Chicken dinner

We here at the urban farm are a multi-generational household. My parents are big fans of the hens (or as they call them, "the girls") and are, in fact, the reason we have chickens. I had been talking about possibly keeping hens for years, so for my birthday this year they broke down and gave me a coop. I say "broke down," because at first they weren't big fans of the idea of chickens in the city. But now things have changed. My mom even has a Buff Orpington who must have imprinted on her early. The bird now thinks she is her mother and follows her around incessantly.

Two Australorps and a Buff enjoying a zucchini.

So it was surprising to me when my dad texted the other day asking if I'd like to have chicken and dumplings for dinner. I believe the text read something like, "you provide the Australorp and I'll make dinner." What?!? Was he saying we should eat one of our hens (who are just now barely starting to earn their keep by laying eggs)?

Not sure they are really sweet or docile. But they are beautiful.

Apparently my parents have noticed that the chickens have been doing some singing. Now that they are laying a few eggs, the hens (mostly the Australorps) sing what is called an egg song. Every heard one? You would definitely know it! Here's an example I found (hopefully I can catch mine in the act one day soon and film it for posterity): egg song. They only do this once a day, so it's hard to catch.

I enjoy living in town and actually like to hear our neighborhood's sounds--song birds, playing dogs, a bicycle bell, the owl that wakes me up occasionally, happy children, the trash truck, and even the noisy geese as they make their final decent to the pond on fall evenings. So I hope my parents and neighbors can find some joy in their song.

Have a great week everyone!

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To chicken or not to chicken

When I was thinking about this post last week, I decided I would write about the pros and cons of backyard chickens. I was slowly and deliberately weighing the decision to add hens to the urban farm. And then in one moment (as things often do) the situation changed. My wonderful parents, having watched me read about, Google, and otherwise study chickens for the last couple of years, decided to gift me my very own chicken coop for my birthday. The coop hasn't arrived yet, but I am finally now moving forward and hoping to have eggs by late summer!

Peeps will never look the same.

Pullets or Chicks?

I couldn't decide between buying started pullets (young adult hens that are already laying or will be laying soon) or newly hatched, female chicks. But once my daughter got involved in the decision, we decided to raise chicks. The benefit of pullets is gathering eggs sooner. The benefit of chicks is being able to tame them early and, honestly, to just enjoy their silliness.

This book, among many others, gives a ton of good information.

Breeds?

Until I started visiting my friend's backyard flock, I didn't realize the variety of chickens available. We decided to get 5 chicks, with the ultimate goal of 4 hens (because it's difficult to see the differences between male and female chicks, there is a good chance at least one of our birds will turn out to be rooster, and keeping a rooster is against city regulations). The chick breeds we selected will all be winter hardy, which is very important in our cold climate.

Two of our chicks are Buff Orpingtons, the "Labrador Retriever" of the chicken world. They should be docile, kid-friendly, and easy to pick up. Two of our chicks are Australorps, a black chicken bred in Australia, and also a friendly hen to have around. The last chick is supposed to be an Easter Egger--a mixed breed that lays beautiful blue or green eggs-- but right now she looks exactly like the yellow Buff chicks, so only time will tell.

Buff Orpington

Australorp

Now for that backyard chicken pro/con list

Cons:

• Need daily attention
• Cost of supplies and feed
• Cleaning the coop

Pros:

• My city has a relaxed, open attitude towards backyard flocks
• Fresh eggs, and I will know exactly how the hens were fed and treated
• Chicken TV-- they are fun to watch!
• Composted chicken manure is fertilizer gold

I will update soon as the chicks grow and as we get the coop built!

Sleepy chicks