Happy New Year!!

I am a little late but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year! This year was pretty wonderful overall minus a few hiccups for the little hens and I. A lot has been going on!
This last month or so Betty Boop has been going through her first molt. The other “original girls” already molted late this past summer and I did not notice a big personality change in them but in Boop I did! Honestly, it made me really sad for a while because she would no longer come over to see me when I would walk into the run; she was being very anti-social. She would not let me pick her up. I am sure it is painful going through the process so I typically do not pick up a hen who is molting, but still! Her comb turned pale and flopped over and she was even letting some of the other girls pick on her a bit. Trust me, if she was her normal self that would not fly with her! Her egg production stopped which is normal for a molting hen.

I found if incredibly interesting how much personality a chicken can really have! Recently she is beginning to act like her normal self. Her molt must almost be over! Phew! I miss my little diva!

   Miss Cleo has moved in to her own coop during the day. For some reason, no matter what I tried the other girls just would not leave her alone. I let Cleo sleep in the main coop at night so she can feel a part of the “gang” but I can no longer risk leaving her out with them during the day. Luckily she is still around them just in her own little run where she is protected. This has been going well. We had a tough few months there of her getting hurt and having to heal. When the weather is nice they still all get to run around the yard together when Cory and I are home so that is a plus too!

Miss Cleo for President!

Another thing we have been dealing with is Rhode Island Reds. I should have a done a little more research on this breed before getting them. This might not speak for all Rhode Island Reds but ours can be bullies! So strange to me how much they chase each other around. Fortunately, no one is hurt so to me it is just pecking order establishment but they really do chase each other around the run. This breed is very rambunctious. One of them named Linda, loves to fly up onto my shoulder and just sit there. I have never had that happen before! It was strange at first but now I can walk around and she just hangs out. I told Cory soon I will like the lady in Home Alone except with Chickens! Haha!

  This past year we also had a good run with predators getting into the run! A few Raccoons, a Opossum and even a Skunk! They were always getting in the run at night when the girls were safely in their coop so no one was harmed thank goodness. Cory owns a have-a-heart trap which has worked out because we figured they were more after the eggs and chicken feed than the actual hens. However, we really could not risk having them in the area in case something bad happened and our theory was wrong. Cory would trap each one and the following day we would drive them to another property for release. It makes us feel better that the animal gets to carry on with their life and also knowing our hens are safe! 

    I must say, although Winter just started I am looking forward to Spring. These warm days are giving us a break from the cold and also giving me a bit of spring fever. I believe the hens are looking forward to warmer weather as well. They really do not like the snow. There will be days where we open up the coop door, a few of them stick their heads out, look around and basically tell us “nope” to coming outside! They then spend the day literally "cooped" up. I am looking forward to them getting back into their routines of laying eggs more frequently, running around the yard and taking dirt baths! The Winter season tends to be a bit more difficult to take care of the hens than during the Summer months. You have to worry about the hens keeping warm, frostbite, frozen water and snow removal. Some of those bad snow days led to me waking up before work to shovel and spread straw for them to walk on. However, this year Cory installed an indoor faucet so we can fill their waterers. I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing this is! It seems so simple, but it has been a huge process improvement when it comes to tending to hens in freezing temperatures. We will keep looking forward to Spring and taking naps in the sunshine but until then we will hunker down and wait for the weather to break!

We hope you all have a great New Year and that 2017 is your best year yet!