Life on the Farm – Page 6 – Crack of Dawn Farms

Caught Up… For now.

01-20140908_103826 — Growing, growing, growing…. Yes this doggie’s growing!

This has been a good week. We actually got caught up on all of our school work so that we ended the week “on schedule.” The boys worked really hard and we were able to be much more efficient since I was able to put Atlas in the crate when he would start showing too much playfulness towards his charges. It really helps with our productivity to be able to remove the distraction of having to go check on them every few minutes! As much as I truly enjoy just sitting in my chair in the yard watching these critters, there is schoolwork and housework and farmwork to be done.

By the end of the week, Atlas had earned much longer stints out of the crate and out among his birds. In fact, Friday, he only went in for a short period in the morning and then was out the WHOLE day without incident. Good boy, Atlas!

What a good dog! Out among the chickens... doing his job nicely here. — What a good dog! Out among the chickens… doing his job nicely here.

I’m typing this as we are headed down to Atlanta for Jackson to compete with his Aero Youth Triathlon Club in the IronKids Alpharetta. He has worked so hard this summer and improved so much! I am excited for him to have this opportunity. To be honest, at the beginning of the week, I wasn’t sure how we were going to do it. I am so grateful to my parents – they are going to take care of things for us as we make this super-fast trip. I just pray that Atlas will cooperate. When we left this morning, he was out and just napping while the ladies were out doing their typical scratch, scratch, peck, peck. Hopefully, the day will continue, and they won’t cause any drama for the Grands 🙂 Update: Just got a text from home… everyone is accounted for and tucked in for the night! SUCCESS!!!

I am grateful to have a flexible nature! When we initially planned this trip, I was going to leverage my homeschool flexibility and head down to Atlanta early in the week to hit some Civil War historical field trip opportunities. That, however, assumed that the new chickens weren’t going to be so “new” to Atlas and be seen as such a novelty. Once I realized there was going to be more integration training necessary I realized we’d just have to make it a quick trip. C’est la vie.

I did make an important observation about the interactions of my farm critters this week. The new hens don’t do themselves any favors. Atlas, the Livestock Guardian in Training (a.k.a puppy) likes to play. When they go flitting across the yard flapping their wings all willy-nilly, it is sort of like calling “Hey Atlas, catch us if you can!” Of course he’s going to run after them! Yes, he has to be corrected, but it is easy to see why these new birds have presented such a training opportunity. They are also loud. Lots of chattery cackling going on when they are in the yard. SO different from the other two.

Meet Lightning - Ryan's name for the other bird hurt in the initial introductory melee. Teaching Atlas that us holding the birds does not make them toys is another challenge in and of itself! — Meet Lightning – Ryan’s name for the other bird hurt in the initial introductory melee. Teaching Atlas that us holding the birds does not make them toys is another challenge in and of itself!

The old guard are very laid back and pretty quiet. Except, they (especially the red one) are definitely making it known they are higher up the pecking order. “Red” will make a beeline across the yard sometimes when the other hens are at the feeder. No drama, just when she shows up, they scatter. And, they stalk Atlas’ food dish. They both do it. When they hear the food rattle in the pan, they come just as sure as Atlas (if not more). They will pace around while he eats, and the moment he leaves they are in. I pick it up when he’s done because I think it would get expensive to feed the chickens dog food. Thanks to Elaine’s suggestion, I started feeding him at night after all the hens are up so he can eat in peace.

Boldly going where no chicken should really go.

Stalking for the good stuff... puppy kibble is wayyy better than this chicken feed she gives us! — Stalking for the good stuff… puppy kibble is wayyy better than this chicken feed she gives us!

This week will be yet another learning experience… we are expecting our original chickens – 6 4-week old juvenile birds: 3 buff orpingtons and 3 rhode island reds. They’ll be in a separate run/coop in the yard which should make it easier. “Should” being the operative word… If I’ve learned nothing else, it is that nothing ever goes as planned/expected 🙂 But, you know, life is still better when you’re up with the chickens!

Have some more pics to close out this post…

: Chickens doing what chickens do

: Ryan and his new friend Lighting

: A big dog needs a big stick

: Happy birds

: Atlas loves it when the boys come play

: Trying to work those puppy teeth out is harder than it looks

: All four of the black stars are regularly taking to the yard now

: That is no badger marking on Atlas’ back… that’s what happens when you roll in chicken poo!

Abominable Snow Dog, Chicken Hospitals, and More

Sorry for the cliff-hanger, folks! Ever since the night of the missing bird, so much has happened. Where, oh where, to begin?!

Well, I can summarize the past several days with a cartoon. Imagine my livestock guardian-in-training Atlas as the Abominable Snow Man:

I know that he’s just a puppy, and I know that he just wants to play with them. However, his play results in serious chicken damage. Besides, “George” is a crummy name for a hen.

To catch you up, the prodigal hen DID return! Wednesday morning, when I went down to feed the critters, I was SO surprised to see her down in the lower part of the yard. Turns out she was INside the yard, but before I could get to her Atlas had started chasing her up the fence line. By the time I got back in the yard I couldn’t find her. Crazy.

After more searching, it turns out she had taken refuge in the doghouse. She looked like a mere shadow at the back corner. I woke Ryan up and had him come help me since he could actually climb in the dog house.

Penelope the Prodigal Hen taking refuge in the dog house.

Got her out and separated her into a dog crate outside the yard to give her a chance to settle down and relax.

Whew!

Crisis averted. Or so I thought.

When we went out to check on the chickens at their bed time, I couldn’t find her. Finally, she was located under the dog house. (Jerry had let her back in while we were gone to my Mom’s in the afternoon thinking she looked ok.) We had to raise the dog house to get her out, and she was a mess! She had a good patch missing from her neck and her back feathers were seriously plucked.

I was in shock, and I had no idea what to do – in hindsight I should have been more prepared for chicken emergencies. So thankful for another “phone-a-friend”. Elaine talked me through it and I cleaned her up with some peroxide and got her into indoor hospital quarters in the garage. If she made it through the night, she would probably be ok.

That was a rough night. If I was struggling with my chicken-keeper credibility before, now I was really in a mess. I tried to run the next morning, but it just was a walk. I mentally couldn’t handle anything more. I had no idea whether I would go downstairs to a survivor or to having to figure out how to dispose of a dead chicken.

Well, she was alive! And when I cleaned her up I could see that she was truly healing like a champ. Amazing creatures, these!

Things get a little blurry after all the drama with Penelope (yes, in case you’re wondering, the way you get a name in this hen yard is to go through a major trauma and survive). Now we’re at Thursday I think. By the end of that day, I had one more in the infirmary – not as bad though. Just her back feathers plucked pretty good.

It turns out that Atlas was getting INTO the coop via the ramp door. We thought we had made it small enough, but clearly not. His curiosity seems to get the best of him when all of the new chickens are in there, and he goes in and drives them out. In the process of their clucking and fluttering to get away from him, his puppy play gene takes over the protector gene.

After another phone-a-friend to Heather, I decided to use the crate. When I couldn’t be down with a leash to directly supervise his time in the yard, Atlas was going to have to be in the crate. He was NOT happy about this, and when I put him in there Saturday morning he showed me that he can do an excellent imitation of a dog hung in a trap. Sorry dude, not working on me.

We are still crating for now, but he is getting some non-leash time when he can be supervised. Plus, Jerry measured his shoulders and reduced the coop door entry to the point that we are pretty sure he can’t get in now. The chickens did a double take when they got to the door, but they fit just fine.

Atlas figured out the crate is a nice place to store his bone for safe keeping.

I am looking very forward to his next little maturity spurt to match his physical growth. We are at 3 1/2 months and he is getting bigger every day!

This chicken thing is definitely turning out to be much more of a challenge than I ever dreamed. I imagine I got a little over-confident after Atlas was doing so well with the “old guard.” I underestimated the impact the new chickens would have on the dog. I was more worried about how they would interact with the other two.

As for that, imagine two cliques of high school girls that just tolerate being in the same general space. The red one from the old guard is pretty stingy about the feeder under the coop. If she is half way across the yard and notices one of the new hens eating there, she comes on a beeline up to the feeder and they run to some other place to scratch. Nothing violent, just asserting her place in the pecking order.

As we start a new week, I am hopeful that we will find a turning point so that Atlas can start having more freedom while the girls are out and about. I am grateful that the two hens seem to be well on the mend. They are very bedraggled, but they are alive. And perhaps someday they’ll give us eggs 🙂 With all of the chicken drama and a lot of extra curricular activities this past week, we struggled getting all of our school done. Grateful for the flexibility, but now it is time to start getting back on track. I am looking forward to a productive week!! Here are some more photos from the week’s adventures:

: Enjoying the shade

: It was hot and the old guard found a nice dirty place in the shade to cool their feathers.

: Atlas behaving well: eating breakfast and the old guard gals are just milling about.

: Dog house moved to the shady stand of trees in the middle of the yard. Should deter further escape attempts.

: Atlas behaving well again: just watching them go in.

And Then There Were Five

I wasn’t really thinking I’d write again so quickly, but too much happened today to let it sit. My brain is swimming trying to sort it all out, and the best way to tackle it is to start typing. Please pardon my longer-than-normal stream of consciousness writing (I did include cute puppy pictures though!).

Looking forward to letting the ladies out of that coop now!

I started my day with a run. What better way to start getting things back to “normal” after the holiday weekend than trying to get back into a crack of dawn running routine? It was nice, and I spent much of it contemplating the morning of letting my hens out and into the wonderfully buggy yard.

It has really bothered me to have them cooped up like this. Part of having chickens for us is to be able to have the most naturally raised eggs (and eventually meat) that we can. Confining them to the coop for multiple days was justifiable for long term health of the gals (teaching them their safest place to be at night), but it just didn’t sit right with me in the here and now.

So, I was VERY happy to open that door and let them out. Jackson came down with me, and we were prepared to just hang with Atlas and the flock in no particular hurry to leave while they all got reacquainted after the time away.

The picture in my mind while running this morning was 6 hens clamoring at the door to see who would be first down the ramp (assuming that had all been sorted out – pecking order and all).

Instead, nothing.

Nobody seemed in any particular rush.

Now, mind you, the “old guard” didn’t waste too much time contemplating the open door. It did not take them long to find their way back to Bugville.

The "Old Guard" getting first dibs on bugs. — The “Old Guard” getting first dibs on bugs.

Atlas decided to start trying to make his way UP the ramp. Not a good plan. We had words.

We sat for a while. He got lots of scratches and attention while we allowed the others time to exit the coop.

Only one newbie decided to leave the coop. And then the chasing began. Atlas and I had more words. These were me, very much in his face, holding him by the scruff of his neck, and establishing “NO.”

Ok. For a while.

Then again with the chasing. Down to the corner yard, and the new bird got some serious air to the point I thought she was going out of the yard!

More words. Stronger this time. But I’m not sure it’s working. I decide to use my “phone a friend,” and give Heather (Atlas’ breeder) a call. I know she has dealt with this, and I needed some advice. She reminded me that his immature puppiness probaby just wants to get a hold of that new arrival and play with it. She gave me a recommendation to actually get him on his back for the correction instead of having him sitting. This would help establish me as the alpha.

I stayed close for a while, and we actually did school for the morning on the deck above the yard so I could observe. When I went up, though, Atlas had decided it was nap time, and all was calm. He napped a good part of the morning.

Chasing chickens is hard work. It's doggie nap time. — Chasing chickens is hard work. It’s doggie nap time.

The morning went well – lots of napping by Atlas, and lots of scratching and pecking outside by the old guard and the brave newbie. The other three were content to stay in the coop.

Gee, mom, I'm so sorry. I promise I won't chase chickens any more. — Gee, mom, I’m so sorry. I promise I won’t chase chickens any more.

Check out this video… Atlas is trying to extract a forked limb from the fence (and happily ignoring the scratching of the three chickens in the background, I might add :-)).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlGXIMcR0yQ

When I checked on the crew after lunch, the brave newbie was not to be found. I was convinced she must’ve flown out the corner where I initially saw her take to the air. I hadn’t heard any commotion, but I figured Atlas must have been at the root of it. But I couldn’t do any correction because I would be WAY to late.

We searched all around the wooded area below the yard, knowing it hadn’t been too too long since I had been down just to peek in at things. Nothing.

Then, Jackson yells that he found her. She was UNDER the dog house. I looked back there, and at first was afraid she had been taken there by a certain canine, and that she wasn’t ok. All I could see was her booty sticking out from under. I hesitatingly touched her with a gentle poke and she scampered her way deeper under and managed to turn around (we’re talking maybe 3″ of clearance here!) and get out. She went straight up onto the roof of the dog house.

That works. Whew.

More monitoring through the afternoon. I checked on them several times and all seemed to be happy. We even got a second newbie chicken out of the coop at one point. I was so pleased.

TWO birds on a roof. Perhaps they were plotting the escape???

We finished up our school work, and got some of the house chores done inside. We had a library book that I tried to renew and couldn’t, so we planned to leave early for karate to make a bank/library stop first. We left about 10 minutes before Jerry got home, and all was going well, so I was not concerned. He’d be able to feed Atlas and hopefully close up shop with all six ladies indoors before we got done.

But, no. That would be too easy. My phone rings while in line at the bank. It’s Jerry. “You’re chickens are out. Three in the driveway.” I guess we won’t make that library stop after all. I finish up at the bank and head straight home.

By the time I get there, he has gotten all but 1 back in and locked in the coop. The old guard are in the yard, but not in the coop.

Oh, and did I mention there was a storm imminent? As in, it is thundering, and rolling, and the sky is darkening as we are wandering the edge of the woods (with no idea WHERE this chicken headed) trying to find a mostly black chicken! Good grief!

I don’t know what to think. I feel like a terrible chicken mama. I have no idea if Atlas chased them or if they were just up on the dog house (the 2 that were out really seem to like it up there) and saw an opportunity to clear the fence more easily.

I have been so distracted this evening. Did she find herself a safe tree in which to roost? Is she near the nest of the barred owl we often hear off in the woods? Did she make it up before the coyote could catch her scent? Will she survive tonight? If she does will she come back? Will she ever get a chance to lay an egg? Will Elaine ever sell me another chicken?

Yes, I know it is “just a chicken.” But, she was my chicken. And she was going to provide breakfast and baked goods for my family. And I really don’t want to be an irresponsible chicken farmer. This doesn’t look good on my resume.

What will tomorrow bring? It’s supposed to storm again. Maybe everyone will just stay put.

Here's one of the newbie chickens out enjoying the sunshine this afternoon. Is this the missing one? I honestly have no idea!! They all 4 look alike to me, and they haven't been out and about enough to have learned any personalities. She's pretty though :-) — Here’s one of the newbie chickens out enjoying the sunshine this afternoon. Is this the missing one? I honestly have no idea!! They all 4 look alike to me, and they haven’t been out and about enough to have learned any personalities. She’s pretty though 🙂