Snow Birds

It was a snowy afternoon here on Redbud. The chickens are less than thrilled with the lack of green treats and even less impressed with having to do their bathing in the hen house. Our little ladies are finally learning that yelling at me really changes nothing. The big girls could have told them this a long time ago. Now they sort of grumble and look at me in much the same way as a disgruntled teenager.
As I type this it is sleeting and snowing outside. The girls will be even more excited about things when we let them out in the morning. NOT. The upside is that they are laying really well, maybe out of boredom I am not really sure. There is someone in the big girls house that is laying her eggs on the floor in protest. I have not figured out who it is but she will learn soon enough that it does not work.

Warm Rain

The warmer weather and thunderstorms are hinting Spring, but I realize it is still January. Thankfully the seed catalogs are beginning to roll in and the plotting can begin. I have been trying to do a bit of Spring cleaning around here, at least inside since it has been a frog strangler out there. I know when the official signs of Spring roll around I will be way too busy to get to most of these chores then.

The little girls were very excited to come outside today, even though they are not fans of getting wet. When they all piled out the door they realized there were puddles everywhere and instead of just walking through them, instead decided they should fly over every. single. puddle! They are not the brightest bulbs but we still kind of like them. The big girls had no issues with coming outside, they love the rain. They are not thrilled that they are not getting the daily clover but that last cold spell got most of it. It won't be long they will be knee deep in the green again. (Do chickens actually have knees?)

Sarah bear is battling being sick. Poor baby has a sore throat, pink eye and an ear ache. I hope she starts feeling better soon AND that she can stay away from her brother. She so hates to miss school. Well, I should keep it short today because it is time to give the Big Blue Bear his shot. Tomorrow I plan to add more to the side bar and maybe even post some pictures. Have a good one!

News from the Roost

Redbud Roost has been rockin' so far this winter. I have to say I am a bit surprised at how well the chicks have been behaving. This is the coldest winter we have had since we have lived in Tennessee and last year the big girls had a few issues with the cold. This year both flocks have done really well with both laying and with each other.
When we moved the big girls over to the second hen house I forgot about the lighting because, well, their hen house is inside the barn and it has lights, just not that stay on for the appropriate amount of time each day. So the girls went through a molt and most stopped laying. We learned so much from the molt. We learned that Daniel's beloved Zelda is probably the worst layer we have. Zelda did a slow molt, we knew she was vain but oh gosh she took it to new levels.
Once the molt was over I installed a lamp on a timer and after a bit they got back on schedule with laying. Now we have 43 layers and we are getting 30+ eggs a day. Thank goodness we have a pretty good customer base to handle some of those eggs. ;) When we get backed up we just scramble and boil eggs to feed back to the girls. Extra protein is always a good thing and they love them. The shells get baked and fed back as well to add extra calcium to their diets.
Sarah can not wait until Spring when we will order our new flock. I can't blame her, the babies are always so much fun.

A Good Day

We made it through our first day without losing a baby chick. Yea! Everyone appears healthy and full of spunk, even the runt is doing well. Last night we introduced Tub #2 to a feeder. Oh my how everyone was scared of the metal monster. They were pushing each other into it, hesitating and then running across it as fast as their little legs would take them, but not eating from it. After a while of walking around it, over it and looking from afar, someone got brave and took a chance. Once one was eating from it they all took to it, monkey see, monkey do.

They no sooner got over the trauma of the feeder before we were uprooting them again. We introduced pine litter into both tubs to replace the paper and paper towels they were using. This time there was no trauma, they were having a ball. There was lots of playing going on last night, it was like kids in the first snow of winter.

Update From the Weekend

On Friday I thought that maybe putting Nelly in with Ducky would be a good idea. Nelly could show Ducky how to be a fighter, not that she wasn't already giving it all she had. It was a bad idea. Nelly trampled Ducky to get to the food and Ducky did not respond to having a box mate. I quickly put Nelly back with her sisters.


It seems Ducky was perfectly content with her horse friend. Saturday morning she took a turn for the worse. I was holding her and talking to her as she passed and letting her know how proud we were of her for trying as hard as she did. We will miss Ducky very much.


The girls in tub one also lost a sister on Saturday morning. She too was a fighter. After I had changed the water over to antibiotics she seemed to be responding. We made sure she ate every couple of hours and got drinks and she was eating much better. I guess we just did not get the medicine in there early enough. The other 15 seem to be doing great and getting wing feathers. There is a runt but she is tough and hangs right with the rest of them. Hopefully the 25 we have left will all do well and thrive now.

Saria is doing great. She is developing her feathers faster than every one else and seems to have that aloof attitude that Zelda continues to have. Her favorite place to be is perched up on the feeder. We must get them a little roosting stick in the tub very soon.

Speaking of Zelda, here she is. She is our biggest, fullest, healthiest bird. Not much seems to phase her really. During the winter months when they were all getting a bit aggrivated by the wet weather she started a bad habit in the group. She started eating feathers and taught everyone else how to pick them out. Now I think we are getting it under control but while everyone else looks worse for wear, Zelda has every feather perfectly in place.

The big girls like to gossip around the feeder. I am sure half of the conversations are about Zelda.

I did get all the posts up for the new chicken run. Woo Hoo.

Hubby got some mowing done on Saturday before the rain. It was a good thing.

We rake up a lot of the cut grass and clover to throw into the run with the big girls. They have so much fun digging through it, keeps them out of trouble.

Miss Sarah had a game on Saturday morning. Ninja boy was there to catch it on film.

Spring was being so wonderful to us. The neighbor's pear tree is all leafed out.

Bushes and flowers are blooming and bringing color to us almost every where you look.

Inside we have Tomato plants preparing for their debut to the garden.

The Artichokes are doing well.

The lettuce is wondering why it is not in the ground yet but it has been so very wet.

On Sunday we caught a glimpse of a Towhee in the yard.

And since it was raining Sarah thought it a good idea to enjoy the rain with some bubbles.

Meet the New Babies

We received 10 new replacement babies. These girls are healthy, energetic and a bit on the nosey side. Actually, one of the girls I handpicked because she was so Nosey and we named her Nelly. Nelly happens to be the loudest chick I have ever heard and she is always looking to start the fun.

Here is a picture of the new girls. We are keeping them seperated from the first chicks just to be safe.



There was no need to teach them about how to find the food. These girls were hungry and went after it straight away.


Nothing like a hen party around the waterer. We put a tray under the water to make sure they are not dragging it out and making the whole tub wet. They like to play chase around the water so someone always ends up going for a swim.



This looks like a serious conversation. What do you think they are saying to one another?

This is Boo. Her full name is Duck-Booey but we call her Boo. She is Sarah's hen.

And here is Boo with her sisters.

There are two red heads in this batch and Boo is one, the other is Boo-Boo. Well, that is her name until Taylor gives her a proper name that she chooses.

This batch has been wonderful from day one. We put them on starter feed and water with vitamins and Electrolytes for the first day and then went to straight water the next day. Every one has a hardy appetite and they love to play. This group needs a mama though because they can get a little rough with one another. Yea for healthy babies.

Oh my goodness, do you remember that I said things change fast around here? Well that is absolutely true. I have tried to hatch a post for today about three times but things kept changing. Let's hope this one cracks. =)

*Warning* This post will start serious so we can talk about the sad stuff but then it will end happy.

We have to date lost six of the baby chicks. Ducky is in an infirmary brooder with a splint on her leg because it is hurt, possibly broken. Please keep in mind that this is not the norm. Apparently everyone is suffering big losses with their chicks from this batch but it is not what normally happens.

When you are raising any kind of animal it is almost inevitable that there is going to be some loss. Raising baby chicks, both if you hatch them or you purchase them, is a delicate task especially in the first week or two. This specific shipment of chicks has had something not work in their favor and I am not sure what it is. I know that Ms. Carol is very saddened that the 4H kids are having to experience all of these precious babies not making it and she is working very hard to make sure that replacements are sent.

We are dealing with nature and delicate life so we must look for the lesson in this experience. First of all, all life is delicate. Animals, plants, humans, we all have the same thing in common, we are living creatures that rely on a balance in order to be healthy and thriving. These chicks, like us build an immune system that protects the body from illness and foriegn germs. If that immune system is not strong enough yet or for some reason gets confused bad things can happen. An example of this would be Daniel. Daniel's immune system got confused and thinks that these certain cells in his pancreas are enemy cells. His immune system did it's job and killed these cells but in doing so it causes him to no longer be able to create his own insulin and now he has to provide insulin to his body all of the time and this is called Type 1 diabetes and it is referred to as an auto-immune disease. There are over 80 types of auto-immune diseases and they all work the same way it is just that the immune system targets a different part of the body to attack. In this case the chicks immune system was not developed well enough to handle the stress of whatever has happened to them, possibly in shipping, maybe from before that so they are more likely to not be able to fight off any foriegn germs or illness at all.

Now for the happy part!

The chicks are all on balanced starter feed and they now have water that we have mixed with vitamins and electrolytes. Hopefully this will help them get built back up and give their immune systems a boost so they can thrive and be strong.

Ducky seems to be doing well, the splint has helped ease some of her pain so she can rest and it will help keep her leg in place so it can heal. She ate really good for me last night but we are having to urge her to continue to drink. I think she will be ok it just has taken a lot out of her. The worst thing to happen I think will be that she will continue to think she is the queen and needs special attention even after her leg heals.

This morning I received a phone call to come and pick up more babies! These are to replace the ones that have died, the one we were short in the first place and a couple of just in case because we still had a couple that were not looking so good. So right now we have 28 baby chicks in three seperate brooders. Oh my goodness that is a lot of babies! When I go out to see the grown hens they seem to look so much larger now. It is hard to believe that a year ago they were little fuzz balls like these are.

So now for some pictures!

This is where Ducky spent most of the afternoon yesterday. She wanted to be close to me and would not let me get far from her without peeping like crazy. In nature she would be under her mama's wing so that she would be safe while she heals.

Here is Ducky wearing her splint. It seemed to really help and let her rest. She is so sweet.

She has learned how to hop with it on so she can get places. I rolled a washrag for her to lay next to thinking it would help her not feel alone. But it was not enough.

Sarah gave her a stuffed horse that she looooves to snuggle with. They are now best buddies.

If she gets too warm she still wants the horse close where she can feel it.

Saria is doing really well so far. She is a bit on the small side but she seems healthy and alert.

This little girl is just really pretty. She is so dark you almost can't see her eyes but they are very pretty too.

We had to put a tray under the waterer because they had water everywhere. Now they think it is a place to perch.

The next post will have pictures of the new additions.

Day One Was Happy and Sad

The kids got off the bus yesterday at a full run to see the newest members of our family. These babies are so very sweet and it was hard to remember that our last flock had one time been this small. These girls may be small but they have energy and attitude. The thing to remember is that they are still so fragile, this first week is critical not only for their survival but for their future well being. More on that later, first let's look at who the kids chose to be their loves.

Sarah has had the nickname of Ducky since before she was born. So when we saw this little girl who has a striped face and somewhat resembles a duck's coloring (at least in the face), then that was the one for her. Meet Ducky.

Ms. Carol was right on her choice for Daniel, he loved the little red haired girl. Since she resembles Zelda he thought he should keep with the theme and named this one Saria.

Unfortunately we lost two more girls yesterday and one was the chick that Taylor had picked out to be hers. These girls are so small and get stressed by the trip, the new environment, the vaccination they receive before leaving the hatchery, among other things. It is vital in those first couple of days to make sure they are eating, drinking, staying so very warm and are out of any drafts. Unfortunately there was a run on chicken feed in this last week. There was no starter feed to be found in the three towns we checked. So until we could get some we made a makeshift starter for them, we also provided them with sugar water to give them a boost. Maybe it just was not enough or maybe these girls were just too weak and stressed to survive.

Today I plan on giving them some egg yolk from some hard boiled eggs, this should help the ones that need a little extra. I know that sounds weird, feeding chicks eggs but if you think about it the egg yolk is a chicks first food. Eggs are high in protein and good things that they need to grow. We must be careful not to spoil them to the treat because what they need most is the starter feed because it is balanced for them, but right now we need all the help we can get so a treat of egg yolk is definitely in order.

Speaking of eggs. Did you know that baby chicks have a tooth? That's right, they have what is called an egg tooth. It grows on the end of their beak and it is what they use to break through the shell when they are hatching. It usually falls off after about a week or so but here is a picture that shows one of the girl's egg tooth as she was raising her head to swallow the water. See the yellow dot on the end of her beak?

More updates to come, maybe today will be a healthy day for all the girls.

Flock #2 Is In The House! (Sort of)

Today was the arrival of the new chicks. In case you weren't with us last year here is the skinny on what is going on. Daniel is participating in the 4H Chick Chain Project. He receives 25 Black Sex-Link chicks, all female, to raise as laying hens. In the Fall he will take the 5 best hens to the Poultry Show and allow them to be judged. After the Poultry Show he can make the decision to auction off his hens or keep them. If choosing to keep the hens the participants can now make extra money by selling the wonderful farm fresh eggs that the hens are laying every day or since these are dual purpose birds they can also be used for meat.

Last year when we started this project for the first time we had decided as a family to really support Daniel with the chicks because he is on the Autism Spectrum and we were not sure how much he could handle on his own. We definitely found some sensory issues that got in the way and in the whole of the situation he did really need our help. However in the process of raising the flock of chicks we realized that even without Autism it would have been a good decision to do this as a family. The flock became a part of our family almost from the start. We have a few hens that have names because the kids chose them for their very own, these hens have immunity for any future plans of becoming dinner. Our main girl is Zelda, she is Daniel's hen. Zelda is almost completely red where the other girls are mostly black. The exception to this is Sarah's hen Fuzzy who is also red but was kind of the runt of the group. Daniel chose Zelda from day one because he said she was different like him. She, like him, is beautiful, healthy and in control. I guess another hen I should mention is Turkey Girl, she is the tattle tail of the flock. She will throw the others under the bus in a heart beat if it is going to score her points. She complains about everything and she does not understand the word HUSH. She follows me every step I take and she makes me laugh.

Out of the 25 we started with last year, we have 18 left. One died after one day because of Pasty Butt which can be caused by the stress of the travel from the hatchery to us. We washed their bottoms religiously but unfortunately for her it just wasn't enough. Then at about 24 weeks we lost 5 birds. We were not practicing bio-security well enough and the kids allowed a friend in the coop who also had chickens. Our girls contracted Coccidiosis and it hit them hard. Recently in March we lost one hen for no apparent reason, it just happens.

So here we are starting flock number two.

We went to the Extension office this morning to pick up our babies and found flats of fuzz just peeping for all they were worth.

When we got home I realized as I was putting them into the brooder that there were only 24 girls. Those rascals, they are so hard to count when they keep trying to do Kung Fu on each other's heads.


Ms. Carol had the perfect chick pegged for Daniel. Here she is, now he has not seen her or named her yet but she is a dead ringer for Zelda, so I am seeing sequel on the horizon.

One little girl had to be seperated out. She was very weak and even when she drank it would not stay down. She never made a sound, she was trying but no sound would come out. Her breathing was very difficult, it was like her lungs were not fully formed. Bless her she only lived for a very short time after we got home but she tried.

So here are the 23 in their new digs. It took them a bit to settle in but every one seems to be drinking well, eating well and napping. Ok, napping while no one is jumping on their heads. They seem to be a feisty group and already we have some leaders emerging.

I believe at the end of the week we may be getting replacements for the two so that will bring us back to 25. Stay tuned because they grow fast and things are always changing here on Redbud.