Meeting Fellow Flockers

It's been a busy few weeks since my last entry. My Foster Flockers went to their new home in the country and are, as I understand, settling in quite well with the exception being that one of the little flockers has turned out to have more cockadiddle in his do than the others (I'll talk about that a little later) and I found out that there are others in my chicken loving world than I thought! People who seem to be just like me! I also have discovered that I have a hen that thinks she's experienced the immaculate conception and refuses to leave her nest and I've also discovered that there are people in the town that I live and love in that would rather me go somewhere else. Whew! That's a lot for this Mother Clucker!

I'm usually a very careful Mother Clucker. I make sure that the coop door is locked securely each night, keep the other residents in the household indoors at night and during hot days, lock my doors, use seatbelts, wear a helmet each time I go out and ride the bike... I'm usually very careful. This carefulness proved to be useless a couple of years ago when I was hit by a car while crossing a crosswalk while riding my bike. Since that day, I've enjoyed riding, but the fear of that accident just a few years ago still tends to haunt me when I go out. That is, until I discovered a bicycling group in town that rides in large numbers, occasionally visits one of the local breweries around town and has people that don't think that urban chickens are weird at all! Cool- right?

This new-to-me bike group met up a few weeks ago to paint a masterpiece at a local art locale in town called Tri State Artisans. You can find out more about them here: http://www.events.tsartisans.com/index.html. We painted a picture that featured a bicycle since it was during the month of May which is National Bike Month. Well, you know this Mother Clucker, I had to hen it up a bit and I painted chicken feet on my piece and added the words "Riding with my Chicks." Not one person at my table that evening made fun of my musings-- in fact, it opened the dialogue up to us talking about others, including several of the bike group, that owned chickens of their own. What a wonderful evening that was! We drank craft beers together, talked chickens, created art-- things couldn't get any more utopia!

My Finished "Masterpiece"

 The bicycling group meets every Tuesday evening and I haven't been able to join them again as often as I would like because of other commitments or weather, but I'm so glad to know that when I'm ready again-- they'll be there to welcome me and my love of all things fowl with open arms/wings.

"Turkey" at 12 Weeks Old

 



 

The saga with the chicken that looks like a Turkey and has the name "Turkey" continues. His new Feather Father mentioned to me a few weeks back that he was pretty sure that "Turkey" was a rooster since he had heard crowing in the early morning hours and was pretty sure that it was coming from the ever unusual young Flocker. The announcement also came with the promise that if he wasn't rehomed by the end of June-- he would be entering that big coop in the sky as he was unwanted in a group of hens. I went to work locating a new home for the fellow and then announced to his current owner that I would be moving the bird to this new locale. Well, things don't always go smoothly and now Feather Father isn't for sure that it is Turkey that's announcing the morning with such enthusiasm. No matter though-- I think I'll be rehoming the little Flocker anyway just so there's no chance he'll end up meeting the chopping block. Turkey will be moving to an even bigger and better Taj MaCoop that has fanatical owners that coddle and love their little flock of fowl. I think this Mother Clucker did quite well in making sure that he was well looked after. 

Poor "Turkey" won't be a normal bird ever, but I'm so grateful to know that his crooked foot, his crazy flippy feathers and his bizarre behavior is going to be looked at as something unique and wonderful in his new home. I still sometimes wish I would have kept him, but knowing what I know now that he's a he-- I'm glad I saved him and myself the headache of trying to keep a happy crower quiet in the early morning hours in town.

Acceptance is something that I've relished so much since owning the chickens almost a year and a half ago. This need for acceptance was never more evident than the City Council meeting I attended earlier this week. The town that I live in boasts being a very progressive, art-based town that attracts young professionals from areas around the United States and even around the world. People who come here come from towns like Chicago, IL, Austin, TX, and even Indianapolis. These towns all have ordinances that embrace and welcome urban chickens. My town is, unfortunately, often ran by old thinking and the fear of change. I watched, during the Council meeting, a group of people who didn't listen to what the public voice was saying and decided to vote with their own opinions-- deciding to ban all urban chickens in town. There are so many of us in this town that are heartbroken and disappointed in our town that we live in and love. The one bright spot is that the new ban has to face and be approved with a second reading and I'm hopeful that I will still be able to blog about my feathered flockers; Gertrude, Henrietta, Eleanor and Mildred and not have to end the story with "...and they went to a new home." It is cause for frustration and I'm hopeful that those that have enjoyed the girls' eggs, or their company, or just enjoyed them overall, will come in support to the next Council meeting to help them stay in their home. This Mother Clucker would be mighty clucking thankful.

 

Gertrude saying "Back Off!"

Speaking of frustration and on another note, I've experienced a phenomena that I only had read about. I have a hen that really thinks that she's sitting on a nest of eggs that will hatch into little flockers. There's just two problems; one, she doesn't have any eggs under her and two, even if she did, there is no rooster to make the new baby chicks. Of course, it's my favorite hen that's acting like she's lost her flocking mind and I've tried everything to get her to leave her little cozy spot in the henhouse to realize that she's missing out on all of the good bugs and grubs that have recently surfaced with the rain and heat. She's growled at me, glared at me, and even (I really can't believe this because she really is the sweetest and friendliest Clucker I have) PECKED at me when I went to clean the henhouse this past weekend. Yikes! I, of course, panicked at first that she wasn't eating or drinking since she was spending so much time on her nest but I've been told by others that I just need to wait it out and that she'll eventually move on from motherhood. I just need some peaceful things to start happening again so I gain that feeling of peacefulness that comes with having an urban homestead. 

My other hens have obviously already figured out the secret to joyful living because they like to dig little pits in my yard to stay cool and dust bathe. Maybe I should dig a little pit and roll around in it-- it seems to work for them!