Where the Rooster Roosts

Quicky the Rooster

Our chickens are now 4 months old and it no longer takes a chicken-sexing expert to tell us the gender of our chickens. We have confirmed the presence of a rooster in our brood. So has our neighbor, from 3 blocks away. I am not sure if it is simply the novelty of the sound, but I really like the rooster's crow. (In contrast to the blown-out base in the hip-hop that often bellows off of Chicago Avenue.) Surprisingly, roosters not only crow at the crack of dawn but throughout the entire day. The media definitely does not paint an accurate portrayal of rooster behavior. Quicky seems particularly talkative at 7:55 a.m., which happens to be the morning drop-off for school. Parents have started telling me that they can hear a rooster crowing in our back yard. If you ask me, this is a deliberate cry for attention on the rooster's part.

I contacted a 4-H leader this week to seek out a new home for the rooster. We don't mind the barking, but our intention has always been to only raise hens. We don't want to be frying fertilized eggs. Fortunately, I have found a woman who sounds happy to take Quicky into her brood. It would be great to find him a home where we could visit.

Chicken Coupe de Lill

Built from reclaimed wood, recycled kitchen cabinets and window screens, our Coupe de Lill is complete with two doors (one main entrance and a second for collecting eggs), front seats for up to 3 hens and luggage compartments (aka nesting boxes). There has been a mad dash to complete the coop given that we our expecting our 4th child to arrive at the end of September. Plus, Chicago weather can been precocious; it has been known to snow in September. But we did it! The access ramps were once IKEA drying racks.

Ugly Duckling

Even chickens go through an "ugly teenage phase".

Birds of a Feather

Have you ever noticed how dogs often resemble their owners or visa versa? It appears to not be a species-dependent phenomena.

A Hard Lesson

It has been a tramatic day - for some more than others. I regretfully report that, Fern, our 4th born, accidentally met her end today. Though the other family members seemed to have proccessed the day's events in stride, I am still grieving. I missed the funeral, which was held at about 7:45 pm CST, in our backyard. I am told it was a nice funeral and each attendee said a small prayer for Fern. She will be missed.

Fern had quickly become my favorite. She was the smallest and least expected of the hatchlings and had a docile nature. Unlike her siblings, she loved being held. Just last night, she was resting on top of my 7 month pregnant belly. I promised her that I would take good care of her. I utterly failed.

It was an unimprinting day until the afternoon. Homework, potty time, stories, lunch and naps. We were planning to go to the swimming pool in the afternoon. Before leaving for the pool, I decided to take the chicks outside for their 1st foray at foraging. We placed them in the Little-Tykes plastic playhouse. Wesley and Elena were very excited about the housing transition. Wesley put the chicks in the house's plastic sink. I quickly admonished him, stating that they needed to stay on the ground. After placing a chick feed and water dish on the ground, I closed the fake door and red shutters to the house and instructed the kids to leave the chicks alone.

I headed over to our garden to tend to a wilting tomato plant. Elena joined me in watering the budding vegetable garden. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes from the time that I turned my back on the chicks. Wesley walked over and declared that there was a dead chick in the house. I blocked his words with disbelief and crossed the 25 feet back to the playhouse. The thought, "I hope its not Fern.", crossed through my mind. To my surprise, there were three chicks huddled in one corner and a lifeless, awkardly bend baby in another. There was also a black rubber stick that belongs to our t-ball stand in the house. I yelled at Wesley to go and get Daddy. Of course, it was Fern.

I looked at her twisted body for a minute, then I looked away. Instead of waiting for Michael to command the situation. I picked her up to verify that she was not breathing. Lack of motion was verified. Wesley and Michael came of the house. I burst into tears and stated that Wesley killed Fern. Wesley's eyes welled up with tears and he indignantly asked why we blame him for everything. I assumed that he had struck her with the t-ball stick. We asked Wesley to give his account, but at this point he felt so embarrassed and confused that he started making up stories, all of which excluded him from having anything to do with Fern's death.

Flustered, I simply sent him up to his room.

We stood in the backyard for about 10 minutes, in disbelief that I had a dead, little chick in my hand. Michael to bury the body between our elefant-eared hostas. He was going to have Wesley help. We put the 3 other chicks back in the safe confines of the brooder and washed up. An outting to the swimming pool felt out-of-place, so I brought Elena in and set her down with some books. I went upstairs to check on Wesley.

Wesley was curled up in bed with his green blanket. I layed down with him. He said, "I have an idea - let's put some tape on its neck and that will make it better."

I wished it were that simple. I wanted an explaination but it was obvious that he was feeling guilty, sad and defensive. I told him a story about a bunny that I had had in my childhood that had frozen to death. Eventually we agreed that we to write a letter, to explain what had happened.

Here are Wesley's words as dictated by him:

I am sorry but we named a chick called Fern, but then one day she died. She fell and her neck was broken.

I was trying to move her to a different place so Fern could be close to her brothers and sisters. I was trying to give her a kiss because she was the sweetest one I ever loved. I held her up to my chin. Then she pecked at my hand and I got scared and she jumped. I freaked out because, Torin, my brother always says that.

She jumped up and hit the ceiling.

(this part of the letter has changed a few times.)

When she fell, she had a flip turn to the middle and she stopped moving. I froze in place then picked her up and tried to make her move but she didn't. I felt sad. I put her back on the ground and went to tell my mom that Fern had died.

The end.

Don't be too sad - just one chick died. I am sorry.

From,

Wesley

Wesley also drew the picture showing Fern on his arm and hand. Those are unhappy faces in his sketch. Whatever happened, I am sure that it was an accident and that Wesley feels regretful and sad. I suspect that he has moved past this incident but he hasn't asked to hold any of the other chicks since.

I am deeply saddened - for Fern, for Wesley, for Torin, who hadn't met her, and for myself because I loved her, too. I hadn't intended for our Chicken Project to include lessons about death and I certainly hadn't intended to leave so much room for such an aggregious error.

Wesley holds his new friend

Wesley with chick #1 at 7:16 AM

Wesley was so excited to meet the chicks and Elena nearly knocked over the incubator with her exuberance! The chicks flap their wings and peep a lot when we pick them up.

We have 3 little chicks

What a wonderful surprise! We woke up to 3 fluffy chicks. It looks like the 2nd one finally broke through and there is an added bonus of a third that hatched in the middle of the night. We are so pleased! I called Torin to tell him about the chicks and he was shocked and happy. They have such big feet. We have now put in a dishes of water and Start and Grow. They instantly picked up on pecking food.

OUR 1st CHICK HAS HATCHED!

The Chick in egg #8 just made its way out of the shell.

Egg #4 is cracking, too. By morning, we hope to see 2 chicks. I am afraid to go to bed and leave this little baby by itself.

Day 21: It is really happening!

I just returned from the airport. Torin is on his way to Denver where he will spend the next 10 days with my family. WOW - it is one of the eggs is hatching. We can't believe this! We didn't think this would happen. The eggs were laid around June 24th and it is now 25 days later.

6:22PM

8:55PM

10:05PM

Is today Day 21?

Incubation Day 21 or Day 17

We are hoping that the eggs will start to hatch today. It has been 21 days from the date that the eggs are believed to have been laid. 

Nothing is happening.

Half of the eggs have turned a faded brown colour with a chalky, white tint. Does this mean these ones are not fertilized? Or is it the reverse? 

You can see from the photo that some of the eggs have lost their robust colour. What does this mean?!?

An interview with a Chicken Expert

Incubation Day 14 or Day 18

On Day 17 we can expect to get relief from the daily rotations. Our manual directs us to not touch the incubator from Day 17 on (except to add H2O to maintain humidity). 

I read that tomorrow we might be able to start to hear "pips" - the chicks peeking at the shells from the inside. 

Two days ago, I called my farmer grandmother to seek advice on our hatching process. She returned the call yesterday; it was possibly the most useless conversation I have ever had with anyone. She refused to offer any insight. Torin will be flying to Denver July 18 for a 10 vacation with my family, so in a change of subject and an attempt to be cordial, I asked my grandmother if she intended to see Torin.  She replied with a "maybe."

"Will you drive into the city or will Shiloy bring Torin out to the farm?", I pried.

"Yes.", was her curt response.

"Which one is it?"

"None of your business."

"Ok."

(Keep in mind that this is a woman who, when I once asked if she would like to sell the house that my mother lives in, responded with, "I would never sell anything to you." Also, when I invited her to visit us in Chicago she said, "I'd rather die than go to Chicago.")

Our brief and empty conversation ended with her informing me that she had just finished mowing the lawn and needed to shower now, as if I had interrupted her afternoon. Wasn't she the one that called me?

I am sorry but I have little to no sympathy for depression-era children. Kindness would cost my grandmother nothing, yet she refuses to spend it. Its like how she used to drive to the JC Penny's in Castle Rock to make long distance phone calls from the concierge phone to my sister Liz in Denver. I distinctly remember her taking my brother and me to a Salvation Army toy drive. My brother received a shiny, red fire truck at the party and after sitting on Santa's lap, I was given a new doll. That was our Christmas present from her that year. Don't even get me started on the Christmas presents from garage sales or hotel swipes (shampoo, soap and hand towels). For awhile, once a week, she would deliver day old bread that she picked up from a food pantry.

This same grandmother has owned a private plane and a farm for as long as I can remember. 

There is a difference between frugal and stingy. One is attempting to build a chicken coup out of leftover wood from a rotted fence and miscellaneous IKEA furniture pieces. The other is my grandmother.

I had better get out now with the circular saw and start working on that frame. 3 days until the hatching hopefully begins!

Lessons in Chicken Embryology Continued (Day 6 or Day 10))

Incubation Day 6

All is quiet on the chicken front. On the other hand, Torin and Wesley have been fighting all morning, so they lost the priveledge of going to the swimming pool. We are scheduled to leave for vacation on July 5th - a camping trip in Michigan. Katherine will keep up with incubation log by rotating 3 times a day.

Surprisingly, the cracked embryo continues to grow. It now has a large, bulgy eye. Apparently, it has chicken feathers now, too.

I just learned that Mississippi University has a Department of Poulty Science (one of 6 "poultry" degree granting departments remaining in the US). For those interested in careers in the poultry industry, you can visit the following page: http://www.poultry.msstate.edu/extension/pdf/careers.pdf

Here is a great video documenting what the development of a chicken embryo looks like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKvez9duEHQ

Egg Monitoring Log

Incubation Day 5 or Day 9

By the way, here is the log that we have been using to monitor our eggs. Feel free to email me if you would like a copy.

Lessons in Chicken Embryology (Day 4 or Day 8)

Incubation Day 4 or Day 8

Torin turned the eggs after breakfast. I decided to check on the eggs at 10:30 am. Egg #3 had a visible dent with cracks. I removed the egg from the incubator for fear of contaiminating the other eggs. Out of curiousity, I peeled back the shell from around the broken area and, to my suprise, there was a perfect specimen of a fertilized embryo. The vein network was amazing and I could even visualize a beating heart! The embryo resembled a Day 7 embryo, so I decided to email the egg seller and confirm the day that the eggs were laid.

Dear silliewim,

Hi, I received the eggs and they were all in perfect condition. Thanks! They have been in the incubator for 5 days (since Saturday). What day were these eggs layed? (approximately) The box said it was shipped on 6/24. I just want to confirm the gestational age. Today, one of the eggs broke. We opened it up to see what was going on inside and there was a beautiful, fertilized embryo specimin, with the heart still beating! It looked like what I would expect from a day 7 or 8 embryo.- jennyaharrington

Let's see how Torin reacts to the broken egg and dying embryo.

Our rich, chocolate eggs have arrived!

Incubation Day 0 or Day 4

The eggs arrived on our doorstep on June 27th. We gingerly unpacked 12 (3 more than the 9 we were expecting!) rich brown eggs, individually packaged in bubble wrap and appropriately shipped in an egg carton.

"I labelled my eggs from 1 to 12 in pencil."

- Torin

Now that the eggs had arrived, it was time to set up the incubator. It might have been more wise to read the operating manual before embarking on this adventure. I was surprised to learn that high maintenance care went into hatching chicks from eggs. In addition to maintaining a warm (between 98-101 degrees) and humid environment, we would be required to rotate the eggs at least 3 times a day to prevent the embryos from adhering to the egg shells. After Torin labelled each egg, he marked one side with an X and the opposite side with an O so that we could keep track of the rotations.

Torin placed the eggs in the incubator.     

To add to my confusion, the eggs were allegedly laid around June 24th. So, should we expect the eggs to hatch in 21 days from the day that they were laid or from the day that they were placed in the incubator? 

I guess we will find out in about 3 to 3 1/2 weeks!

Thank you eBay for making fertilized chicken egg ordering easy

The eggs were shipped via USPS on June 24th.

The Urban Chicken Project - Introduction

Yes, you can say we've jumped on the locavore band wagon. After researching our village ordinances, our trendy modern ideas about sustainability and local food have gotten the best of us. According to Article 5-4-11 of the Village of Oak Park Code http://www.sterlingcodifiers.com/codebook/index.php?book_id=459, we are permitted to incorporate up to 2 fowl into our household.
We careful performed our risk/benefits analysis and fresh eggs, pest control and natural fertilizer won out over the added responsibility, early morning crowing (avoided by only housing hens) and the miniscul chance of catching avian flu.
Our goal is to raise 2 hens in the defunct dog run adjacent to our house.
This wasteland was recently expanded to a 12x12 ft area after the addition of a 6 ft cedar fence. Post roto-tilling and excavation, it is also now home to our budding vegetable garden, compost and vermicompost bin. Clearly these confines are the perfect setting to unlease our inner farmer. So, with a defined goal and the stage to achieve it, we have set out on our Urban Chicken Project.

I started researching online the required housing and care for chickens and how to obtain them. In lovely Oak Park, IL winter days can be well below zero, we decided we would need to construct a heated chicken coop. Plans are still in the works. I'd also like include a green roof design (for insulations and astethics) and plently of ventilation

As for chicken care - well, we figured, "how hard can that be? A little food, fresh water, a range for foraging and protection for predators, right?" We are winging this one.

So, now we've plowed ahead to the part where we get the chickens. To my suprise, most chick suppliers, like McMurray Hatchery http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/ will only ship minimum orders. What are we going to do with 25 chicks? I did find one hatchery that shipped by minimum purchase of $20. So I loaded my virtual shopping cart with an array of 7 exotic sounding fowl. Fortunately, before proceeding to checkout, I decided I needed to revisit the chick coop thing.

Later that day, over lunch, I explained my grand scheme to Marcia Schauttaur, who immediately peeped up, "I have a egg incubator. Would you like to borrow it?"

Only in Oak Park.

I picked up the incubator a week later and set out to buy fertilized eggs. This could not have been any easier. By simply going to eBay I had my choice of breeds. Let the brooding begin! Torin helped select the breed based on chick "cuteness". I would cast the deciding vote based on "hardiness". We loved the bantam Sultans for their feathered head pieces and fluffy feet. When Torin saw a picture of a baby Cuckoo Maran, it was love at first sight. The chicks have dark, v-shaped feathers from their forehead to their back. They also come from chocolate colored eggs.
We had our breed and let the bidding for 9 eggs begin. Marcia had advised that we purchase more eggs than we needed because the hatching rate can be unpredictable (as low as 50%).

On June 21, 2009, we were the winning bid for 9 + French cuckoo maran eggs for hatching clean eggs for $7.50 + shipping ($12.00) from Seller silliewim.

Training for 2009

Its a new year and it is time for a new direction. I am back in the training seat full-time again and want to know what you need. What areas, within AgentAchieve, would enhance your business and your experience if you knew them better? Are there certain tools you would like to use but don't know how? Click on the "comments" link below this post and let me know! I look forward to hearing from you!