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18 10, 2013

Chicken Coop Limbo – Miller Farm Friday

By |2013-10-18T06:58:33-05:00October 18th, 2013|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I’m afraid we have a problem with inbreeding in our chicken flock.

This latest group of recently hatched chickens seems particularly dumb. They do not appear to know the function of the nest boxes.

I thought at first the “hen in a hive” was boycotting the nest boxes and laying her eggs in the abandoned beehive.

However, I am finding eggs in a variety of places. For example, on top of the nest boxes.

on top nest boxesNo problem.

Out in the yard. Again no problem.eggs in yard

However, when they lay their eggs under the quail cage in the quail coop there is a problem.

quail rail

Eggs on the wood rail require some major contortions in order to collect.

The wood rail going across the coop is where the chickens roost (and poop) at night.  I try very hard not to let any part of me or my clothing touch this rail.  (See previous post on “Fully dressed”)

I can reach over the rail, arching my back as high as possible and stand on my tiptoes and hope I don’t lose my balance.

Or I can crouch low and reach under the rail. The latter method reminds me of a dance – the Limbo.

Collecting eggs these days I’ve decided Miller Farm has its own dance –

the Chicken Coop Limbo.

1 03, 2013

A Chicken Wrangler’s Mortal Enemy

By |2013-03-01T06:44:24-06:00March 1st, 2013|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

Another Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Watching the chickens through my kitchen window has become a hobby of mine. Actually watching anything through my kitchen window has always been interesting. 

kitchen2When we lived in Mexico City, my kitchen  window looked out on a busy street. I could spend hours just watching the traffic. Now I spend hours watching the chickens and the bees – who are as busy as the traffic some days.

Last week, as I was watching out the window, a shadow passed over the yard. 

I thought perhaps a plane was landing in our backyard. However, within seconds, a red tail hawk came into view, a new threat from the sky.

Red-tailed_Hawk

A magnificent creature soaring through the sky. But it preys on chickens and a chicken wrangler and chicken eater are mortal enemies forever.

I turned my gaze to the chicken yard where half the chickens were under the trees on the left of the yard and the other half were out of view on the right.

They may have birdbrains, but our chickens know a threat when they see one.

 This hawk sighting confirmed our suspicions about the recent disappearance of a bantam chick. Most of the chickens are too heavy to carry off, but not the bantams.

The hawk flew away, and the chickens on the left quickly ran across the yard to join the chickens on the right. Once again, they were banding together against a common enemy – this time a bird of a different feather.

Freedom, one of our first roosters, once fought off a hawk, but alas, Freedom was very loud and so had to go live in the country. Now we only have small roosters who are no match for a hawk so all the birds must run for cover.

When I went to gather eggs this afternoon, all the chickens were either in the coop or under the trees. I heard a squealing like that of car brakes, and I knew the hawk was near. 

I counted the chickens. None of the smaller bantam hens were missing.

It makes me glad I’m not a chicken.

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