Falcons in the City

I hope to begin writing again on a regular basis. I was taking four classes last semester and found myself writing essays and discussion posts almost daily. The last thing I wanted to do was write more for this blog. Now I will have (relatively) more time and energy to write here.

Our chickens--Emolga, Rhinoceros, Peepee Chick, and Drago--are surviving the cold weather. I have been putting Vaseline on their combs and wattles almost everyday to keep them from getting frostbite. Otherwise, the cold does not seem to bother them and they wander around the yard most of the day pecking at frozen grass. Because we don't have an electrical line connected to the garage that works, Alan ran an extension cord out from the house to the chicken coop for a heat lamp and an aquarium heater for their water to keep it from freezing.

So far, we have only had to use the heat lamp twice. The first time, we used the red heat lamp from their old brooder to help them dry out after being soaked in the rain. The second time, we used a black light with a lower wattage because we wanted it to be less hot and bright. Unfortunately, one of the chickens brushed against the bulb and now there are feathers melted onto it. We're hoping they'll learn to stay away from it.

Emolga's bald spot after being attacked by a falcon.
The purplish quills, with white tips that will grow back into feathers,
 are shooting up out of the skin

Besides hot bulbs and freezing cold, our chickens have had to face other threats over the past few months. Threats such as peregrine falcons. Who knew that there were Peregrine falcons in Chicago? Two of these falcons live at a nearby park, next to Mather High School, where there is an unlimited supply of pigeons to eat. One of them discovered our chickens and attacked Drago, ripping off one of her claws before she escaped to safety behind the garden hose cart. They also attempted to snatch Emolga from our yard. At first, I thought she had been taken away when all I saw was a pile of feathers and three of our chickens huddled together near the basement door. After looking all over the yard, I finally found her in the coop and was unable to coax her to come out. After that experience, Emolga remained on high alert for a month, constantly checking the skies and running for the coop as soon as she heard a noise.

On Halloween just before sunset, our chickens began clucking loudly, so I rushed out to see if the falcon was around. Sure enough, it was sitting in a nearby tree. When it saw me, it flew off and I went back inside the house. When the chickens continued clucking, I went back out and looked at the tree, but the falcon was no longer there. I turned around and watched the chickens as they grew louder and more agitated. All of a sudden, the chickens began throwing themselves at the fence, attempting to escape. Confused, I turned my head to look behind me and was confronted with the outstretched claws of a peregrine falcon, who was bearing down at the chickens, unaware that the figure (me) standing in the yard was alive. When I reached up to block it from attacking my face, it veered off to my right and flew up and away. Shaken, I grabbed the chickens, put them back in the coop, and went inside. Whew! That was a close one!

Since then, the chickens have developed a sixth sense for these falcons. They can sense them when they are still far away and rush to safety down the steps to our basement door. We have had no problems with any attacks and I think the falcons have given up on them... at least for now.

A Sharing Community

I just received an email from the Center for a New American Dream with a link to their newly released Guide to Sharing.

It's funny that I just got it today because I had been thinking about this very thing earlier in the day. Since we've gotten our chickens, several people have called dibs on our eggs. (Our hens won't be ready to lay for another 5 months or so.) My mom even bought us a bag of chicken feed in exchange for future eggs. Our neighbor also has given us a bunch of empty beer bottles to use for our home-brewing in exchange for some beer. I could definitely see us building on this model of trade, or "sharing."

The Center's Guide to Sharing provides a plethora of ideas, including book swaps, car sharing, toy libraries, and potlucks, for ways to share in one's community. I'm most interested in the community clothing swap. The step-by-step instructions look like they'd be very useful in organizing one. I've thought about having a clothing swap at my kids' neighborhood school because it could be helpful to families who can't afford to buy new (or used) clothes for their kids. The Guide might be just the spark I need to put this idea into action. Any of my fellow school parents interested in helping out?

The idea that I am most hesitant about is the tool lending library. I don't know if it's a Chicago thing, but everyone I know locks up their tools. Garages are usually cleaned out when a door is left open inadvertently. I knew a plumber who's van was regularly broken into for his tools. Somehow, I don't think a tool lending library would fly in my neighborhood unless everyone had a key to the place where the tools were stored and it was kept a secret from non-participants. That's just my cynical, but realistic, self speaking.

Several months ago, I visited Nettelhorst, a school in the Lakeview neighborhood, along with several parents from my kid's school. Nettelhorst has really taken this community-sharing thing to the max. Most of the amazing work that has been done to the school, both inside and out, has been done for free by members of and businesses in the community. Parents at the school were able to draw on the wide variety of talents available in their area to turn the school into a real place of community.

I think it would be great if my kids' school also could be a place of sharing within the community: providing vegetables from a garden, hosting clothing swaps, offering classes teaching skills to both parents and students, and so on. We've already started working on becoming a focal point by planning to turn the school's asphalt playlot into a green landscape. You can check out the design here.

Before I get ahead of myself with these big dreams, I need to remember that it is better to start small. So I'll just start sharing beer and eggs with my friends and neighbors and see where that takes us. I'll be building a list of things Alan and I can share over time. Hmmm....homemade bread, fresh herbs, lots of kale, Alan's woodworking skills....If I share with you, will you share with me?

The Chicken Ark

So I'm still working on the chicken coop but thought I would post some pictures of my progress here as several people have asked me about it.  We wanted a coop that we could move around the yard so as not to wear down the grass or mess up any one spot in the yard.  We also wanted a design that would be easy to clean and that would make feeding and watering as low-maintenance as possible.  After looking at a lot of plans on the Internet I finally settled on this one.  It's called the Catawba converti-coop and it seems that a lot of city dwellers out there are building it.  Here's the link if you're interested.

Here's what the final product will look like when I'm done.  This is not a picture of my coop, I just grabbed it off the Internet to show you what it will look like when I'm done.  Actually, mine will be better as I plan to pimp it out with an internal gravity feeder and a relatively automatic watering system to make feeding and watering much less of a chore (Work smarter, not harder is my motto).  Stay tuned for more on the feeding and watering system.

Here's my work in progress.  You can see the basic frame below is very simple.  It's just a matter of cutting the correct angles and following the instructions.  You will need a miter saw to cut the angles.

And here's my son pretending to be a chicken.

The kids turned it into their "fort" before I could even get half way done with it.  They might just like it more than the chickens!

Almost done now.  The chicks are giving it a try.

The following pictures are for those of you who are interested in the details.  Just click to enlarge.

Here's the built-in gravity feeder.  I made it out of scrap wood I had lying around and the side of a plastic storage bin someone had thrown in the alley (score!).  It should hold about a weeks worth of food and moves along with the arc.  It's built around a trough-style chicken feeder you can get at Belmont Feed and Seed for about twelve bucks.

 You can see here that it's built into the door so I just open it and fill with feed.  Easy-peasy!

 Here's the ramp that leads up to the roost and nest boxes where the chickens will sleep safely at night and lay their delicious eggs.  I made it out of an old table leaf and some phone line.  It pulls up and down from the outside.  It's attached with regular door hinges.

Stay tuned for the watering system.  I don't know exactly how I'm going to build it into the coop yet but I do know it will involve PVC pipe and poultry nipples.  My goal is to build a system that I can fill once a week and forget about it.  We'll see.

Raising Baby Chicks at Home

So, we bought four baby Red Star, also known as Red Sex-linked, chickens about two weeks ago during Spring Break. We chose Red Stars because they are supposed to be very cold-hardy and are prolific layers. Also, since residents of Chicago are not allowed to have roosters, we wanted to make sure we were getting only females, which are red.

Aidan and Maddie came with us to the Belmont Feed and Seed store to pick them out. They were both so excited, and a little nervous, about picking them up and holding them. The store owner gave us a cardboard carrier filled with pine shavings to put them in. After watching the chicks for a while, we selected the ones that seemed to have the most energy and brought them home that day. (The kids loved hearing their little peeps on the car ride home.)

We put them in the plastic bin we had set up for them and the kids watched them explore the area. We had the bin lined with paper towels because we were told that the chicks might have trouble distinguishing between their feed and the pine shavings. They found their food and water right away.

                                               

 Maddie holding one of the chicks.

We had to teach Aidan and Maddie how to hold the chicks properly. For some reason, they thought it would be okay to grab them by their heads. Ouch!

At first, I was worried about the temperature being just right, so I kept adjusting the heat lamp to make it 95 degrees. After a while, though, it became clear that the chicks didn't seem too sensitive to the differences in temperature. They seemed to sleep around the edges of the light and moved in and out with ease.

Over the past two weeks, I have really enjoyed having the chicks in our home. They are super easy to take care of. I just change their water once a day, fill up the feeder as needed and change the bedding of pine shavings every few days. Sorry if this grosses you out, but I do let them run around in our back room and wipe up after them with antibacterial wipes and a mop. I feel bad that they would otherwise be stuck inside the brooder bin without being able to stretch their legs much. Besides, it's fun to watch them run around and look for places to roost.

Our chicks roosting underneath a chair

Taking a nap during the day.

Alan had to install a screen in the top of the bin to keep the chicks from flying out. Now that they're feathers are coming in, they have been able to fly. I really cannot believe how fast they grow and am afraid that they will outgrow their brooder bin before they are able to go outside and live in the coop Alan's been working on. Here is a picture of the work in progress:

So, in a few more weeks, the chicks will be ready to go outside. I think I'll miss hearing the little pitter-patter of their feet as they run around under my chair while I study or write. 

Chickens for Spring Break

Spring Break for Alan (my husband), who's a teacher, and our kids, who attend Chicago Public Schools, starts next week. When friends ask me what we're doing over the break, I tell them that we're getting baby chicks. It's not your typical answer to a question about vacation plans, so I usually get a quizzical look, like, "Did I hear that right?" Yes, we're going to be spending our break getting used to owning chickens.

Alan and I live on the north side of Chicago, in the city proper. We live in a frame bungalow and have a small backyard. After living in apartments for a number of years, we finally had the space, both physically and mentally, to own a pet. It was just a matter of picking the right kind.

We were debating getting a dog for a while because our two kids (age 5 and 7) love dogs, but I really do not like cleaning up poop. (Dealing with my own kids' diapers was bad enough.) From what people have told me, kids lose interest in caring for their pets, so I would be the one having to take it for walks and cleaning up after it. NO THANKS! And cats were out of the question because I am allergic.

So, we looked around for the kind of pet that would be easy to manage and wouldn't make me sneeze. We also decided that if we're going to put money and work into something, i.e. a pet, we want to get something in return. We found that chickens fit this philosophy very well. They can provide us with eggs and fertilizer, as well as entertainment for our kids and their friends. They also (supposedly) don't require too much work. We have to feed and water them once a day after they're grown and can leave them outside in their coop year-round.  The coop my husband is building will have a built in watering and feeding system.  It will also be very easy to clean it out once a week.  Simply sweep out the pine shavings and put them in the compost.

Once we decided to get chickens, we have begun planning for their arrival. Today, we went to the Belmont Feed and Seed store here in Chicago and bought everything we need to get started on caring for baby chicks.

 A large plastic bin with a heat lamp to house the chicks. We have a red bulb to make sure the chicks will be warm enough. It should be 95 degrees for the first week and then lowered by 5 degrees for each of the following weeks.

A baby chick waterer and a feeder. The chick starter feed, which is about 10 lbs., is in the bag behind the feeders. The waterer and feeder should be kept full around the clock until the chicks grow older.

The shavings will line the bottom of the plastic bin to absorb droppings and moisture. They're supposed to help cover the scent as well.

Now, we need to just sit tight until next week, when the chicks arrive at the feed and seed store and we can pick them up. We'll keep you updated to let you know how our little chicken in the city experiment turns out.  Also, stay tuned if you want info and pictures from Alan on how to build a "chicken ark" that's supposed to be perfect for raising a small backyard flock of hens.