Who Stole the Strawberry?

Ms. B. Rock (Barred Rock hen) is changing her name to Queen B. She is the smartest chicken in matters of importance. Like when spotting a bit of strawberry with green hat attached. The other girls looked in the direction of the strawberry but Queen B was on it. She grabbed it and ran around with it in a victory lap. She eventually scared herself and ran inside. The strawberry dropped at the door where the other girls found it. They danced around, trading it back and forth a bit but the initial joy had dissipated when Queen B left the scene. The strawberry remains outside as a used trophy, not as the intended tasty treat. They have been in and out a gazillion times. The order of their first investigation was just as it had been in the bedroom when mash was added to their feeder. Heckie (Black Astralorp) is the bravest, at least most curious, as she was first out of the Eglu on this blustery first morning. Heckie was followed by sister Hennie, the not-to-be-left-out, then Queen B who must pass judgment on all things, followed by hesitant little Arriauna, who wisely hovers close to big Queen B. When I closed the eglu door last night Arriauna was peeking out from beneath Queen B like a newly hatched chick.

Flyover Honors Chickie Girls' Move to Eglu

The further adventures of Ms. B. Rock, Heckie, Hennie and Arriauna -- The Blue Angels did a flyover as the chickie girls were moving from the back bedroom, out into the Eglu. The Angels tipped their wings in salute. How nice that the folks at the Air Force Academy, a few miles up the highway will also enjoy the flyover on this Memorial Day. The Eglu and attached run were ready with fresh straw in the nest and on the ground in the run. Two waterers and two feeders in place. Several yummy green weeds are growing the run. The girls made the trip in the dog carrier. They entered into the Eglu through the egg retrieval door. But they did not come out into the run.

Too scary! That straw might hurt our feet! Sunlight might burn our feathers up in smoke! When we used to look out the window, Heckie, you said it would be great to be outside. Yeah, well…its fun, isn’t it? No, and I think I hear a cat sniffing the back of our poop tray. Are you sure she can’t get us? Oh, here comes our lady. She’s opening the sky (read: egg retrieval door). Yikes, she picked me up. She carried me way down there to the end of the straw. She pushed my face is some water. Hmmm, it tasted good. [Each chickie got a sample of the water, except Ms. B. Rock.] Ms. B. Rock, why didn’t she push your face in the water? Well, my dears, I’m larger and therefore wiser, so I did not need to be half drowned to learn the location of the water. Follow my cue and you will learn a lot. Arriauna finally speaks up. I wish we were in the bedroom again.

What is a cue?

The Neighbor's Painted Fence

• Mariya Zvonkovich, her Sunlit Morning, pastel, 26”x30”, shown here, is the mother of my lovely neighbor. Mariya suggested the cedar plank fence be painted to match the house. Others had offered that suggestion but when Mariya spoke, that was it. Artists from around the country are obsessed to know the name of the paint color. Artists are like that. Can they handle this news? There is no official paint color name. The originally chosen paint chip is ‘Raffia’ by Ralph Lauren, but the paint base* and additives are Behr Brand. The result is lighter, more subtle. The look is very elegant. ‘Raffia’ is a bit harsh by comparison. Photo attempts to show you this lovely color have not been successful. No options; come by and see for yourself. PLEASE NOTE: ThreeChickenFarm cannot pay airfare or gasoline for your drive-by.
• FOOTNOTE: Behr Brand Premium Plus Exterior Satin Enamel Ultra Pure White
• AX Perm Yellow 1 16 0
• E Thalo Blue 0 17 1
• F Red Oxide 0 9 0 All you ‘real’ artists can visualize from the formula, can’t you? Contact Mariya Zvonkovich at http://bluecanyonart.com/ and Cottonwood Academy, Colorado Springs, CO

First Grass

Do you remember? Age 1 or 18? The chickie girls had their first this morning. Such emotion! Their first guaranteed reaction was Sqwaaaak! What is this stuff? Help, an unknown intruder! Then Ms. B. Rock, the brave mother-type of the foursome, pecked at one of the pieces of grass, or was it a snake? or a worm? or…? It did not fight back. The other girls moved out from behind her to take a closer look. After much maneuvering for position, Heckie pecked at another piece of that intruding grass. Hmmm? Seems like nothing to fear. Then the dance began, joined by Henny and Arriauna. Round and round, back and forth, pecking at and running from, (sing it!) ‘Up to the grass, back to the wall, all join wings and circle wide, grab your partner and do-si-do.’ Toys-R-Us and Santa Claus have never brought as much first time joy! After about an hour, another peek finds all four chickie girls contentedly resting on their roost, looking out the window onto the world of grass.

Miss Teenage Arriauna

My, how time flies. This little chick is 27 days old. Compare to her early photo in the heading. You can see she has developed teenage ways. She does not brush her hair. Many little downy feathers stick out around the maturing ‘real’ feathers. It’s just a passing phase…soon this little gal will be a beauty queen, and probably a rocket scientist too. I won’t call it attitude but she has a well-developed sense of self-esteem. She manages quite well with her roommate/sisters who are one week older and try to act like they’ve been ‘around the block’. In truth, only 2 of them can even brag about having been ‘around the room’. (see The Great Escape) Also pictured is Heckie, a Black Astralorp with a little white butt. At the feeder and the grit bowl Arriauna pushes in between the others to get her share. Several times she has perched atop the feeder, which exhibits real bravado. As you might notice, she has not yet learned where to place her feet!

Cage Cleaning Day, or Chickies First Trip

A nice warm day arrived. Perfect weather for the girls’ first day outside…well, actually, outside the house but inside the dog carrier. They hated the move like they were going to ‘morph’ into dogs never again to be chickies. Once all four were together life was better. They surveyed each other and realized that no one had become a dog. Whew! Out into the backyard and a closer view of what will soon be their home…the hot pink eglu (not in photo). The chicken carrier (nee dog) was placed in a warm sunny spot. Not to be left out, the dog, Dreamer laid down nearby. Is he guarding the chickies? the carrier? or just lying in a warm spot? The girlies seemed to like their cabana replete with newspaper and waterer. While they experience all the amenities mentioned in the travel brochure, I removed the feeder, roost, and grit bowl from their dirty bird cage. Then I carefully pulled off the wide clear tape that had somewhat kept the corncob litter in the cage, and even more carefully picked up the cage and took it outside. The wheelbarrow was ready to accept the mélange of old poop, corncob litter and spilled feed, soon to be rolled out to the compost bin. Using my friend’s WetVac, I vacuumed up several pounds of corncob litter that had been kicked over the edge during their frequent wild dance numbers. I was eager to find how Ms. Barred Rock’s fresh poop on the carpet (see The Great Escape) had fared with the ½ cup of litter I poured over it. Homemakers International will be praising my name…it all dried up and left no spot on the beige carpet. After the cage and tray was scrubbed, dried in the sun, and reassembled in the bedroom the girlies returned to their fresh digs. I’m not sure they appreciated all my work, although they do look longingly through the window into the backyard.

The New Roost

My chickie girls got their first roost today. It is a dowel braced between opposing sides of their cage. It is about 2 inches off the floor and about 6 inches from the wall of the cage. They were not afraid of it because in hopes of increasing the familiarity factor it had been lying on the floor of their cage for several days. They were accustomed to it laying there, being stepped on and stepped over and pooped on, except when I picked it up and it appeared that ‘the wooden snake was rising in the air.’ SQWAAAAK! As soon it was in place as a roost, Ms. Barred Rock hopped up on it. An hour later all three older sisters were perched on it, peacefully looking out the window into the newly discovered world of the backyard. Yes, the three, all in a row facing the same direction. At the far end of the row was Arriauna Ameracauna, also perched on the roost, but facing the opposition direction. That’s Arriauna, always unique.

The Great Escape

Ms. Barred Rock has always been the largest, smartest and most aggressive of the four lovely chickie girls. The first time, the one and only time, I have ever opened the cage door and turned my back, she and one of the Astralorp girls hopped out. The sound of flapping wings and the sqwaaaaking alerted me. I turned to see them standing on the carpet. Fortunately I was the least stunned of the three of us. I reached down and put a wide hand on Miss Astralorp. She sqwaaaaked but I was resolute. I’ve learned the hard way when picking up any animal who may make a dash for freedom, my first move must count. I judged which way she would bolt; which of my hands was most flexible (least arthritic?); which way I could lean and stay out of her eyesight. Then I just did it. One additional plan I should have made is to catch the boldest one first, and then the scardiest one may be easier to corner. You might guess that Ms. Astralorp was quickly apprehended and placed back in the cage joining the obedient two who were excitedly watching over the edge of the cage. But that left Miss Smarty Pants Barred Rock hopping and dancing through the legs of the 2 TV tables that support the cage, then around the black plastic sack full of shoes going to Goodwill, then under the desk where she sat on the heater vent. Seeing this I prayed ‘Please don’t let her poop now!’ Rather than frighten her more, which often causes unexpected pooping, I left the room and closed the door. Two hours later, having suffered the no-water-no-food-torture-treatment she was ready to allow herself to be caught. She did not humor me with ‘Oh, thank you, Ma’m, you’ve come to save me’, but rather, ‘Oh, OK, I guess I’ll come to dinner.’

The return of Mr. Red Fox

The other side of the postcard! Yesterday Arriauna received her first fan mail. She read it (see previous blog post) and we all cooed over it. THEN, it got turned over…..exposing a full color picture of an ominous RED FOX. He is described in print as having a pointed muzzle, flattened slim skull, big ears and an extended shaggy tail. The fox’s appearance no doubt accounts for its unfair characterization in fables and stories as a crafty cunning creature. The Fan who sent the card assures us that the use of this particular fox card is purely coincidental. We believe her.

Arriauna's fan mail

My beautiful Ameracauna chick, Arriauna, received her first fan mail. It was delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, postmarked ‘Denver.’ Down our dirt street, in his little white truck, came the postman. Among the bills and the junk mail was a postcard addressed to Arriauna Ameracauna. I showed it to her and read the message aloud. She is very shy and bashful. When I asked her permission to write about it in our ThreeChickenFarm blog she lowered her head and blinked. I took that to mean ‘yes’. Her private life is about to become public. You saw it here first!

“Delicate Miss, Large feet & small body, Your ‘headcap’ is fetching Will you ever be naughty? Loverly girl with a sweet Peach-tinged beak Do keep me informed of Your changes each week.” XXXX A Secret Admirer

Chick poop on your eggshell?

More than you ever wanted to know about Diatomaceous earth

The girls have seemed a bit irritable lately….not seriously pecking each other, but pecking and scratching themselves. A pretty good sign of mites. I checked their skin for signs of the little bugs or bug eggs. I did not see any but knew diatomaceous earth (*see below) would solve any buggie problem and would not hurt the chickies.

I put some in a saltshaker and sprinkled it on the girls. I put it under their wings, on the back of their necks and around their vents, (read, a-hole). Actually, for those who don’t know, chickens have only one rear exit. It serves for both excretion of waste and excretion of eggs. The eggs in the grocery store have been cleaned up and recoated with something to simulate the natural coating, which helps keep the egg hydrated and fresh. Finding poop on your egg is like finding a wormhole in your apple…it guarantees you of natural handling…no washing, no pesticides.

When the girls move outside to the eglu and attached run, I will put a bowl of diatomaceous earth in the run for their dust baths.. Sprinkling it in the niches of their roosting dowels will foil the little mites too.

This may be more than you wanted to know….but now you know. When will you slip this into a conversation. Soon, if you are talking to me.

*Diatomaceous earth consists of the sedimentary deposits formed from the skeletal remains of a class of algae (Bacillariophyceae) that occur in both salt and fresh water and in soil. These remains form diatomite, an almost pure silica, that is ground into an abrasive dust. When the tiny, razor-sharp particles touch an insect, they cause many tiny abrasions, resulting in loss of body water and death by dehydration. It is 98% repellent to insects, yet free of dangerous residues. It is digestible by earthworms and harmless to mammals and birds. The dust contains 14 beneficial trace minerals in chelated (readily available) form.

The package instructions read: 1 tablespoon a day for dogs 50 lbs. or over, 1 teaspoon a day for dogs less than 50 lbs., ½ teaspoon for cats.

I should have talen this stuff rather than doing the 50-day parasite cleanse diet. I will probably start soon. How many tablespoons? I'm not telling.

The neighbor's fence is almost complete

Jake,that huge Great Dane next door will soon have his own private backyard. His family has built a very nice seven foot wood fence to keep him. I told them about the chickens several weeks ago and mentioned that the chicks would be out in the run in late May. It looks like the fence will be complete soon. They are planning to paint it to match their house. The house is a lovely pastel that combines cream and creamed celery with a delicate influence of light gray. This description does not do it justice. Maybe I can find out what the paint color is called. Jake’s owner’s mother is a famous artist with studios at Cottonwood Art Academy in Colorado Springs. She chose the color so you can be sure it will be exquisite and unique. Painted fence picture will post as soon as the painting is complete.

Corncob litter

I love this stuff. It is very absorptive. It seems to pull the moisture out of the chickie's poop. All that is left is a small dry thing about the same size as a piece of the crunched up corncob stuff. It seems to successfully quell the odor problem too. The girls don’t eat it. They do love to lie on it. There is only one negative...when they scratch (as if after bugs and worms), they sling it out of their birdcage-living-quarters. Little Arriauna is so cute when she scratches, she looks down eagerly, revealing nothing but a new place to peck, but she still goes at it with glee! Wide Scotch brand clear packing tape in double high rows around the base of the cage seems to keep it from flying out onto the floor...somewhat! Maybe they are picking it up and dropping it over the edge! Naturally, the price of corncob litter at the pet store is higher than at my good ol' farmstore.