EnviroMom

Chicken mom finds out the true meaning of cooped-up, hen-pecked and free-range

We've been chicken-sitting our neighbors' hens while they are out of town for several weeks. Granted, this is what I signed up for. But I'm astounded at how these petite little birds can kick my ass on such a regular basis. I've been on a steep learning curve as I take in all the responsibilities that differentiate winter care from summer care: protecting them from freezing temps, some first-aid, as well as keeping them fed, watered and mucking out the coop. They are coming up on their one-year birthday this April, so they are all laying and we've come to know their unique personalities.

Chicken lays first egg. There was much rejoicing!

I was starting to think they were deadbeat chickens. Defective layers. Ungrateful compost eaters! But finally. One chicken stepped up and nestled herself in the egg box, and produced the incredible, edible egg. Isn't it a beauty??

Sometimes a discrete, well-worded letter is all it takes... No, actually it took something else. I've been heavy into Chicken Mom duties as our neighbors have been away for two weeks. During this absence, there was a near food crisis. They had grit, they had oyster shell, but the grain feed runneth low. So there I am google searching "what do chickens eat." Since we've seen them eat their own feathers, slugs, worms, carrot tops and pretty much anything else we'd throw into our compost bin -- I wasn't too worried. But the mom in me wanted them to have a well balanced diet. By lucky happenstance, I came across a container of free oats. But in my searching I found a helpful site about what chickens eat, as well as a tidbit explaining that if you don't gather the eggs quickly enough, they stop laying. It occured to me that the plastic Easter eggs we'd put in the egg boxes to teach them where to lay may have backfired and taught them NOT to lay. So I took the fake eggs out Saturday morning, and voila! First egg was layed that afternoon. As you can imagine, we are all quite proud of our little egg!

Spring chickens, egg watch and wondering when the heck they're going to get down to business

My dearest spring chickens,

Hi! How are you? Keeping warm in your coop over across the street? It probably seems funny that I'm writing you a letter since I just saw you girls yesterday when we came over to change your water and give you some treats! We sure do spoil you! Saving all the best bits of our kitchen scraps from the compost pail to give for your eating pleasure. You know how you love all those melon rinds and veggie skins! Y'all are like a bunch of skinner dogs -- salivating and clucking every time we come over with some goodies for you. And Goose (sorry about your name by the way -- the neighbor boys picked it)! We know all your tricks. You are the Chicken Run chicken if there ever was one. You hop out of the coop every time we open the top. Nibbling the dandelions growing in the yard. We don't blame you. You've got a lovely coop, but we hear ya. Getting out once in a while has got to be fun. But you with your little chicken brain. Have you not noticed we play you like a violin? We can herd you into a little corner by the coop and pick you up and pop you back in before your little chicken gray matter has even figured out what we're doing.

So, hey. The reason I'm writing is I'm wondering if any of you would be up to laying an egg or two. It's been about 4 months now. You're all totally cute. You have those reddened hen faces that proves to us you seem to be going into your adolescent chicken hormone phase. So, like, do you think you might want to just try laying an egg? We put those little plastic easter eggs in the egg box to try and get you in the mood, but so far that doesn't seem to have had any effect. Now, we're not going to go withholding any watermelon rinds or anything. But we're really hoping to see an egg soon. It's kind of rainy today. Maybe you should all just huddle in the hen house and work on laying. Just cluck if you need anything. And we'll be by to freshen up your water, fill up your grain and give you some fruit and veggie scraps later...

Good luck!

Love,
Renee and the kids

A city ain't no home for a rooster...

Recently you may have overhead the following explanation in our home:

"If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... it's probably a duck."

But substitute the word "rooster"...

"If it looks like a rooster, and struts like a rooster and crows like a rooster... it's probably a rooster."

Alas, poor Zebra, we hardly knew ye. We loved your fabulous plumage. But the neighbors weren't going to find your adolescent crowing very charming for much longer. Especially seeing as sunrise comes mighty early these days. Luckily, our Chicken Raising neighbors had anticipated this possibility. Apparently, it's hard to sex baby chicks. So they'd prearranged an adoptive home on a farm in Boring, Oregon for any spring chicks that turn out not to be hens, but roosters. Zebra went to his new home this week. The children shed their tears and mourned Zebra's move in their own ways. I tried to console them by explaining that at least he will not end up as a chicken McNugget. I don't think that helped matters much. The good news is the real hens may start laying any time now... Some of their faces are flushed red, which apparently shows the hormonal glow of teen hens. Can't wait for those beautiful eggs! Our neighbors go on vacation next week, and I leave with my family on vacation today, so there will be a short window where Heather gets to be ChickenMom in our absence. C'mon egg layers!

Chicken sitting and Tour de Coops on July 26

While our neighbors' chickens have yet to lay their first eggs, it's been a real delight just watching them grow. They are now out of the swimming pool brooder, and living in their own coop, which features a salvaged window from the ReBuilding Center. How cool is that? It's funny how I hoped to tame my bird phobia by fostering these chicks, and that's worked. But I also felt like it was something I was mostly doing for the kids, since I know I'll never get them a pet of their own. What I've found is that I really enjoy just observing their behavior when the kids aren't around. Funny how the hens will fight over the same piece of lettuce -- just like my kids would -- rather than looking around and noticing there is plenty of lettuce to be had by all. It's cool to watch them spread their wings out in the sun, strut a little, and perch on their roost. I find myself talking to them: "Hi girls! How's everyone today? Hot enough for you? I'll bet you're ready for some nice fresh water. Maybe some strawberry tops??" We also feel like ambassadors, introducing the chicks to various friends and curious neighbors.

So while our neighbors' coop will not be on display (although it is spectacular and I think it should be on next year's tour...), you can see a whole slew of other chicken coops on the Fifth Annual Portland Tour de Coops coming up on July 26, 11am to 3pm.

Just for fun, here you see my 6-year-old wearing a vintage feathered hat that we felt made her look quite like our neighbors' crested exotic black and white (named Zebra). Pumpkin, the Rhode Island Red, is her coop-mate.

Chicken love and the accidental chicken mom

About a year ago, I confessed my fear of chickens, based on a scary childhood run-in with a rooster. I've come a long way in the past year. So far in fact, that I'm now a proud chicken sitter of our neighbors' brood of week-old chicks. Aren't they cute? They're even using our old cracked kiddie pool as a brooder (just goes to show there's always some creative "reuse" idea for things you think are destined for recycling).

Our neighbors decided to become chicken owners after a lot of research and planning. One of their major hangups was their travel schedule. They live like French people, and take the month of August off every year to go on a great family camping trip. So how would they manage to take care of their urban chickens and still go on vacation each summer? That's where me and my girls come in. They brought up the chicken sitting idea with us, and I was amazed at how immediately enthusiastic I was about it. I guess I had spent enough time around some other friend's hens to know they weren't anything like the mean ol' rooster Mort I met as a kid. I've never been much of a pet person, so having a important role in caring for our neighbor's chicks fulfills the pet desires of my kids, without becoming full-time pet owners.

The little mail-order chicks arrived a week ago in a box, squawking like the dickens. Tiny little fluff balls, cold and confused and looking for some love. There's 25 now, and the neighbors plan to divvy them up with some other friends who are still getting their brooders and coops ready. Our neighbors went out of town this weekend, so we've been happily holding, petting, and changing out their feed and water. It's been really fun to see my two girls reach out and hold these little fluffy chicks. My 6-year-old is especially enamored of the chicks, and even is enthusiastic scooping the chickie poop out of the brooder. So far all the chicks seem to be thriving, and even me, the old scaredy cat is feeling the chicken love.

Yes! It's Chicken Fest 2008!

Lollapalooza? Psh, that's so 10 years ago. New York Fashion Week? Ugh, how cliched. No, Portlanders, it's all about poultry, so hold on to your egg baskets because Chicken Fest 2008 is coming! March 28-30 is the date and Livingscape Nursery in North Portland is the place to learn everything about the chicken, the egg, and which came first. Are you like Renee, who has come full circle from being terrified of chickens to actually plotting for her own brood? Maybe you'd like more information about cooking with eggs? Or maybe you'd just like to take your kids to hang out with some chickens for a morning? Then Chicken Fest 2008 is just what you need! Register for classes and workshops, or just stop by to check out the chickens and Ask an Eggspert -- it's all good. 3926 N. Vancouver, Portland.

Chicken poop!

Babies and pets...they come with a lot of poop. How to manage it? Where to put it? Well, chickens are no different. Lots of poop. Chicken poop is great fertilizer, but what do you do with it in a small yard? Phyllis needs the straight poop from EnviroMom urban chicken keepers:

I know this may sound a bit weird but...
We have three chickens. We are new to this urban pet chicken thing.  Kids love them. I love them. Chickens are low maintenance and very entertaining.  My question is ... what do other urban chicken keepers do with their chicken poop?  I cringe when I put the droppings into the trash. It is such good fertilizer but our yard just doesn't have a spot for composting right now. We also have bunny poop which is also good fertilizer. Do you know of anyone who would want organic composting material like this?  We put in tidy paper bags with handles. Just seems a shame to sent it to a landfill.

Counting chickens before they are hatched

She asked me if I wanted to think about. I said no, I didn't need to. I'd be glad to chicken sit for her next summer. My neighbor was the one asking. They are thinking about getting some spring chickens, of the egg-laying hen variety. But they needed a chicken sitter first, since her work takes her and her family away for extended times during the year. I couldn't believe I was saying it. But I said "Yes, I'd be glad to chicken sit!" for the month they'd be gone. I realize it's a classic case of counting my neighbor's chickens before they are (literally) hatched, but I am really excited about this.

I've come a long way. As a newby EnviroMom early last spring, I confessed my chicken fears. Quickly I learned that my childhood run-in with a mean rooster was probably not representative of the urban hens I was about to meet at a GreenGroup meeting. In fact, the urban hens I've met have not been scary at all. So much so, that I've actually been toying with the idea of raising chickens myself one day.

So this opportunity to chicken sit for neighbors seems heaven sent. What a great way to give raising chickens a try, and partake in some fresh laid eggs. Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!!

Chicken love

Chickens! Do you remember our Chicken Mom, Chrissy? She got busy and wasn't able to keep posting about life with chickens (our loss). But we need some Chicken Moms to give us the low-down on keeping backyard hens. Julie is thinking about it, too:

Did either of you see the picture in the paper a few weeks ago about the tree house / chicken coop?  It was in the real estate section.  I loved it!  Now we're seriously considering getting chickens.... I was wondering if you could post something about this or ask any of your readers about their experiences with chickens.  LIke - do they wake you up early in the morning?  I've heard even the hens can be noisy at 5am.  Also, any issues if you have cats or other pets?  Someone also told me the feed can attract rats.  I'd love to have some feedback from people who are living with chickens.

I've pondered chickens as well. My concern is keeping them cooped up (so to speak) rather than free-range. I know there are chicken tractors, but I can't imagine them working out on my heavily sloped backyard. So, what do you think? Chickens -- yea or nay? Noisy? Smelly? Rodent-attracting? Bring on your chicken stories, folks!