Contents

The Lewis School Garden
Planting Fruit Trees
Community Growing
A Dream that Healed the Earth
Beauty in the Garden
Certainties
Gardening in the Summer of 2011
A Personal Garden Vision
Gardening for a Purpose
Garden Observations are a Bonus
Gardening with Natural Principles
Community Growing
Hidden Places for Growing
Still Learning as Always
Connecting Gardeners, Community, and Opportunity

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Chickens; Feathers and Fun

Feathers and Fun
Humane Chicken Keeping
Observations of Adding New Chicks to an Adult Silkie Flock
by
Marlena Hirsch

I added chickens to my garden in early January of 2008 to provide eggs and manure. The first birds were three silkie hens and a silkie rooster. This is a very docile breed with good mothering abilities.
I had carefully designed a 3X6 foot chicken house on wheels with an attachable day run to move around in the vegetable garden. This arrangement is sometimes called a chicken tiller, because chickens scratch up the ground while eating bugs and seeds incorporating their manure into the soil.

Jan. 28, 2008
Lily, my daughter, and I named the four adult silkies; a brown hen, Henrietta; a grey pair, Mr. Puff and Mrs. Puff; and a black hen, Penny. They are very fluffy with feathers that don't have barbs so the strands don't lock together. They can’t fly and usually roost in a pile on the floor of their house.
They stood their ground to Morty, the killer cat,, who tried stalking them. The rooster sounded the alarm and raised up as tall as possible while walking toward Morty. Morty stopped stalking, relaxed, and eventually lost interest in the chickens after they stood up to her.
They are learning to come into their house at night. The first two nights I had to shove them in. I only had to shove one in last night. It was pouring rain. I would think they would all go in our of the rain.
I must give the rooster credit for watching out for his group. He was very insistent that one of the hens go in the other night just as it was getting dark. He kept going back and forth from the yard to the house as this one brown hen would not come in for the night. His herding style is a peck on the head which wasn’t very convincing to the hen.
They are very managable. I can easily pick one up to hold it. That is handy when children come to visit.
I am very excited about this project. My independent study student has a pair also. She plans to go with me to get a chick or two. Since I would like egg production on a regular basis, I will need another breed of chicken. Silkie do not lay regularly and often want to sit on their eggs to hatch them.
To allow unfamiliar chicks to integrate with an existing flock, I did careful observations to make sure that the chicks would be safe and warm. I did not know how this would work as I had not heard of anyone doing this, but I did not want to raise chicks without the care and/or example of adult chickens. I volunteered for many years doing rehabilitation for native birds. I was well aware that all of our care was for nothing if the rehabilitated wild bird didn’t know how to live in the wild when it was released. The best releases were the amazing situations when a parent in the wild would adopt an orphaned baby. This was done with baby owls when someone knew a tree climber and the location of the nest of the same owl species. Although chickens don’t need to live in the wild, I want them to live as chickens do with humane conditions for all of the flock

These are my observations of adding new chicks to an adult silkie flock.
Feb. 12, 2008
I bought two week old pullets, an americana and a brown leghorn, for egg production. In broad daylight, I put the baby chicks in with my four adult silkies. I watched carefully. The grey silkie hen pecked a baby chick and then the grey rooster tried to peck a baby chick. That was enough for me. I took the baby chicks out of the adult’s enclosure. I took out the calmest brown hen who had not tried to peck, and put the two babies and the brown hen together in a large cat carrier. Again, I watched carefully. The hen was calm. Within a half an hour, a baby chick was climbing on her back.
The next morning, they were sleeping under her. I gave them their own 10 feet by two feet run attached to the cat carrier to forage in among the plants and grasses. They went in the cat carrier at night to be safe from foxes and coyotes. Their little noises the chicks made and the answers the hen made were so cute. This constant dialogue told me that they were contented.
The brown hen raised these babies, keeping them warm at night and foraging with them in their mini-run attached to the cat carrier during the day away from the other adults.
When the babies were almost grown (4 months old), I decided to move them in with the others as the black hen was brooding eggs and needed their enclosure that could hold babies safely. I put the babies and the brown hen in with the grey pair of silkies. The hen pecked at an almost grown baby. The brown hen who was by now the smallest of all of these birds, raised herself up to her fullest height, got eyeball to eyeball with the offending hen and stared her down. That was the end of the pecking.
One of the purposes of integrating new chicks directly into an existing flock is to prevent them growing up under lights missing out on the freedom to learn to forage with the older chickens. Chicks that are raised win incubators without the protection of an adult chicken are usually introduced to other adult chickens when they are grown enough to protect themselves from any attacks. Chickens are careful to maintain their territory and an unfamiliar chicken is sometimes seen as an intruder and attacked, a habit probably designed to foster dispersal over territories large enough to support healthy living. I have heard of overly zealous chickens pecking unfamiliar chicks to death. I was very pleased to see this flock getting along well.
The two chicks, hatched in an incubator in January, had grown up and were now a part of the whole group. The Astrolorpe had turned out to be a rooster that crowed earlier and louder that the silkie rooster. I took him to our local feed store to sell to someone who neeeds a rooster.
May 9, 2008
The black silkie hen started to sit on her eggs in the back of the chicken house. I realized that baby chicks were so small that they could get out under the day run so I built a four foot cube covered in hardware cloth with a hinged door for her and her nest. I moved the nest with the mom sitting securely on the eggs during the move. Now the hen would have a safe place for her babies.
After three weeks of dedicated brooding, the black silkie hen’s eggs hatched. The first one hatched on May 9th. By the next morning, there were five babies under the mom. I loved listening to her soft calls and their responding peeps. She began teaching them to forage. Within a week she was tearing up all of the dead plants and compost that I put in the bottom of her cage. I wanted them to have more room to forage so built a wire enclosure that connected to their open cage door. At night I closed them in their cube with the strong hardware cloth.
On the morning of June 5th, I woke to the unceasing squawking or alarm call of the mother hen. I walked out of my bedroom to see what was happening. There was a fox about eight inches from the secure hardware cloth enclosure that held the hen and chicks. Reggie, our cat, was about ten inches from the fox. It was as if Reggie was saying, “This is my territory. What are you doing here?”
That night I put out dry dog food for the fox with the idea that the fox would be less interested in eating chickens. This month is probably a stressful time for the fox as it may be a mother who must find enough food for herself and her young.
I kept the chickens locked up in their secure night houses during the day and intended to do so until the fox issue was resolved. I hoped the fox would lose interest in the chickens after eating the dog food.

June 6, 2008
I felt sorry for the adult chickens confined to the safety of their 3 by 7 foot house for the day as well as for the night. I decided to let them out for a few hours during the day. After dinner, I was involved in writing a tribute for a fellow animal lover who had recently passed away. I forgot that I had let the chickens out.
The next day, I discovered feathers from the brown leghorn alongside of the chicken house. The story of what happened was evident. The house was unlocked. The brown leghorn had gotten out of the day pen as evidenced by chicken fecal matter on the roof of the house. She was probably sleeping outside of the house when the fox came by. Her death would have been avoided if I had locked them in the house that evening.
June 9, and 10, 2008
I built a large chicken day pen (14 feet square) and rolled the chicken house inside. I also attached the 4 foot cube house that housed the momma hen and five chicks to this new day pen. The bigger new pen has chicken wire buried about six inches on the bottom and a roof of chicken wire. I lay boards around the outside of the buried wire with large rocks and stakes holding the boards in place. Few predators would want to dig that much to get to the chickens.
I opened the door to the cube and to the moveable chicken house to let them all out together for the first time in this new pen. The mother was fiercely protective if another adult even looked at her chicks the wrong way. After one or two half hearted pecks at the little ones by the other adult chickens, they got the idea that the little ones were off limits.
I had now been successful getting a hen to adopt week old baby chicks, introducing her with her half grown chicks, and introducing a mother with her four week old babies to the group. I had none that were good egg layers. I was feeling confident that I could avoid raising hatchery chicks under lights. I had recently visited a neighbor who had raised hatchery chicks with a light in the safety of a small cage placed near the others. These chickens were now full grown and afraid to come out of their cage and join the others. It was sad to watch how one would look out at the big yard where the others roamed and start to put a foot out but then freeze and go no farther. We watched for about an hour and these two young adult chickens would not step through their open door into the freedom of the big enclosure.
June 11, 2008
I purchased two about three week old pullets at Western Farm Center, a Wellsummer (a breed from the town of Wellsum in Holland) and a Golden Sex Link. They were not frightened of my hands and could be picked up without loud protesting squawks. I brought these two new chicks home. Neither the brown silkie hen who had adopted chicks before or the black hen with the chicks the same age was interested in adopting these chicks. I tried putting the brown hen in the cat carrier with the new ones like I had in February. She pecked at the new ones. She didn’t do that in February. I tried putting the grey hen in the cat carrier with the new chicks. She pecked at them.
I left the chicks with the group in the large yard and watched. It reached over 90 degrees so I wasn’t concerned about keeping them warm. When the chicks got too near an adult, they got pecked but not hard except for one peck when the rooster actually lifted the littlest chick off the ground. This pecking subsided as the rooster realized that they were not a threat. The chicks knew where their food and water was located. They stayed together and avoided getting pecked.
When the mom took her five chicks to sleep in the nest box in the house at dusk, I put the new chicks under her and watched. If one new chick poked her head out, the momma hen would peck at her. The new chicks were fine if they stayed under a wing, warm and out of sight. It was getting dark. I knew the momma hen would not be able to see these chicks at night, and they would be safe and warm under her. Most birds, except vultures, have a poorly developed sense of smell so I knew that the sight of the new babies bothered the hen.
June 12, 2008
I helped the new chicks out of the house in the morning after the rooster had inspected. The rooster pecks at any bird that goes out into the yard before he has inspected everything. He does not like any hen going out before he does. I think it is his safety inspection. When he is finished, he is very peaceful.
The new chicks kept to themselves but near the others at times. I even saw them bounding across the yard as chicks this age are just learning to enjoy running and flapping their wirngs.
At night, they went into the house themselves staying in a huddle near the entrance. I tucked them under the momma hen and watched. They were fine if they kept out of sight. It was getting dark to help them be out of sight.
June 13, 2008
When I opened the door, the new chicks stayed in the house and peeped plaintively. The rooster looked in at them, then they came out by themselves. They roamed all over the yard, but stayed near each other. They also favored places where they could take cover if an adult came near. For example, if they were eating when an adult came to eat, they got a little peck and ducked behind the feeder.
They were exuberant in their exploration of the outdoors, the first in their lives, having been raised in a hatchery. They practiced fluttering their wings as they bounded around in bursts. They forage.
At dusk they went into the house themselves. This time the new chicks were in a nest by themselves with the brown hen perched in the entrance to the nest box. I was concerned that they needed more warmth, so I put them under the mother hen with the other babies.
June 14, 2008
The new chicks came out of the house themselves. The rooster pecked once as he was still doing his initial morning safety inspection. He does not like any other birds to go into the yard until his inspection is completed but most of his flock doesn’t wait for him.
I made a warm box shelter with a light for heat in the yard. The chicks can use it when they want to on their first foggy day since they arrived.
I watched. They were interested in food after leaving the house first thing in the morning. After a while, I put them in the shelter so they could feel the warmth of the light. The other chicks went under their mom for a few minutes after eating. The new chicks also wanted warmth, and they stayed under the light. Soon they were running around. I turned the light off when the sun came through the fog.
The new chicks seem comfortable in the yard as they roamed all over, sometimes by themselves even joining the other chicks at times. They seem to take cover to rest from their foraging rather than for protection. In only four days, the new 2 to 3 week old chicks are acclimated to a new outdoor pen and nine other chickens both adults and chicks their own age. The only thing they needed my help with was settling down in a warm place for the night.
At 8:10 p.m., a new chick began crying loudly. The other chicks were in the house for the night with their mom. The grey adult silkie pair where the only other adults still out. At about 8:30 p.m., the new chicks went in the house. Tonight I planned not to intervene but let the new chicks settle for the night themselves. I had put the new chicks under the mom with the other chicks each night. These last few days, the adults had given up roosting on the perches, a habit learned from the brown leghorn and astrolorpe, and were once again sleeping on the floor of the house. If the new chicks joined them, they would be warm. Since the process of the adults settling into their position for the night took about 20-30 minutes, I wanted to leave them alone before checking to make sure they new chicks would be warm for the night. At 9:45 p.m., I went to the chicken house and peeked in to the sound of the peeping of contented chicks. All of the chicks were under the momma including the new chicks. They had braved her occasional peek and joined the other five chicks already under the warmth of her sheltering feathers.
The three adults were crowding into a small nest box with the rooster partly on the outside of the box. I wanted them to leave the nest box clean for laying eggs and sleep in a larger box with litter and slats for perches in the back of the house, so at 9:00 p.m. as the darkness and fog thickened, I moved the adults gently into the large box. The chicks were almost quiet. Only one or two made a soft peeping noise.
June 15, 2008
At about 6:30 a.m., the new chicks bounced down the steps of their house out into the new foggy day with the others. I watched as all of the chicks, fed from the feeder with the chick mash. Other feeders had organic laying pellets which were too big for the babies. They fed together; the new chicks integrated with the others. The mother hen joined and pecked one new chick so the two new chicks left to watch from a safe distance.
On a cool morning like this one, the five chicks took refuge under their mom to warm up after initial feeding, drinking and other early morning chicken activities. The new chicks took refuge under the lamp in their box.
This is only the second day with this box with two entrances, litter on the floor and warmth from the lamp. The first day, I showed them the box by placing them gently inside. Today they went to it themselves.
A note about their demeanor on this morning- These two new chicks are not bothered much by being picked up. They cry out initially in alarm but settle down quickly. On their first morning before I put the box with heat out for them, I picked them up, put them in my lap under my t-shirt for warmth. They stayed for about 10 or 15 minutes while I made some notes while observing the others. They were quiet and didn’t try to escape or cry.
By 8:45 a.m. The new chicks went under the light in their box by themselves on this cool morning.
June 15, 2008, evening
The whole group was all settled for the evening when I checked at 9:00. The new chicks were under the grey hen in the second nest box from the front. The momma and five chicks were in the first next box. The brown hen was on the edge of the large roosting box with the rooster on a roost above her. Perfect
I wonder what the momma and five chicks will do when they outgrow their nest box. They will figure this out peacefully if the behaviors I am observing are any indication.

June 16, 2008 morning
I didn’t hear the rooster crow so I went to let the chickens our later; it was 7 a.m. They were waiting inside. All were off their perchies except the brown hen. The two new chicks were together by the feeder.
I opened the door. The rooster was out first for his inspection of the yard. I noticed no pecking except the rooster towards me. I was a stranger in his territory during his safety inspection. I brushed him away when he pecked me. He doesn’t peck hard.
It was cool outside. After returning with some food for the chickens, I noticed that the new chicks had gone under the light.
June 16, evening
One new chick was in a nest box alone and one was under the momma. I put the one alone with the others for warmth. The new chicks have become fairly independent, but I checked carefully to see that they got warmth at night and turn the light on during cool mornings.
June 17, 2008
At 6:30 a.m., I opened the door to the chicken house. The rooster was out first. He didn’t peck me while I stood near their house. All came out with him except the brown hen and two new chicks. After about a minute or two, the new chicks came out and headed straight into the box with the light bulb for heat. It was another foggy morning.
In the evening (9:15 p.m.), I went to lock the chickens in their house. All the chicks were under the momma in the first next box. The other adults were on the roosts so the new chicks didn’t have a choice of who to get under or next to.
June 18, 2008, 6:20 a.m.
Before letting the chickens out, I looked in and noticed the new chicks had found a place in the back away from the momma hen who was still on the nest with her babies under her. The rooster came out first. The new chicks last. The younger new chick headed right to the heat of the light.
evening
The new chicks slept by themselves with the brown hen roosting nearby. It was 96 degrees during the day and still warm so I left them as they were.
June 19. 2008, morning
When I peeked in the house, the new chicks were perched on the roost with the brown hen between them. They all came out by themselves. The smallest new chick went under the light for 5 seconds and was off again running around.
June 21, 2008. evening
The two new chicks have gone to roost under the wings of the brown hen. Now I believe her unwillingness to accept these babies and her staying alone in the house for most of each day was due to her loneliness after losing the last of the babies that see adopted in the winter to the fox. Perhaps now that she has begun to shelter the two new chicks, she will stay with them in the yard during the day.
June 22, 2008, morning
The new chicks are eating in the house with the brown hen. They stayed near the house or in the house for parts of the day. It seems as if the brown hen and new chicks are forming a bond.
The grey hen has laid three eggs in the cat carrier.
In the evening, the new chicks slept near the brown hen.
June 24, 2008
The new chicks slept near the rooster. I spent time observing through out the day. The new chicks are fully integrated into this group with no pecking except the occasional random peck that happens when one is too near a chicken who is eating.
June 26
The new chicks were asleep under the rooster.
June 27, 2008
All weekend, I noticed that the brown hen is spending time outside. I even photographed her at the nest in the cat carrier arranging nest material with the two new chicks. This is a big change for her as she had been spending most of her time in the chicken house. She is spending time with the others now. The new chicks are a part of this entire group. They were adopted by the whole group.