New Chicken Flock

New Flock in their New Home…

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director



Our newly-purchased flock of one hundred Bovans Brown hens are now in our newly cleaned winter coop.  Home Sweet (New) Home!

We caught and moved the hens during the morning hours on Tuesday this week.  They settled into their new space relatively quickly.  We kept them inside the coop for the first couple of hours, giving them fresh food and water after a bit of settling down and exploring time. 



finding the water...

By mid-afternoon, we opened the door to the attached chicken yard to let them explore further.  All but two hens managed to find their way back into the coop as dusk fell that first night.  By the second night, all of them had it figured out.

As mentioned in my previous post, these birds are just under a year old.  As we might have expected, they’ve come with a few odd habits.  Despite plenty of roosts in this winter coop, some of the hens choose to sleep huddled up together in a corner on the floor.  We’ve spent some time the first few nights, gently picking them up and placing them onto the roosts as darkness falls.  Some of them stay put, others jump back down and return to their corner huddle.  Perhaps they’ll figure it out after a few nights; perhaps they’ll always prefer to sleep in their hen huddle.  Time will tell…

I’ve attached some photos of the new girls in their new home – a few of them finding the water, finding the food, and finding just the right nest box!

 finding the food...

and finding just the right nest box!

  

Changes in our Chicken Flock

Chicken Transitions...

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

It’s a time of transition for chickens at the Learning Farm…

Last Saturday we held a chicken adoption day for our flock of 2-year-old Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, Black Australorps, and Barred Plymouth Rocks.  Five adoptees (some individuals, some families) came during the first hour, each choosing 2-4 chickens to take home.  Then, to our surprise, a couple arrived from central Illinois saying that they were willing to take as many of our hens as they could. 

They explained that they are leaders of a community group that’s dedicated to promoting gardening, healthy eating, and backyard chickens. They have about fifty member families wanting to get started with backyard chickens, and their thought was that our 2-year-old hens would be a good way for these families to start out without being overwhelmed.  And so, the remaining chickens that we had available for adoption traveled south to central Illinois toward their new backyard homes! 

So that we can continue to provide eggs to our loyal customers through the winter, next week the Learning Farm will be purchasing 100 Bovans Brown layers from Sandhill Organics.  Bovans Brown hens look similar to Rhode Island Red hens – but they are a hybrid, not a true breed.  They are said to be docile and excellent brown egg layers.  The hens that we will be purchasing from Sandhill are less than a year old, so still in the prime of their egg-laying.

 

 

Fresh and clean winter chicken coop!

We’ve been working hard to clean up our winter chicken coop and adjoining fenced-in chicken yard in preparation for the new flock.  Yesterday I brought the Children’s Garden chickens, Rhubarb and Rutabaga, over to join me while I worked on some of the final coop and yard preparations.  They seemed to enjoy exploring the “new digs.”  I would like to think that they approved.

Next week, an update on the new flock!

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!

Take the Chicken Challenge!

We've recently hosted several general farm and "Be a Chicken Farmer" tours at the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm, and it's been fun to introduce area children to our chickens.  I wanted to share some interesting chicken facts that we've shared with our farm visitors in this True/False Chicken Challenge!  The answers are located at the bottom of the blog post.  Don't peek! 

1. Chickens have to be rounded up to come inside at night.
2. Roosters are needed for hens to lay eggs.
3. You can tell what color a hen's eggs will be by looking at her ear lobes.
4. Roosters only crow at sunrise.
5. Chickens sleep in their nests.

How did you do?  Are you feeling cluckingly confident, or chicken challenged?  And now, here are the answers (drum roll, please):

1.  Chickens do not need to be rounded up at night -- they instinctively know to get inside when it gets dark so they will be protected from predators.  We merely secure the door, thankfully.

2.  Although they probably wouldn't believe us, the roosters are NOT necessary for the hens to lay eggs.  Hens lay eggs regardless of whether there are roosters to mate with and fertilize their eggs.  Eggs are collected 1-2 times each day and refrigerated, which stops an embryo from forming IF a rooster shared a special moment with that particular hen.

3.  Strange, but generally true.  The Learning Farm chickens have red ear lobes, which indicates that they lay brown eggs.  Chickens with white ear lobes lay white or lightly colored eggs.  Chickens with pierced ear lobes do not hang around our flock and are clearly rebelling against something ... but would still lay eggs I imagine.

4. Roosters crow any time they feel like crowing!  They can be really loud, which is one reason why cities that allow backyard chickens do not normally allow roosters, only hens.

5. Chickens do not sleep in their nests, but instead perch on roosts.  The roosts look like wide ladders full of cooing chickens snuggled together on the rungs at night.

If you would like to chicken-challenge your children, sign them up for Farm Camp at the Learning Farm this summer! We have several camps specifically focused on chickens, but all camps include some chicken experiences.  Spaces are limited, so register at www.prairiecrossing.com/farm/learning.php today!  Information about farm tours is located on the website too.

Special Needs Chickens

About a month ago, we discovered that one of our chickens could no longer move one of her legs. We brought her into our office to isolate her and see if her health improved -- she seemed generally healthy, except for her leg. She lived like a queen in a large dog crate for about a week, supplementing her regular diet with fresh greens that by luck had been started as a seed viability test. We changed her newspaper bedding many times a day. Her digestive system certainly worked. This was not a sustainable solution for our farm chicken ....

In a small backyard chicken setting, a chicken with only one functional leg might be manageable. In a modest-sized farm chicken operation like the Learning Farm's, this chicken required special care that we did not have the capacity to provide. She was not able to compete with the other hens to access food and water, and would not survive in the flock. We were not able to continue nursing her inside for the long term, and her leg was not improving.

The hens' future looked uncertain, but bleak. Culling birds who are injured, diseased, or past their egg production years is an unfortunate production-flock management reality. None of us were eager to end this hen's life, but we knew we were unable to care for her.

I dug through my email box and located a woman who adopted a few hens from our last flock. I emailed her, changed the newspaper in the crate again, waited, and hoped for a new home for this chicken.

Success! Within short order (but a few more newspaper changes) this person connected me with a woman who not only wanted to adopt this chicken, but actually had a home for her in a special needs flock. The perfect scenario! Kerri is a vet tech and "chicken eggspert" who has chickens of her own, in addition to helping other poultry hobbyists (www.thechickeneggspert.com). Kerri dubbed the chicken "Rhoda" (she is a Rhode Island Red), and took her home to join a one-eyed rooster, a one-legged hen, and a few new friends. Whew!

I recently heard from Kerri that she x-rayed Rhoda's hip and found that it was dislocated. While Rhoda was under anesthesia, she put the hip back into place, but the surrounding tendons and ligaments were unable to adequately support the joint. Although her hip pops in and out depending on how she moves, it doesn't seem to be painful. Kerri continues to provide excellent care to Rhoda and hopes that with continued cage rest, eventually her ligaments will tighten up and provide more stability to her leg.

Rhoda's future plans include making new friends, munching on grass, and discovering bugs. We're happy she has found a new home, and thankful for people like Kerri who work hard to care for special chickens, and support the growing backyard chicken phenomena!

Hen House Helpers needed!

Have you ever wanted to work with animals? Do you want to have a unique experience that makes a difference and contributes to the availability of local food?

Volunteer as a Hen House Helper at the Prairie Crossing Learning
Farm!


The Prairie Crossing Learning Farm offers a real farm-work volunteer experience helping to care for our flock of free range chickens. Hen House Helpers (HHH) volunteer for a regular weekly shift at the farm – either in the morning (9-10 a.m.) or afternoon (3-4 p.m.).


HHHs collect the eggs, wash them, and package them for sale. There are also substitute HHH who fill in when needed – the regular HHH is responsible for finding a substitute when they can’t cover their regular shift.


I am currently looking for volunteers for the March 18 – June 9 session. I will also hold a training session for new HHH once the schedule has been finalized.


Interested? Available to cover a Tuesday afternoon or Thursday morning
shift? Please email ecummisford@prairiecrossing.com