The next Chicken Keeping Workshop here at Little Pond Farm is on Saturday, June 8. From 10 am until noon, participants will be immersed in a course that covers how to have a healthy and content flock in one’s backyard. Along with time on the screen porch talking about chickens (and eating homemade cookies), there will also be a tour of my coops and an opportunity to handle the chickens. I’ll walk guests through how I care for the hens and manage the daily chores and manure. Space is limited and these workshops always sell out, so if interested, sign up now. I hope to see you here!

My best guess, having seen the evidence, is that Lily killed the shrew early last week and then let it ripen in the meadow until it emitted exactly the right aroma for rolling in. Which both dogs did. A very small dead animal, properly aged in the sun, can be quite the potent perfume.

Both dogs were given baths yesterday.

Fun has its consequences.

To meet breed standard, Andalusians must be dark grey. However, even if both parents are the color of slate, only half of their offspring will have those coveted feathers. The rest will be mottled, dove grey, or even white. Of my three Andalusian chicks, one is very pretty and has dark feathers, but she does have white splotches on her head. The other two are a lovely pale grey. One is a cockerel. I call him Mr. Grumpy.

The other female matches him in color.

Andalusian pullet

They like each other.

I would like to sell them as a pair. So far, Mr. Grumpy has been a mild-mannered gentleman. But, no guarantees. He’s sure to be loud, after all, he’ll mature into a large and hormone-driven rooster. Still, I think that for someone who wants a rooster, he’ll make a good addition to your flock.

I’ll sell the two together for $20. Please email me if interested.

(Steve took the photos.)

I was away at a conference this weekend. I was gone for just an overnight, but the days were so jam-packed, and my head was so filled with conversations and things to think about, that it felt as if I’d been away for weeks. When I came home, I looked out at the Old Girls’ pen, saw this and thought I must have been away for as long as it felt.

There was Betsy, saying good-night to Pip. But, something about her stance didn’t look right. A closer look revealed that it was one of the Delaware chicks talking with her goat-friend. The chick was as large as Betsy!

Only two days away and I no longer had babies in the pen, instead there were birds that looked fully feathered and that were only slightly smaller versions of their mature selves! This morning when I went out to care for the animals the temperature hadn’t even reached 40 degrees F. Cold. Some of the chicks were sleeping under the heat lamp, but many were not. I have the brooder door open to the Big Girls’ side, and some chicks were already in the coop. Their sturdy, glossy outer feathers were keeping them warm. They no longer need the protection of the brooder except during the coldest hours of the night. I opened the pop door and they hurried outside. Two chicks have already learned how to sit together on the roost! It’s a good thing that I have plenty of room, as there is some chest bumping, and ruffled feathers and arched neck challenges as the chicks sort out who they are as they grow up. But the tiffs don’t turn into anything serious because there are enough resources to share and because they have the space to communicate and then move away from each other. (Is there a lesson here for us humans? Likely so.)

The chicks that I’m not keeping for myself and for the nursing home will be ready to go to new owners in two weeks. I will be selling twelve pullets. $20 each. I will sell all to one person, or will divide into two groups. They will not be sold singly. Preference is given to those who have taken my chicken keeping workshop (or coming to the one in June) but I’ll consider other homes. Email me if interested.

Laying hen pellets should never be fed to chicks because there is too much calcium in the ration, and too little protein. (For more about what to feed chicks see this post.) So, now that the little ones are out with the Big Girls, they’re all getting the chick crumbles. (The hens have access to calcium via oyster shell in a dispenser that is out of reach of the chicks.) I’ve put a feeder out in the run because I want the chicks to eat all day, and I didn’t think that they’d go inside to their brooder to find food frequently enough.

What I didn’t realize was how delighted the Old Girls would be at this easy to reach food.

What gluttons they would be.

What total hogs. I’ve never seen them eat so frequently, or so much. Even Betsy, who is not much larger than the chicks, ward offs all newcomers.

But don’t worry about the chicks. They’ve figured out what to do. They found the Old Girls’ feeder.