Chickens in the Backyard. Again.

I haven’t had birds for about five years.  Not since the racoons broke into the deteriorating run and ate the last pair while I was away with my telescope.  

But these are critical times calling for special measures and last February, as I saw lockdowns imminent, I got my ducks chickens in a row.  I wasn’t sure how far the lockdowns would extend.  Would we be trapped in our homes like the people in Wuhan with only ambulances in the streets and crematoriums going full tilt?  Backyard hens would be a valuable asset if it came to that.  Plus paying $6.50 for a dozen for organic eggs was a bit stiff.  

As the seriousness of the emergency progressed, I progressively bought the pieces of lumber, then the chicken wire, then fencing wire -- all for a new, more secure run.  I arranged for two brand new laying hens from my nephew and my son TOG showed me the special place in Chilliwack where he picks up his Organic feed.  The plan was to set the run up on a piece of lawn right next to the garden.  This would eventually enlarge my garden for this time of emergency.

I assembled the new run made of four individual, 4 foot high frames and screwed them together at the four corners to include my beefed up old 4 by 4 foot henhouse.  The frames were taller than the last ones I’d had for years and I included a small gate so I could enter the run, kneeling to service any of it as necessary.  The overhead wire was of my favourite 2 by 4 inch mesh, 4 foot wide wire fencing.

The final days before lockdown I got a bale of hay for the nesting box from Buckerfields, a new water font, and finally picked up the two birds.  They’re the friendliest girls.  And really most quiet.  When I lift the roof lid and kneel to get the eggs or add feed or water, they immediately jump up onto the sill near my face to say hi.  They love it when I fetch young dandelion leaves for them – that makes their yolks so orange.

They occupy two 50 square foot beds plus one path for a total of 114 square feet.  For two birds that’s quite the Life of Riley.  Their default names are Number One and Number Two – the one being yellow and the other brown.  No, not really, they are both the same breast-fed baby poo golden brown.  Well, actually, they’re just brown. 

Right from the start they’ve given me two eggs a day for weeks on end – usually one of them missing an egg after 2 and a half weeks.  After I finished the first bag of feed my feed cost ratio came out to $1.40 per dozen.

One early morning at 05:00 there was a ruckus.  Number Two was upset about something.  I think there was a hawk flying overhead. From then on I was
set to lock them into their henhouse until I got up in the morning – I do have neighbours and birds aren’t legal in my town.  That’s right, the big city of Vancouver can have backyard flocks but we get to inhale all the farm fresh local air from the massive commercial chicken barns nearby but can’t have any of our own birds in so much better conditions at home. 

I was concerned about ventilation in the warmer nights so left the door ajar.  Somehow, they managed to get out but couldn’t get back in.  I think that delay to access to the nesting box caused Number Two to miss a day.  Later I was finding eaten eggs – ooze in the hay in the nesting box with shells missing – an Egg Eater!  

This has forced me to finally, after all these years of having birds, make a ‘roll the egg down and out of the way’ nesting box.  It’s a hinged lid / platform over the nesting box floor that is tilted a bit and carpeted to get the egg to roll away and out of sight as soon as the bird stands up.  

Alas, now Number Two has totally stopped.  Oh well.  Some birds don’t last through the summer.  We’ll see when she starts up later.

Their droppings are worth a lot and currently they’re occupying new beds that will be put into potatoes next year.  I’ll no longer need that bale of hay for nesting.  I think I’ll use it later in the year for an attempt at a special, fast compost pile – but that’s another posting.

Happy Gardening.