Countryside, publisher of Backyard Poultry magazine among others, launched a new network. I'm pleased that they included two of my articles and a positive mention of my book in their first post about chickens, Rule Your Roost.
There's a lot of useful information there, from legal aspects to coop design. For those who are working to get laws changed to make chicken-keeping legal, Jono Miller's Dozen Tips to Legalize Backyard Chickens in Your Community are especially helpful.
The show was terrific, more than 3,200 birds. It was also the APA National, so there was an APA banquet and meeting. New officers, led by president John Monaco. Retiring president Dave Anderson was praised for his work bringing the APA into financial stability. He was the right man at the right time, serving twice as president. Thanks, Dave.
John Monaco has years of experience and will move forward with APA's programs. I anticipate a great year for Standard breed poultry.
“Don't look at them directly,” Rie Henriksen whispers, “otherwise they get suspicious.” The neuroscientist is referring to a dozen or so chickens loitering just a few metres away in the car park of a scenic observation point for Opaekaa Falls on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.
The chickens have every reason to distrust Henriksen and her colleague, evolutionary geneticist Dominic Wright, who have travelled to the island from Linköping University in Sweden armed with traps, drones, thermal cameras and a mobile molecular-biology lab to study the birds.
LISTEN
Ewen Callaway investigates what happens when domestic chickens go wild
00:00
As the two try to act casual by their rented car, a jet-black hen with splashes of iridescent green feathers pecks its way along a trail of bird feed up to a device called a goal trap. Wright tugs at a string looped around his big toe and a spring-loaded net snaps over the bird. After a moment of stunned silence, the hen erupts into squawking fury.
Opaekaa Falls, like much of Kauai, is teeming with feral chickens — free-ranging fowl related both to the domestic breeds that lay eggs or produce meat for supermarket shelves and to a more ancestral lineage imported to Hawaii hundreds of years ago.
These modern hybrids inhabit almost every corner of the island, from rugged chasms to KFC car parks. They have clucked their way into local lore and culture and are both beloved and reviled by Kauai's human occupants. Biologists, however, see in the feral animals an improbable experiment in evolution: what happens when chickens go wild?
The girls came out of their run to help me with digging some leaf litter into the soil. They enjoy their work!
The bantam Sumatras found some greenery to work over.
Ms. Wyandotte had to get into a planter. She's very bossy.
Lady Fanny is a Speckled Sussex. She is a senior hen with excellent mothering abilities.
Pixie is my Peruvian basket hen. She's about the same size as the Sumatras, but her feathers have a purple sheen, while their glisten iridescent green.
This sweet Ancona is so lovely. Her comb reflects her condition. While she was going through her molt, it was small and shriveled. Now that she is recovering and getting ready to lay again, it is a nice red color and getting bigger. When her comb first started growing, my husband was certain she must be a rooster. he had never seen such a big comb on a hen.
Blondie, my rosecomb Dorking, the princess of our flock. My personal favorite, but don't tell the other girls.
A Cuckoo Marans. I look forward to her dark brown eggs again soon. Maybe next week.
ABA president Matt Lhamon remarked the other day that "The ABA Yearbook alone is worth the price of membership." He captured in a few words how encyclopedic and useful these volumes are.
Both the APA and the ABA publish Yearbooks every year. I'm happy that the APA includes two of my articles in the 2015 Yearbook.
These Yearbooks are exceptional, compact treasures of information. In an Information Age of the Internet, they are a reminder that some books can't be replaced. Rather than searching electronically for information, just open one of these books and flip through the pages.
The ABA Yearbook is filled with photos that can acquaint the beginner with breeds, ranging from the Silver Laced Wyandotte and Silkie on the cover to Old English of many colors, Sebrights and Mille Fleur bantams.Experienced breeders can find other contacts, breed clubs can find advocates for their breeds, poultry clubs can find lic4ensed judges. Master breeders are listed. If you want to connect with anything bantam, this is your resource. Well worth the $25 price of a membership, indeed!
Similarly for the APA Yearbook. Judges are listed, along with photos of many of them. Lots of color photos in the advertisements. The ads in these publications have valuable information not available many other places. And, of course, the articles. Jim Sallee judged the World Gamefowl Expo in the Philippines, and he and Bonnie went to the Hannover, Germany Poultry Show. They tells those stories in the Yearbook's pages.
Big names in the poultry world contribute to its pages: Frank Reese on What the 'Old Experts' Knew, Mark Fields on Interpreting the Dominique Standard in 2015, Lou Horton on his 20-Year Breeding Program for Buff Wyandotte Bantams, John C. Metzgar on Frizzled Fowls. A report on the 2014 Canadian National, from north of the border.
I was especially pleased to write about Watt Global Media's collection of original oil portraits, some of which hang in their corporate headquarters lobby.
These books contain answers to many of the questions you will have in the coming year. Have both at hand.
The NY Times posted this encouraging story about a farm raising chickens on pasture for eggs. There are a few more details I'd like to know: What kind of chickens are they raising, and where they get them from; how long do they keep the hens; what do they do with hens who are past laying.
Whatever the answers are to those questions, this farm and the news story about it represent a huge change for the better. Some day, all eggs people eat will come from hens who are living good lives.
CRESCENT
CITY, Calif. — A decade ago, a couple running a dairy business in
Northern California visited a Mennonite farm where the owner had used a
flock of laying hens to teach his children business principles and
instill values like responsibility and care for nature.
They
returned home and bought 150 hens for their boys, Christian and Joseph.
“My parents told us, you and Joseph are in charge of keeping these 150
birds alive,” recalled Christian Alexandre, who now heads the family’s
egg business.
What
started as a parental effort to instill solid values has become the
mainstay of Alexandre Family EcoDairy Farms. Within five years,
Christian and Joseph were tending 1,500 hens and had a deal in place to
supply eggs to Whole Foods stores in Northern California. Christian
remembers Walter Robb, co-chief
The
rusty red chickens foraging in the fields outnumber the cows 10 to 1 —
and the roughly five million eggs they will produce this year command
prices that make organic milk look cheap. “The egg business has kept the
dairy going for several years,” Blake Alexandre, Christian’s father,
said.
This delightful story was posted on Backyard Poultry in 2014. it's okay to have fun with your chickens.
Dress and photo by Holly Olejnik.
Olivia Dougherty, who lives in Delaware, Maryland, created her
chicken clothes for a contest, sponsored by Cooptastic, one of the
nation’s premier educational conferences dedicated to small and backyard
poultry flock. And each conference holds a chicken costume contest.
“It’s along the lines of the lamb- and sheep-dressing contests
frequently held at 4-H shows,” said Brigid McCrea, PhD, associate
professor at Delaware State University and extension poultry specialist
who organizes and helps judge the conference’s contest.
“Audience loves it to pieces,” McCrea continued. “Not only for the
creativity but also for the conversation. It provides an opportunity for
people to converse with one another and to talk to other poultry
people.” Leona Palumbo’s chicken, Kevin, helps out in the kitchen.
For her entry in the contest, Dougherty designed a “Superman” cape,
complete with an egg logo. “I made it for my favorite chicken who is our
biggest, white and black, ‘Supersize’ chicken.” Although her family no
longer has chickens, if she were to design future chicken clothes for
costumes, Dougherty thinks it would also have a superhero theme, along
the lines of a Chicken Spiderman.
Dougherty does have goats and a pig and she admits to dressing them
with collars, necklaces and little blankets. She has also dressed up her
dog up as a lady bug and has put tiny shirts on her cat.
“It’s fun,” she says of the experience.
Holidays
A holiday chicken. Photo by Dead End Acres.
For some, the urge to put their backyard
poultry in chicken clothes simply comes from a need. Kelly Nichols of
Bloomville, New York, wanted to do a Facebook Christmas card, and
decided what better subjects to use than a kid and her chicken? Nichols
also works with a few of her hens to participate in agility challenges
as well as hen therapy.
“It has been difficult,” said Nichols of the
designing aspect. “I’ve tried a few dog outfits, but they just don’t fit
right. I make our own chicken clothes. We’re pretty lucky; we have a
couple different hens that will be patient enough to let me pattern on
them.”
Kevin with Santa. Photo by Leona Palumbo.
Raise Awareness
Some people, like Jennifer Pike, of Florida,
became inspired to dress their flock in chicken clothes on a whim. “I
was shopping with my mom at a store and came across a cute teddy bear
outfit. We started joking about how people dress up dogs, and I said I
was going to get it to put on my house chicken for a cute picture … and
that started it all.”
Pike, who said she suffers from depression,
also sees posting her chickens in their chicken clothes on Facebook as a
way of bringing enjoyment to others, and has helped her connect with
others who also use chickens as a means of coping.
“I liked posting funny pics of my chickens,”
Pike said, “as raising chickens can be a heartbreaking hobby and many
people who I chat with on forums. … The cute pictures bring smiles to
people and also get non-chicken people interested in how chickens can be
neat pets.”
Throughout the years, Sophie’s chicken
clothes for her favorite pet Silkie chicken have included: a pirate
costume, a police officer, a cheerleader, a bride, a Santa suit and a
rain jacket. Pike has also had her chickens wear barrettes in topknots
in shapes of bows or flowers along with a chicken diaper when they went
to stores.
Everywhere Pike takes a dressed-up chicken, people can’t help but
stop and ask questions. “Kids seemed very interested as well as parents.
They never knew how diverse the looks of chickens could be or how
sweet. Sophie traveled with me in my truck everywhere. She often rode in
my lap, looking out the window glass or in a towel sitting in my seat
console.”
Once, Sophie said, a lady at a drive-through got so scared of the
chicken — “a little fluffy chicken with a hair barrett and a flowered
diaper” — that another lady had to hand her the food.
“Eventually she started asking questions and became less afraid,” Sophie said.
Bring Joy
Holly Olejnik from Huntington Mills, Pennsylvania, first started
dressing up her chicken, Cheep Cheep, four years ago for a Halloween
contest on Facebook. “Everyone loved her and went nuts on how well she
took to being photographed.”
That was only the beginning. Cheep Cheep’s chicken clothes are fairly small now with about 30 dresses. Dress and photo by Holly Olejnik.
“We donate all that she has worn to family and friends that have
little ones on the way,” Olejnik says of Cheep Cheep’s dresses. “All the
chicken clothes that she wears are bought from thrift stores or yard
sales. We shop in the children’s department or look for Halloween
costumes that look fun. My grandmother Carolyn Gensel loves to go
hunting for my next dress to post to Facebook. She carries a photo of me
and shows off her grand-chicken to anyone wondering who the pretty
dress is for.”
Cheep Cheep has quite the Facebook following from around the world.
In fact, Olejnik says, “A lot of her friends, if they are in the area on
vacation, ask if they can come meet her in person because she has
brought so much joy and smiles into their life.”
If you’re interested, Cheep Cheep’s Facebook
fan page is “Cheep Cheep Olejnik,” and her regular profile page is
“CeeCee Olejnik.”
Functional Attire
Sometimes, chickens need functional
accessories like aprons (for protection against a rooster’s nails) and
diapers (for, well, you know). Julie Baker, owner of Pampered Poultry
(pamperyourpoultry.com) decided that if a bird has to wear functional
chicken clothes, then it might as well look pretty. She has made
designer chicken clothes, including floral chicken diapers and has added
ruffles to chicken aprons to make them look more like attractive summer
dresses.
Designer chicken attire by Julie Baker. Photo by Julie Baker.
Plain Old-Fashioned Fun
And then there is Kevin, the chicken that just showed up in Leona Palumbo’s driveway one day.
“I never had chickens nor did I know much
about them,” Leona said. “My husband found her in a tree next to our
driveway and brought her in to me as a joke, and she fell instantly
asleep on my lap and it was love at first sight from there. We put
flyers up about her around the neighborhood, but never heard from
anyone. It quickly became apparent that potty issues needed to be dealt
with, so I did a quick search online on a lark for ‘chicken diapers,’
and lo and behold, several designs popped up. I picked out the one I
thought would work and ordered it. It works great and she fit in at home
inside with all of our other pets just fine.”
Then one day, she bought Kevin a Christmas sweater.
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t know why the
heck I bought it and put it on her … I really don’t. I just did and it
she was so calm and easy going about it that it just became a thing we
did and took pictures of. … We try to do holidays and family events and
just fun things. I keep her page completely free of hot-button topics
and I am amused and pleased at the incredibly varied following she has
acquired in a very short time.”
Most people think it is fun, says Palumbo,
but she has gotten some negative comments from animal activist types who
think it is mean.
“But they just don’t know how loved and
spoiled Kevin is. We never do anything that makes her uncomfortable and I
swear, she even knows what’s going on as she sits so calmly, and once
the picture is taken, she goes off again on her little way. Some other
people have remarked that they can’t believe I let a chicken on my
counters and furniture. Well, ‘That’s why there is soap and water in the
world,’ I usually remark. Kevin is my pet, no different than my cats,
dogs or other animals, and she is just as loved and welcome anywhere in
my home.”
Kevin’s photos can be found on her Facebook page at “Kevin-The-Chicken.”
Wendy lives in New Hampshire. Reach her at
wendy@simplethrift.com, follow her on Twitter @WendyEN Thomas, and find
her Facebook page at Wendy.Thomas.
Kevin, on her motorcycle. Photo by Leona Palumbo.
Safety Tips
Whether it be for a competition, holiday, or
just for pleasure, many people enjoy putting clothing and accessories on
their chickens in order to dress them up. If you are going to costume
your chickens, advises Brigid McCrea, PhD, associate professor at
Delaware State University and extension poultry specialist, for the
health and safety of your birds keep the following clothing guidelines
in mind:
• Watch the weight of the costume, as chickens will get flustered if an outfit weighs them down.
• Along with fabric weight, be careful to not
use fabrics that will overheat the bird. Polar fleece is a lightweight
material but if worn for a long period, it may make your chicken too
warm.
• An interesting fact about chickens is
that they are naturally attracted to the color red and will peck at it;
be careful of where red is used in the bird’s costume.
• Make sure that the chicken can move her wings and that the outfits do not in any way restrict her wing movement.
• If you are putting something around the
chicken’s neck (necklace, bandana), make sure that it is lightweight and
does not hang down so low that the chicken could potentially trip over
it.
• Try not to use hats or head coverings.
Chickens are prey animals, meaning they are constantly on the lookout
for predators who may be after them. A hat restricts vision and won’t be
tolerated very long by any chicken. Consider this the first step toward
learning how to protect chickens from hawks and other predators.
• Be careful of beads and hanging decorations
that the chicken may be tempted to try to eat them. Likewise, inspect
the construction of the outfit to make sure that it does not have loose,
dangly threads or that it might fall apart while the chicken is wearing
it.
• Allow for waste to happen (because you know
that with chickens it eventually will); either leave the back area open
in a costume or prepare the chicken to wear a diaper. Composting chicken manure is an excellent way to add nutrients to your garden.
• Lastly, make sure that the costumes are
made from washable fabrics, and for bio-security reasons, wash them
after each wearing in order to avoid possible contamination among
chickens.
As a professional journalist, I began writing about heritaqe poultry after my daughter and I acquired our first chickens in the 1980s. Voyageur Press invited me to write How to Raise Chickens in 2007, followed by How to Raise Poultry in 2009. New editions of both were published in 2013 and 2014. The poultry book covers ducks, geese, swans, turkeys, guineafowl, game birds and ratites as well as chickens.
My next book, The Backyard Field Guide to Chickens, will be available in May 2016.
Traditional breeds are the best choice for small flocks. I continue as a regular contributor to Backyard Poultry magazine.
