CREATING NEW MEMORIES TO CHERISH –“Nature is my church!”
Part of a farm boy’s (and girl’s) childhood often includes raising your own livestock. It was particularly gratifying to raise a flock of Bantams. Nothing like a farm to inspire appreciation of such simple pleasures as learning about life first hand through the joys of nature.
Recently I saw a bumpersticker that read, “Nature is my Church!” Prehaps this is why I have such precious memories–what greater exposure to nature is there than growing up in a New England farm town. Throughout my life there has always been a “draw” to my hometown. Each visit offering a plethora of memories–all indicators of nature–spirituality at its best. Fortunately in retirement, I discovered among countless simple pleasures are Backyard Chickens! And more pleasure is sharing them with people you love, neighbors who walk by the house, and even strangers who stop their cars and ask if they can visit our beautiful pet chickens. It happens several times a week.
A young Sophia gets a ride on the Glider with Jason whose gentle touch (not only as a piano virtuoso but also as a pet owner) is calming. Blind since birth, Jason recognizes each of the “critters'” voices and touch, and they all take to him as much as people do.They’re very social critters who like to be entertained and they compete for affection: Ethel gets a hug while Lucy, Rose, and Sophia enviously get in line for hugs, too! Ya think they’re pampered?
The “girls” have an amazing language with very distinct ways of communicating their wants and likes and dislikes. Their various vocal sounds summon us, tell us when they are hungry, tell us when they want privacy (egg laying or brooding to hatch chicks), proudly and loudly announce they’ve just layed an egg, and they exhibit a whole host of interesting behaviors and personalities. By nanny cam, we’re able to monitor (spy on) their sleep behaviors and surprisingly find they like to preen themselves several times during the night as they sleep off and on throughout the night. Sometimes we forget that our critters are not little people–hence they all have names that reflect something about them. Such fun! They require careful care and enjoy being kept clean, well fed, and entertained.
So here’s a story of our adventure with these joys of nature:
Our first “babies” were hatched in May, 2013. Lucy Riccardo and Ethel Mertz are Red Stars (black with reddish gold stoles). Dorothy Zbornac and Sophia Petrillo are Plymouth Barred Rocks (black and gray stripes). Blanche Devereau and Rose Nyland are Buff Orphingtons (very blonde). In this photo, they are a few days old, and 4 appear to be simply black and two appear to be simply yellow.They will soon need to be moved from their heated cardboard box in the basement to their own new house where they will grow to be adults. A new house is situated behind the shed for the 1st year.By the end of June, they’re ready to move in. Granddaughter, Autumn, thinks the new coop is “cool” and helps Grampy prepare the coop.WOW! All this space. A branch is added temporarily until they’re comfortable flying to the upper roosts.Now they’re Pullets–so we think. Sophia and Dorothy are seen on the lower perch–but Dorothy (from TV’s Golden Girls) soon attempts to CROW! OMG–Dorothy Zbornac is, in fact, STANLEY Zbornac. What will we do since the neighborhood might not want to hear early morning rooster crowing!Young Stanley is a docile fellow, affectionate, and loving our attention. He’s going to make someone a great Rooster–but we soon have to give him up. We have an unconvincing talk with him but he cries in his travel crate all the way to his new home in Vermont. Heartbreaking.When Stanley arrives at his new home in Vermont, his first friend is a pet cat who likes to hang out with the chickens. Together on a stone wall in a flower garden, they sit for 20 minutes next to each other–she snuggled up to him as they bask in the garden sun. Stanley has never met a cat before. She was a comfort in his new totally unfamiliar world.Stanley had never seen a cat before, and although he made a new furry friend, he soon was introduced to some of his feathered friends–his new family. On the big farm, Stanley was now able to free range for the first time. He would soon forget about us but we’ll always remember him.Back home our first layer is Ethel. At the same time, our sweet Blanche, is falling ill and dies just one month after Stanley’s departure. We now have only four left of our first flock of six.They’re going to need an outside run (pen) very soon. We we begin construction of the first outside pen.The outside pen is complete, but small–even for our 4 remaining “girls.” People begin to tease us about our “Summer Home” and the chicken “Taj Mahal” in the back yard.We’ll tear down this pen, move the coop to a more spacious area in the backyard, and build a bigger pen (run) for them. Eventually we’ll construct a second outside pen and add another coop to house another flock next year.The coop is relocated and construction of the first new larger pen is underway.In the hottest week of the summer, Ron puts up the new pen–attached to the original coop. Insanity is when an old man builds a pen in 95-100 degree weather! Is this love or stupidity? No need to respond. ?It’s taking shape. Neighbors stop by to see what in the world is going on! It needs to be a presentabe home since it is now visible from the front yard to passers by. Now the girls will be admired by lots of passers-by who are welcomed to visit close-up. A lovely elderly mother who suffered with Dementia become, or a while, a regular visitor with her son. She enjoyed recalling memories of having chickens in her childhood. Her visits were precious while they lasted.It’s much better space for our friends–but guess what?They want go get out and hang out with us.So they do! From L-R: Chatty Lucy, Sweet Rosie, Lovely Sophia, and Feisty Ethel. On August 27th, 2014 we were out for 2 hours and returned home to find that Ethel, the most adventurous and feisty, died while apparently trying to squeeze out of the pen. An obituary notice was promptly emailed to close friends. We were then left with three: Lucy, Sophia, and Rosie. We will add a 2nd flock of 8 new chicks in the Spring.Here, after Ethel’s funeral, are the 3 survivors—enjoying a fresh vine tomato. Ethel was aggressive, and had taken to bullying our sweet Rosie who never bothered anyone. In Ethel’s absence, we noticed there was less tension in the flock and Rosie was singing with much more spirit. I’d say their grieving was minimal. ? Sophia, in the middle, had always been at the bottom of the “pecking order” and suffered most of the intimidating that went on. Oddly enough, shortly after this picture, she began to become extremely aggressive toward Rosie who was becoming weak. They had to be separated. Our Vet worked with us on solutions. Lucy, the top of the pecking order, was able to be with either Rosie or Sophia without bullying–since it was clearly established that she has been the “boss” since the beginning. Lucy, by the way, is the most vocal–she constantly loves to dialogue with us. We almost wonder if she can understand us as well as we understand her. When we say, “Lucy–hush up! You have a big mouth.” She’s unimpressed and continues to “Bawk, bawk, bawk, baaaaaawk!” at us. Afterall, she IS the boss.It seemed time to increase the flock. In April, 2015 we obtained 8 chicks this time. This meant needing new housing. We learned of a lady across town who builds one coop per week on her back deck. It only needed to be painted and we did some alterations–added a window, and relocated the roost inside. It was to house the new chicks until they could be moved to the larger coop and the “older girls” would occupy the new smaller coop. On wheels, it could be rolled right into the garage while the chicks were tiny and required a heat lamp.Here they are, 8 new peeping chicks–7 different breeds and another Buff Orphington (like our sweet Rosie). We, of course, named her Rosette.Out of their box and into their new home (inside the garage), this flock is very different than the first–they started flying in a couple of weeks. Each time we’d open the door, they’d attempt to fly out. On the roost is our Bramha–Phoebe who was the first to fly. She will eventually become the most beautiful huge hen with feathered feet and a sweet personality similar to Rosie’s. Rosette (yellow) can be seen at center. Elva (named after a nursing home resident who loves chickens) is seen with the yellow head. She becomes a beautiful large black and white feathery lady.The new coop is attached to the large pen at the opposite end from the larger older coop. A large temporary partition keeps the new flock separate from the old flock and allows them to see each other for months before they can be integrated. The former white pen door has been replaced by a more durable wire green door. Cement pavers surround the pen to protect them from fox and raccoon preditors. The outdoor pen is also covered with wire to prevent hawk attacks. Hawks frequent the area and, therefore, we only let the hens come out when we’re with them and they’re near the pen door. We’ve been called “overprotective parents.” Speaking of such, both coops have electricity to keep water from freezing in winter. There is also a nanny cam in the coop allowing them to be monitored from the kitchen.They’re Pullets (adolescents) already, soon to start laying eggs, and needing to be moved to the larger coop. L-R: Rusty, Phoebe, Goldie, Sylvia, Raven, Squigi, Rosette, and Elva. They love high perches. More run space needed. Here, we’re adding an additional pen on the other side of the larger coop. This should provide larger “entertainment” space and cut down on the pecking of each other. Eventually the smaller coop will be relocated and attached to the end of the new pen. The pecking order is such that certain hens have their feathers pulled out until a bald spot appears. This causes vulnerability for breaking skin and causing serious injuries. It is tough to see your “kids” picking on each other. Certain applications can be applied medically as well as behavioral “tricks” that help with this common undesirable behavior. Larger run space definitely helps. Here, the project was still under way and got completed in October. The flock gets very excited when the owners (their parents) are in the yard or drive up in the car–they recognize their parents’ car and make sounds of excitement. When Hawks are in the sky or trees, they stand very still and make a quiet purring sound to alarm the others. When neighborhood children are noisy, they make protests loudly. Each time they lay an egg, they proudly announce it to us and we hear it on the kitchen monitor.Meet Rosette (L) and Rosie (R). Since this picture, Rosette became as big as Rosie and they got along well together. If you look closely at the color of their feathers and then the color of our hair, you can determine who the biological father must be! 🙂 Rosie was, of course, our favorite sweetie. She became ill last year, for a time seemed to recover significantly, but increasingly had difficulty flying up to the roosts. For a while we built a stool for her and as she got stronger we removed it. Rosette become very much like Rosie–enjoying “people” attention.Hi, Daddy! [sadly we lost our beloved Rosie and Sophia on Oct. 30, 2015 due to internal disorders.] It was a tearful time.“Hi, down there! My official name is Squigi (named after a little Banty hen from my human parent’s childhood) but I sometimes get called ‘Squiggy’ because I’m the smallest of the flock and I have a squeeky voice–like Squiggy on the old TV show, “Laverne & Shirley. I’m up on a high perch because I love to fly. I’m known as a ‘Partridge Leghorn’, because I have the shape of a Leghorn and the coloring of a Partridge. Soon, I will the the only one to lay WHITE eggs! I do love attention– I sing constantly a very unique song to my human parents especially when they’re working around my new pen. I’m persnickety about being captured to be held, but once caught, I’m very friendly and rather enjoy the affection. Being small, I’m often the target of my sisters who peck my feathers out of my lower back whenever they get the chance. I sometimes have to have a special ointment put on by my human parents. I hate that, but I guess it helps. It’s tough having all bigger sisters! They can’t fly as fast or as high as I can, so if things get too bothersome, I can launch myself to the highest perch. When I go to bed, my biggest sister, Phoebe, sometimes puts one of her big wings over me and we cuddle. Later on, I will be introduced to her Majesty, Lucy–the top of the pecking order. She will be, as were my parents, surprised to find that I, tiny as I am, show Lucy who is boss!! When Lucy attempts to come at me I shock the daylights out of her as I stand up to her and show her that I may be small, but I’m NOT to be reconned with–I hold my own and Miss Lucy avoided me for a while and now cuddles with me EVERY night. NOBODY messes with me now!”They’re big girls now. Rosie and Rosette seem to hang out together. (front left). This pic is taken just days before we lose Rosie.Can you tell who likes this part the best?What will we do with all these eggs?? The white ones came from Squiggi.You can only display them for so long.…or you can make things like Deviled Eggs–they go pretty fast!…and, of course, you can let your sweet granddaughter bake her own birthday cake in Grampy’s old electric stove that later got replaced by a much more functional gas range. Did you have a BLUE birthday cake when you were a kid?
So, you see, the real joys of life can be created or re-created. It is wonderful to remember living on a farm, and something to appreciate when you can re-capture some of those old simple pleasures.
OCTOBER 30, 2015 – SAD NOTE
Today was a sad experience for us: Rosie and Sophia had been exhibiting symptoms that led us to the Vet Hospital for the 3rd time. They have been increasingly weak and having difficulty walking and flying. Rosie was not able to fly up to the roost last night so she had to be placed there. Last year we provided a special step-stool for her, but she seemed to totally recover over the Summer. This morning, for the first time, she was unable to even fly down down from the roost and sat looking at the others through the window. Since September she has been losing weight and getting more frail. Sophia, since early Summer has been increasingly having difficulty walking and in the past week could only sit on the floor of the coop. Her behavior over the past months has been radically changed to aggressive and attacking toward the others.
At the Vet Hospital this afternoon they were thoroughly examined, x-rayed, and reported to be failing and likely suffering from a neurological disorder. We were advised to take them to UCONN poultry labratories to have them euthanized and autopsied to determine exact diagnosis. It came as a shock. There at UCONN we were assured of a most humane process that would put them to sleep within 1-2 minutes. It was so difficult tearfully saying good-bye to them. It is amazing how much pleasure they gave us over the past 3 years—bonding with us since they were just a few days old. Truth be told: We cried all the way home—and then, some. Pets, even if chickens, are part of our families. We realize that our lives are filled with contrasts (joys and sorrows) and these help us to more greatly appreciate simplepleasures when we have them.
