UPDATE: This contest is closed. Cheryl (with the two border collies) won.

I’ve been friends with Lauren Scheuer since before her book, Once Upon a Flock, was just a gleam in her eye. So, I was more than delighted when Lauren asked me to be on her blog tour to celebrate the book’s publication. There were so many things that we could talk about. Chickens! Writing!

Instead of those on-subject topics, my spot on the blog tour is about my goats. Because Lauren and I are friends. Because her wonderful book will sell itself. Because Lauren decided that my goats need enrichment. Her daughter had been learning about how elephants that lived in zoos were kept busy. Perhaps we could do something similar for the oh so rotund (so, obviously not active enough) goat boys? We scheduled a visit.

We also planned on sitting and chatting over coffee and something sweet. I baked gingerbread. I tried a new recipe. It was awful. The chickens are always delighted at my kitchen failures. So, they were very happy that Lauren was visiting. (There, I got the requisite chicken photo in.)

If you’re familiar with Lauren’s blog, Scratch and Peck, then you’ve played the game, “Find Marky.” Her dog has a way of blending intro the scenery. We played the game here. Find Marky! (And Lily, too!)

Lauren told me that elephants are given cardboard boxes filled with hay. Opening the boxes and then eating the hay keeps the elephants occupied.

She filled a goat-sized box with hay.

The goats were occupied with watching her.

She gave the box to the goats. It took only a few minutes for them to eat all of the hay.

Pip was occupied watching Lauren take photos.

Clearly, the boys needed something more than a cardboard box to keep them busy. Lauren had something else up her sleeve. It involved using power tools. Lauren loves working with power tools.

Caper does, too.

Lauren and I designed a treat dispenser for the goats, which she hung. It’s made from a couple of old dog toys that Lily doesn’t like.

Filled with carrots, the goats like it very much.

But, like the cardboard box, the treats didn’t last long.

Truly, the best part of the enrichment that Lauren brought was herself. The boys didn’t want her to leave. Come back, Lauren!

Lauren and I were tired from enriching the goats’ lives. We had coffee and some good cookies (from a box.)

Lily was tired, too. She’d had an enriching day with Marky.

So, now that you know nothing about Lauren’s book, it is time for a giveaway!

Leave a comment below, and I’ll select a winner using a random number generator. The contest closes on Friday, March 22 at 10 pm EDT. United States addresses only, please, as the book is being shipped by the publisher.

A book will be given away at each stop on the blog tour, so go to these URLs for more chances to win:
Tuesday, March 19: Melissa Caughey, Tilly’s Nest
Wednesday, March 20: Terry Golson, HenCam
Thursday, March 21st: Kathy Mormio, The Chicken Chick
Thursday, March 21st: Kylee Baumle, Our Little Acre
Friday, March 22nd: Tammy Barani, Our Neck of the Woods
Monday March 25th: Wendy Thomas, Lessons Learned from the Flock
Tuesday, March 26th: Lisa Steele, Fresh Eggs Daily
Wednesday, March 27th: Amy Stewart, Garden Rant

Often, when we think about wildlife, we imagine that they live in deep forests, and would rather not be near humans, but many  wild animals prefer manmade fields on the edges of woods. The meadow across the street from my home borders a 700 acre woods. It has a path through it that dog walkers use daily. Recently another type of canine has also been enjoying it. In fact, because of that combination of overgrown field, near to sheltering trees, these canines have decided to take up residence.

The path is an ideal place to survey its hunting grounds.

Lily is beside herself. She can see the fox from my office porch. She barks. She announces what an affront it is to have this fox in view, in her neighborhood.

The fox doesn’t care. And clearly, in his body language, lets Lily know.

Scooter hears Lily. He has no interest in tangling with a fox. But, it is an opportunity to claim Lily’s bed.

I’ve seen this fox’s mate. I believe that their den is under the tumbledown stone wall at the corner of this field. Poor Lily, when the kits come out to play, it’s going to make her bonkers. She would chase these animals down, but I won’t let her. One has mange. They both have teeth.

Meanwhile, the hens are being kept inside of their secure pens. I’m calling the fence company to install a perimeter wire fence around my property. It’s the price one pays when you have fox neighbors living side-by-side with hens and a little dog. The fence won’t guarantee that my animals will be 100% safe, but it will lessen the chance that they’ll be snatched while I’m watching over them.

It could be worse. At least the bear that lived here a few years ago hasn’t been back.

I did four Skype visits on World Read Aloud Day. Thanks to technology, children from California to Maine visited my hens and goats. Today I received a packet of thank-you notes.

Here I am, dressed in pink, with lovely long hair. Tillie has her own fancy top knot. What a wonderful image! But, even better than the drawing is the sentiment that the first grade artist, Grace, wrote: I Love Boock’s.

I love books, too, Grace.

Flock dynamics don’t change “just because.” Hens don’t suddenly become aggressive because “they’re mean.” When a stable and content flock attacks one chicken, that behavior is provoked by something. But, we humans don’t always know what that something is.

Two days ago, Edwina turned on Buffy. Siouxsie also decided that Buffy should be pounded on. They got Buffy’s comb (what little is left of it from other past aggressions.) Blood spurted. Buffy huddled under the ramp.

So, I set up the Rest & Relaxation Coop to the left of the old bunny hutch.

Because wire isn’t good for a chicken to stand on, I bedded it with hay. Buffy can sit there, with food and water within reach, and watch the other hens. She spent a few hours doing that today. Meanwhile, the other hens were certain that Buffy had something much more delicious than pellets in the feed cup. (She doesn’t.)

What’s perfect about this hutch is that there’s a cozy inside area. It has a wooden floor, so it’s bedded with pine shavings which are absorbent and easy to clean. Buffy has difficulty walking, but she moves between these two rooms seemingly with ease. She rather likes her peaceful, alone space, and was not pleased when I opened the door to take the photo.

If it was any other chicken, I’d say that she has only days to live. But it’s Buffy. She’s a tough old bird. We’ll see what a little R & R does for her. In the meanwhile, she’s out of view on the cams, but rest assured that she’s living in top-notch accomodations.

Heads up: This post talks graphically about disease. I’ve heard from several people who have had their hens die due to this syndrome, and I think that it is a service to be blunt.

Chickens are so much fun to feed. Unlike certain finicky eaters at our own tables (spoken as the mom of the pickiest eater on earth) hens look delighted by the simplest food, whether a squishy tomato or a bit of stale bread. It’s so enjoyable to feed our hens that we sometimes overdo it, and feed the wrong foods to excess. Just as overeating causes health issues in people, so too does an unbalanced and high-calorie diet cause problems in your flock.

Hens are designed to eat small amounts constantly throughout the day. Eating should take effort, Your hens should be scratching, foraging, and pecking for their dinner. But, most backyard flocks are confined, and so they don’t roam for their food. Add to that indulgent owners that love seeing their hens happily chortling at grain tossed at their feet. Chickens are getting fat, and they’re not just waddling around in discomfort, they’re dying from obesity.

A diet too high in corn and other scratch feeds lays on the fat. A layer of internal fat can physically get in the way of egg laying. The hen needs to have a smooth passage of that egg through the reproductive tract. Fat impedes it, and can even block the egg laying process.

But, yellow fat in the body cavity, and laying difficulty, isn’t the worst that can happen to your hen. The next step in disease is Fatty Liver Syndrome. This is also called Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Disease, which reflects what happens inside of your hen. The fat marbles the liver and changes it’s texture. The fat infiltrates the ovaries. The hen’s organs can no longer function properly. Sadly, despite being fat, they begin to starve. The change in the texture of the liver makes the hen susceptible to lesions and hemorrhaging. The release of an egg from the ovary can tip the balance. Blood vessels will rupture. Your hen will bleed to death.

The right diet is the key to preventing this disease. I’ve written about a prudent diet here. Keeping your hens physically active and eating throughout the day is also essential. One thing that keeps my hens busy, even in limited space, is the compost in the chicken run. Of course, if you can let your hens out to forage, that helps, too. Exercise, fresh air, sunshine and a prudent diet high in vegetables – sounds like something all of us, whether hens or their keepers, should try to live by.

For more details on this disease the Mississippi State University Extension Service has a clear explanation. The Merck Vet site is also a good resource.

BTW, feeding excess protein, such as handfuls of mealworms, causes other severe health issues, especially kidney disease. I’ve written about that here.