Field trips for Chickens!

Rhubarb and Rutabaga on a Field Trip!

 by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

What great fall weather we had this past weekend – cool, but not cold – and sunny!  The kind of weather that invites you outdoors to rake the leaves, cut back some of the native perennials, and plant the garlic – if you’re a gardener (which, of course, I am).  And the kind of weather that invites you to scratch around in the fallen leaves and the native perennials (but hopefully not in the newly-planted garlic) looking for insects, worms, and seeds – if you’re a chicken (which, of course, Rhubarb and Rutabaga are).

When I’m physically present at the Learning Farm, “the girls” are allowed to roam freely in and around the Children’s Garden for much of the time.  But on weekends when I’m generally not around, I feel badly that they’re “cooped up” in their small chicken tractor.  So, on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons this past weekend, I invited Rhubarb and Rutabaga on a field trip to my backyard! 

They traveled comfortably in a large dog carrier, in the back of my Subaru wagon.  As soon as the dog carrier door was opened, they strutted into my yard as if they knew exactly where they were and what they were there to do (they had, in fact, visited my backyard once before – but only for about an hour a couple of weekends ago).

We spent 3-4 hours on each afternoon working side-by-side on the tasks before us.  The girls were busy digging, scratching and eating nearly the entire time.  They became particularly excited when I decided to dig up a section of sod to expand one of the garden spaces – WORMS!

At one point, holding my hoe in a horizontal position and contemplating the configuration of my garlic planting, I was taken by surprise as the hoe became several pounds heavier.  Rhubarb saw in the hoe handle the perfect perch, and had jumped up onto it.  As I steadied the hoe against my legs, I watched Rutabaga – not wanting to be left out of the fun – walk over, jump up, and join Rhubarb on their newly-found perch.  They didn’t stay for long – in fact, both jumping down in perfect unison, a synchronized chicken-ballet.

Late in the afternoon, when I sat down on the garden bench for a rest and a snack, the girls came over to join me.  They stood preening themselves for a few minutes, then Rutabaga jumped up onto the bench beside me to investigate my snack.  I wasn’t sure that salted plantain chips were the best snack for a chicken, so I declined to share.  She jumped back down and off the two of them went to dig and scratch some more.

What a fun and entertaining way to get my yard work done!  Granted, I may have gotten a bit more accomplished without the chicken distractions – but how much more enjoyable it was to have those distractions while I worked!

Fortunately, I have a tall privacy fence which keeps Rhubarb and Rutabaga safely inside my large backyard.  Unfortunately, I live in Wildwood where keeping backyard chickens is not allowed.  So for now, I’m limited to borrowing the girls for a few hours on occasion.  For now…

Learning Farm Chickens Available for Adopting...

Here is some information that may be of interest to those of you who enjoy our Learning Farm chickens...

Chicken Adoptions!

The Prairie Crossing Learning Farm in Grayslake is seeking adoptive homes for our chickens! The current flock of pasture-raised chickens came to the Learning Farm as one-day-old chicks 2 years ago. They immediately engage farm visitors with their gentle clucking, and entertaining chicken behaviors! The chickens have provided certified organic eggs to Learning Farm customers, educational opportunities to Farm Campers and tour participants, and real farm work volunteer opportunities to our dedicated Hen House Helpers.

The reality of farm life and economics is that the Learning Farm is unable to continue to support this aging flock. During this past year, egg production has diminished significantly and we have been unable to provide enough eggs to our loyal customers. Most commercial operations maintain their flocks for only one year, but the Learning Farm committed to maintaining this flock for two years -- until November of 2012.

We will offer free hens (no roosters) to adoptive homes on Saturday, November 3 from 2-4 p.m. All chicken adoptions must take place during this timeframe, so we are providing as much advance notice as possible. Please come to the farm during this timeframe to select chickens, or send someone else on your behalf. Many towns have regulations about maintaining chickens in your backyard, so please make sure you know what those are before taking home a chicken. All chicken adoptions are final, and are first come/first served. Please bring a large box or dog crate lined with newspaper to transport your chicken(s). Our address is 32400 N. Harris Road, Grayslake, IL 60030.  Please read the very bottom of our website for directions to our farm as some internet maps are incorrect – www.prairiecrossing.com/farm/learning.php.  

The Learning Farm flock is composed the following varieties of heritage breed chickens:

• Barred Rocks
• Black Australorps
• Buff Orpingtons
• Rhode Island Reds

We hope to connect many backyard chicken enthusiasts with our chickens as possible. Please help us spread the word! After this chicken adoption day, the rest of the flock will be humanely butchered. We are still working through the details on when a new flock of chickens will be brought to the Learning Farm, so stay posted for more information. The Learning Farm remains committed to raising chickens for educational opportunities, production of local eggs, and meaningful volunteer experiences.

Erin Cummisford
Liberty Prairie Foundation

Chickens in the Children's Garden!

Chickens in the Children’s Garden!

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

If you’ve visited the Learning Farm Children’s Garden recently, you may have noticed a new and exciting addition!   We now have a small chicken tractor, housing two chickens borrowed from our main Learning Farm flock. 

It’s long been a dream of mine to bring some chickens into the Children’s Garden, where so much of our educational programming happens – or at least begins and sometimes ends!  Now our visitors can visit at least a couple of our chickens, even if they don’t have the time or ability to trek out into the fields where the others are pastured.

It would have been ideal if I could have brought one of each of our four breeds into the Children’s Garden, but this chicken tractor is way too small for that.  I purchased the chicken tractor online.  It was advertised as being large enough for three standard-size hens – but the reality is, it’s barely large enough for two.  So, who to choose?  After some thought, I decided on one of our Buff Orpingtons (my personal favorite of the four breeds) and a Rhode Island Red (often a kid-favorite, being the closest to the “Little Red Hen”).

Children often ask me if our chickens have names.  It would be near impossible to name and keep track of all the chickens in our main flock – but two chickens in the Children’s Garden is a different story.  These girls would definitely need names!  But how to decide?  The names would need to be fun, but meaningful – and perhaps even a learning tool.

After much thought, it was decided – Rhubarb and Rutabaga!  I love growing and eating both rhubarb and rutabaga – and, the words are just plain fun to say!  So, the Rhode Island Red became Rhubarb (rhubarb stems are red in color) and the Buff Orpington became Rutabaga (the flesh of a rutabaga is somewhat buff in color).

Rhubarb and Rutabaga have settled into their new home and their new routine quite nicely.  I let them out of their chicken tractor for at least part of everyday – to give them an opportunity to stretch their legs and scratch for bugs and other chicken-goodies.  They’re only free to wander when I’m somewhat nearby to check on them, but they generally stay within the Children’s Garden fence or just a few chicken-steps beyond.  They seem to have accepted the chicken tractor as their new home and the Children’s Garden as their new backyard – and the two seem to have become BHFs (Best Hen Friends).

So, next time you’re in the area, you’re invited come say hello to the Rhubarb and Rutabaga.  They’ll be living in the Children’s Garden for the remainder of the autumn months.  And if I’m nearby when you visit, I’ll be more than happy to help you feed them a special chicken-treat!

Hope to see you in the Children's Garden soon!