is simply walking around the place and doing little jobs and keeping an eye on the new additions. It is more important these days of course with all the new traffic and construction going on around us. The easy days of solitude seem to be a thing of the past more or less now but who knows what this Summer is going to bring. I kinda have a feeling life is going to slow down again for my old age or at least I am kinda getting faith that it may.

Soon I will post some pics of our new citizens I hope.

 

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!