Cats & Chickens

Cats & Chickens: Can They Get Along?
posted by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

At the Backyard Chicken workshop last Saturday, we briefly discussed whether cats and chickens could get along.  When I started bringing the Learning Farm's backyard chickens to my home for visits to my backyard, my cat, Moira, slowly evolved from being absolutely terrified of them, to being cautiously alert but tolerant.

When I saw this post on Jon Katz's blog (http://www.bedlamfarm.com/) this morning, I thought of sharing it here...

Minnie’s Healing Journal And Album Today

Posted: 29 Oct 2013 05:27 PM PDT

Minnie is in her third week of recovery from an animal attack that cost her her right rear leg. She has struggled with pain, medications, disorientation and a lack of balance and movement. Her ordeal has opened a vivid window for me into the power of healing in animals. Today, Minnie began to emerge from her hiding place in the barn, seek out the sun, and somehow she found it healing and safe to be with the chickens.

She has healed in a number of different ways – in the barn, by gathering herself and being still, by exploring the world cautiously, by being with Maria, by being with the hens, by finding her warm and safe spots in the sun.

Minnie came to me as a feral kitten and lived in the big barn at Bedlam Farm for the first months of her life – I left food for her, but she was shy and cautious and I never saw her. I sometimes looked through the barn window and saw that Minnie was at  ease with the chickens, when my rooster Winston was sick Minnie sat with him for days and nights until he died. Minnie grew up around chickens, she has always been at ease with them, is often seen with them. It is not surprising she would turn to them for comfort and company for her own healing.

Today was Minnie's coming out day. She spent most of the day outside of the house and outside of the barn where she had been hiding all day. Every time we came outside, she was in the sun, usually with hens around her, sometimes with Maria. I chronicled this day in a series of photos which I am putting up on Facebook. Tonight, we brought her inside, she is still unsteady on her legs and tires easily.

 

Backyard Chickens Workshop Update

Backyard Chicken Workshop a Success!

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

Saturday’s Backyard Chicken workshop turned out well!  We had nine very enthusiastic participants – all of them full of questions and comments, and stories to share!

I would love to be able to provide a photo or two of the workshop in action, but I was so involved in the teaching that I forgot to take any photos – even though my camera was ready and close at hand!

But I can share a few of the comments from the participant evaluations:

“Great information.  Exactly what I was looking for.”

“I came to be introduced to chickens and how to raise my own.  I am walking away with a new found respect and great info to raise my own with confidence.”

“Great fun!  Loved interacting with the chickens – and the other like-minded classmates, of course.”

“Abundant amount of information – especially for novice chicken enthusiast!”

“Lots of fun – good mix of inside and outside learning.”

“Chickens are fun!”

Chickens are fun...  So true!  So very, very true!

Crowing Pullets

Something to Crow About!

by Anya O’Halloran,
Hen House Helper Coordinator & Hen House Assistant

Our pullets are growing up and are now nearly four months old!

Since the day we received our chicks, Sharon and I have wondered how many of them would be roosters.  When you order chicks from a hatchery, you have a choice between sexed or straight run chicks.  We ordered sexed female chicks, since we want them for egg production.  But because it is so hard to identify the sex of a chick, with the number of hens we ordered you usually get a few males anyway.

Now that our chicks have grown up into pullets, we can begin to see physical rooster qualities coming through on some of them – bigger combs and wattles, larger tail feathers, and larger body sizes. Based on these qualities we believe we have at least five roosters in our flock!

But the quality that really confirms whether our “suspected roosters” are really roosters is when they begin to crow!

One of our “suspected roosters”, a Black Australorp whom Sharon named "Oscuro" (which means dark in Spanish) recently confirmed his identity as a rooster.  Early one morning just before the sun came up, Oscuro gave his first short and immature crow ever(?)!  I was able to witness this exciting moment and it took me by surprise!  All the other chickens in the flock reacted similarly to the way I did.  After his first crow, they all stood there frozen for several seconds, taking in this new experience.  I wonder what was running through the hens’ heads.  For me, my thought was – Oscuro just crowed, so he really and truly is a rooster!

Ever since that morning, Oscuro greets the day with 3-5 crows just before sun-up.  Then he goes about his day, crowing whenever the urge strikes him.

A few days after Oscuro’s first crow I decided to take this video so that I could share the excitement with you all!  Here it is…

 

 

I continue to eagerly wait for “first crows” from our other four “suspected roosters.”  It has not happened yet – at least not that I’ve heard – but any day now they’re sure to decide that they have something to crow about too!

 

Adult Workshop on Backyard Chickens this Saturday!

Last Chance to Sign Up for our
Backyard Chickens Workshop!

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

Just a final reminder that our Backyard Chicken workshop is this coming Saturday.  There is still space available, if you'd like to come join us!

We'll start with introductions and a presentation in the Yellow Farmhouse, but we'll also be spending time with each of the Learning Farm's three chicken flocks -- something we do with kids all the time, but rarely with adults!

More details about the workshop follow.  Visit our website to register!

Backyard Chickens

Do you like the idea of having fresh eggs available to you on a daily basis? Are you looking to add some animals to your yard that will also provide you with food, fertilizer, and pest control? Are you wondering what it takes to keep a few backyard chickens? If so, then this workshop is for you!

Backyard chickens are becoming increasingly popular in both urban and suburban areas! We will discuss the basics of backyard chicken keeping – including chicken breeds and behavior, where and how to obtain your hens (or chicks!), how to feed and house your backyard flock, local ordinances, and other things to consider before you get your own hens.

As part of the workshop, we will also tour the Learning Farm chicken flocks in their different locations on our farm, discuss the similarities and differences between the flocks and how they are being housed, and tie those observations back to best practices for backyard chickens.

Date: Saturday, October 26

Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
What to bring: Nothing required.
What to take home: A resource handout on keeping backyard chickens and a sample half-dozen of our very fresh, pastured-poultry eggs!
Cost: $30 per person
Instructor: Sharon Gaughan,
PCLF Education Program Director

Double Yolk Egg!

Two Yolks for the Price of One!

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

One day a week or so ago, I went to the nest box that our three “backyard chickens” share – Rhubarb, Rutabaga, and Radish – to collect whatever eggs might be there.  Depending on the day, I might find one egg, maybe two, and sometimes three.  On this particular day, there were two eggs nestled in the wood shavings – but of two very different sizes!

I suspected that the larger egg contained a double yolk, so I waited until my nieces were visiting before I cracked it open.  Sure enough, two yolks fell out of that one very large egg!  We scrambled those two yolks – along with a few others – for a delicious breakfast that morning.

There’s no way to know which of the three girls laid that large egg, but our sympathies certainly go out to her!  Ouch!

Public Hearing on Backyard Chickens!

Backyard Chickens in Your Backyard?

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

For those of you who live in the area and have wished that you could have backyard chickens of your own, you may be interested to know that the possibility is currently being discussed for both the Village of Grayslake and for unincorporated Lake County.

This Thursday, October 17 at 6:00 p.m., there will be a public hearing to discuss several local food amendments (including the possibility of allowing backyard chickens, as well as bees and hoophouses) in unincorporated Lake County.  The public hearing will be held at the Lake County Forest Preserve’s Independence Grove’s Visitor Center (16400 W. Buckley, Libertyville). 

 

Come let your voice be heard!

And if you would like to learn more about what’s involved in keeping backyard chickens, you might consider attending our upcoming workshop on that very topic!  Workshop info follows this photo of Rutabaga, one of the Learning Farm’s very own backyard chickens…

 

Backyard Chickens

Do you like the idea of having fresh eggs available to you on a daily basis?  Are you looking to add some animals to your yard that will also provide you with food, fertilizer, and pest control?  Are you wondering what it takes to keep a few backyard chickens?  If so, then this workshop is for you!

Backyard chickens are becoming increasingly popular in both urban and suburban areas!  We will discuss the basics of backyard chicken keeping – including chicken breeds and behavior, where and how to obtain your hens (or chicks!), how to feed and house your backyard flock, local ordinances, and other things to consider before you get your own hens.

As part of the workshop, we will also tour the Learning Farm chicken flocks in their different locations on our farm, discuss the similarities and differences between the flocks and how they are being housed, and tie those observations back to best practices for backyard chickens.

Date:  Saturday, October 26

Time:  9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
What to bring:  Nothing required.
What to take home:  A resource handout on keeping backyard chickens and a sample half-dozen of our very fresh, pastured-poultry eggs!
Cost:  $30 per person
Instructor:  Sharon Gaughan,
PCLF Education Program Director

Pullet Visit!

Young Nieces Visiting Young Pullets!

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

My sister’s three girls spent a lot of time here on the Learning Farm this past summer, since my sister, Michelle, was one of the main summer farm camp teachers (and has been increasingly, during the past four summers). 

 

Hannah, Allison, and Amanda played an important role in helping us prepare for the arrival of our new chicks, and then in helping care for them in their critical first days and weeks of life. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of their important jobs was to help spot the chicks that were showing signs of "pastey butt," so that we could then catch those chicks and get them cleaned up.  Mandy (Amanda), my youngest niece, was particularly good at spotting (as she mistakenly called them) "tastey butts"!

 

Then summer camps came to a close, and school started up again – so it’s been a while since my nieces have had a chance to see the chicks (now pullets).  They came up for a visit this past weekend, and were excited to see how much the new flock of girls have grown! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Chore Crew

Fall Chicken Chore Crew Completed!

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

This year for the first time, we offered a “Chicken Chore Crew” farm camp – one in spring, another in summer, and again in fall.  Our fall camp just ended this week.

“Chicken Chore Crew” is different from our other farm camps.  We don’t do arts and crafts, we don’t harvest and cook from the garden – we just hang out with our chickens, and do some of the “chores” necessary to keep them healthy and happy.  For the summer and fall crews, that included working with our new chicks (now pullets).

I’ve been a bit protective of the new flock – and while we allowed the campers to feed and pet the young birds, I was a bit hesitant to let the kids pick them up and hold them.  But on the last day of fall Chicken Chore Crew, we decided to make a compromise.  After giving the kids some instruction, Anya and I caught some of the more cooperative pullets and placed them into the arms of some very excited campers.

 

 

 

This was undoubtedly the highlight of this particular camp – for the kids, and for me and Anya.  And, who knows?  Maybe even for the pullets themselves!