breed – Nancy Tart: Writing for Life

September 20, 2018

Asian Blacks

About two weeks ago, we happened into Tractor Supply for feed when the girls spied the “cutest little chicks ever!”

Kimberly says, “Mom, they are on clearance!”

Since it was nearing the end of chick days, they had brought their money just in case. We had just moved our latest toddler bunch into the small chicken run and were planning to start another batch of eggs. When the chicks are at or below a dollar each, they cost less than us incubating our own.

Becky had $4, Kimberly had $8, and the little ones excitedly counted their money while the lady watched, rather amused. Jaquline and Jillian each had a dollar and change. The original count said 14 but a 15^th was hiding in with the white ones. Lucas hopped in his seat, “I have 1-2-3-4-5 quarters, I can buy him!”

So we brought home fifteen beautiful almost two-week-old Asian Black chickens.

Since each chicken was a dollar plus tax, they are mostly Kimberly’s to care for, but even Lucas spends time with his little one.

Jillian and Jaquline have been helping with food and care.

Jaquline poses with her chicken.

Jillian likes to tote hers in the egg basket!

I have no idea how they find “their chicken” in all these look-alikes, but they seem to always be carting around “their” chicken.

What a beautiful addition to our flock! (And a way to keep Kimberly occupied!)

*Note: the pen they are in is the PVC “Daytime Run” we built about ten years ago. In our yard, this is not predator-proof and the chicks need a heat lamp (or 85 degrees plus) so although the original design had a rabbit-wire floor and the lids were locked with hinges and a clasp (which was predator-proof), it has been modified for easy grazing. The chicks are put in a smaller cage in the shed to keep them safe at night.

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

July 16, 2018

The “Bossy” Hen

Chickens all have their own personalities, but like humans, they tend to fall in categories. Today, we’ll discuss the bossy chicken.

This is the hen who thinks her feathers are better than everyone else’s. (That’s because she doesn’t see the white spots on the top of her head or the drooping rump feathers!)

She has the loudest cackle in the yard announcing when she laid an egg. (Her screaming can be heard over ten miles away and the other hens wish they had fingers to plug their ears!) She is absolutely sure that the most beautiful chicks in the nursery pen are hers, and will argue this point by pecking the other hens mercilessly.

She is the first at the water trough (unless Rex, the king rooster, is there) and shoos the other hens away from the fresh scraps tossed in the yard. (Of course, Rex doesn’t like a hen bossing his other hens around, so he will crow loudly, puff his feathers, and announce his dominance.)

Sometimes bossy hens will actually steal eggs from other hens and roll them into her nest!

They are fun to watch – and discuss.

One such hen is our Pearl. She is an old White Rock who seems jealous because she doesn’t lay eggs anymore so she swipes everyone else’s eggs and sits on them, cackling as if she just laid them! We keep her because she’s laid lots of eggs in her 4 years and she’s a pretty addition to our flock.

Another bossy hen is one of our Plymouth Barred Rocks, White-Head (so named because she has whiter feathers on her head than most females of her breed). She thinks all scraps are hers! She will chase every younger pullet away from the feeder too. If one of the roosters, especially Red, her favorite, goes after a younger pullet, she will act all fluffy (chickens fluff out their feathers to “fight”) and try to chase the younger pullet away! The roosters do not like this! White-Head lays 6 eggs every week and is an “Irma chick;” only about 8 months old. She just graduated from “pullet” to “hen!”

There’s plenty of entertainment “hen-watching” in my backyard!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Tag: breed

Asian Blacks

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The Bossy Hen

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