Backyard Chickens in the Winter Time

We've been asked several times how we take care of our chickens in the cold, Chicago winters.  Hope this video answers those questions and gives some ideas to those of you who might be thinking about starting your first backyard flock in the spring.

Planting a Fall Garden

We just planted a fall garden using the seeds in the picture above because that's all we had on hand.  I went to the nearest big box store to get more but I was too late. The seeds had already been moved out to make room for the next seasonal merchandise.  So I guess we'll have lots of beets this year, which isn't a bad thing since Mary makes an awesome borscht.

Chicken Ark Upgrades: Building a No-Mess, Hassle-Free Feeder

 TheCatawba Converti-coop (AKA Chicken Ark) has got to be the best chicken coop design out there for the small, urban, backyard flock of three or four hens.  We bought the plans online and it was the best twenty dollars we've ever spent.  You can see my previous blog post about building the Chicken Ark if you are not familiar with this ingenious design.

In this post, I'll show you how to make this no-mess feeder...

... and build it into your Chicken Ark so it hangs underneath like this:

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.

Pet Chickens: The Next Big Thing?

I cannot believe how much time has passed since my last post. I spent the past 2 months working on two college courses with hardly any time to spare for anything else. Alan’s been getting ready for his new assigned position teaching 7^th grade reading, writing and U.S. history in the fall and our kids have been having fun in day camp. Before my next classes begin, I wanted to get in a few more posts about our little backyard farm, which is fast becoming a jungle. We ran out of time to really take care of our vegetable and flower gardens and now they’re both in disarray. Oh well, we’ll try again next year. Our chickens, however, don’t seem to mind the weeds and have been happily scratching in the dirt.

Apparently, it’s becoming more popular to have chickens in Chicago, based on anecdotes from friends and relatives. There’s also a lot of websites out there about raising chickens, which seems to indicate that it’s becoming more common in other areas as well. I don’t remember how the idea came to us that we should get chickens, but knowing someone else who has them in the city helped make it a viable option. If you’re considering getting some, you might want to talk to someone who has had them for at least a year to see what it’s really like.  

Now that we have had our chickens for about four months, I have a better sense of the kind of commitment involved in raising them. The first month or so, when they were chicks, they had to be kept inside and we had to make sure that they were kept warm enough. When they were about six weeks old, we put them out in the coop (chicken ark) Alan made for them. I’ve put together a list of pros and cons for having pet chickens for anyone thinking about it:

Pros:

1. Most kids like holding chickens.

2. They live outside, so they don’t make your house dirty.

3. Their poop is full of rich nutrients for the soil.

4. You don’t have to bathe, groom, or take them to the vet.

5. They’ll let you hold them, but they aren’t clingy.

6. Chickens are just fun to watch.

7. They aren’t noisy, at least compared to our kids.

8. Their food and water lasts a long time.

9. They put themselves to bed at night.

10. You only have to let them out once a day. (We let them out more frequently.)

11. They lay eggs for you to eat.

12. You can eat them, if you choose, when they get too old to lay eggs.

Cons:

1. They poop a lot, so you have to watch where you step and spray and clean out their coop regularly.

2. If you don’t watch them, they can tear up your garden and yard.

3. If you have a mobile coop, you have to remember to move it every other day.

4. They can scratch and peck you (without meaning to).

5. You have to remember to let them out to get their food in the morning and close up their coop at night so animals can’t get in.

6. They can be less tolerant of heat, cold and disease, all of which can kill them.

7. You do have to keep an eye on them when they are out because cats or hawks can snatch them.

8. If you have a dog or cat, they might be tempted to eat the chickens.

9. Chickens aren’t as interactive as dogs and are kind of dumb.

10. We can’t really take them out of the yard, again because of other animals.

I realize there are more pros than cons, but that’s the way it is for me; I just think they’re great pets.

A major detail that I have overlooked in the list is what it is like keeping the chickens in cold weather. Once we’ve made it through a winter with the chickens, we’ll be sure to share any insights with you. Chicago winters can be brutal, so I’m curious to see how it goes.

Root Simple: Picture Sundays: Compulsory Chickens

Root Simple: Picture Sundays: Compulsory Chickens: I found this old add on Root Simple, a blog I follow.  Just thought it was interesting that chickens were considered a war-time necessity during WWI.  Click the link above to check it out.  BTW, I highly recommend Root Simple if you don't already subscribe.

The Stories We've Heard

Alan teaches 7th and 8th grade Language Arts at a neighborhood Chicago public school. His school began hosting an annual Science Night last year to get kids more excited about science. On Science Night, they set up tables with representatives from different museums and have demonstrations of scientific (sometimes explosive) experiments and participatory activities. When she found out that we were raising chickens, the assistant principal of the school approached Alan about bringing our chickens to Science Night and he agreed.

                              

                                   Getting ready to go to school

So, that night, which happened to be his birthday, Alan, Aidan and Maddie and I packed up our chickens and drove them to his school. We set up a temporary pen, making walls out of old science fair posters and filling it with wood shavings, in the gymnasium. The idea was that the kids would stand in the pen and hold the chickens while learning about how to raise them as pets. What we hadn't expected was the level of excitement the presence of chickens in the school generated. The kids went nuts over them. They piled into the pen and passed the chickens around. Some of them were kind of rough with them, but most were careful. We were afraid that the chickens would be too overstimulated, but they survived intact.

What was most interesting to me about that experience was all of the stories I heard from the parents. Alan's school has a large percentage of immigrants from a variety of countries, including Mexico, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, India, and Pakistan. Our chickens brought back memories for many of the parents who spoke to us.A mom from Vietnam told us that people in her village raised chickens in their backyards. At night, the chickens would fly up into the trees and sleep and then fly down to look for food in the mornings. When Alan asked her what happened if a predator got one of them, she said, "Oh, we'd just get another one. It wasn't that big of a deal."

Most of the parents were surprised to learn that you could keep chickens in the city. I think a lot of them were wondering why we would want to keep chickens in the U.S., where buying eggs from a store is much easier. They probably also thought we had put too much money into them by building such an elaborate coop and buying feed. For most of them, chickens were just around for eggs and if they got eaten, that was life. 

Since then, I've heard more stories from immigrants. Aidan has a friend whose parents were born and raised in Mexico. When learning about our pet chickens, his friend's dad talked about growing up on a large farm back in Mexico and how much he loved living there. "Even though my father had so much and such good land with so many animals, he had this crazy idea that we would do better in America," he told Alan. Now Aidan's friend is living in a small apartment with no backyard and his dad is wondering why they left in the first place. It was interesting to hear from someone who felt that America, the "land of opportunity," had fewer opportunities than the country from which he had come.

Such conversations have been illuminating for me, providing more insight into the lives of the people who are in my neighborhood. It's funny, when we decided to have chickens for pets (and eggs), I had no idea that they would be a trigger for so many stories. It's not something I expected, but I'm grateful that I have one more way of connecting with other people. . . This blog is another way, so please "connect" with me by sharing your own story!

Mary Goes Vegetarian

After years of flirting with vegetarianism, I've decided to go all the way with it. I was starting to have a hard time having chickens for pets and also eating chicken for dinner.

Whenever I see packaged chicken:

All I can think of is this:

(Actual picture of our chickens, which are much bigger now.)

The rest of my family--Alan and the kids--do not see chicken meat this way. I don't think Maddie cares that much, but Aidan and Alan definitely see this:

(A succulent chicken feast, not photographed at 

our house because I could never make our food look that good)

In fact, all three of them have happily devoured a roast chicken at a friend's house the other night. So, I guess it's just me.

Aidan has been complaining loudly and clearly that he is a CARNIVORE and that his mother is not cooking meat for him. He has gotten several people, including other kids' parents, to give him meat as a result. My next-door neighbor has such pity for my husband Alan that he has given him meat, too. Truly, where there's a will, there's a way.

I'm hoping that my family will get used to having meatless meals at home and enjoy an occasional burger when we go out to eat or visit a friend's house. What's funny about all this is that we didn't eat much meat before and I don't think Aidan would have noticed if I hadn't said I was going vegetarian.

You might be wondering why I stopped eating other kinds of meat, and not just chicken. (It is true that we don't have any cows or pigs as pets.) The underlying reason is that I no longer feel comfortable buying meat that has come from factory farms where the animals are treated very poorly. Watching our chickens happily scratching for bugs in our yard and responding to us (in their own way) when we pet them has made me realize that these animals do need to be treated well. I think if I took the time and energy to look into it, I could find better sources of meat, but right now the price of such meat seems prohibitive.

What makes being a vegetarian easier this time around (I tried it for a year when I was a teenager) is that I have a vegetarian meal plan sent to my inbox every week. I just print out the grocery list, go shopping and cook the recipes each night of the week. This way, I don't have to think about what to make and I know that the food is healthy and contains enough protein and iron to make up for the lack of meat.

I'm still considering this to be an experimental phase. It depends on how the rest of my family adjusts and if I can keep my iron levels, and energy, high enough. So far, so good.

I'd love to hear your own thoughts on vegetarianism in general or you can share your own story. Feel free to comment below.

Garden and Chicken Update

Just thought I'd post a quick update on our garden and chickens.

Our kale went crazy on us since going to seed. I had no idea they would grow such bright yellow flowers. 

The butterflies have been flocking to them every day, too. 

In case you're wondering about our vegetable boxes... they're designed according to the square foot gardening method found in Mel Bartholomew's book by the same name. It's great for small backyards like ours. I'll let Alan write about this method later since he's done the research and built the boxes. I just cook and eat the vegetables.

We inherited a large rhubarb plant from the previous owners of our house. It's almost ready to harvest. Our neighbors like to use it for making rhubarb strawberry jam and my mom and sister both take stalks throughout the summer to make pie and pudding. Yes, there is such thing as rhubarb pudding and it is delicious. I'm hoping I can entice my mom to post the recipe here.

As for the chickens...they are getting a lot bigger! They love exploring our back room and backyard, and they are even learning to read :-)

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.