Getting the Flock Out

The week has finally arrived. This is the week that the foster flockers will go to their forever home at their Feather Father's house in the country. They've grown so much in even the past week; gaining all of their first feathers and losing the last of their down. The heat lamp that provided warmth and security to the little flockers for the first 5 weeks of their lives has been turned off for the past week and a half and they now go to sleep and awake with the setting and rising of the sun-- being helped somewhat by a blanket draped over their Clucker Crib to help block the noise and light that their Foster Mama and other house residents make into the hours of the night that ordinary birds are usually snuggled deep asleep.

Gone are the nights where peeping woke all of us at 2:30am and hushes were uttered (well, perhaps it was a little stronger than that) for the birds to settle down and rest. The Clucker Crib was a big adjustment to the birds just a few short weeks ago and now they've mostly taken up the space in the medium sized dog kennel-- constantly tipping over their waterer and soaking pine shavings that have to be changed out almost daily now so that they aren't standing in damp bedding. They are incredibly voracious eaters-- needing to have their pint jar feeder filled twice a day. They are growing up and the time has come for them to move on.

I've always looked at people who foster dogs and cats with awe how they are able to raise an animal and then let it go, seemingly without any tears or worry to a great new home. I've always avoided fostering-- fearing getting too close and wanting to keep the animal permanently. I'm learning that my fears were founded with this little flocker crew. It's going to be difficult to rise in the morning to not uncover the Clucker Crib and change the water and fill the feeder. I'm going to miss the little trills that the flockers make each day and their little personalities that are starting to show through even more now that they're moving from teenage flockers to young adult cluckers. It is three days from now that they go to their forever home and I have a feeling this is going to be difficult.

To keep my mind focused on other things than the departure of the feathered crew, I've started another building project, the Koop 2.0 or "Mini Koop" as I like to call it. I am still waiting on my two lavender orpingtons to arrive from the hatchery so I thought I would start to build a little home for these little ones before they arrived so that I won't have the stress of introducing very young birds to my established adult cluckers. I thought this build should be easier since it will be much smaller than my Taj MaCoop and instead of a peaked roof, this one has a slanted covering. Easy. Right? Uh, not so much.


Supporting posts on Koop 2.0

If you've read any of my other blogs, you know that I'm not comfortable with measuring and measurements. I have no idea what the problem is and why I can't seem to get it right, but this time-- I measured three times when I was building the roof for this Mini Koop. I put the boards into place to fit around the supporting post 2x4's and then lifted the finished roof frame to set it on top. Yeah, it didn't work at all! The first set of boards fit perfectly around the first set of supporting posts, but the second and subsequently the third were WAY off. Double cluck!

Needless to say, trying to finish fitting the roof frame required unscrewing the boards that I had worked so hard to set into place and re-setting them-- note to any potential diy coop builders out there, always use screws because they're easy to re-set when you make a goof! I did finally manage to get the roof on the supporting posts and the covering over the roof frame with the whole thing painted with primer/sealer before this next set of three rainy days. Three rainy days that give me more time to think about sending away the foster flockers.

I don't know if I'll cry when the little ones leave on Saturday, probably, dance with joy that I won't have to clean up bedding messes and the dust level won't have to be controlled on an hourly basis, also probably. All I know is that after Saturday the flock will be out and I'll look forward to my next adventure with new little flockers which should be happening in the next month or so. Until then, I'll keep building the new Koop and hope that maybe I'll finally get a measurement right--the first time.



The Koop Inspector, Henrietta

Go the Flock to Sleep

There is a wonderful storybook that has been written by author, Adam Mansbach, that looks very much like a children's book, but is most definitely written in frustrated parents' language wishing their children to stop delaying sleep and is called, appropriately, Go the F**k to Sleep.

After this past week with my foster flockers, I propose to change the title to better fit my situation; Go the Flock to Sleep. Four days in a row this past week, the little ones have woken at 4:00AM, waterer dumped and dry, food strewn every direction and peeping loudly. This activity, of course, wakes the other resident critters in this Mama Clucker's home and it means that I'm awake far beyond what I would like to be. I think that my coworker, who I share an office with, is probably beyond tired of hearing me say almost every day "I'm so tired."

I shouldn't only pick on the little flockers for my continuous state of hopeful slumber though; the weather has finally turned warm enough that I can start working in the yard again. I was so excited about the warmth that I've acted on my thought to build a coop for the two lavender orpingtons, that I'm still waiting on arriving, and my hope was that the foster flockers could maybe enjoy it before they head to their country home in little more than a week.

Kreg Jig in Action

If you have read my recount of building the first coop last year in another blog, you know it was quite the production and took many weeks longer than I thought it would and ended up being more expensive that I had planned. You can read about the build here if you wish. Most of this unknown expense came from lack of experience and I thought this go round I'd be able to put a new coop together quickly. After all, I was going to be making the coop smaller with a slanted roof and I had all of the tools at my disposal this time unlike before. No more needing to use a jigsaw to cut 2x4s (you builders out there are probably laughing at that thought, but hey-- it worked!), I have the most wonderful joining tool available-- a Kreg Jig, and I actually have a circular saw this time.

I confessed my need for devouring chicken last week and this week I'm going to confess something else. I've already built a wonderful, sturdy-so-far, Taj MaCoop with nesting boxes and a wonderful run. One would think that I can rattle off measurements like Bob Villa without hesitation and never get a measurement wrong after such a feat. Okay, this is a hard one to confess-- I can't read a measuring tape or ruler beyond knowing what the inch and 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 marks are. It's not like I haven't tried-- my poor father tried one afternoon to get me to count off the marks in between those markings with their proper identifying measurements and I think I did have it for maybe 15 minutes and then it was gone. I've tried with YouTube videos to learn, friends have tried, it just doesn't happen. How do I manage? I find the marking that I know and then count the little marks after it or before it (depending on which is easier to remember).

So, imagine me reading the measuring tape as "this is 3 and 1/4 inches and two little marks after that." This is literally the phrase that goes through my head as I'm measuring the 2 x 4 and getting ready to make the cut. It's both sad and hilarious at the same time I think. Something must be working with that process however, I'm not having to cut two and three boards to try and get the right measurement for the piece that I need. I consider that a building success! Maybe there's still hope for me!

Crazy measuring technique aside, I started building the new Koop 2.0. I drew up the design that I thought I wanted and the frame went up rather quickly after I got the stud boards (I don't spend a lot on lumber and I'm a nightmare in Lowe's because I go through the pile of boards looking for the least bowed ones) painted and cut to the proper lengths. I've returned to working on the new coop every evening after work if the weather allows me to and it's been very kind for the past few days.

I'm excited about the freedom that this new Koop 2.0 is going to give me when the lavenders finally arrive. The temperatures by that point should be in the low to mid 80's when they are 3 weeks old, even in the evening, which means that the little flockers won't have to spend nearly the amount of time indoors that the foster flockers have and can move outside. Trust me, I know I've said it before, if you have chicks-- after they pass that three week old phase, you're ready for them to be outside!

Combine this new building activity with the daily care of the foster flockers, the adult cluckers, two dogs, two cats, and pond fish that now need food because the water temperature is warmer and it's no wonder that I just want to Go the Flock to Sleep at any one given moment.

Perhaps, in a few weeks after Koop 2.0 is finished-- I'll get to do just that.

Koop 2.0 shadowed by the Taj MaCoop

Admitting My Dark Side (or the Light Side as it were)

Most of my time the last few weeks has revolved around caring for the foster flockers that are still growing like crazy. The birds are now at the stage where it seems that they make a mess every few minutes, the feeder is constantly in need of filling and their waterer consistently looks like a wood chip cesspool. I'm very fortunate that the other residents here; dogs, cats, and adult cluckers are very forgiving that their Clucker Mother has been giving these temporary residents more attention than them as of late. I think they know that their mama is about at her wits end and ready for warmer weather so that these soon-to-be-rehomed-to-the-country cheepers can be given time outdoors and give everyone inside a break.

This spring has also been incredibly cold and it's amazing that the furnace is still running to keep everyone inside toasty warm. I was ready to remove the red heat lamp from the Taj MaCoop outside a couple of weeks ago when we had a few days of 70 degree plus weather, but so glad (and I'm sure the ladies are too) that I left it in place for now. We're all getting a little bit of cabin fever and just trying to maintain sanity until the days return to the warmth that will allow all of us to stay outside all day long. Having to spend most of my time indoors, I kind of feel like I could go all Jack Torrence, Jack Nicholson's character in The Shining, when he breaks through the door and says "Heeeeere's Johnny!"

While I don't see myself welding an axe any time soon and busting through doors, I do have a confession to make that has peaked over the past few days. Yes, this Clucker Mother does have a dark side. It's been going on for years and I feel compelled to finally admit it and just accept it for what it is. Are you prepared to hear it? Okay, here it goes: I. Eat. Chicken.

You read that correctly, I eat chicken. Yes, I raise them, name them, hug them, feed them treats, shelter them; but those birds who are raised elsewhere and happen to make it into the broiler or fryer-- I eat them. Shhh, don't tell the Cluckers! This was never more apparent to me than this past week when my hometown welcomed the Grand Opening of a Chick-fil-A restaurant.


My hometown is small, only about 35,000 residents, and when a large chain like C-f-A opens-- customers come out in DROVES to wait in line no matter how long it takes. I wasn't going to be a follower, I wasn't, but gosh-- when I drove past the restaurant on the night of the day that they opened and saw that the line was less than 100 feet long, I caved. Now before some of you start judging me for supporting an establishment that hasn't exactly been popular with the less conservative crowd, all I can say is that their chicken is glorious! I don't know what they do to it, but it is real chicken and those waffle fries and the Chick-fil-A Sauce?! What the cluck?!?!

I admit it, I participated in the first evening of opening day for the restaurant and happily turned the inside of my purple FIT into dining area extraordinaire. I did it, I ate the chicken and enjoyed every minute of it. Finishing this first meal, I made sure to hide all evidence when I got home so that the Lady Cluckers had no idea that I had eaten some of their kin (though knowing what I know now about chickens, they would have eaten them as well). I swore I wouldn't go back to C-f-A for a while and tried to justify my need for breaded poultry as a momentary weakness. That was, until the next day came and I drove past again around the dinner hour.

I'm a Clucker Mother for goodness sake and I not only ate dinner at the restaurant again that evening, but also for lunch the next day as well!! Double what the cluck?!?! Three meals in a row at the same chicken restaurant!!! I have a true dark side I guess (though I prefer the white side better) and I admit it.

I don't see myself ever turning on my resident cluckers, but I can't say that I won't return to the house of glorious chicken any time soon and I still have frozen chicken tenders in my freezer and a few containers of shredded chicken in a can stored in my kitchen pantry. What can I say, I'm a hypocrite. I thought my raising chickens would cause me to become a tree hugging vegan, but all that's happened is that I still hug trees, but eat those chickens who don't have names and that I don't know personally. I feel like a barbarian, but don't ask me to stop enjoying the fried goodness any time soon. I know it won't be long before I enter the line again -- I admit it.

Just don't tell the Cluckers!

Fledgling Little Cluckers

Although I've yet to receive the two lavender orpington chicks that I will be raising and then keeping for my own, I've enjoyed getting to watch my foster cluckers grow and develop into little fledgling flockers. Last year, I missed out on about 4 weeks of development with my adult ladies but this go around I'm getting the full experience with these little ones. I'm wowed by the fact that I've had these little ones for three weeks already and we're halfway to the final move to Feather Father's home in the country.

This past week was a big week for the foster flock-- they experienced their first move. I noticed that the little flockers were wanting to move further from the red heat light in their crib and how tight living quarters were getting for them. It was definitely time for a change. The fledgling flockers would be moving from the clucker crib, which they had called home since they were just a few hours old, to a more appropriate teenage Clucker Crate.  The experience I had last year with my current adult lady cluckers helped make this smooth transition to a new and larger home for the ever growing, ever moving, ever feathering crew. 

Last year for my chicks I used a medium sized wire dog crate, that I was no longer using for my furred crew (I'm not all about the cluckers, mostly), and cut pegboard (left over from another household project) to fit around the bottom 6 inches of the enclosure. I remember thinking how clever I thought I was to put that barrier up to keep the bedding in place. I figured there would be no mess at all!

Now, I know those of you who have raised chicks indoors to adulthood or currently have chicks that have entered 3 weeks of age and older are laughing at what my thought used to be. It amazes me how much the cluckers enjoy scratching in the bedding and watching it fly! They start to learn what a "dust bath" is; sideling their little fluffy bodies into the bedding, flapping their little wings like crazy and making an absolute cloud of dust containing dander, pine shaving bedding and goodness knows what else! This is why I had/have air filters running constantly. What the cluck!

After being a good chick-raising Clucker Mama last year, and my ladies had moved outdoors to their Taj MaCoop, I had folded up the crate and put it in the basement; dismantling the pegboard barrier pieces gently-- somehow wisely knowing that I might just use it, though pretty sure that I was just collecting more junk in an already full cellar. Looks like my naïve former self really knew that I was a true Clucker Mother. 

I retrieved the Clucker Crate from my basement and reassembled the pegboard base barriers, using zip ties to hold them in place. Next was pine bedding poured onto the pan of the crate, then the red heat lamp turned on which was hanging inside so that it would start to warm up the bedding before the chicks were moved. These steps accomplished, my next step was to gently remove the little ones from the only home that they had known since they hatched just three weeks ago.

Boy! Did I really get called a Mother Clucker in chick language as I caught and picked up the cluckers a couple at a time and moved them from their cramped quarters to their new digs! They were definitely not happy about the change! They must take after their foster Mama Clucker, I'm uncomfortable with change too!

Once in their new Clucker Crate, the little flockers huddled in a back corner the same way they did when they arrived three weeks ago; cheeping loudly and making a complete mess of the water in their purple waterer as they stirred up pine shavings in their new home. I stood nearby and watched the commotion rise and then slowly dwindle as the little ones discovered that they had more space to stretch their wings and actually move about their new home. They began scratching at their food, dipping their little beaks in the waterer for a drink and then started exploring again. They seemed to be very happy to have more room to flap their wings, run around like crazy cluckers and even challenge each other in bouts of who had the biggest wing flap or cheep!

Not only did their new home have more room, it had an added benefit-- they were going to be able to see sunshine for the first time as well. The Clucker Crate was located in front of a window facing west and as I opened the mini blinds, on what was a sunny Saturday afternoon, the little flockers stopped cheeping for a moment and paused -- poking heads up into the bright light, trying to figure out what this wonderful stuff was and then wanting as much of it as they could get. Ah, this warmed the cockles of this foster Flock Mama's heart.

The cluckers move into their new digs had caused me to notice something else; before they had access to natural light via a window, the little birds seemed to somehow know when it was nighttime and time for sleep or daytime and time to move about. Now, with the natural light, they would learn to set their awake and sleep clocks by the sunlight that they'll enjoy throughout their little clucking lives. These little foster cluckers are growing up and I'm a proud foster Mother Clucker to get to introduce them to all of these new things in their little worlds.

Our next step is the big outside world once it warms up enough outside. I can't wait to see what happens then!