Guest Blog: A Tiny, Peeping Spring Chick -- Just What the Doctor Ordered

This week we've got something special for you all: A guest piece written by April Johnson Stearns (my big sis)! April and her blogs I [Heart] My Life and Green Tea and Chocolate have gained a avid following online and have been featured numerous times in her area's newspaper.

A year ago April was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Here she relates how for her and her family bringing three baby chicks into their home in the midst of the cancer turned out to be a wonderful decision.

I hope you enjoy this piece and take a moment to check out her blogs!
KJ
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A Tiny, Peeping Spring Chick -- Just What the Doctor Ordered

If I said a chicken once saved the lives of my family, I wouldn't be telling you the whole truth.
 

Sweet Cecily

 

It was actually three tiny chicks.

A black and white Barred Rock, a so-black-she's-green Australorp, and quirky, beardless Americana.

To us, they are Kiki, Poppy, and Sweet Cecily. And they rule the backyard.

A year ago, getting backyard chickens for our urban home (not homestead mind you, just a simple home) was a dream I looked forward to. The idea had popped into my head the previous year, and had refused to budge (they say, once your mind has been expanded by an idea, it will never shrink back – doh!). At night, I lay in bed trying to picture chickens in our very urban backyard. We couldn't have many pets in our tiny postage stamp lot, but a few chickens, I was thinking, we could manage. Pets, eggs – win/win. The pet that makes you breakfast!

I'd received a few chicken books as Christmas presents that year and as I read through the winter I was simultaneously prepping my then-3-year-old on chicken farming dos and don'ts.

But then, right before spring, everything changed. I was diagnosed with aggressive, stage 3 breast cancer. I found the lump myself one evening and when I asked my husband to feel it, he immediately said, “What the hell is that?!” It was enormous and had seemingly come out of nowhere.

With the arrival of this malignant lump, everything changed. Chemo, surgery, radiation... I was diagnosed on March 12^th – when I asked my brand new oncologist how long treatment would take he said nonchalantly, “I think we can have this wrapped up by New Year's.” New Year's?! It was only March!

Suddenly I felt like I could literally hear my dreams and this little life I'd created with my family crashing down all around me like sheets of glass crashing on the floor. In the days following my diagnosis, I was haunted. Late into the night, I'd sit in bed, staring at the moon-lit oak tree in the backyard, listening to the twin sounds of my husband and child breathing in their sleep. And I would cry. I cried for me and I cried for them.

Two weeks after my diagnosis, I started chemotherapy. Chemo bridged the span from winter to summer: 5 months of intravenous treatments. My hair fell out, I was tired, and sometimes nauseous, though thankfully I was never throwing up. Mostly I was tired. I took to napping daily.

Life in our house began to revolve around treatments – receiving them & recovering from them –  and doctor appointments. This is hard enough for grown-ups. Unbearable for children.

Something needed to shift our focus.

At this time, we received such an outpouring of support from friends & family, and even strangers. Everyone wanted to know how they could help. My husband's aunt was aware of my pre-cancer dream to have a little flock of hens. Being a carpenter, she set to work creating a lovely, little hen house for us, made almost entirely from salvaged materials.

While she built the hen house, we debated whether it was a good idea to get chicks this year. Was it too much to add on a new venture on top of chemo? With my weakened immune system, was it safe for me to be around the chicks? Was another new thing really what our daughter needed?

One June morning, mid-way through my course of chemotherapy, we decided to take the plunge.

I'd done a little research on the more gentle chicken varieties and which ones tended to get along with each other. I decided on the Barred Rock, Americana, and Austrolorp. Of course they were not all to be had from the same feed store. That would be too easy, right? So on brilliantly sunny morning, my daughter and I drove 30 minutes into the mountains to acquire our first-ever chicken. In her car seat, my daughter held the little white box with the air holes. Inside, the 4 day-old chick peeped and peeped. Within five minutes, she was named Sweet Cecily. (All our chickens ended up being named from favorite fictional characters.)

We took Sweet Cecily directly to the second feed store, this one closer to our house, and bought fuzzy Poppy and tiny Kiki. And then we took our little flock home to a cardboard box with a heat lamp in the garage. There they lived for 8 weeks.

It became our habit to spend lots of time in the stuffy garage, holding the chicks, laughing at their antics, watching them explore, snuggling them as they fell into sudden, exhausted baby sleep. I have many happy memories of that time of sitting in a folding chair with my daughter in my lap, with a chick in her lap.

During this time I continued my chemotherapy. Right about the time we got the chicks, my treatments changed and I went through 3 infusions that were much more difficult than the previous drugs. I was more tired, more nauseous. I felt myself becoming mentally adverse to the drugs – I was just ready to be done (to this day I cannot look at red Kool-Aid because the medicine was this very shade of red).

But adding the chicks to our daily mix was always a blessing and never a burden. In the realm of livestock, chickens require very little care – nothing you can't squeeze into 10 minutes a day (on chemo even!).

And that chemo? Well, it did the trick – I had my last treatment on Aug. 8 (the same week the chickens moved from their now-cramped infant cardboard box out to their big girl spacious, custom-built, fancy-schmancy hen house). At the end of chemo, the lump in my breast was no longer palpable. And when I had a radical modified mastectomy in September, the surgeon found no evidence of disease either in the breast tissue or my lymph nodes.

In retrospect, getting those little chicks was the best thing we could have done during my cancer treatment. Having a sick mother is always stressful for children, but having a sickness that goes on and on is something else entirely. The chicks became the perfect distraction. Something to keep the mood light & fun – something to look forward to every day... Those chicks have grown up being handled. My daughter carries them around them yard, balances them on her swing, sets them on balls. She hugs them tight. They were just what we needed.

And when we got our first eggs at Thanksgiving... well, we had a lot to be thankful for that year.

 

 

April Johnson Stearns is standing right behind you. A work-from-home mama, April lives in Santa Cruz, CA with her husband, daughter, black cat, gold fish, three chickens of various colors, and two in-laws. You can find all her musings about parenting, cancer, (parenting with cancer), nutrition, and everything in-between at her two blogs (cuz she's an overachiever like that) at I [Heart] My Life and Green Tea andChocolate.

Chicken Integration

If you recall from earlier posts like The halfway house aka chicken tractor and chick love, Whitney and I raised 5 more chickens this year. These Silver Laced Wyandottes came to us as day old chicks and we brooded them in the house until they were old enough to go outside. They lived in the chicken tractor for several weeks while becoming accustomed to the outside world. After they became comfortable, we began opening the door in the afternoons so that the pullets could roam the yard like the hens do. But even though they were all out together, the two groups would not mix. They were two groups tolerant of each other but not interested in meeting. Eventually the pullets became too big for the chicken tractor, so it was time to move them into the coop.

The Five Pullets

I guess I thought Whitney would just chicken whisper them right into the hen house, but it didn't exactly work that way. It turned out more like a game of Chase the Chicken every night for a week. The books all say that it is as simple as placing the pullets in the coop at night, and the next morning they will wake up knowing that's home. I'll tell you how it went for us: One night Whitney and I moved the pullets one at a time into the coop and placed them on the roost. The next morning, when I opened the door to the chicken yard, the pullets tumbled out and hid in the corner. The hens scratched and pecked like normal, but the pullets continued to huddle off on the side. That afternoon we opened the door to the big yard and the pullets ran back to the chicken tractor! We rounded them up and got them back in the coop, but they were clearly not happy about it. For about a week every time we opened the door, the pullets ran out to return to the their old home. It was sad, and we even worried that they might not be eating but after several rounds of chicken wrangling they did start returning to the coop at night. It's taken a while but I'm happy to say that the flock is now fully integrated. Sure the hens have a pecking order and the youngsters are not yet on the top roost, but they aren't a separate flock either.



The Integrated Flock

To top the news, this week Whitney found a couple mini eggs in the nesting boxes, suggesting our little Wyandottes have started laying! So, it's official we've got 19 layers and 1 rooster (although one of the Wyandottes is showing some rooster-like tendencies, more on that later).

Sometime soon we will try honey extracting for the first time, so stay tuned for that.

Until next time, as always, thanks for stopping by.

KJ

The Halfway House aka Chicken Tractor

This spring, Whitney and I built this simple Chicken Tractor from plans we found in Hobby Farms Magazine

We wanted somthing to act as a step between the brooder box and the coop. The reason being that introducing pullets to the coop too quickly can result in dead pullets if they are too young. The older hens will assert dominance and if the pullets can't take the punishment, the hens can kill them. So we checked around and found this one that seemed to fit the bill, especially since I didn't have to buy any extra materials. This mini coop will act as a Halfway House for this summer until the pullets are ready for life in the coop.

 It is a super simple design, although I changed it a little to use materials I had on hand. They used 2x2's for the frame, I used 2x4's. Their overall length was 10' mine is 8'. Also they didn't mention any roofing, I used tar paper and shingles I had on hand.

The pullets have half the area boxed in and half the area fenced in. This way they can regulate how much sun they get and have a place to hide when spooked. There is a fenced floor which allows for foraging, but keeps them safe from preditors.  

I didn't insulate or install anything perminant inside because for us it will only be a temporary pullet residence. Also, since the idea is to keep it light enough to move around, everything inside gets removed when it's time for a move.  

So here is the finished "tractor". The term comes from the use of chickens to cultivate and fertilize the ground below. That's not exactly our intent, but it is nice to let the chicks mow the grass. Since we've been using it, it seems a move once a week is about right to keep the grass green and the girls happy. It's not super easy to move, but do-able with the wheels on the left above.

At about two months, our pullets are fully feathered and seem to be very happy about being outside. They took to foraging with no trouble and are now enjoying a diet of pullet developer crumble plus plenty of grass and bugs.

KJ

Chick Love

The chicks are growing and quite friendly!

KJ

Little Dinosaurs

Gone are our cute and fuzzy little chicks, now we have Little Dinosaurs.

Their legs and necks are getting long, their feathers are coming in, and they are very energetic. They often run from one end of the brooder box to the other and kick wood chips everywhere. They have also taken to flying up at us, so we have a piece of fence over the top of the box to keep them contained. Finally, this week I gave them a roost to stop the perching on the feeder. I'm happy to say the roost is a hit!   

That's all for now. KJ

Chicks!

If you've been hoping for a chick post, here you go!

The chicks are now a week and half old, and growing like weeds. We've already had to replace the first brooder box with a second one for more room. They are very healthy and active and are constantly exploring their environment and learning new things. They really like scratching in the wood shavings and pecking at the newspaper. They've also started trying out their wings by running across the box and flapping. Today we saw one happily dust bathing just like a miniature hen. Here is a look at our brooder setup.    

We've got the heat lamp on an adjustable stand so that the warmth can be regulated.  This week it is at 85-90 degrees at chick height.  We will decrease the heat 5 degrees a week until it is 70 degrees, at which point they will be fully feathered and will be able to venture outside.   Also, because the heat lamp could cause a fire if it fell into the shavings, we've screwed the clamp to the stand so that its more secure (before we did that the lamp fell from the table it was clamped on. Luckily we were here when it happened). The long red feeder allows them to find feed even if part of it gets filled up with wood shavings. The jar with the green bottom is the waterer and works well, except they fill the tray with wood shavings constantly.  Whitney changes it at least 5 times a day.  And the wood block in the corner is there for them to roost on, and they really seem to like that. It is nice and low to the ground so when they fall off they don't hurt themselves.  It also helps keep them from roosting on the feeder, and getting a lot of poop in the feed.  

Speaking of roosting, I had to add this photo since it was a new development last night. When we checked the little girls before heading to bed we found one had taken to roosting on the water jar! This was quite a surprise because the jar sits well above head height and she had to jump and flap to get up there, but managed it like it was nothing. It's also a surprise because chick brooding books say not to expect roosting until 4 weeks! I dunno, maybe these are AP chicks :-). The down side to this is that when standing on the jar, the little one can nearly look out of the box, so today we'll need to fashion up a chicken wire top for the box so that they don't take to getting out while we're not watching.

Okay, I better get outside, looks like a nice day coming.

KJ

Spring is Go Time!

1...2...3...Go!

Lately around here it feels like somebody waved a green flag and we're off and running. Between the additional bees, the 5 new chicks, the veggie starts in the greenhouse, Whit's crafts, and the rest of the yard work, it's go time. We hit 85 degrees last weekend and just like that the spring came alive, the grass is growing, the trees are blooming, and the Asparagus is growing inches per day! 

First up the bees: in the last post I told you that I went to WA and brought home two five frame nuc hives. Since then the bees have really taken off! The fruit trees are blooming and the dandelions are up. All of a sudden the world is custom made for honey bees. They arrived with lots of brood, which means they were ready to hatch a new generation of workers. Within days of the installation the population exploded. I checked them tonight and they have just about filled the first box with honey and are nearly ready for box number two. Our original hive is doing great too, and is in nearly the same shape as the new ones. We've been cleaning up, disinfecting and repainting used boxes to get them ready for the upcoming season. One of the new hives was even building swarm cells, meaning they are intending to raise new queens and reproduce. That is a sign they are in high gear and I need to be very actively watching them and ready to stack up boxes to keep them busy.

Next up, the new chicks! Whit brought home five newly hatched Silver Laced Wyandottes from the feed store today! The little peepers are all healthy and doing good in the brood box. These little ones will brood for a month in the house, be moved to their own living quarters in 6 weeks and then join the flock later this summer. By late fall or early winter they should be fully integrated into the flock and laying. Until then it's a lot of fun having chicks again and the dogs are very curious about the noisy box on the hearth. They have to be kept seperate from the other hens while they are young, soon I'll fix up a dog kennel for them, and build a small chicken tractor so they can get out in the grass. The rest of the hens are doing very well and really happy about all the green grass and bugs in the yard.

Next: Veggie starts! This year we are very lucky in that one of our friends is working at a greenhouse starting plants. She's been bringing us starts that are left over after they re-pot so we have a very nice assortment of veggies in the greenhouse. I'm proud to see the greenhouse working so nicely and will definitely post some pictures when I get a chance. This weekend, one of our pressing to do's is prepping the garden beds that will hold the lettuce, broccoli, spinach, beets, carrots, onions, peas and potatoes.  Already we've had several friends asking if they can buy our produce this summer! We're pretty excited, but it's going to be a lot of work.

Finally the crafts. Whit's earrings and hair clips have been such a success, she's decided to sign up for a locally made craft fair in Missoula. Now she's working hard to build up her inventory so that we can take pictures and provide them to the fair in her application (it is a juried show). That event will be in late June and she is hoping she gets chosen. 

I know it was brief, but that's what we've been up to. Spring is both a very exciting and overwhelming time of year. There is so much to do, but it's all fun and great to see our little farm taking off.

Hope you are all doing well, and I'll try to post more pictures real soon.

KJ

Week One

After a week with the little ones we noticed how different they are now. They have developed wings and tails and they are standing taller. Also now they have started dust bathing and scratching like crazy. They are starting to roost on things, but they're balance isn't that good. Once in a while they flap hard and jump and almost fly but not really. Whitney says they're also getting used to her more, and don't seem as afraid when she visits.
Here's a photo to compare. Above is day one, below is day seven.

New Friends

After the first few days, we are glad to say everybody is alive and well. The chicks are starting to show some early developments. They run now, out of the blue. One minute they will be asleep standing or squatting on the floor and the next they are running across the brooder. Then they'll stop and go along pecking and peeping like nothing happened. Also they've starting preening and stretching a lot, and they love to scratch. Small things of course, but fun to witness.
Today, Whitney stopped by the feed store and heard from the owner that she had some chicks who needed a home. It turns out the other box at the post office was bound for Plains also. The chicks arrived only the person who had ordered them decided he didn't want them afterall. The feed store lady was in a tight spot, trying to find homes for these chicks. Whitney went to work calling around and was able to place many of the chicks with her chicken loving friends. Some of them needed to be brooded, so another 5 came to our place. These chicks were Barred Plymouth Rocks and Road Island Reds. We already had a bunch of Barred Rocks, but had not ordered Road Island Reds. The funny thing was that these red chicks look identicle to our mystery chicks. So now we know we got some reds along with others in our order. Some chicks were given to a friend already, and some are remaining here to be brooded. Tonight there are 28 chicks in the coop, so far so good!

First Introductions

This week our chicks arrived from the hatchery. They pecked their way out of a shell, were sexed and sorted, then placed in a box and mailed to us. Since a chick is hatched with no need for food or water in the first 48 hours, this really wasn't that stressfull, but is still amazing. We got the call at 9pm thursday that the chicks were in Missoula and we could come get them from the post office if we wanted. Or we could wait and they would arrive in Plains the following morning. The post office man was nice and said ours looked good, but the other box he had recieved didn't look so good, he thought some had died. He also said that he'd find something to put over them to keep the wind off. Chicks have to be kept above 95 degrees for the first week and in light of our recent cool wet weather Whitney decided that a run to Missoula was in order. She had planned and waited too long to have her chicks die on a post office loading dock. So as I went to bed in preparation for another 0530 work day Whitney headed to rescue the chicks. She found them at the post office safe and sound and brought the peeping box home to the brooder ready with heat lamps, making it home around midnight - thirty. I got up as she was headed to bed, exhausted but satisfied that all the chicks were safe and healthy. We had ordered 25, but the hatchery sent 29. Maybe because it's late in the chick season, or maybe because some do die often, but in this case all survived. Whitney spent the first day with them introducing them to the water and food and making certain that the temperature stayed constant. At the end of the first day she decided all four of the varieties she ordered were there, plus a few mystery chicks.