I was able to put into practice and broaden my “chicken lady” skills when I had the opportunity this Spring to spend a week at Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas (about one hour west of Little Rock) as a volunteer on their livestock team. Many people were intrigued by how I chose to spend my first full week off of work in almost two years, but it was exactly the “vacation” that I needed! I have been a long-time supporter and donor of Heifer and have visited Heifer Ranch for Women’s Lambing in 2018 (as well Heifer Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts for the same event in 2017) but my experience this trip was very different.

For those of you who aren’t familiar: Heifer International is a global nonprofit working to eradicate poverty and hunger through sustainable, values-based holistic community development. Heifer Ranch is a 1,200-acre production and farmer-training facility and is the epicenter of Heifer USA’s work. The Ranch serves as a living representation of profitable regenerative farming and their team is comprised of experts in the fields of agriculture, farmer training and engagement, and development. Heifer USA supports small-scale farmers to deliver fresh, nutritious food to reliable markets by providing them with training, education and resources needed to sell their products for a fair price. Their work is critical to helping small-scale American farmers lift themselves out of poverty. (Check out heifer.org to learn more!) Heifer Ranch grows organic produce and pasture-raised lamb, beef, pork, turkey and chicken.

I arrived at the Ranch on a Saturday afternoon and settled in. After a tour of the property on Sunday morning (I had only seen a small portion of it during my prior visit), I jumped right into working with the livestock team: a well-oiled team of extremely intelligent and hard-working women who were very gracious and willing to share their expertise with me. It was an absolute honor and pleasure to work with each of them and learn more about them and their work over the course of the week. I was able to work with all the types of livestock at one time or another during the week: Moved (to another pasture) the herd of “Momma cows” and heifers, weighed (and then moved) the herd of steers, sorted the pigs (by weight) and moved them and moved the herd of sheep. I also helped with the daily turkey chores (feeding, cleaning waterers, moving their schooner, setting up poultry netting to “range” them, weighing (a sampling of) them, and tending to injuries). All of these tasks are done with respect to the animals and to the land. It was awesome to have such a variety of experiences and have my (many!) questioned answered by the team whose passion and expertise shown in each of their respective areas.

I spent the majority of my time working with the poultry team so I will share about that in more detail. As you know, my experience with chickens prior to this trip has been with a small backyard flock of laying hens. I have since broadened my horizon, as Heifer Ranch raises approximately 30,000 chickens (broilers/meat birds) on pasture per year and I’ve most certainly cemented my status as a “chicken lady”.

Before my trip, I had watched numerous Heifer Ranch YouTube videos about their process of raising chickens on pasture so I’d know what to expect. (Note: There is an INCREDIBLE collection of videos than span many of their processes and methods so if you’re interested just search for “Heifer Ranch” on YouTube and be prepared to be educated and amazed!) The week that I was on the Ranch included not only the daily chores but also two big days – a “chicken catch” (crating all of the full-grown chickens for processing) and a “chick move” (transporting the 3-1/2 week old chicks from the brooder to the schooners on pasture) – plus cleaning/prepping the schooners in between. The videos (although very thorough and well-made) couldn’t quite capture the true labor-intensity of this process.

There are six schooners (two sets of three) on pasture at Heifer ranch which are moved daily. Each schooner holds approx. 600 chickens. The moving process involves disconnecting the hose from the water lines while a tractor “hooks up” to the wire at the front of the schooner. There are verbal and hand signals used between the tractor driver and a person inside the schooner to make the process safe for humans and chickens alike. Those inside of the schooner work to move the chickens forward (waiving their arms, sometimes using plastic bags for noise and extra “encouragement” as the schooner moves forward onto fresh grass. Once the schooner is in position, everyone looks for holes around the bottom edge (which are fairly common because of the uneven terrain) and then uses recycled wood shaving bags to block any openings from predators. The watering bowls are cleaned and the hose is pulled forward and re-connected. There are 10 feeders in each schooner (to supplement the grass and bugs that the birds have access to) and each feeder holds two 5-gallon (approx. 30 lbs.) of feed that are filled daily. There are mobile grain bins out on pasture that the buckets are filled from, and the grain bins are re-filled every 1.5 weeks or so from larger bins at the Ag Center (“headquarters”) on the Ranch.

The chickens spend about 4 weeks on pasture (from about age 3.5 weeks to age 7.5 weeks). So that’s approx. 28 moves x 6 schooners = 168 moves per “batch” of chickens. And there will be approx. 10 “batches” this season. That’s a LOT of moving! And no one area of pasture will be visited more than once during a season. Being raised on pasture is better for the chickens, as they are able to exhibit their natural behaviors while having exposure to fresh air and sunshine, but is also very beneficial for the land because of the qualities of the chicken manure. The sides of the schooners are rolled up and down depending upon the weather. When it rains, the schooners are closely watched and are bedded with hay whenever/wherever puddles form so they don’t have to stand in water. In addition, there are t-posts housed in each schooner so they can be secured if there are high winds.

Once the chickens are to weight (approx. 10 lbs.) they are packed in crates and sent to be processed. Their food is removed from the schooners about 12 hours prior to their be packed (their water remains) so that their digestive tracts are clear and the chance of stomach contents contaminating the meat while being processed is reduced (which would result in the condemning of the bird). The crating happens at night to provide the least stressful experience for the chickens. A perimeter of the crates is set up behind each schooner.

The back “flap” of the schooner is raised and the schooner is pulled over the top of the chickens. More crates are used to create smaller sections of chickens.

At dusk the chickens are loaded into crates, 8 in each. At dark, two 18-wheeler flat beds pull into the pasture (one for each set of three schooners) and the crates are loaded carefully, stacked 6 high. Fortunately for the chickens, this process is a lot harder on the humans than them! It had rained a lot in the days prior to this particular chicken catch so both of the flat beds got stuck and Heifer tractors aided in resolving that. The chickens then travel to the processing plant and their journey is complete. Empty crates are returned to the Ranch for the next batch.

In the (temporarily) empty schooners, each feeder and waterers is cleaned and then the schooners are moved to new pastures. Hoses are moved as well.

Meanwhile, there’s a batch of chickens (about 3.5 weeks old) in the brooder that are ready to make their move onto pasture.

Chicks are carefully “herded” into areas surrounded by crates. These crates are smaller and open on the sides with flaps. 10 chicks are placed into in crate.

Sixty crates fit onto a trailer and each trailer (600 chicks) is brought to one of the schooners. This process is repeated 6 times: Carry empty crates into the brooder, “herd” chicks, place chicks into crates (10 per crate), stack the (full) crates onto the trailer, haul trailer to pasture, empty the chicks into the schooner, stack the (empty) crates back onto the trailer, drive back to the brooder) is repeated 6 times. Talk about labor intensive!

Once the brooder is empty, it is cleaned and prepared for the next batch of chicks. And the process repeats….and repeats….and repeats!

Heifer Ranch is trying something new – along with the last batch of chicks, they raised goslings who will be stationed in each of the schooners as guardians. Everyone is looking forward to observing the results.

I will never look at meat (especially chicken) the same again. I was immersed in the “food system” and experienced first-hand the incredibly labor-intensive process of pasture-raising meat – something that most people never have the opportunity to do. After my first Heifer trip, I started using more discretion when purchasing eggs and meat. After this Heifer trip, I’ve made the decision to ONLY eat meat from animals who were allowed to exhibit ideally all of (but at least most of) their natural behaviors and that were “humanely” treated and processed – pastured-raised being the ideal. I’m still fine-tuning my criteria which is challenging because of the many marketing “schemes” and buzz words out there. Fortunately vegetarian options are available when the source of a choice of meat is unknown.

Heifer Ranch sells their pasture-raised meat and poultry to Grass Roots Farmers Cooperative. Grass Roots Grass Roots is a co-op working with over 40 small farms spanning coast to coast from the fertile ranches of Oregon to Ozark Highlands Ecoregion of Arkansas to the river-laced lands of Mississippi. Economically empowered, the farmers and ranchers of Grass Roots join a growing community of farms in the U.S. (and around the world) who have bucked mid-20th century thinking and stepped away from industrial, chemical and pesticide-based agriculture that degrades the land. Instead of degenerative farming, regenerative practices act to heal the landscape—and farmers are able to naturally and ethically produce higher quality, much tastier meat.co-op works with over 40 small farms spanning coast to coast. Economically empowered, the farmers and ranchers of Grass Roots join a growing community of farms in the U.S. (and around the world) who have bucked mid-20th century thinking and stepped away from industrial, chemical and pesticide-based agriculture that degrades the land. Instead of degenerative farming, regenerative practices act to heal the landscape—and farmers are able to naturally and ethically produce higher quality, much tastier meat. (Check out their website: https://grassrootscoop.com/)

I’m sure I’ll be ordering from Grassroots Co-Op at some point and I’m in the process of exploring local Co-Op options as well. My husband and I hunt (deer) and we currently have venison in our freezer. I’ve also found some pretty good options at the local grocery store.

I found a good option for bacon at Costco, although pasture-raised would be my ideal choice.

I found an awesome polish sausage at Costco! So delicious and responsibly raised.

Although not pasture-raised, Costco had a good turkey option that I like a lot.

One’s food choices are a very personal thing and there are many factors involved (financial, convenience, beliefs, etc.). My experiences have led me on an unexpected “meat” journey and it will be interesting to see how it continues/unfolds. I pass no judgement on other’s choices and I hope in turn others will respect mine.

I am incredibly grateful to have had another rewarding Heifer experience and it certainly won’t be my last! Heifer Ranch is my “happy place” – as it is for so many other people – and for the livestock and poultry as well.

(Note: The staff at Heifer Ranch gave me their blessing to write about my experience there and share photos. I apologize for any (unintentional) errors, omissions and/or mis-information in my descriptions of various processes.)

Apologies for my six-month hiatus! I have many topics “on deck” to write about (Hemp bedding and AI (Avian Influenza) to name two) and hope to post more regularly throughout the Summer.

My apologies for the gap between posts! A lot has happened over the past months so I’ll get right to catching you up.

Last time I posted, my flock of 4 hens consisted of 2 Rhode Island Reds (Maple and Artemis),1 ISA Brown (Astrid) and 1 Buff Orpington (Angelica).

I had worked with City Council last Summer to increase the chicken keeping permit limit from 4 to 6 hens, so in the Spring I (pre)ordered ready-to-lay pullets (available in late July/early August) from a local hatchery. A fellow “chicken lady” and friend orders these hens each year to rotate new layers into her flock and she let me add 4 hens onto her order.

At the end of July, I re-homed Maple and Artemis to my nieces flock in order to make room for the 4 new hens. It was bittersweet since they are the 2 remaining hens from my original flock but I couldn’t ask for a better place for them to live out their “retirement”.

The same afternoon I brought Maple and Artemis to their new home, I picked up my 4 new additions: 2 Special Blacks and 2 ISA Browns – Moira and Alexis (Schitt’s Creek), Cara (Cara Dune, The Mandalorian) and Penny (The Big Bang Theory) – who joined Astrid and Angelica.

The introduction/transition went very smoothly – mostly because 4 new hens joined 2 and the numbers were on their side. Unfortunately my flock of 6 didn’t last long – in late August for reasons unknown, Angelica starting acting oddly – very lethargic and off balance – and sadly she passed away just after Labor Day. She’s buried next to Chicky Chick and Princess Leia in my “chicken cemetery”.

Within a few weeks I was able to add a 6th hen to my flock. Someone had posted on Craigslist that they were thinning their flock. When I contacted them, they had already sold as many hens as they had wanted to, but were willing to part with a 1.5 year old hen who was a bit broody and not laying and was slated for butchering (along with their other meat birds) that following week. So I “rescued” a beautiful grey and brown “Easter Egger” whom I named Francis (Nine Perfect Strangers). She adjusted fairly quickly and resumed laying (light pink eggs) after a few weeks.

Shortly after Francis arrived, so did my new coop! It came as a “kit” that I stained (with a lot of help from my mom) prior to constructing it. It was quite an undertaking… It took the better part of a weekend to construct (along with some help from both a friend and my dad). It turned out beautifully!

The new coop has been SO nice! Collecting eggs is a breeze and it’s wonderful to be able to stand in the run without having to duck to avoid trusses. I started using hemp bedding in the henhouse (more about that later) which I wish I would’ve done sooner. When the weather turned cold (in late November) we installed the polycarbonate storm shields that we had purchased as an add-on. It’s been a great improvement from the tarp that we had previously used and it lets so much more light in, which has contributed to peak egg production, even during this time of the year. We’ve had more than enough eggs for ourselves and plenty to share!

I’m sure that Christmas lights I strung along the roofline of the coop this year have kept morale (and therefore production) up as well. 🙂

I hope you and your families (human and feathered) had a very merry Christmas and I wish you all the best in the new year! One of my new year’s resolutions is to blog more frequently. Catching up on 6 months of happenings is a lot for a blogger and her readers alike….

Just one day after posting “And then there were 5…” Princess Leia passed away and my flock dwindled to 4. It was completely unexpected as she hadn’t displayed any signs of being ill. Although I was surprised and very sad when I found her in the coop that morning, I wasn’t nearly as devastated and I had been when I had lost my first hen. I’m adjusting to the chicken keeping “circle of life” I guess. I buried Leia next to Chicky Chick in what has now become a chicken cemetery at our family property “up north”.

My flock now consists of 2 three-year-old Rhode Island Reds (Maple and Artemis aka “Artie”), 1 year-old ISA Brown (Astrid) and 1 almost year-old Buff Orpington (Angelica) and on average I collect 2-3 eggs per day. In order to keep egg production up, in late August I will bid farewell to Maple and Artie (who will be joining my niece’s mixed-breed flock of 11 where they can happily live out their retirement) and add four ready-to-lay pullets (breed(s) to be determined).

2021 marks my fourth year of keeping chickens (I renewed my permit a few weeks ago) and my coop has started to show some wear and tear. After some discussion about whether to spruce up what we have or get something different/new, my ever-supportive husband and I decided that since I’m going to be a chicken lady for the long haul, it makes sense to invest in something new. He found the company that I ended up ordering from. The coop will be will be built at the end of August and arrive in early September. I added the option for poly-carbonate Winter storm shields (good-bye tarp!) and I’m really looking forward to building/installing it this Fall. I’m not sure who will be happier – the chickens or me! 🙂 I certainly won’t miss ducking to avoid the rafters in the run or hunching down to collect eggs, bed the nesting boxes and clean the coop.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Most people who keep chickens will have to deal with a broody hen at some point. When a hen is broody, her maternal instincts kick in and her surging hormones tell her it’s time to sit on and hatch some eggs (whether or not those eggs are fertilized). It is pretty easy to recognize when a hen that has gone broody. She won’t be in her usual active, curious mood. She’ll stay camped out on a nest and when approached by you or other birds she will puff her feathers up, get very defensive, make a growling sound and maybe even peck at you. While a hen is broody and sitting on a nest, she will put all her energy in to sitting on eggs, and neglect herself in the process. She will only leave the nest to eat, drink, and relieve herself once or twice a day. She can become pale, lose sheen in her feathers and lose weight. If the weather is hot, she could easily become dehydrated. While she can keep this routine up for 21 days (the amount of time it takes for chicks to hatch), it is very hard on her. Allowing her to sit on eggs that will never hatch is not good for her and it’s best to try to “break” her of this behavior.

This was something that I had heard and read about but (fortunately) hadn’t experienced….until recently. Ironically, just about two weeks after Hei Hei left (and eggs were no longer being fertilized) Angelica went broody. Typically when I go out to the coop, all 4 hens are at the run door, ready to run out into the yard and enjoy their nightly ritual of drinking from the bird bath, kicking the mulch out of my perennial beds while searching for worms and foraging under the neighbor’s bird feeder for spilled birdseed. I went to collect the eggs one evening and Angelica was MIA. I found her protectively hunkered down in one of the nesting boxes – very unusual for that time of day. As I went to pet her and check for eggs underneath her, she immediately puffed up and squawked at me and it was clear she was not going to move aside.

I picked her up and set her on the ground and she stayed there for quite a while before she finally decide to head over to the bird bath for a drink.

I did some research on how to “break” a broody hen. Removing the hen from the nesting box several times a day and trying to block/limit access to it can be an effective method (and she will also be encouraged to eat, drink and poop). You can try setting ice cubes or a frozen water bottle or a bag of frozen vegetable in the nesting box so that when she returns to it, it’s unpleasant since hens hate the feeling of wetness on their bodies. Broody hens prefer small, dark, private areas where they can snuggle up in the nest and incubate eggs so if you put her in a location without these amenities, it sends a signal to the hen’s brain that it’s not time to hatch eggs. If none of these options work, after approx. 21 days a hen will typically return to normal behavior.

I didn’t have a way to easily separate Angelica from the rest of the flock, nor I could I block the nesting boxes from her without also blocking them from the others…and putting ice in the nesting box just seemed like a pain. So as soon as I would get home from work I would boot her out of the nesting box and then close the coop door. I’d set an alarm in my phone to remind myself to re-open the coop door around dusk so that everyone could head in to roost for the night. That way she was at least forced to spend time outside of the nesting box/coop for a few hours each evening. It was so interesting to see how strong her instinct was – I’d barely have the coop door open and she’d squeeze her way inside to resume her post.

I don’t like the physical toll that broodiness takes on a hen, but I think the worst thing about a broody hen is the poop. Chicken poop in general is unpleasant, but broody poop is just plain disgusting. Typically chickens poop quite often, but a broody hen will only poop about once a day. It can be the size of a baseball or even a softball and boy does it STINK!

Unfortunately my efforts didn’t “break” Angelica of her broodiness, but last weekend, after a few weeks (I’m sure it was pretty close to 21 days had I been keeping track) she finally resumed normal behavior. I’m so happy to once again see all 4 chickens out in their run when I peek outside at them each morning and it’s nice to know that she’s eating, drinking and pooping at normal intervals again. Certain breeds are more prone to broodiness and unfortunately Buff Orpingtons are one of those breeds. So I have a feeling this won’t be the last time I have to deal with a broody hen… I’m fortunate that Angelica never got overly aggressive towards or tried to peck at me. I did feel bad being the “bad guy” and I’m sure each evening she was thinking “here comes that lady again….she’s going to kick me out and steal my egg and I’ll have to start all over again tomorrow.” I admire her persistence but I sure won’t miss that poop.

I have a lot of ground to cover since my last post was back in November! My apologies. Where does the time go?!

Fortunately for the chickens and for me, it was a very mild Winter. I’m happy to report that everyone made it through with no issues. We tarp their run to keep the wind and snow out and it actually creates a sort of greenhouse effect on sunny days. I hang a towel over the coop entrance to keep in more heat, switch to a heated waterer once the temperatures are consistently below freezing at night and when it drops to single digits, I’ll turn on a safe “heater” inside the coop. (This is what I have and would highly recommend it: https://www.amazon.com/Cozy-Products-Chicken-Heater-Brooder/dp/B01LX9K1JI/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=the+chicken+chick+heater&qid=1617584045&sr=8-6)

Angelica and Hei Hei were the only ones who didn’t mind the snow and would venture out of the run.

When it got extremely cold for those few stretches, I’d skip collecting eggs for a day here and there and would end up with the occasional frozen egg. And if it was cold enough, the shell would split. In case you’re curious what that looks like:

Although it’s perfectly safe to use frozen eggs, whenever I’d come across one that frozen to point of splitting, I would (sadly) discard it. Without the protection of the shell, you never know if the egg could become contaminated and I prefer to play it safe. Fortunately I only had to discard a handful this Winter.

At the end of February, I was collecting eggs one evening and heard a ruckus in front of the coop. When I ducked my head around to see what the fuss was about, I saw something I certainly wasn’t expecting: Hei Hei attempting to mate with Astrid. Yikes! Could she (“she”?!?) be……….no………well……….ugh………a rooster?!?!?! Oh boy….(no pun intended). My mind raced. In the absence of a rooster, sometimes hens will try to mount other hens as a show of dominance…. Although I always thought Hei Hei looked more like a rooster than a hen, but since “she” was the first Brahma I’ve had, I just figured the breed was more ornamental in general, with the feathered feet and all. And speaking of feathered feet…I took a closer look and realized that the feathers had been hiding the spurs on “her” legs quite well….although some hens do have small spurs….(Spurs are the male birds’ natural weapon, used to defend themselves and their hens against predators as well as any threat to their territory.) I grabbed my phone (what would we do without Google?!) and soon found that hens and roosters have differences in their feathers:

At this point I was in disbelief but fairly certain that Hei Hei was a “he”. There was only one last thing to check – were any of the eggs fertilized? I had learned about this during a trip to Heifer Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts quite a few years ago. You’ve probably never noticed it before as it’s quite subtle, but once you crack an egg you will see a white “dot” on the yolk. (Now that you know it’s there, you’ll probably always notice/look for it!) If the egg has been fertilized, the dot will have a ring around it, like a bullseye.

I cracked a few eggs (some I just collected and some from a few days back) and sure enough, there was a bulleye on every one. My suspicions had been confirmed. Hei Hei was a rooster.

There was still one piece of the puzzle missing though…and a big piece – Hei Hei didn’t crow. Sometimes when a rooster doesn’t crow, it’s simply because he just has not yet reached that level of maturity – but juvenile cockerels (roosters who are less than a year old) typically crow for the first time between 8 to 10 weeks of age—sometimes sooner, sometimes later. At this point, Hei Hei was 8 months old – a late bloomer I guess.

We are not allowed to keep roosters in town, and I figured Hei Hei wouldn’t stay quiet forever, so I began my (somewhat frantic) search to find him a new home. He and Angelica had grown up together (and their relationship had progressed to “friends with benefits”) so I was worried about separating them.

Last Summer a friend taught me that people often anthropomorphize animals, especially domesticated pets. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions or intentions to non-human entities. Most of us can’t help ourselves since it is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. The sadness of separating Angelica and Hei Hei was a human emotion that I perceived. The reality of the situation was that they would be just fine. I pulled myself together and decided that Angelica would stay with my flock and Hei Hei would be re-homed.

I’m happy to say that I found him the perfect home. My cousin and his family have about a dozen hens. They live on the edge of town and don’t have to worry about ordinances and/or permits. They’d like having a rooster to protect their flock (which often free ranges) but they haven’t had success with roosters in the past because they all were overly aggressive. Since Hei Hei is very friendly, they offered to take him. I was so relieved to have found the best-case scenario. Wouldn’t you know about two days before I was going to drop him off, he finally found his “voice” and I heard a few “cock-a-doodle-do’s”. He was leaving just in time, as I couldn’t afford to compromise my chicken permit.

At his new home, Hei Hei enjoys significantly more space in the coop/run and there are three times as many hens to mate with. He also gets to free range fairly often. It’s quite ironic that I named him Hei Hei – the rooster in Disney’s “Moana” – maybe I (subconsciously) knew “she” was a “he” all along…? It made for good blog material anyhow. 🙂

Since Hei Hei’s departure, my 5 hens didn’t skip a beat. Although last week the neighbor boy asked how long it would be until another one “turns into a rooster”….

Happy Spring!

It took longer than I expected, but I’m happy to report that after about 5 weeks Astrid has completed her transition from new-comer to permanent member of the flock AND has started laying regularly! It was quite a process to observe and extremely entertaining at times. She used to spend most of her time during the day safely out of reach and away from the others, perched on one of the two roosting bars, the roosting tower or on top of the coop roof. Now they’re all together the majority of the time and each evening she follows her “sisters” up the ramp and into the coop at dusk (instead of hopping onto the coop roof to roost for the night). I am quite relieved that I won’t have to bundle up on Winter nights to move her from the roof to the coop! Although I didn’t mind (and actually quite enjoyed) going outside on starry Summer nights to “put Astrid to bed”. With her ability and willingness to jump to high places, she has proved herself a valuable member of the flock. Earlier this week I had put a small bunch of grapes and and apple on the table on the patio. While I was in the coop cleaning and collecting eggs, Astrid spotted the treats and proceeded to hop unto the table and knock them onto the ground so they didn’t have to wait for me. She has a great personality and is a welcome addition to the flock. And it’s wonderful to have a consistant egg-layer again.

With another flu season approaching, I think it’s important to acknowledge the essential role that eggs (thus chickens) play in vaccinations. If you’ve ever received a flu vaccination, you know that there’s a questionnaire you are required to fill out before you can get the shot. One of the questions is “do you have an allergy to eggs?” – that’s because for the past 80 years, much of the world has relied on chicken eggs for the production of influenza vaccines. About 174.5 million doses of the flu vaccine were distributed across the US during the 2019-2020 flu season and an estimated 82% were egg-based (according to the CDC). One egg produces one vaccine so that means 140 million eggs were used!

Here’s how it works: The US, CDC and other labs partner with the World Health Organization (WHO) to choose certain virus strains to send to private vaccine manufacturers. The flu can mutate and strains can change each year, so new vaccines are needed for every flu season. The selected virus is injected into a fertilized hen’s eggs, where it incubates and replicates for a few days, just like it would do inside a human host. Scientists then harvest fluid containing the virus from the egg. They inactivate the virus so it can no longer cause disease, and purify it, leaving scientists with the virus antigen. The antigen is the crucial element. It’s a substance released by the virus that triggers your immune system to respond. That’s how the vaccine prepares your immune system for a real infection. According to the CDC, the entire process, from the arrival of the egg to the publicly available vaccine, takes at least six months.

To prepare for annual flu seasons, as well as possible pandemics, the US government has invested hundreds of millions of dollars over the past 15 years to ensure there are enough eggs for vaccines. That might seem like a lot of money to spend on eggs, but each year the flu costs the US about $10.4 billion in hospitalizations and treatments. Across the United States, prized chickens lay life-saving eggs at secret farms. Few people know where the chickens are kept. Their locations are undisclosed as a matter of national security! Each day, hundreds of thousands of their eggs are trucked to facilities where they are protected by guards and multimillion-dollar, government-funded security systems. These eggs are precious. If the supply chain is compromised, it could mean a nationwide shortage of crucial flu vaccines. Eggs can potentially be used to develop vaccines for other illnesses – it just depends on the illness. Unfortunately the huge US stockpile of eggs won’t be of any help for the scientists racing to find a cure for the novel coronavirus because it’s a virus strain that can’t incubate inside eggs.

So a big shout out to all of the Flu Fighter chickens (and farmers) out there – thank you!!! We most certainly couldn’t fight the flu without you. So mask up, and get your flu shot today!

And if you still end up with the flu, there’s nothing better than a bowl of chicken soup! 🙂

(Please note: I came across and read this article earlier this year and circled back to it for this blog entry. In case you want to read the whole story: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/27/health/chicken-egg-flu-vaccine-intl-hnk-scli/index.html)

Although Chicky Chick is irreplaceable, I decided (after 7 months) it was time to fill her spot in the coop. I stumbled onto the perfect opportunity. A friend of mine purchases 15 pullets from a nearby hatchery each Summer and offered to sell me one. I was very happy because (1) it’s quite difficult to find someone will to sell you a single hen and (2) chickens coming from a hatchery should be disease-free.

I picked her up on July 30th. She’s a 16-week old ISA Brown who should start laying in the next few weeks. (It’s suggested that when adding to a flock you choose a hen of similar size and age to minimize bullying.) Browns are prolific egg-layers that can lay up to 300 eggs in their first year of egg production. They are a hybrid breed that was created by crossing Rhode Island Reds and White Leghorns.

Welcome Astrid!

Astrid is one of the main characters of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise – a smart and striking young Viking with a determined and strong personality. A fitting name for a single hen joining a new flock who must earn her place in the “pecking order”, wouldn’t you agree?

In preparation for her arrival, I of course read up on how to introduce a new hen to your flock. The night before I picked her up, I sectioned off an area of the run for her (with chicken wire so she can see her “sisters” and they can see her but there’s a safety barrier), got a waterer and a food dish ready, and made a makeshift coop out of a cardboard box and lined it with straw.

She was born and raised in a hatchery so I’m assuming her exposure to the outdoors was extremely limited (if at all) and that she wasn’t handled on a regular basis. That being said, she’s already had quite an adventure and a fair amount of adjusting to do. After an hour ride in the back of a pick-up (in a cage with 14 others), I transferred her to a cardboard box lined with straw for the 10-minute ride “home”. Surprisingly and fortunately, she doesn’t have a problem with me handling her and isn’t at all skittish when I reach out to pet her or pick her up.

Chickens are extremely flock-oriented and it’s clear that Astrid wants to be with her “sisters”. But she’s a bit wary as the process of entering the pecking order (the colloquial term for the hierarchical system of social organization – extremely prevalent among flocks of chickens) as it’s not a pleasant experience. When she’s in her own section of the run she’s safe of course, but when I let everyone out together, it’s only a matter of time before Maple, Artemis and Princess Leia take turns (and on occasion gang up) to let her know her place in the flock. It’s neither consistent nor constant, so that’s promising. I’m hoping it won’t last too long but realistically it’ll probably take about 2 weeks. And in the end, it doesn’t matter what I do – I have to let nature take it’s course and let chickens be chickens.

Astrid, true to her namesake, has already demonstrated how smart she is. When the other three are otherwise distracted, she uses that time to explore the coop:

And when she’s tired of being chased, she retreats to higher ground:

Waits for them to lose interest…..

And then settles in to rest for awhile:

I could tell that Astrid impressed Artemis (who has only ever gone as high as the top rung of the roosting towers, never to the top “platform”)!

It’s been incredibly amusing and fascinating to observe all of the interactions the ladies have had these past few days. I’ll continue to enjoy the process because soon enough the chicken wire partition comes down and there will be peace and order in the coop.

In the meantime, it’s good to know that Astrid will always find a safe place to retreat to!

After two years, a hen’s production naturally declines and unfortunately, nothing can reverse this process. My ladies turned two this Spring… Not only was there a noticeable decrease in production, but sadly I also lost 25% of my flock in January (Miss you Chicky Chick!). I never know if I’ll find one, two, three or zero eggs when I make my visit to the coop. My husband and I have made a game out of guessing the egg count. I don’t keep records, but it would be interesting to start and then try to determine if there’s any sort of pattern.

I’ve found myself having to buy eggs (gasp!) on occasion. It has often proven difficult to find good, quality eggs due to panic buying/hoarding and supply-chain disruptions caused by COVID-19. I must confess that on one occasion I had no other choice but to purchase a dreaded Styrofoam carton of “cheap” eggs, as there was some baking that had to be done. I cringed thinking about how the hens who had laid them had been kept as I reluctantly put them into my cart. Fortunately, I was masked so no one bore witness to my crime against chickens. (Side note: I had a number of people tell me I should start locking my coop so that if things really got crazy during the pandemic no one could steal eggs and/or the chickens! Luckily it hasn’t come to that yet.)

I hadn’t considered freezing eggs before, but it’s something I plan on starting to do to help manage my precious supply. One of my favorite blogs is Fresh Eggs Daily. Lisa Steele is a font of useful information and so I refer you to her post on Freezing Eggs: https://www.fresheggsdaily.blog/2014/09/freezing-fresh-eggs.html

Well, that’s all for now… I will leave you with a few photos that I took this evening – from the yard of a chicken lady indeed.

And a joke:

Why did Mozart get rid of his chickens? They wouldn’t stop “Bach, Bach, Bach-ing”

This week I had an interesting situation to deal with. I went to check on the ladies and collect the eggs and when I opened the coop I was surprised to see blood everywhere. It was unexpected because all three chickens greeted me as usual and displayed no initial signs of distress. I proceeded to clean out the bedding and then took a closer look at each hen to pinpoint the cause. It didn’t take long to notice that one of Princess Leia’s feet was very bloody and the other one had a bloody “stump” where one of the nails should’ve been. Luckily she didn’t seem to be in any pain and from the amount of blood in the coop and on the ground I think the injury had been somewhat recent – a good thing because bleeding can invite pecking at the wound from the flock, since chickens are attracted to the red blood. I was glad I could deal with the situation right away.

I went inside to do a little research. (I texted a fellow “chicken lady” but this was uncharted territory for her.) So thank you (yet again) Google! Here’s what I found out (http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/toenail-injuries):

Chickens can occasional damage their toenails, resulting in cracks and injury to the nail often accompanied by blood loss. There are three general “types” of nail injuries that can occur in chickens: one where the nail has been completely broken off and is bleeding, one where the nail is cracked or broken but is loosely attached, and one where the nail is cracked or broken but remains firmly attached. (Upon further inspection I would find Pricess Leia to be suffering from the third type.) In these cases, bleeding can usually be controlled relatively easily, but can be worrisome if it continues. This type of nail injury is easiest to treat, as you generally just need to coat the nail with cornstarch and/or apply pressure to a gauze or clean cloth to the nail until it stops bleeding. You may need to hold pressure for at least 5 to 10 minutes, without constantly checking whether it has stopped. Significant blood loss can occur with broken or torn toenails in chickens, if they aren’t addressed promptly. Bleeding from a toenail can occur as a result of cutting it too short or from damage due to trauma, from a fight, collision, or other accident. (I’m assuming she got it caught in the side of the run while scratching and it cracked off.)

It sure would’ve of been nice to have another set of hands, but alas neither my husband nor the neighbors were home. And I didn’t have corn starch either (it’s been added to my grocery list). So I got a bucket of warm water, paper toweling and a few clean rags and headed out to the coop. I put on disposable gloves and scooped up Leia. I washed off the non-injured foot and then moved to the injured one. It was bleeding pretty good and my efforts slowed it down but did not stop it. Then I had the revelation that I could use super glue to seal off the nail bed and thus stop the bleeding. Princess Leia joined her sisters for some scratching in the lawn while I cleaned up a bit and retrieved the super glue. I caught her again and she seemed a bit unsettled.

I cleaned her toe again and held pressure on the nail again until the bleeding slowed way down. I applied a generous amount of super glue and it worked wonderfully!

My husband checked on her after he got home and everything looked good. And I got up extra early the next morning and headed out to the coop – I’m sure quite the sight in my pj pants, hoodie and boots with my headlamp on. Everything still looked good so that was reassuring. I’m hoping there won’t be an infection as the nail re-grows and the glue wears off but I’ll continue to keep a close eye on it.

There’s never a dull moment when you’re a chicken lady!

It’s Winter in Wisconsin. And despite the “frightful” weather that we often endure here, I’ve managed to make my chicken’s coop and run quite delightful actually. This is the ladies’ second Winter and I had no doubt they’d do just fine, especially considering they survived the week-long Polar Vortex of last year.

Rhode Island Reds are a breed that is known to be both heat and cold tolerant, one of the big reasons I chose them. But there are a few things I do to lesson the harshness of winter.

In early December, we tarped three sides and the roof of their run with a heavy-duty clear tarp. It’s 10 mil. thick, UV coated and has a mesh weave for added strength. It was worth the investment as it’s held up beautifully through 1-2/3 winters. We used stainless steel washers and screws to secure it to the coop. It essentially keeps the wind and snow out of the run.

Once temperatures reach freezing, I switch out their waterer for a heated one. It’s thermostatically controlled so only heats when it needs to.

Since heat lamps are very dangerous, I found a flat panel heater (Cozy Products CL Safe Chicken Coop Heater) that combines radiant and convection heat. Warmth comes from being in very close proximity to the heated panel. It’s not designed to heat the entire space, just to warm the chicken when she roosts near it. It’s on a timer and I turn it on from sunset to sunrise when the night-time temperature dips to the teens or single digits (or occasionally in the negative).

Mid-February was cause for celebration as I was delighted to find that the ladies (at least some of them) had resumed laying. Their late Fall molt was the main reason for the break and the short days of Winter prolonged it. I always enjoy going out to the coop, but fresh eggs make it that much more exciting.

You may have noticed that there are only three chickens in this photo. Sadly, I lost Chicky Chick in January. I’m not sure what happened but I have a suspicion that she may have been egg-bound…that’s a topic for another day. My reaction to her her untimely death surprised me. I was extremely emotional and realized just how attached I’ve grown to these ladies in the almost two years I’ve had them. I won’t be adding another to my flock at this time. It would be too difficult to add just one hen. I’m hoping to petition the city to increase the limit from 4 to 6 and then get 3 chicks this Spring….we’ll see.

Fortunately, Princess Leia, Artemis and Maple are just fine. Although they’re enjoying the larger portions of meal worms – 1/3 instead of 1/4 of a cup – I have a feeling they miss their blue leg-banded sister. I know I do. Rest in peace Chicky Chick. (Spring 2018 – January, 3 2020)