Some of the Farm Residents

Brownie is one of our oldest chickens, and the one with the most interesting story. When we first brought chickens home, our dog Barley attacked and killed our first four chickens. Barley was so proud of herself, but we were appalled. From then on, we kept the chickens fenced in an area that the dog could not reach.

We bought Brownie as a 2 week young chick with a group of 6 others. She was a Spreckled Sussex with beautiful Brown coloring and a very outgoing and curious personality. This curiosity put her in mortal danger one day when she decided to fly into the yard where Barley played. I was in the back yard when I heard the panicked shrieking and loud cackling of the entire flock. I raced down and discovered that Brownie had been attacked by the dog and her back was ripped wide open. I gathered her up gently and brought her into the house, feeling very scared that she would die and not yet sure what to do. I put her in a box so she could not move very much, and then went to do an internet search for answers. I knew that a vet visit was not realistic with my budget and for a chicken that could be replaced for $5 and about 10 pounds of feed. But I was determined to do everything I could because I really loved that sassy little chicken!

After some research and some thought about the problem I concluded the best thing I could do is wash her wounds and sew the gaping wound closed. So I sterilized a needle and thread, and proceeded to do this. It was hard, but Brownie was in so much shock that she stood still for the operation. I made her as warm and comfortable as I could, and resolved to go get antibiotics if she lived through the night. The next day she was OK, so for the next week I injected her with penicillin. She survived, and she is healthy and thriving today!

Spreckles is our black and white Sussex hen. She was a week older than the other chicks when we got her, and took on the role of top hen right away. Fortunately, she is not an abuser of this power. She perfectly fits the role of mother hen, and is always trying to protect the other hens and bosses them around. She is still one of our fussiest birds, especially when the choicest treats come out in the morning!

We call him Tank because he is a very large bird, even if a lot of his bulk is just fluff. He has a very solid stance and tromps around like a soldier. Tank came from a batch of chickens we were given by a neighbor in the summer of 2011. He is a Cochin, a Chinese breed with very fluffy body feathers and feathered feet. He has gray feathers with beautiful off-white and black contrasting plumage. He is very mellow for a rooster, but would cry all day when we kept the hens in separate pastures. Now he lives with 3 hens, including Brownie, and takes his job as protector and Patron very seriously, marching around and guarding them all day

These are Angel and Princess, our Japanese Silkie Chickens. We acquired two Silkie chicks in the summer of 2011, which were supposed to be a male and a female. We thought Angel was a girl, but he started crowing around 4 months of age. Because he was a small guy, he got picked on a lot, especially once we put him in with the other roosters. So, he had a rough time and always seemed a bit lonely. We recently traded one of the two silkie roosters back to the farm he came from for a little white fluffy hen. Once Princess arrived and settled in, we put Angel in with her, and now he is as happy as a little rooster can be. We are hoping for a successful mating resulting in little baby silkies very soon!