Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Lots Of Babies On The Way??

Looks like we might have quite a few baby chicks at The Painted Hen soon! I'm so excited. Baby chicks and spring time seem to go hand in hand.  
 These three hens are all "broody"... meaning they are all sitting on nests. They only leave the nest once a day to eat and drink.  They pull out their stomach feathers to allow heat to get to the eggs.

From left to right we have D.C.(a Dark Cornish), Autumn (a Black Australorp), and Mavis (a Silver Spangled Hamburg).  The week of Mother's Day, their babies should hatch if all goes well.


Not content to let the hens have all the fun, I've borrowed an incubator from my neighbor and I'm trying my hand at hatching chicks.  My sister has a friend who has Marans hens. They lay the super dark brown eggs on the left.  She shipped me a dozen (hopefully fertilized) eggs in the mail. I'm really hoping I have good luck with them and I add a few hens to the flock that will lay dark eggs.

I've put 55 eggs in the incubator and if all goes well, we'll have chicks hatching around May 16th.

I'll be sure to post updates!

Saturday, April 23, 2016

An Afternoon With The Chickens

 Last weekend I spent about 2 hours on a blanket, under a shady tree, watching the chickens look for bugs and eat the granola I tossed to them.  It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.





 Matthew, our Buff Orpington rooster, knows how handsome he is.
 I caught him mid-crow.

 The hens wearing the saddles (to protect them while their feathers grow back in) are doing well and their saddles should be able to come off in the coming weeks.
 This is Sunny.  She's the only Red Star that I can tell from the others. Her feathers are lighter and a more even color.  She earned the name Sunny because she's crazy for sunflower seeds. She can hear the sound the bin makes when I open it and she comes running.  It's low to the ground and she can stretch her neck out and eat seeds from the bin while I toss a few handfuls out into the coop.
 Sophie is so unphased by the chickens that she'll take a nap as they wonder near us.  The chickens don't mind her either since they know she's not a threat.

Sophie even shares her water bowl with the hens.

Friday, April 8, 2016

Caring For Hens

It's not uncommon for hens to lose feathers on their backs due to mating by roosters.  A great way to protect these bald-backed hens while their feathers grow back is to fit them with a fabric "saddle".  
 I fit Popcorn with a saddle when her wound healed enough to rejoin the flock. This will further protect her wound and allow the feathers to grow back. I thought she looked pretty in flowers.
 I got busy with my needle and thread and sewed more saddles for the other bald-backed hens.  They look cute with their fabric capes.  They'll have to wear them for about a month.

 I found 2 other wounded hens (Peanut, a Silver Leghorn on the left) and Diana (a Blue Andalusian on the right).  I've clipped the spurs on my roosters and I'm hopeful that I've solved the problem of hens being wounded during mating.
 Peanut and Diana have been spending their time in a pen in the garage while their wounds heal but I wanted them to enjoy the nice weather and spring grass. I fashioned a play pen for them and have been toting them outside each day to spend a few hours enjoying grass and bugs.

 They're healing nicely so I'm hoping they'll rejoin the flock this weekend.

 The rest of the flock are enjoying the spring grass, longer days, and insects everywhere.  They're back to taking naps under the fig tree each afternoon.
Matthew and one of his hens tried to help me garden the other day before I shooed them out so they wouldn't' dig up my newly planted seeds.