Chicken minutiae

I wish I had the time to build a chicken coop but if I did I wouldn't have something half as nice as the one I bought from mobilechickencoops.com. What I do enjoy is decking it out on cold days so my babies stay warm. It's the same sort of enthusiasm I had for fort building or tree house lounging when I was a kid. In the summer I try and figure out new ways to keep them cool. This past summer I purchased a tent ceiling fan that worked on double D batteries. It worked for all of three days before the weight of the batteries did something to the motor. So long as it wasn't suspended it worked, but at that point it was useless. I froze bottles of water and was constantly tossing them into the cop but the girls let me know they didn't like these huge, freaky, weird things in there with them. This coming summer I am doing pans of water.

It's dipping into the teens for two days so I winterized the coop by facing it south. I added plywood and cardboard to the west side and then draped a canvas drop cloth over the whole thing leaving the south uncovered. They have a 250 watt brooder lamp, cardboard covering some of their wire floor and their nest boxes are draped with canvas. It's toasty in there but they still have plenty of ventilation. I also took the added precaution and put petroleum jelly on their combs and wattles as they slept.

Silkies are not supposed to be prolific layers and I keep hearing egg production decreases in the winter and I also hear it decreases in the summer but my girls have given me at least one egg everyday since they started laying. On average it alternates between two and three. They are so delicious, very creamy with orange yolks. I can't say why they are laying so much, I'd like to think it's because they are happy. What keeps from that is the fact that I lost Ducky this past September and it wasn't during the heat wave but on the first cool day after the heat had passed. It is hard not take that as a personal failure.

When caring for chickens I have felt so much more responsible for their well being than I did with dogs or cats. I guess it's the fact that they live exclusively outdoors exposed to the elements and bugs. It is up to me to really keep them comfortable and pest free . Their health is a reflection on me. If I am too lazy to change their water twice a day or clean their coop frequently they'll get worms and mites. The girls have grown so accustomed to a clean coop that they gritch when it does become too soiled during rainy weather. They also let me know when their feeder is running low. We have learned to communicate and theit's been so rewarding.

I can't help but have my heart melt when I check in on them at night and hear their little chicken snores. Yes, I check on them a few times after dark, yes I am more of a neurotic chicken mom than owner but these lil guys have stolen my heart. They also seem to be exceeding their expectations.