I don't have a WIW for you guys this week as I am on vacation but
a few of of you have emailed or left a comment asking about my girls...not my human girls but my feathered ones. So here it is everything I have learned about being a crazy chicken lady…so far.
It was never my intention to trun it the crazy chicken lady and really it happened so fast and painlessly that I didn't even noticed until I was looking for something on amazon and this came up.
Ya I also google stuff I never thought I would either, like "what does normal chicken poop look like", hey I was worried I thought Xena was getting sick...nope there is a wide range of normal in that area.
So to answer some question...
How many chicken do I have?
I have 3 which technically is a small flock, and the pecking order thing is true. They all have their place in even this little flock and they all have very different personalities. Yes they really do...
Xena the Warrior Chicken is an Easter Egger
She is the Big Boss Lady, and also the mama hen she watches out for the other girls but keeps them in line.
She is also the most friendly and will actually come a cuddle up with DQ when she's out there.
Princess Shit Head is a Barred Rock,
I added the shit head part cause she is the spoiled teenager of the bunch, and only likes to listen and come to us if we have something for her. She also chases Dobby (the dog) for sport.
Noodle is an Australorp and the baby of the bunch.
I worried bout her when I first put them out in the coop, she didn't quite have all her feathers and looked so scraggly for the longest time.
Now she is actually the biggest in the bunch. She is also the one that likes to sneak into the house if I leave the screen open.
Are chickens noisy?
Not really or at least not that I have heard. The coop is right outside my bedroom window and I have never heard them. They do make the normal clucking sounds and Xena will often coo when I'm holding her (I like to think she is talking to me…see crazy chicken lady party of one). But we also do not have a rooster, they are the noisy ones and are actually not allowed by the city. Our city only allows up to 5 hens and NO roosters.
Don't you need a rooster for eggs?
Nope this is the question I get most, and no you do not need a rooster for your girls to have eggs. Chickens will lay eggs no matter what roosters are only needed if you want those eggs to become chicks.
Are you going to eat the chickens?
Ummm NO! I kinda have a rule that I don't eat anything I name (hey maybe I should start naming my cupcakes lol). And truthfully I don't think I could do all the stuff that needs to be done before you eat them… Don't get me wrong I still love me some chicken nuggets but I'll just go to the supermarket and pick up some nameless, beak less relatives.
Why?
Well cause I'm a little crazy, I love all animals and DQ is just like me. Also what other "pet" can give you breakfast!! it's really a win/win.
Are they easy to take care of?
Yes they are actually very easy to take care of. We have a coop that we bought pre made and just had to put it together. The hubs is pretty talented so he made me a watering system that stays clean and I only need to fill up once a week, and a food one that I need to refill twice a week.
They are in the coop most of the day but I let them out to roam for a few hours when I get home if possible
and then most of the day on the weekends. Really the only bad part is the poop. I'm talking A LOT of poop and my backyard is mostly concrete, so what I do is before I let them out I sweep all the poop from the day before (so it's dry) into the patches of garden I have (great fertilizer) then let them out so it docent really build up to bad, and I only have to clean out the coop once a week.
I have this big popper scooper thing I made it's kinda like cleaning a giant cat box. but it only takes about 20 minutes once a week.
So, that my friends is some answers to your chicken questions. I am no expert and am learning new things about my girls everyday but it a fun little thing we enjoy.
