Quirky Chirpy

Chirpy - 8 weeks old

It occurred to me that I hadn't written about Chirpy Easter's name or her breed, so here's the scoop.  She is what's known as an Easter Egger chicken - a mutt breed that carries a blue egg gene.  She sports blue/gray legs, and has a muff or beard of fluffy feathers below her ears and under her chin.  We're excited to see what color eggs she'll lay.  Although she is bred to carry a blue egg gene, her eggs may be green, blue or even pink.  Regardless, she's a keeper.  Her sweet, bold personality has charmed us both!

Her name came to us, thanks to a good friend of ours who works in admissions at a nearby college.  Each fall our friend reads dozens and dozens of application files from prospective students, and each year she tells me about a few of the standouts.  Several years ago she read an essay by a girl who grew up with chickens.  Her chickens were her best friends.  They listened when she had a bad day and comforted and amused her with their antics.  This girl gave her chickens fantastic names like Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Eleanor Roosevelt and Gloria Steinem.  In addition to all of these powerful women's names, she also had a hen named Chirpy Easter.  When my friend shared this story I laughed pretty hard and the name stuck in my brain.  So, when Eric and I decided to get an Easter Egger chick, I didn't have to think too hard about a name.  We have our very own Chirpy Easter who brightens our days!

Chirpy the bearded lady

~Peggy

Hi, my name is ... Eeek! Run away! Run away!

On Monday we moved the new chickens, Little Redder and Chirpy Easter, outside to live with Ray, Stella, and Winnie. The young ones are quite used to us and perched on our arms as we carried them out. I had Redder and when we got to the lowered chicken fence she lept from my arm and flew down to greet the other chickens. This was not a good idea. Chickens generally don't like other birds descending from the sky in their general direction, something about the fear of hawks and eagles. So when Little Redder landed in between the other three they made a quick showing of their disapproval by surrounding her and puffing up their feathers, standing tall, and getting ready to peck at Little Redder. This, of course, scared Redder pretty good and she made a few laps around the chicken yard with three mad hens behind her before finding shelter in the small spaces behind the rain barrel.

The title of this blog is what I suspect she was thinking as this happened.

 It took some time and effort to convince that little chicken to come out but we were eventually able to get the young ones into the fenced-off area underneath the coop that I had rigged up for them. One idea for integrating new chickens into a flock is to have them in close proximity but in separate enclosures so that they can see each other but no one gets picked on.

After a week of this separation we decided it was time to let them mingle a bit. The big chickens more or less picked up where they left off a week earlier. There was a fair amount of running and chasing and Winnie did end up with a mouthful of Little Redder's feathers. So it looks like this isn't going to be the most joyful experience for the new chickens. In theory, things should settle down once the big ones are convinced that the little ones know their place in the pecking order.

 The little ones apparently see Peggy and I as their protectors from the other chickens. I was outside doing some yard work this afternoon when I heard some visitors by the back fence - a few neighborhood girls feeding Stella and Ray some dandelion greens. Redder was a little frazzled and when I knelt down she was quick to leap into the safety of my arms. It then didn't take long for Chirpy to fly up onto my shoulders. So the girls got to pet Redder and marvel at the strange man with the chickens on him. Later as I walked back there Chirpy ran over and flew up again. It would be nice to think that she was just glad to see me but I think they'd had a rough day and just wanted to get away from the big chickens. We did end up putting them in their haven under the coop for most of the afternoon. Hopefully this procees doesn't last too long and everyone starts getting along a bit better.

Things are calmer at night. The little ones do like to sleep in the door to the coop, just under the big chickens that roost on the ledge above the door. At night the big ones are too tired to have a go at them so everyone seems pretty content. But once the sun comes up at 6:00am I'm sure it will start all over again.

A quieter moment, hopefully we will have more of these...

can't think of a title

Well, today was the day.  The chicks are now living outside permanently.  They've only been out in their new digs for about 2 hours and I miss them already.  I loved to peek into the downstairs bathroom and see them a gazillion times a day. 

I miss Chirpy flying up and perching on my back as soon as I reached in to pluck poo and wood chips out of their food.  I miss hearing them peep madly as they sorted out the sleeping arrangements each night.  They had their own mini chicken circus going on.  Each night the final solution was to shove the feeder off its wooden pedestal and sleep on the pedestal with Redder in prime position and Chirpy snuggled up with her head on top of Redder. 

Eric will have to share the story of their trip outside.  I just can't do it.  Instead, I'll leave you with a few early morning photos from the last week or so.  They're not terribly flattering of me, but the chicks look great and that's all that matters. 

out and about

It has been an exciting few days for the chicks.  They've had their first tastes of dirt, grass and bugs, heard their first dog bark and have found sidewalk cracks to be endlessly fascinating.  They were not terribly brave on their first trip outside and spent a lot of time on Eric's shoulders.  The second and third trips were more successful.  They were super excited to explore the sidewalk, grass and plants near the deck.  Soon they'll be spending full days and nights outdoors.  They may be ready but I'm not!

5 weeks old!

 
They have lost most of their chick fluff and are in that awkward pre-teen stage now.  Redder's feet are HUGE compared to her body, her neck is super long, and she looks like a buzzard.  They are not quite fully feathered, but their wings are nicely developed and they easily fly up to the top of their box and onto our hands and shoulders.  Chirpy is especially eager to escape the box and her crazy sister who likes to torment her periodically.

Although friends and family have been too kind to mention it, I think our house is starting to smell a bit like a barn.  We swap out their box and pine shavings every week, but there's still a faint fowl odor in the air.  Oh well, it's a small price to pay for having these funny girls around AND it's a good reminder that they'll need to move outside soon.  Otherwise I'd be happy to let them live in our spare bathroom much longer!! 

another busy day for chickens

Ronan, John, Nicholas, Chirpy & Redder

My niece Deirdre brought her 3 energetic and inquisitive sons to visit this past week.  We had a nice indoor picnic, talked about trains and Legos, then brought the chicks out for a little while.  The chicks were not quite sure what to think of the crowd gathered in their honor and seemed a bit overwhelmed.   They eventually crawled up my arms, onto my shoulder and down my back.  It really tickles!!

chicks - the new fashion accessory for spring!

We also headed outside to share wilted arugula with the big girls.  Ronan and John found 2 eggs then practiced using the egg scale to weigh them.

Ronan & John checking for eggs

success!  thank you Ray and Stella

Despite the fact that Nicholas bonked his head on a drawer that I had left pulled out, I think everyone had a good time.  Yikes!  That's 2 slightly wounded children in the past 2 visits.  That doesn't reflect our typical injury rate for visitors.  Honestly!!

Once Deirdre and the boys left, the chicks conked out for quite a while!  I let them rest before inviting a group of neighbors in for a peek.  5 kids and 2 adults came by to see indoor and outdoor chicken action.  There were LOTS of squeals and giggles!!

I really enjoy the chicken-inspired visits and being able to share chicken happiness with family, friends and neighbors.  I am grateful to the girls for drawing people into our home and into our lives.

Ronan & John saying goodbye to Redder

a different sort of Saturday

My dear friend Susan invited me to speak to a group of women about how chickens came into my life and the many benefits of having hens.  The women had just finished reading the wonderful books The Chicken Chronicles by Alice Walker and Sheepish by Catherine Friend.  Catherine Friend was invited to speak the previous week.  She's a tough act to follow!!

I was nervous and excited to talk to the group.  I think I rambled on a bit at times (who??  ME??!!) but I was thrilled at the opportunity to share my love of chickens and the amazing and unexpected ways they have touched our lives and influenced our relationship with food, family and community. 

As soon as I got home I needed some chicken time.  When I took Chirpy out, Redder flew to the edge of the box (a new trick she's learned in the past week) and perched there, waiting patiently for me to take her too.  She hopped onto my hand and off we went into the dining room where they spent time pecking at meal worms and running relays across my arms, shoulders and back.  It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.