Grubs And Bugs And Slugs, Oh My!

Most creepy crawly things don't bother me.  I have a healthy respect for snakes and spiders and I let them go their own way. These are attributes that are good if you have chickens. In fact the chickens absolutely expect it of you if you are an urban chicken keeper!

Talulah, our Welsummer, waiting patiently on the side.

When free ranging in the colder months (and there is no snow on the ground) bugs are a bit harder to find and sometimes you have to go in search of them. Recently that's what we've been doing. I help find creepy-crawly things and they devour them. So supervising a free ranging session now involves carrying a shovel. It also means I have six chicks under my feet a lot of the time. I do give them plenty of time to graze and scratch and come by things naturally but eventually they head my way with that 'mommy we're bored' look!

Talk about anticipation..!

Another reason for keeping chickens:  
Chickens are the greatest natural pest control system ever!

Another shovel-full coming up!

First I turn over every single rock, stepping-stone, planter, free-standing stumps and logs. The chickens do their thing and take care of every bug seen or unseen - scraping their plates clean, so to speak. Now, time to get the shovel. We have several raised beds that will be replanted soon for the spring season. As for now the only things growing deep, deep down in the soil are larvae that will turn into adults and ravage  anything we try to grow. This is where the shovel comes into play - literally. I turn over soil a little a at a time and let them play in it for a while. Then I move on to another spot. They usually end up completely working one bed. To them it's a never-ending BUG BUFFET!

Work it ladies!

By planting time, our soil will be so tilled and turned by the ladies we won't have to do a anything but toss in the seeds!  I'm certainly not going to complain about that. I'm really anxious to see how everything grows and (hopefully) flourishes after a year of help from  the chickens.

Ruby, our Aussie, keeping everyone on task!

Hurry up Spring!

Liz-

Wild City Chicks...

Yesterday the chickens were out free-ranging for quite a while. In fact I'm sure they left no bug or blade of grass uninvestigated. They hopped  up on low limbs of trees, made sure they had lots of playtime on the patio table (not where I want them to be so  I have to shoo them off). Their favorite places to get though, are our refurbished metal  chairs and glider (the glider really glides and it's a challenge to them to get on and work their way up to the highest point ad try to hang and balance there)! They went to one of the compost piles and did a little work on it for us, went to Harry's lettuce garden and made sure everything was okay in it. They heard our next door neighbor come out, get in her car, crank the engine and back out. They all stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction of the noise…I think it fascinated them since there is a fence and they couldn't see the actual noise-maker.

Run!!!!!

While they played I did a little cleanup around the hen house -cleaned out and refilled water and food containers, turn the bedding in the run, refresh the bedding in the coop. The most exhausting thing I did though was herding them back into the hen house.

I've spent so much time bragging on those SWEET babies I should have seen this coming. Mass mutiny in the backyard! Six chickens going in six different direction and none toward the hen house. I tried all my usual tricks to get them to go in, treats, food, toys, me sitting in there -no luck. One of the first things I thought about was maybe there was a good reason they didn't want to go in so I did check the coop and run to make sure there were no scary creatures hiding out.

Talulah is the best at escaping ME

I have a beautiful Japanese lace-leaf maple tree that of I have pruned/bonsaied and babied for twenty years. The low shape makes good cover for the chickens and they like scratching and pecking at the dirt around it. They also know that when they are under there it is hard for me to reach them. I tried diving under the tree to catch one and ended up breaking a really nice limb. Ugh!  I got the water hose and sprayed the tree just barely enough for them to decide it wasn't such a great place at the moment.

 Oh, the indignity

I finally tried picking them up one at a time and putting them inside the hen house. That, however, was their chance to show off their circus skills. I'd finally get three or four in, close the door and turn around to go after the last few… only they were ALL out again. This went on for a long time. I think they were trying to wear me down (which they did) but not to a good end for them. I got a wagon and some chairs near the hen house and finally got them corralled into a controllable area. In they went, one at a time, giving me the dirtiest looks possible for chickens.

Night, night sweeties!  Finally...

Liz-

For The Love Of Bugs And Worms

Looking For Worm

We spent most of the day prepping the beds for fall planting and we kept the chickens in the hen house because we didn't need their 'help' un-planting plants and digging up seeds we'd just sewn. They were going to get to do some supervised free-ranging after we finished. While working we came across lots of worms, crickets and other luscious bugs. I felt guilty for not letting them help so I got a pail and filled it with a little dirt and all the bugs, worms, etc., we found.

Teddy Trying To Help

As we finished the work the rain moved in and the plans for free-ranging disappeared with the sun. So what to do in place of letting six chickens free-range? Hmm. They were all lined up at the door ready to come out regardless of the pouring rain. What they don't quite understand yet is the need for our supervision. So, I dug up a little more dirt from the beds and added it to the pail of goodies. Maybe about three gallons of dirt filled with goodies. I poured half at each end of the run. It took a minute or so but they finally caught on. They flattened the piles of dirt in no time…scratching and pecking to their little hearts' desire. This was a bit different for them because inside in the run is packed dirt and hay on top, when they go out to free-range it's all grass. So being able to get right to the dirt and bugs while inside was fun. I don't know if it made up for not getting to free-range outside but they were entertained and safe. 'Safe' being the operative word.

Heading Out To Explore

Ours live in a fully enclosed run and coop but they do get out for supervised free-ranging. I would give anything to be able to let them out of the coop at sunrise to run, willy-nilly, everywhere till sundown! Unless we get a completely enclosed backyard, including overhead to prevent air strikes from hawks, that will never happen. Their enclosed area is big enough for them to hang out in when they can't come out…but I keep thinking of chickens who get the run of a huge area, a pasture, or wooded area on a daily basis. Are ours suffering any negative affects from not running free everyday? Do they even know what they're missing??? Aaack!  The cliched-to-death apology 'it's for your own good' gets me nothing but grumbling and throaty honking.

The Grass Is Greener On BOTH Sides Of The Fence

 Every small flock owner has different styles of management. Some urban and suburban keepers have full-time confinement with the enclosed area for the chickens meeting the space recommendation for the number and breeds of chickens. The chickens are usually very pampered - getting lots of healthy treats and attention from their owners. They're also much safer from predators. More importantly, whether fully enclosed or fully free-ranged, these chickens know they are cared for and cared about!!

Happy 4th of July! Two Weeks Old

Today the had their first session of free-ranging in the backyard (supervised of course)! A small temporarily fenced area to play. They had fun after about 60 sec. of standing frozen, watching each other for some type of cue that it was okay to go crazy. It's very hot here so we limited their play  to as long as it took for photos. They really weren't sure what to do. Instead of scratching and pecking they immediately ran out of the little openings in the fence…in and out in and out...a new game!

First Outing

While our youngest daughter, who lives in AZ, is home for holiday we are going to name them. Our daughter really wants to pick  the name for Welsummer so they're getting names A.S.A.P! They get in trouble so much that it's hard not to call them by a  nickname and I don't want these particular nicknames to stick.

Almost two weeks old I just can not believe how incredibly fast they are growing. As your can see in the photo above the polish crested is already starting to get a little top-know that will soon be her crest of feathers.

Liz-