It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity that will kill you. Finally we received some rain this past week only for it to come a bit to late over at our farm. Earlier in the day this past Wednesday we lost 15 chickens. So it can now be said we are out of the egg business. Last fall when I decided to get chickens I spent hours upon hours researching which breeds do best for our weather conditions. Then I looked into the heritage breeds so that I could eventually decide on one breed to start my breed preservation project with. Being a bit undeceive like I am in all areas of my life I couldn’t decide on one breed.
So I ordered 15 chickens. Including twelve different breeds. There were chickens of all colors and patterns. Next thing was to have them shipped via mail to the post office. The girls and I were excited. The morning came that they arrived and we received a phone call a little after 5am. Who even knew the post office opened that early? I didn’t for sure. So I took the girls and we were off to pick up our peepers. We went and got them situated under their heat lamp in their fresh bedding. Then I whisked the girls quickly off to school for the day.
I then went back and followed the directions that were pretty similar on basic chicken care that I had read about in about fifty gazillion chicken books. What can I say I like to read. Anyhow I remember taking each chicken and picking them up nicely and dipping their little beaks into the water to introduce them to the concept of drinking. This is a very important step for any of you that may one day have chickens. From there I grew less anxious about caring for these little chicks and more and more in love with them.
I admit before having chickens they kind of freaked me out. Most of the ones I had seen before were always kind of high strung and would either attack you or just run erratically and make you nervous. Ours we decided were going to be completely different. They were going to be friendly chickens. The girls and I spent hours picking each individual chicken up each day while talking and petting them. We named each and everyone of them. And you may not believe me but they all developed quite their own personalities that even if they didn’t all look different you would have been able to tell them apart.
A couple months later a friend gave us more chickens. These were a bit trickier because they were mixed with silkie chickens which makes for a smaller chicken overall. They stay pretty small even when full grown. Of course we named them too. And eventually all the chickens were moved into the chicken coop to live together by the end of the fall.
We would let them loose to run around out at the farm and feed them as many grasshoppers and tomato worms as we could find. They would jump way up in the air and catch insects mid flight. My daughters spent practically every day on chicken patrol. Even in the winter when we would trudge out to the farm and have to spread straw outside of the coop just to convince the chickens it was safe to venture out. Some days only the Buckeye breed chicken “Brownie” would step out on her own.
Then this spring we discovered we had some crowers in the crowd. Yes that would be roosters. We had four of them to be exact. If you have ever had roosters you may know that they can be pretty brutal when it comes to mating. Brutal to the point that, I chicken lover decided enough was enough and happily adopted out our roosters to a friend’s farm in Kouts. After we had a long goodbye I gave the roosters a pep talk that they could crow the day away and that I still expected them to behave themselves.
Around this time our chickens began laying eggs. I admit I was pretty excited. A little shocked that my timing was off and that I had figured that there wouldn’t be eggs until Mayish when farmers markets were to begin. So I went out and made some nesting boxes and fed them oyster shells so that they would have enough calcium to produce their eggs without having to use the calcium from their own bodies. Which calcium deficient chickens sometimes will do.
Life with the chickens was a blast. We had one named Plop that was the friendliest chicken in the world. She always was making so much noise that she really must have had a lot to say. She was one of the more adventurous ones of the flock and would go out and stand in the sprinkler as well as run up to anyone that entered the area. It seems our chickens were conditioned to the idea that everyone who visited had a treat for them. Which most times was truly the case.
When the heat began this summer and all the grasses and plants started dying we began feeding more supplement feed and watering down as many areas as we could. The chickens would usually have a sprinker running in their area and would dig these elaborate holes to lie in and cool off in. Only to retreat to their coop when the sun began to set or they had an egg to lay. Otherwise they would be found somewhere outside enjoying the life of a spoiled chicken.
The past couple weeks we had been making sure that the chickens had extra water and that they had plenty of shade. Apparently that wasn’t enough with the high humidity and extended heat. My poor five year old made the discovery that all her chicken friends had perished the other day while I was still working my other job. I have to admit it was an emotional night burying what had become my feathered pals. And one by one I said goodbye. I also thanked them for being such fine chickens and for providing us as well as our customers with really amazing eggs.
My children have still not quite understood how all the chickens have died, perhaps I really don’t either considering there have been hotter days. However I believe and have told the girls that our chickens have moved onto chicken heaven where they can eat anything their heart desires and never be afraid of the hawks flying overhead. A place where everything they come across is a friend and never a foe. That I realized is how life should be. Where you don’t ever have to worry about anything harmful ever happening, it could be the safest place ever.
While it is difficult going out to the farm now and walking past the chicken yard and not being greeted by my ole buddy Plop, I realize life continues and awful things happen. And if nothing else I learned from these chickens the concept of being able to trust something that you would normally be scared of. I will continue to be tell stories and relive memories along with my girls about our chicken raising experiences like the time Mia and I took the chicken to the preschool, or the time the kids at an after school club were upset that I brought a live chicken when they were hungry for fried chicken. Oh and who could forget the time I had little Snowball running loose at Luhr Park in their nature center while I gave a gardening presentation. That’s right those chickens gave me enough happy moments that their memories will carry on. Rest in peace, Sunkissed Hens, we will forever love you.
