Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas!!!!

CLUCK, CLUCK, CLUCK, CLUCK!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from all of us from the Shawhan farm. I really wanted to send you all the carol the chickens sang for everyone, but this isn't letting me upload my video... so I'm sorry for that.

Last night was a very special night. I went back out to the barn as I do every night to let Jimmy and Charlie back out. I usually keep a barn light on until I do this. Last night was Christmas Eve, a very clear night with all the stars out. I walked into the barn and all the chickens were in and roosting, the horses were there and so were the steers. It was the most peaceful scene and experience I've had in a long time.

This year I was very busy with Christmas. Between all the shopping, parties, baking and eating, I wasn't enjoying myself at all. At one point I said I was ready for Christmas to be over. Maybe some of it is the dissappointment of not being a little girl anymore and feeling the excitment that Christmas and Santa bring with it. This year it all felt more like work than something that was enjoyable.

I was glad last night that I had to go back outside, one more time in the darkness and stillness of the night. Into a lighted barn full of animals and the scent of hay. To be with animals who have a pureness and honesty about them; who don't care if they have the most expensive and up-to-date I-Phone or gaming system. They didn't mase anyone Christmas shopping at Wal-Mart, or push other shoppers around. They didn't protest at nativity scences outside of churches. In fact, they ARE the navity scene. I thought last night that all I was missing was a man, woman and child in my barn. Or maybe I wasn't missing the child at all because He's always there with us and I think last night I felt Him even more out there in the barn, in the coldness with all my animals. Then and only then did it feel like Christmas and it made up for the previous month and all my harried preparations.

I think it's true when people say we need to celebrate the message of Christmas year-round, and from now on, me personally, I'm going to try harder. Maybe my nightly walks back out to the barn in the darness and coldness to be greeted by sleepy chickens and steers and two expectant horses will be my daily reminder and my daily walks with God.

Merry Christmas and God Bless!!!

Love,
The Chicken Lady

                                                                       .....cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck.....

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

I Need a Hero!



CLUCK, CLUCK, CLUCK!!!

A big thanks to my rooster Foghorn for taking care of that last post! Things have been crazy busy on the Shawhan farm in preparation for Christmas. He did me a big favor and now I owe him one.

I'm a little worried about Prissy. She has taken her crush on my husband a little too far. Now that the chickies are confined to the steer lot (with Samantha and Kailyn still the exception and escaping) we have Prissy who acts like she doesn't know her way in Every. Single. Night. She stays out in the lot and acts as though she doesn't remember how to get back into the barn and hence the coop. Foghorn calls and calls but she's out there screaming Bonnie Tyler at the top of her lungs!

"I NEED A HERO! I'M HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO 'TIL THE END OF THE NIGHT. HE'S GOTTA BE STRONG AND HE'S GOTTA BE FAST AND HE'S GOTTA BE FRESH FROM THE FIGHT. I NEED A HERO! I'M HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO 'TIL THE MORNING LIGHT. HE'S GOTTA BE SURE AND IT'S GOTTA BE SOON AND HE'S GOTTA BE LARGER THAN LIFE!"

I'm not kidding you! The other day she was wearing a cut off sweater, leggins and a sweatband running in place in some kind of 80's dance. She does this until her hero...MY HUSBAND....climbs over the fence and sweeps her off her feet into his strong embrace. Then he holds her close as he climbs back over the fence and puts her safely in the coop.

Well, I was her hero last night and I think she was mad at me. I tossed her over the fence and by the time I had climbed back over, she was in Charlie's stall, UNDER him mind you, while he ate his dinner. (A freaked out horse and a flat chicken was all I needed. ) Thankfully she came to her senses and ran back out and through the open coop door screaming, "I NEED A HERO!"

If this is going to continue, there's gonna be a chick fight. And I don't mean cute little fuzzy chirpy chicks. I mean nails flashing, feather's flying, beat down, drug out war. As Rachel from Big Brother would say, "Ain't no one gonna come between me and my man!" Besides, I need to focus my energy on other things besides the jealousy caused by a chicken.

Can I blame her though? Dan IS pretty cute....and he DOES have hero qualities.

"I NEED A HERO! I'M HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO 'TIL THE END OF THE NIGHT. HE'S GOTTA BE STRONG AND HE'S GOTTA BE FAST AND HE'S GOTTA BE FRESH FROM THE FIGHT. I NEED A HERO! I'M HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO 'TIL THE MORNING LIGHT. HE'S GOTTA BE SURE AND IT'S GOTTA BE SOON AND HE'S GOTTA BE LARGER THAN LIFE!"

                                                                                     ....cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck.......

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Foghorn's Post



YO, YO, YO! This is Foghorn (Sexy) Leghorn comin' at ya! I have taken over this here blog thang, and let me tell ya, it's a good thing I'm doing it too since that redhead who thinks she owns us has like, no time anymore. Not that I have tons of time either, I mean I gots like 17 chicks I gotta keep in line and please, know what I'm sayin? But, yeah, I guess I am kinda like a hero or somethin' making this post for Red cause she thinks shes gotta post a couple of times a week, ya know? Like, keep the readers happy or somethin. She asked me to do this and me being a nice guy and all, I see a lady who's in need of help, I help her, know what I'm sayin?

So like, Red wanted me to say somethin about those new cows we have to share our crib with. Yeah, the other day these two bums shows up and drop off even more beefy boys. Personally, I think they're a bit scrawny. Two gots really cool names though, Chum and Jiblet. Then theres the two puny ones, Bert and Ernie. They kinda brag a lot about this place they lived at before where like, people paid attention to them or something. I dunno, I try to pay more attention to my ladies, cause like, I gotta keep them happy, know what I'm sayin? Now that Chaz, he hangs out with 'em. But I ain't like that.

Oh yeah, and Jimbo, he's doin' lots better. Yeah we was a little worried about Jimbo there for awhile. Jimbo and Charles are pretty cool. Them's Red's horses, I guess. But Jimbo, he got sick and infected or somethin'. Yeah, I was a hero that day too when I was fannin' Jimbo's head with my wing when he had a fever. He's real glad I was around and now feels kinda indebted to me. I said, "No worries brother. Just let me know if my ladies escape, and we'll be real cool with each other, know what I'm sayin?"

So, like, I ain't no writer or nothin' and it's dark out, so all that's out with my ladies keepin watch is Chaz, and since I ain't like him, well, I don't think that wuss could fight off an intruder or nothin'. So I gots to go, know what I'm sayin? But hey, it's been real cool writing to you all. Remember, I'm your favorite rooster, since that Chaz guy, he don't really count. Maybe someday I can do this again. I guess I didn't really mind it much, but hey, I'm a good guy and a hero right?

Keep it real and peace out! 

Thursday, December 8, 2011

I Spy With My Little Eye.....



CLUCK, CLUCK, CLUCK!!!

Finally the sun is shining and no more 3 inches of rain are in the forecast! The poor cluckies looked a little worse for wear there for a few days. Everyone was wet and muddy and looked like they might try and grow webbing between their toes. That didn't stop egg production and we are still going full force, though we suspect there are eggs out there somewhere just waiting to be found. Dan braved the dark and cold this evening hunting for eggs around the now empty rental house next door. He didn't find anything, so in other terms, the hunt is still on!

Speaking of which, since July egg hunting has become a part of normal life here on the Shawhan farm. Thankfully we don't have to hunt as hard as we did before (mostly) everyone started using the nest box, but we still consider it normal routine to look in some familiar hiding places.

I decided to post about this subject because of the discovery Dan made last night. It was after dark and we were in the barn tucking all the chickies in for the night and giving poor Jimmy his shots in the rump. I had a pocketful of needles and was praying I didn't get kicked. Dan was standing outside the stall holding Jimmy's head when he exclaimed, "Hurry up and get it before it breaks!" I had no idea what he was talking about since I was in vet mode. I was pretty sure none of the shots had fallen from my pockets. I didn't think he would act that way over a thermometer on the ground and in danger of being smashed if stepped on. Like any frantic, caring parent, Dan was hopelessly pointing to the ground while not letting go of my horse. And then I saw it. A delicate, lonely egg that looked severely misplaced out in the open of a horse stall. It was also only inches away from the dinner plate sized hooves of Jimmy. Any weight shifting could have smashed a perfectly good egg. (Anyone who knows me knows that egg dropping/smashing is a sin.) One thought crossed my mind.... "SCREW THE SHOTS! SAVE THE EGG!"  After rescuing the unscathed orphan, I shook my head and thought about all the crazy places we have found eggs over the past 5 months, though honestly I feel as if this one takes the cake....so far.

Egg discoveries had been made at/in the following:
* The first egg ever was discovered behind the snow shovel in the garage.
* On top of the work table in the garage/barn where we park the trucks.
* In the feed trough they roost on at night, yes lying in all the poo (OPPS!)
* In a 5-gal. bucket.
*In the hay bale for the steers.
*In the driveway.
*In between the scrap metal pile and garage/barn where we park the trucks.
*In Jimmy's stall...with Jimmy in it!
*The room in the barn that is below the low loft.
*In a cut off plastic drum we use to throw away baling twine A.K.A. the trash barrel.
*Outside the coop door.

Happy hunting to me and the hubby!

                                                                    ....cluck,cluck, cluck, cluck......

Sunday, December 4, 2011

To Brood or Not to Brood....That is the Question.



CLUCK, CLUCK, CLUCK.....

So sorry not to get in the two posts a week. Life has been a little crazy and unpredictable here on the Shawhan farm. On the bright side, the cluckies produced a record of 16 eggs earlier in the week. So perhaps those motivational posters and the Chick-fil-A talk worked!

We began our chicken adventure with 20 chicks last March. We were SUPPOSED to have all hens (thanks Master Feed Mill!) but got two roosters. Then some A-Hole ran over a hen on the road, so we now have 19 chickens, 17 only being able to lay. I figured 2 hens not laying wasn't bad at all, but obviously we have 16 laying, so maybe I'll give the one who isn't more time before I write her off completely.

Ever since the chickens arrived my father-in-law, better known as Old Fart, would consistently mention "the sitter". What would I do if I got an old sitter. Old Fart is convinced that hens that just sit in the nest box 24/7 don't lay any eggs. Unless we strap a camera to her butt, there isn't much way knowing. So my reply is just let her sit. I'm feeding two useless roosters, so what is the difference? Of course, my luck, not long after the girls starting producing I got a hen who just sat. Still I didn't know if she was producing or not. I did notice that she was missing feathers on her breast bone but after some reading I found out that some hens will pluck out their own feathers and contribute them to the comfortableness of the nest. After several weeks the hen quit sitting. For awhile my "sitter" problems were over until Stay Puft entered the picture.

Stay Puft, who is in the picture above, got her name since she is white and would get really mad when you picked her up to steal the eggs. She would puff out her feathers and peck at the box around you, to the point where I made my gallant husband pick her up while I stole the bounty all warm and safe from under her. She reminded me of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. I was going to put her in the spot light and do a profile on her, but low and behold, she quit sitting too. Now I can't tell her apart from the other Light Brahmas we have. So I did some light research, which I'll share now. All the magazines and books don't call a sitting hen "a sitter." They are "broody", which I think is fitting since they act like brooding teen-agers when you go and mess with them.

Broody is phase hens can go through from time to time. Basically it's their motherly instinct to sit on eggs to get babies. It can last several days to several weeks. The poor hen doesn't realize it only takes 21 days for her to hatch out a brood of chicks. Brooding can be harmful to a hen if she neglects her own needs such as not getting up to eat, drink or poo (Opps!). She can also develop parasite infections. Not only can it be bad for her, but it also disrupt and upset the other hens. BELIEVE me, you know when a girl is waiting in line down in the coop to squirt out her egg! You can hear the ruckus a mile away! (And these city peeps think they will maintain neighborhood quietness without roosters! PUH!) Anyhoo, brooding can be contagious, so if you don't want that to happen you can remove the hen to another area for a time and/or keep removing the eggs. Also, science has interfered once again, and some breeds have had the broodiness bred out of them. Of course you may want a broody hen if your goal is to hatch out your own home-grown chicks. There is more useful information at www.animalloversweb.com.

So far, I'm good right now and not dealing with broody hens. But I'm sure in time there will be more. Just chickens being chickens I guess!

                                                                                        ...cluck... cluck... cluck... cluck.....

"The Broody Hen." AnimalLoversWeb.com 2007. 12 Dec. 2011. http://www.animalloversweb.com/article_chicken_broody.html