March of the Guard Chickens

I have to say that hearing a rooster crow here at CCNF has been a really nice addition in 2010.  It certainly has made things feel even more “farmy.” Back when we first got our chicks in March they went from living in a box with a heat light in Jen’s office (they literally arrive when they are only 2 days old), then to an enclosed area of the Main Barn (the barn featured in the blog’s top banner), and finally they were moved out to live in their hutch on wheels: what’s known as a chicken tractor. Jen had wanted to get laying hens for many years and though it’s been a challenge at times all in all it’s been a really wonderful expereince, kind of like the alpacas. Once transitioned to their chicken tractor the flock lived locked inside of it for several days so that they would imprint on it and fully understand that that was to be their home. This mostly worked. Though we had begun the summer with big ideas about rotating the CT and the flock around to various paddocks throughout the farm, in the end the 13 hens and their boyfriend (the kids named him JoJo Burger after a Caribbean lunch stand…there’s a good reason I name most of the alpacas) ended up staying based in the same paddock off the east end of the Main Barn for the entire season.

Though initially content to just roam that one paddock and pretty much stay clear of the alpacas on the other sides of the fencing (the Main Barn serves as our quarantine/transient barn that time of year), they soon got curious though and started roaming in and around the entire facility. Nesting boxes? We don’t need no stinkin’ nesting boxes! Several of the hens decided that laying eggs either in or behind the hay tubs inside was preferable. Yay! It was like an Easter egg hunt every day! In addition to that, at least one or two figured that if laying eggs in the hay feeders was good, laying eggs in the hay loft upstairs would be even better. At one point we spotted one of the hen’s heads sticking out from the giant stack of small bales up in the loft and discovered an egg “hole” where she had been laying eggs daily for almost 2 weeks! Sheesh. Needless to say that by the time Jen went to move the entire crew—chicken tractor and all—two days ago up into the Arena (see photos above and below), they had fully integrated with the herd there at the Main Barn. If you had a female visiting CCNF this summer there is a decent chance that she will never be spooked by a chicken ever again. Though we did have one juvenile male at the barn, Prophet, who seemed to take an almost maniacal pleasure out of chasing JoJo and his hens, for the most part the alpacas and chickens all lived together in relative peace.

For now as the cold and the wind and snow that follow it take hold, the chickens and and their hutch occupy a happy corner of the Arena. Not sure really what the crias in the pen next to them are making of all of it but I’m sure they’ll come to some sort of understanding shortly. Jen and Jason have also contrived a neat little run around the outside of the chicken tractor made of 2x4s and chicken wire so that the flock can get “out” for a little exercise whenever it suits them. We do not, however, plan on going on any egg hunts atop the pile of 500 lb. square bales found at the Arena any time soon. The chickens will just have to wait to get their proper hay loft back in April. Patience after all is a virtue.