Josephine, September 15-Februaray 5, 2010

Every time I think I have some control over this chicken thing, that is, I can raise a chicken from a young age, bond with some little, or big thing about its personality, and feel confident that I am acting responsibly for another animal's well-being, I am brought back to the harsh reality that life is so fleeting for the smallest of beings and I am not in charge.

That's what happened two weeks ago when I let the girls out into the yard after I returned from an early morning run. I've done that dozens of times...the automatic letting them out to play and explore, search out tasty morsels (even in February!) and just be chickens. I went in to shower without giving them another thought and then did my usual visual search of the girls in the yard after. Since there are some blind spots in the yard I wasn't concerned that I couldn't see them and I went out to the kitchen back steps to check on everyone. Some bird flew out from under the steps and I thought at first it was a morning dove, just by the flutter of its wings. But as I looked at it up in the tree I realized this was a hawk and with absolute dread I ran out and looked under the porch steps where I found Josephine, already dead.

I'm the kind of person that says a silent prayer over road kill and I cannot stand to see another animal suffer in any manner. So finding Josephine like this was almost unbearable and I was consumed with grief. The hawk kept watch in that tree for 2 more hours and it then moved right into my driveway where it sat for another hour staring at the porch. I know the hawk was just doing what it needed to but it was awful.

The other 4 girls, being more 'street-wise' had scrambled for the back of the yard where they were hiding in the pile of Christmas trees I have gathered over the past few years. My guess is that Josephine got caught near the driveway and headed for the safe spot under the steps, or so she thought. (Am I giving too much credit to a small chicken?) I was surprised the hawk followed her there and I am just grateful it was not long that Josephine suffered.

Naomi, bless her heart, was there for me and together we buried Josephine on that cold winter morning. Naomi read from the Book of Common Prayer and I just cried a lot. Josephine joined Althea and Eunice in our backyard where we have set aside space for our beloved girls. She couldn't have been a sweeter chicken...she loved to climb on my back when she thought the big girls were picking on her. And she faithfully played with Hazel, whether it was in the basement or out in the tractor.

My next thought was how was Hazel ever going to blend in with the other hens now that she didn't have Josephine. I know I'm talking about these chickens like they were my children but that's sometimes how they feel. Since Josephine's death I've tried to get Hazel out to the tractor more and to let all the girls mingle with supervision. No one left the coop for 2 days after the hawk attack as I was a wreck about a return visit. Since then I've seen no sign of that hawk though another one visited this week and I scurried everyone back in the coop when it came by.

I've now received the 'Hen Saver', a heavy cotton apron that Hazel will wear to keep the others from pecking her. All I need to do is add a neck piece and I hope by this weekend to have Hazel try it out. If it works, I'll let her start spending nights in the coop over the next week.

We head out to Sharon's mid-week for a quick visit and Sharon has a little hen in mind for us to bring back. I'm not sure whether to take it...another hen, another name, another chance something will happen to it. But then again, it could be a little spark plug and a hen that will add personality to the group. I won't know until she (maybe K something?) comes back with us.

Certainly, raising chickens has had more drama, more heartache, and more pleasure than I ever would have expected and I have no regrets. I pick up those glorious eggs almost every day and I give thanks for the bounty I receive. I'll just have to continue on this journey, wherever it leads, and be grateful for all I been given. Thank you Josephine.

It's been a very long time since I have posted anything here. Much has been going on in the backyard and once again there have been some changes.

Taking a few steps back...I spent much of the summer and fall wondering why my girls didn't lay eggs. For the second summer there were no eggs from the two girls who could have laid - Delores and Beatrice. To give Beatrice credit, she managed to lay about one egg a month but Delores just counted on her good looks to get her by. Flora and Gertrude were too young but I knew that from October on there could be eggs. Meanwhile, I just enjoyed their company and antics and continued to buy eggs, though I didn't have much interest in eating them.

My step-daughter, Sharon, suggested I add two more chicks so that eventually, there would be a more continuous supply of eggs as older girls stopped laying and younger girls began. It certainly made sense and I had sadly come to see this year that chickens don't live forever, or even that long. But I had other dilemmas...I was only permitted by the city to have 4 hens and I wasn't sure I was up for the task of blending in new girls. Flora and Gertrude were easily accepted but Eunice had had a tough time of it.

So Naomi and I discussed our options and in the fall we brought home two 'foster' chicks. Irene and Hazel, both Araucanas lived in the kitchen in the recycling bin and was it nice to have them with their little chirps. Hazel had a rough start at Sharon's as the 'runt' and she arrived with few feathers on her back. Irene towered over her but was gentle and the feathers grew back.

Unfortunately, Irene turned out to be Irving with the saddest adolescent crow you've ever heard and on Naomi's next trip out to see the grand-kids in NY she took 'Irene' and brought back Josephine, another Buff. It's so nice to have an endless supply of chicks in the family! Josephine was from the same group as the others so everyone knew each other...well, as far as chickens go.

Keep in mind that we were still working with 'foster' chicks and were still on the fence about keeping them but we started to give them some outside time in the tractor while the big girls hovered with curiosity. I had also gotten into the habit of letting the chicks sit in the kitchen on the edge of the recycling bin as they enjoyed roosting there and were generally well behaved....except for when they weren't and they tested their wings in the kitchen. I seemed to be the only one who found this endearing and after a few flights around the kitchen Naomi banned them to the wire covered bin and I knew we had to move them outdoors.

It was then that I contacted the Board of Health to request my permit be extended to 6 hens knowing I would abide by their decision and if necessary, two would return to NY. In hopeful anticipation of a new officially extended family I started moving the girls out to the coop at night. I still kept them separate during the day as Flora and Gertrude, now laying eggs (hallelujah!), seemed a bit feisty and I worried about them pecking the little ones.

The overnights worked out well but then the time in the run became a little chaotic for the little ones so I continued to keep them apart except for short periods. I worried especially for Hazel who seemed more vulnerable. One Saturday morning in December, when things seemed to be going well, I left them all in the run for two hours to mingle. It was a big mistake and when I returned poor Hazel had been attacked so badly that the back of her neck was completely exposed and bleeding. Oh, such guilt.... We brought her inside and cleaned and bandaged her neck. The wound was so serious I didn't think she was going to survive. She barely tolerated the dressings but with a topical antibiotic and some other antibiotic added to her water the wound healed and the feathers grew back. But now she lived in the basement...

On the warmer days I put Hazel in the tractor with Josephine and on other days I brought Josephine in for 'play dates'. I now had a good sized cage so at least there was room for them. I researched protective jackets for Hazel and fashioned one out of fleece, hoping that would discourage pecking. But the cold weather made it hard to be consistent about getting Hazel out.

Josephine was holding her own in the coop though she was more afraid of the girls than anything and she'd run away from them even when they were ignoring her. Sometimes she'd hide between my legs or jump on my back or head. She loved being held and was a real sweety. There was only occasional pecking at Josephine, nothing like what Hazel experienced.

During all of this drama I had my hearing in front of the Board of Health in late January and I found a much different board than three years ago during my initial permit application. They were open and receptive this time and seemed genuinely interested in what I wanted to do plus they commented on the increase in permit applications since last year's newspaper article. That was wonderful the hear!

I had my permit approved the next day for 6 hens!

Farewell, Eunice

I have stalled for several weeks on writing this post as I’ve dealt with the loss of yet another of my beloved girls, Eunice, who died on June 26th. Now, 5 weeks later, I think I can finally face this.

I have great guilt over Eunice’s death – not that I caused it through some overt act of negligence or malice but that I contributed to it in some way that I am not aware. And then there’s the voice – “What does it say about me that I can’t keep my animals safe and healthy?” I might as well be saying “What kind of a mother am I?”

Eunice’s illness began with the same symptoms 6 weeks after Althea died - loose stools and a distinct change in behavior from her usual raucous self to a more subdued hen. I cried when I first saw her this way and was so afraid she would take the same path as Althea. I also worried that my not giving her the worm medicine in April because it was so hard to contain her was the cause of this illness. More guilt.

There’s no way for me to know if the medicine would have helped and I suspect not, as Althea did not respond to it either. But I gave Eunice the 5 day treatment and when it was clear she was not improving I consulted with a local poultry owner in town. He’s got a whole myriad of birds and keeps them in wonderful surroundings. Being from the old school (like my Italian grandfather), raising birds seems a natural way of life. He suggested a course of antibiotics which I immediately began by adding it to the girls’ water.

But Eunice continued to get weaker and then started falling to one side. She couldn’t hold her head up straight and every time I looked at her it just broke my heart. Every day I brought her out of the coop when she could no longer negotiate the ramp and every night I placed her back inside. As it was with Althea, the other girls seemed to take note of Eunice’s condition and they too were subdued.

During this entire period there should have been the joy of having Flora and Gertrude join the flock. They were still quite young, they ran everywhere, and their high pitched chirps were nonstop. But all I could see was Eunice and how hard everything was becoming for her. If anyone had told me a few years ago that I would get this upset over a sick chicken I wouldn’t have believed it. Well, that’s not exactly true….I have a huge soft spot for animals and seeing them suffer always makes my heart weep.

I just kept thinking there should be more I could do for Eunice. I searched the internet and consulted books, and finally posted a question at Backyard Chickens, a wonderful online resource. I got some advice though honestly, there were so many possibilities that it was hard to sort out a clear action plan. I think that is one of the things that I find so difficult in raising backyard chickens. Was my coop cleaning practice (or lack of) the problem? I thought once a month was sufficient but then I started raking it out every day in case I’d allowed something to fester in the run. Should I have been giving preventive additives to food or water? I bought organic apple vinegar and added that to the water. I considered adding cayenne pepper to their feed but didn’t do that (it helps prevent worms). And which antibiotic and for how long? It’s just not as clear as I wanted it to be…

And all during this time Eunice continued to weaken. I finally brought her into the basement when it was obvious she was not going to improve. She was so brave but it didn’t help. I realized something that had been troubling me about Eunice’s and previously, Althea’s illness. When we have a pet that becomes sick, we immediately take them to the vet where it is common practice to make a diagnosis and come up with a medical plan. And when that plan is not to intervene but to end the suffering then that often happens very quickly – in the interest of not letting the pet suffer. It’s not often that we accompany our pets on this journey towards the end of life.

Even the most caring vet could not help me fully with Althea and it didn’t seem to make sense to put Eunice through the same process. So there was no question that Eunice would be cared for at home until the end. And that is the difference. Naomi and I cared for Eunice for almost 2 weeks before she died and it was a heart wrenching process. She was too weak to take food or water that last week but she still hung on. We even took her to my sister’s house on the Cape when we had planned a few days visit. Poor Eunice made the trip in the back of our little car and every day I prayed she would let go and die but she had an amazing reserve. And all the time I did my soul searching wondering what I was doing wrong. Two chickens dying in two months…

I am grateful to my wonderful step-daughter, Sharon, who is wise in these matters. She kept telling me that chickens are fragile animals and that I was not doing anything wrong. I feed the girls well, give them fresh water, and plenty of yard time. I keep the coop clean. And I love and care for them and still it isn’t always enough. These things just happen and the animals we love get sick and sometimes they die, but it’s so hard.

Eunice was a spunky girl who had a good, though all too short, life. She was so different from the other hens but once she made that adjustment to the other girls she was forever a part of the family. She never liked being picked up and she was a squawker who would run in terror when you got too close. After all, she was a Silver Campine, an ‘ornamental bird from Belgium’ as I liked to say, and they are very particular. But she was a lot of fun and I miss her.

One Big Happy Family

I must have fretted for two weeks about how to integrate Flora and Gertrude into the coop with the other girls. The recycling bin seemed to shrink as the new girls grew and grew and though they never complained I felt guilty as the days went on. The little girls enjoyed days in the yard in my makeshift portable pen where they were totally ignored by everyone else. But at night they returned to the safety of the kitchen while I figured out how to move them permanently to the coop. I had bad memories of Eunice joining the family and how terrorized she was by the others for that first month. There's real truth to that pecking order thing...

I finally came up with a way to divide the coop run with one of the fences I had made for the driveway when escape to that area had been such an allure. I gave the new girls a small area in the back of the coop and settled them in to meet their sisters. I nervously waited for the squawks and pecking, even through the fence, but they never happened. It took all of one day with a fence and one night altogether in the coop for everyone to come together. That was it...no fighting, no pecking, nothing... I was astounded and relieved. Had I known it would be so easy I wouldn't have waited so long to move the girls out. As it was, it was almost 7 weeks before they left the kitchen. What can I say...I'm a cautious parent.

After two weeks everyone seems to be getting along just fine though I don't think they've formed a community yet. It's still big girls roam the yard and little girls stay closer to the coop and that is fine with me for now though I hope at some point they all roam together (so I know where everyone is!). Flora and Gertrude still have their lovely chirping voices that seem to go non-stop and now I've noticed the big girls almost purring (in imitation?). Anyway, the new girls have discovered dirt baths and bugs, sleeping on the roost, and the joys of low flight to get across the yard in a hurry. It's fun to watch them all.

On a side note, the girls had a lovely visit to the Second Congregational Church in Beverly last weekend for their Strawberry Social. They were invited to highlight the work the Sunday School has done with the Heifer Fund. The kids (and the adults) were charmed by the hens and the chicks and I did some shameless plugging for raising chickens in Beverly. There was some definite interest from a few adults and practically every child! As always, the girls love visitors so contact me at sue.lupo@verizon.net to arrange a tour.

I'm going to figure out how to attach files to this blog so I can post the documents I mailed to folks during the May Open House including Beverly specific forms and general FAQ's and health information. More to follow...

New Chicks!

Like any good parent I am using the time spent caring for my newest chicks as the excuse for not writing!

It was a very difficult choice as to which two of the six new chicks we were going to keep. I wanted them all to stay but we are not setup for such a large operation. Naomi had already picked the Rhode Island Red and after picking up each chick to see if there was that special bond (there wasn't - they're just chickens!) I chose one of the Bard Rocks who had the most lovely chirping sound. We presented the other four to our daughter and son-in-law in Middleton to add to their small flock. Their kids were very excited. The plastic bin seemed so empty without the entire gang though...

I want to thank everyone who suggested chicken names during the Open House. There were some wonderful names and we had a very hard time deciding. In keeping with our wish to use old fashioned names we settled on 'Flora' for the Bard Rock and 'Gertie' (short for Gertrude) for the RI Red. The names seem to fit.

It's been a fun few weeks with the chicks. They have grown so much that they are now in that awkward stage of all feathers that don't quite fit or something. Their feet are too large and they have the beginning signs of a comb, just like teenage boys with their peach fuzz. Somehow their voices haven't changed and they have the most genle pleasant chirp that is almost non-stop. I had forgotten how comforting that sound is and how much I will miss it when the chicks finally move out of the kitchen to the coop.

What I won't miss is the dust! It's pretty much just in the kitchen and there's no way to get around it. Last time we had chicks I put them right into the basement for that reason but that lasted all of two hours as I was worried it was too cold, too dark, too lonely, etc.. It was really me that had the issues, they were probably fine. The cats have shown no interest in the chicks and the chicken wire over the recycling bin is more to keep the girls in than the cats out. They are still enjoying the heat lamp as they're just little girls and still need to be warm. I think it will be a couple more weeks before we start thinking about the coop.

The chicks have had several trips to the backyard in their wire playpen on the warmer days. They figured out how to eat grass and bugs but they haven't started the scratching chcken dance yet. The chicks crouch at every noise or when a bird gets too close. They aren't fond of the sun and seem to prefer the shade. I don't have a cage so I made a corral of chicken wire and covered it with a piece of wire cloth to discourage jumping and keep any big birds out, like a hawk. We've had very few hawk sightings this spring but that's only because of good luck. I have a view of the chicks from my desk so they can't get into too much trouble.

I am a little concerned about the chick and hen integration. I still remember how hard it was when Eunice came as a pullet. I need to do some more research on the best approach so the chicks can be safe. I'll take suggestions from anyone who's done this before.

Lastly, one bit of unfinished business from the Open House. I emailed information packets to everyone who signed up but two e-mail addresses I had were bad and the mail came back. It's probably because I couldn't read the names correctly but if you signed up and didn't get anything, or you would like a packet, please contact me at sue.lupo@verizon.net and I will be happy to send the information out. I've already heard from one person who got her chicks after the Open House so the movement is really on - A Chicken in Every Yard! I can see it on bumper stickers now!

Chicken Open House a Great Success!

My thanks to the many folks who came on Saturday for the first 'Chicken Open House!' There were too many people to count but we think there were over 100 visitors - from chicken owners to wanna-be chicken owners - families, individuals, young and old. It was amazing! We even had two folks in karate uniforms and a couple in revolutionary war gear. Nothing would have surprised me after that on Saturday!

What started as calendar items to the local papers turned into real publicity for which I am very grateful. If you missed the article here it is - http://www.salemnews.com/archivesearch/local_story_120220619.html
The Beverly Citizen also came out to put some video on their site to go with the calendar item. What a hoot!

The open house was really a huge success. I got to meet other folks in my town and surrounding towns who are successfully raising backyard flocks - from a few chickens to more modest numbers. I really had no idea how many people were already raising chickens and it was wonderful to have them come and share their knowledge.

What was really exciting was all the people who want to raise chickens. We had one fellow sketching the coop and others going through the coop design and beginner chicken raising books. Others checked out the hens and the coop and played with the chicks. And everyone had questions! I was very grateful our daughter Sharon, and son-in-law, Eric, were here visiting from NY as they have much more experience than Naomi and me so they were drafted into duty from the start. We even pulled another son-in-law, Billy, into service since he too has hens in Middleton. We had folks here before noon with the last leaving at 3:30 Saturday, plus 3 more came by on Sunday! I enjoyed talking with so many people but I know I missed a few for which I am sorry. And I'll never remember all the names so be forgiving if you see me on the street and I don't remember your name. (-:

We were able to get 6 new chicks from the Danvers Agway last week and they were a big hit on Saturday. They were also exhausted at the end of the afternoon from all the handling and slept once the event was over (as did I...). We had kids submit names for the two we are keeping - beginning with 'F' and 'G' and we got some great names. Once we decide on the new names I'll list them here. We're keeping the one Rhode Island Red (Naomi's choice) but the other is up for grabs. I'm trying to find the one other chick that I feel a bond with - you know, the one who isn't too squirmy when you pick it up. We have two each of the Comets and Barred Rocks and a single Black Sex Link. I'm leaning towards the Comet as it's easier to see a light colored hen in the backyard when they are roaming but that's what the hawks think too...

I had put together some resource material for folks, especially those living in Beverly, but we quickly ran out. To the others who left e-mail addresses, I have to scan some stuff and then I will send everything out later this week. There were almost 50 requests for information!

I think the open house was just a starting point and I am already fantasizing about a 'Beverly Tour de Coop' next year! There is clearly a lot of interest in chickens and I think this could be the beginning of a real movement in Beverly and surrounding towns. A chicken in every yard!

Thanks again to everyone who came!

Chicken Open House! May 2, 2009

With the promise of spring in Beverly it's time to open the coop and let the neighbors in! So on Saturday, May 2, from noon to 3:00 there will be a Chicken Open House at 10 Harrison Ave. Stop in and meet the girls, tour the coop, and learn what it takes to raise hens in Beverly. Bring the family as the girls will be out in the yard and at least a couple of them like to be petted. But if you have a dog, please leave it at home -the hens scare easily.

If things work out as planned by Saturday there will be 2 more chicks in the family, still to be named. The local Agway is getting a shipment of chicks on Wednesday and I plan to be there to pick out 6, the smallest number they will sell. Fortunately, one of my kids lives close by and also has chickens so she will take 4 though all 6 will be here at least through the Open House. All I know is that the chicks will all be different (or at least 2 will be!) so I can tell them apart. We're still working on names and hope to have them by the time the chicks arrive.

So, if you are in Beverly on Saturday, please stop in and meet the chickens!