Stress relief

Some people go to a spa or have a massage to relieve their stress but not me. I get chickens!

In the spring of 2020 my brother decided to build a chicken coop and get some hens so that he could have fresh eggs even though he is allergic to eggs and chicken. I believe it was something he wanted to do to keep himself busy and it certainly did.

His granddaughter, who loves animals, wanted a hen that she could call her own and also wanted to be able to pick it up and pet it. Most hens who are not picked up regularly are not always easy to catch and they don’t like it when you do. It can be very stressful for them and then they don’t lay.  So I convinced my brother to allow me to get a breed of hen that would be more of a pet. I had already hatched the Silkie breed and they make great pets. I found someone who was selling the breed so I got my cage ready and off I went to check out the baby chicks. The seller did not know the sex of the chicks so it would be a chance I would take if I purchased them. He only had one Silkie left and it was not a pure silkie breed. It was more of a Silkie/Frizzle which made it even cuter. I was only going to get one chick but then I saw the others and left there with 3. I figured it needed friends. The other chicks were an Americana breed, which gives blue eggs, and a Silkie naked neck, not sure what color eggs it would give. I had never heard of this breed.

Curley -  Silkie/Frizzle Breed              Lola – Easter Egger/Americana           Lou (Loulou) Naked neck Silkie

The chicks were only 2 weeks old, so they would need to be cared for indoors or in an area protected from the cold weather. They would also need some infrared lights in case they got cold at night. I had the equipment but didn't want to bring them into the house because of the dog and because it becomes very messy once they start losing their down (baby feathers). I chose to keep them in our shed, but first, I had to cover the windows with chicken wire to keep any predators out. Once this was done, I could sleep a bit better at night. My brother saw my setup, and one day, he surprised me with a small chicken coop. I then made a nice closed-in area outside so they could run freely during the day. I planned to keep them until the fall, when they would be 12 to 14 weeks old, and then give them to him. That all changed!

At 10 weeks, the little Silkie Naked Neck, which my niece named Loulou, decided to let his sex be known. A very light crow came out of him, but as the day went on, he got better and louder. Our little Loulou was now Lou. My brother did not want roosters, and I hoped he would change his mind. A few weeks passed, and then I heard a crow that I had not heard before. I went to check on Lou, but it was not him. It turned out that our little Silkie/Frizzle named Curly, which my granddaughter named, was also not a hen. Now I had 2 roosters! I crossed my fingers that the third chick would be a hen.

It didn't take long that the two roosters were trying to establish who was the Master of the coop. Lou was becoming very aggressive towards Curly, and I knew I couldn't keep both of them. I told my brother that I would need to rehome Lou, and he agreed to try putting him in with his hens, but the hens were older and not happy having him around. I thought they were going to kill him! He was already vulnerable because he had no feathers on his neck. The hens knew this and were trying to peck him in that area. Finally, he and I decided this was not the right place for Lou. I then tried placing him, but no one wanted a rooster, especially a fancy one. I then thought of my friend, who used to take the chicks that we hatched at the school, and she was kind enough to take him. She was going to try to find someone in her area. There is a hobby farm in Ormstown called Ferme André, they are open to the public and schools for visiting. It was the perfect place for a fancy rooster, so off he went.                      

So now I was left with one rooster and, hopefully, a hen, which I named Lola after my mother. With all my research, I figured out that Lola was a hen, but she was not a pure Americana. She is what is called an Easter Egger, which is another breed mixed with an Americana. That was fine as long as she was a hen! After seeing how aggressive my brother's hens were, and he wanted to avoid taking the step to integrate Curly and Lola, I decided to keep them.

We had the little temporary coop, but it was not made for the winter. I purchased some insulation, and David fixed it so they could stay in it for the winter. Being the Mother Hen and worrywart I am, I also purchased a very safe heater for them.

I then learned that you should have more than one hen per rooster. I was on a new mission to find a hen around the same age as Curly and Lola. I searched the want ads and found one just a short distance from my area. She was a little rough around the edges, but I knew that she would be just fine with care. She was a White Plymouth breed, and she would give brown eggs. I named her Faye, which is my mother's middle name.

As the chickens grew, I felt they needed more room to roam around during the winter months. I could have left them free range, but I was not comfortable with taking the chance that they would be killed by a predator. That is when I came up with the idea of making an enclosed chicken run that I would cover with plastic during the winter. I could place the little coop inside the run; they would be safe and have lots of room.  David was not thrilled with the idea, but he did it anyway to please me. They were certainly lucky chickens to have such a beautiful home.

The chickens enjoyed their new home during the winter months. They had plenty of room to roam, dig for bugs, and perch.

Spring 2021 came around, and now I wanted to get more hens. More hens means more eggs! The only problem was that my little coop for the 3 chickens would not be big enough for an additional 4 hens. I decided the best solution would be to build a coop onto the back of the run. It didn't have to be the full width but big enough to accommodate 7 chickens. I wanted to have at least 3 to 4 nesting boxes, and I had all kinds of great ideas; it was just a matter of putting them on paper so that David would understand what I wanted.

Here are a couple of pictures of the end result.

I was very happy with the result, and so were the chickens. The 3 nesting boxes were more than enough because they always used the same one. Now, it was time to go get more hens.

I found a place about an hour and ½ away. My sister wanted to gift me a hen for my birthday, so she came with me. The man had hundreds of hens running around, and their nighttime coop was an old school bus. I had to go on the bus to figure out which 4 hens I would get. Then we had to catch them. It was a fairly hot day for May, and the smell in that bus was nauseating. Not to mention all the dust with all the feathers flying around. I knew I wanted different breeds, so I ended up with 2 Sussex, which are white but with black feathers around their neck and tail. I named one Doris, after David’s mom, and the other Mae, my granddaughter's middle name. I also got a Blackstar, which I named Dot; this is what I used to call my sister when I was young. The last one was for my sister to choose. She really liked the Barred Plymouth Rock, which is black and white. I decided to name her Rose because that is what I called my sister when I was young, and it was also my other granddaughter's middle name.

Little did I know that it would be such a stressful job integrating the new hens with the older ones. At first, I thought I would try just putting them all together and see what would happen. Not a good idea! 

It took me over a month to finally integrate the new hens. I separated the run with a mesh so they had room to roam during the day and the older ones would not attack them. It was a long, drawn-out affair, and once they were put together, they still had to establish who was on the top and bottom of the pecking order. Lola seemed to be on top, the queen hen and Mae seemed to be at the bottom. This would change occasionally, but Lola and Faye always seemed to be at the top. Maybe because they were older. It's strange because they were my 2 favourites, mainly because they were so gentle. They were gentle with me but not with the other hens. When it was bedtime, they had also established that they were Curly's top hens. He always slept in between the two of them. Picture of Lola and her 1st light green egg.

I loved having chickens, but it was a lot of work. I was not made to be a farmer. I always wanted them in a clean environment, so I would clean the coop every morning. I would worry if it was cold or hot outside. I would monitor the temperature with a sensor in their coop that would register in the house. If I thought it was too cold, I would add another heater. If it was too hot, I would give them large ice cubes with veggies in them. I always worried about predators, so I even had a padlock on the coop door. I would spray them with essential oils to ensure they didn't get fleas.

In May 2022, we had a big wind and rain storm. Many people said it was a tornado, but the weather report said it was a Derecho. Our area got hit hard. We were very lucky that it was just property damage and no deaths.

I was in the chicken coop and got the scare of my life. Someone was looking out for me. A very old tree came down about a foot from the coop.

I was in the coop cleaning when it happened. I had put down the plastic flaps because it looked like it would rain, and the wind was so bad that it pulled the plastic right out of its holders. The chickens started running around all over the place and then came to hide in the coop where I was. I just looked up and said God save me. Suddenly, I felt the earth shake, and then the wind calmed down. It was still raining pretty hard, but I had to get to the house to close all the windows. David was downstairs watching TV and decided to come upstairs to see what was happening. That is when he saw the rain and wind coming into the living room. We didn't expect any storm, so all the windows and patio doors were open. He came outside looking for me and noticed a huge tree on the front lawn had also come down, just missing the house by inches. We were without electricity for over a week, and there was a lot of cleanup to be done, but at least no one was hurt.

That storm is something I never want to live again. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but the hen Doris got sick a few days later. I think it may have been from all the stress. She just didn't seem right. She wasn't drinking and eating like usual. I tried nursing her back to health, but within a month, she had passed, which saddened me. I know I did everything I could. That is when I realized I was not meant to have chickens.

I then decided that I was going to try to find them a good home. I contacted my friend and asked her if she would take them. She agreed, and a few weeks later, I drove them to their new home. She didn't want a rooster, so she would ask the Ferme d'Andre if they would take Curly. They agreed, and he got to go to his new home a few days later. I was happy because he would be around children who could give him love and attention. This farm would allow their chickens and other animals to roam free, which comes with pros and cons. The animals are usually healthier but are also at risk of being snatched up by predators. Unfortunately, Curly was not lucky, and a hungry fox got to him and several others. I keep telling myself that at least he had 2 good years with me and was treated like a King. I will always miss my little Curly!

We visited the farm in August 2023, and all my hens were doing great. Dot and Rose were still sticking together, and Lola and Faye were still so sweet and gentle. Mae was healthy and independent, as usual.

These pictures were taken the day they left for their new home at the farm.