We’ve been raising chickens since 2011. What started as three back yard chickens in the city has grown into a flock of twenty-nine. Two of the chickens, April and Lupa, know their names. They will come running across the yard when we call them.
Vally
Another chicken, Vally, came to us when she was just a couple of weeks old. She couldn’t walk and her previous owner didn’t want to slaughter her because of her disability so he got in touch with Tabitha and arranged a time for us to take her on Valentine’s Day. Tabitha spent long hours, around the clock, caring for Vally and teaching her how to first sit, then stand, and then walk. After months of physical therapy, we felt confident in her ability to walk so we were able to move her outside into an extra secure house and yard. She’s still wobbly at times and has lost most of her eyesight, but she’s happy outside. Since she wouldn’t be able to get away if the other chickens picked on her, she has her own cottage house and yard that she shares with one other very docile chicken, Jorgie.
Roosters
The only rooster that lives with hens is one of the bantam roosters. We have two bantam roosters, one lives with six bantam hens and the second one is too aggressive towards us and the other bantams so he lives in his own coop. We have the bantams separated from the other chickens because they are really small and in order to protect them, they are in an extra secured coop and yard up against the garage. None of the other full-sized roosters live with the hens because our hens are on the smaller side and we don’t want the big roosters hurting them while breeding. We also don’t want them to attack us when they are being overly protective of their girls. We love going into the chicken yard and sitting with the hens and it gets hard to enjoy our time with them when we have to constantly keep an eye on the rooster.
Housing
The chickens are housed in a large heated coop. We use aspen wood shavings on the floor because it helps absorb their mess better than straw and it gives them a fun place to scratch around. Aspen is also better than other types of wood shavings because the oils in other shavings can irritate the chickens’ respiratory systems. Not to mention the fact that the aspen shavings smell amazing after a cleaning!
Food
The chickens decided they were going to free range during the day. Instead of fighting with them to keep them in their yards, we embraced the idea and we now let them free range. We supplement their diet with grains, mealworms, fruits/vegetables, and store-bought chicken food. The hens also get a calcium supplement.
