Grateful

My handsome boy, Pearl.

So, it turns out that my hunch about my Silver Grey Dorking chick was true. My sweet chick, Pearl, is indeed a rooster. (Well, technically, he's a cockerel.) Actually with that being said, I've been getting a lot of questions about chicken terms so I'm happy to clear them up here:

First, the term chicken. A Chicken refers to the domestic bird that farms keep for eggs or meat. "Chicken" is all of those birds, male and female. (Let's compare it like this: Human is the same type of label as Chicken.)

Second: Chick. A chick is a baby chicken. (Human equivalent is Baby, so the term chick is for both male and female baby chickens.)

Next up: Hen. A hen is an adult female chicken. (Human equivalent would be Woman.)

And then there's Rooster. A rooster is an adult male chicken. (Human equivalent is Man.)

Now just to complicate things, here are a few more....

A Pullet is a young female chicken, usually under the age of one. (Human equivalent is Girl.) I kind of consider a pullet to be a hen that has not started laying eggs yet. Once they start laying eggs (around 4 to 6 months old), I consider them hens, but the dictionary says a pullet is under the age of one, so I guess I'm not technically correct, but you get the idea.

And last but not least: a Cockerel is a young male chicken, under the age of one. (Human equivalent is Boy.) And again, where male chickens can start to fertilize eggs between 4 to 8 months old, I consider them a rooster at that point. I guess I'm not text-book-correct, but I figure if they can do the adult acts, they can be called adult names, right? I say yes, dictionaries say no.

With that lesson over, back to Pearl's story....

I knew in my heart that Pearl's feathering and behavior indicated that he was a boy, I was just sad to admit it. But the story, thankfully, has a happy ending.

My friend, Wendy Tulman, read my last blog post and was kind enough to send an email to her son's school, the Hillside School in Marlborough, MA (which has a farm program on campus) to see if they might be interested in adopting our cutie pie, Pearl. They were very kind, and explained that they already had 19 roosters on their farm, so they were going to pass on another one. I thanked the woman who ran the farm and asked her to keep my Silver Grey Dorking cockerel in mind if she knew of anyone else who might be interested in him- for something other than dinner! (Sadly, most roosters don't have very good odds of surviving in this world for too long. Where many towns don't allow roosters -because of their noisiness- and where most flocks of 10 hens only need one rooster, the odds of finding good homes for roosters are very slim.)

Well, Pearl really lucked out this time. As it turned out, when the farmer heard that it was a Silver Grey Dorking chick, she explained that she had actually been thinking about getting some of that breed, and thankfully, she offered to adopt Pearl. I was so relieved it brought tears to my eyes!

Early Sunday morning we headed out to find our way to the farm at the Hillside School. The car ride there was sad for us, knowing that we were saying good bye to our Pearl.

But then we pulled into their driveway and we immediately fell in love with this adorable farm! Everywhere we looked there were happy animals calling hello to us. Goats, ducks, cows, pigs, roosters, hens, llamas, alpacas, horses, geese...

As we got out of our truck, a giant tom turkey waddled over to personally welcome us. And behind the turkey bounced out the most adorable mocha colored lamb. It felt like we had walked onto the set of "Charlotte's Web" or "Babe".

I realized instantly that I was totally wrong to feel sad that Pearl had to leave our Glen Hill Farm. As it turns out, I think Pearl just might be our luckiest chicken, getting to become a part of Hillside Farm's family instead! And when I met Farmer Jen, I was positive that was true. Jen was the nicest, most welcoming person ever. You can just tell that she has found her calling... to be a farmer on a school campus where she can simultaneously do the things that make her happy: teach kids and care for animals. Her animals were so happy and healthy. And I loved how there were so many of them mingling with each other. My favorite thing is seeing the interspecies friendships.

She gave us a tour of her farm and even let Ben & Ryan bottle feed the two lambs. Seriously, my family was in heaven. Lucky for Jen, we only had a limited amount of time to stay that morning, because I'm pretty sure we would never have left if we didn't. I'm not even kidding. She had all these amazing animals, and so many sweet babies bouncing around: lambs, kids (the goat kind), calves, etc. And I kept saying "We have to go now... But look at those donkeys! But really, we need to leave.... Oh, I love Belted Galloways! Get in the car, boys.... Oh wait, you keep bees, too?!" With all those animals, I'm sure she had a list a mile long to get done that day, but she sweetly and patiently answered all our questions about everything. "So what is the difference between llamas and alpacas?", etc. And every time I walked past a free ranging rooster during our tour, it made me smile.

We left Pearl behind with happy hearts, knowing that he had found the most perfect new home. Feeling so grateful that Farmer Jen was willing to make room for rooster #20.

And so now that our little rooster (well, cockerel) has found a wonderful new home, I spend the rest of my time praying that my remaining 4 chicks grow up to be hens. Please, please, please. Amen.

The trip started out sad

We were going to miss our Pearl

Farmer Jen welcoming Pearl to her farm family

"Do you guys want to give the lambs their bottles?"
YES, PLEASE!

It was very hard not to leave with these lambs in our pockets

An alpaca hanging with a rooster

Jonathan petting a happy hen in the goat area

Love those Belted Galloways! (AKA Oreo cows)

A couple of older goats (Jonathan included)

My kid with a kid
(Yes it was hard to leave without one of these in our pocket, too. So sweet!)

The goats were so friendly!

Ryan and a very friendly rooster,
almost as big as him!

Couldn't believe this big guy would let us hold him

He was heavier than you'd think! Right, Ben?

A momma goose sitting on her eggs

The welcoming committee! Tom Turkey!

He was so cool. And so friendly.

Another happy free-ranging rooster

Pearl's new home.
His neighbor is a beautiful white pigeon.
(He's too little to move into the big coop just yet.)

Saying goodbye to Pearl.
Thank you so much to Farmer Jen!

So grateful to the Hillside school! If you're interested in learning more about the Hillside School in Marlborough, MA here is a link to their website: http://www.hillsideschool.net/

Dorking Worries and Spring Cleaning

Ruby & Pearl

Uh oh. My two Silver Grey Dorking chicks are now 4 weeks old and wow, have they started to look less and less alike.

Ruby has started to feather out nicely, and is developing a beautiful rust colored chest which is exactly what the Silver Grey Dorking hens should have. She's petite and sweet and even cuddly!

And then there's my cutie pie, Pearl. Pearl is a different story. Pearl doesn't have any rust colored feathers at all. Instead she's growing beautiful black chest feathers, and the feathers on her head are growing whiter and whiter. Also, Pearl's comb is much larger than Ruby's almost nonexistent comb. And my Pearl has also started jumping at, and onto, the other two chicks in her box. Hmmmm.

I'm so bummed out because day by day, I'm getting more and more concerned that my little hen, Pearl, is actually.... a rooster.

--As chicks--
Ruby on the left, Pearl on the right

--Today--
Ruby on the left, Pearl on the right
They don't look like the same type of hen anymore, do they?
Well, they are the same breed of chicken, but I'm pretty sure one is a hen and one is a rooster.

--In the future--
On the left is a grown Silver Grey Dorking hen
On the right, is a grown Silver Grey Dorking Rooster

If my hunch is correct and Pearl turns out to be a rooster, that's a big problem for us because we're not allowed to have roosters in my town.

I know that the hatcheries boast a 90% accuracy of sexing day old chicks (which means determining whether the chicks will be hens or roosters). And that sounds like really good odds of receiving the hens you are hoping for....until you someday fall into the unlucky 10% that get inadvertently stuck with a rooster.

So, now what? Since I'm not legally allowed to have a rooster (and I don't really want one, even if I could), what do we do with Pearl? Well, first off, we wait. I may be jumping to conclusions. Maybe Pearl could be a hen who just may not have the classic Silver Grey Dorking colorings. Or maybe they will appear with time, like a late bloomer. I hope so! But I'm not feeling optimistic.

While my chicken store won't take the chick back, they are willing to try to help me re-home him if necessary. He is a pretty adorable and sweet chicken so far. Silly, friendly personality. And he's a heritage breed. The Silver Grey Dorking chickens have been traced all the way back to Ancient Rome. So, I'm hoping that someone out there will be excited to add him (if he is indeed a him) to their flock. If any of you reading this knows of anyone who might like to add a healthy rooster to their flock please let me know. Until then, I will still be holding out hope that Pearl is a girl despite the indicators that tell me otherwise. Time will tell.

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Now that the snow has officially melted (yes, it took til the end of April to finally melt all the snow) it was time to give our chicken coop its big spring cleaning. That entailed removing all of the bedding, scrubbing down and disinfecting the entire coop with a vinegar mixture, washing the poop boards, cleaning out the nest boxes, etc. And once all the cleaning work was done, we sprinkled a healthy dose of food grade diatomaceous earth all over and added fresh new bedding inside the coop and nest boxes. Lots of work, but everyone helped out and the girls were so excited about the fresh bedding to scratch around in.

--The Cleaning Crew--
So Glamorous! 

Happy hens in their freshly cleaned coop

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Our little chicks also got a spring upgrade! Jonathan and I were planning to build a bigger brooding situation for Mayzie and her chicks this weekend, when we stopped by our local farm store for some supplies and saw a very cute little coop. We looked at it and realized that it was exactly what we needed. So we crossed off the Home Depot trip on our to-do list and bought the coop instead. Done! So now Mayzie and the Welsummer chicks have a cute little coop and the two Silver Grey Dorking chicks and the Easter Egger chick have moved into the big wire dog crate brooder. They both fit into the same horse stall together which is perfect because I wanted to have them get acclimated to each other (through fencing). I'm hoping to combine the two families sooner than later, before they all get moved into the big coop with the grown hens in about a month. Everybody seems to be happy in their new digs.

--More room for all the babies--
Mayzie and her 2 babies are in the "Red Barn" coop
The 2 Silver Grey Dorking chicks and the 1 Easter Egger chick are in the crate on the right

Still can't get enough of this cuteness!

Hanging out ON mom

Great fencing makes great neighbors.
I take turns letting each group out separately in the horse stall to run around.
This helps them all get used to each other without any danger of fighting or injuries.
I'm hoping by next week I can let them all out together and their two groups can merge (peacefully) into one.

My teen chicks getting some exercise in the horse stall.
Matilda, Ruby & Pearl

A few of our older hens enjoying the spring grass in a hawk-safe way!
(Dog-safe, too!)

Cuteness Overload

What a great week. It finally felt like spring! Weather up in the 60's and 70's, sunshine, snow is 99% gone, and lots of fun on the farm.

Cutest Trio Ever

Happy Family

It's been one week since our broody Barred Rock hen, Mayzie, adopted the two baby Welsummer chicks. And can I just say, they are the cutest trio ever. I wish life wasn't so busy because all I really want to do is sit and watch the three of them interact all day long. (These chicks still haven't been named. They look so identical, that I can't tell them apart yet.)

Mayzie has been a wonderful mom. She takes the chick feed out of the feeder for them, breaks it up into smaller pieces and drops them on the floor at the chicks' feet. It really is so sweet to watch. (Of course, where it is chick feed, the chicks don't really need this service, but I love that Mayzie is going that extra mile for them.) This morning I brought out a few grapes just for Mayzie as a treat. Knowing that the chicks shouldn't get treats til they are bit older, I was careful to feed the grape directly to Mayzie. Well, Mayzie disagreed. Mayzie bit off a tiny bit of grape and brought it over to share it with her babies. Just a tiny taste. I'm assuming Mayzie knows better than me in these matters!

Mayzie breaking up food for her babies

And my favorite part is to see those tiny chicks snuggle up under Mayzie. To watch them hide under her wing, or disappear under her belly, and then slowly their peeping quiets down and you know that they are falling asleep, warm and safe. I also love to spot their tiny feet sticking out from under Mayzie. Or they will pop just their heads out of her fluffy feathers. It really does melt my heart. 

Can you find the baby chick peeking out?

How about in this one?

And to my surprise, Mayzie lets her babies wander a bit farther than I would have expected. (They have the run of a horse stall during the day.) The babies stay out from under her longer than I would have thought. Where I'm raising three other chicks in a regular brooder, under a heat lamp 24 hours a day, I just expected that the chicks really needed constant warmth. But actually, according to Mayzie's chicks, they don't. (But obviously the heat lamp needs to stay on in the brooder all the time so it's there for when they do need it, since they don't have a momma to run under.)

Here is the set-up we have going on for this little family. It's actually got 4 layers to it... a bit overkill, I know!
--Their nest box is a plastic pet carrier.
--That is inside a large wire dog crate that has cardboard attached to keep the drafts out.
--That is inside a mesh/wood box that Jonathan built.
--And that is inside a horse stall in our barn.

LOL! Too much?

During the day, I open up the wire dog crate and the mesh/wood box so they can run around the horse stall. At night, once they've gone to bed inside the plastic pet carrier, I lock up the wire dog crate and close up the mesh/wood box. That's to make sure they don't become someone's dinner. I'm sure those peeping noises sound delicious to the predators nearby.

Mayzie and the chick's set-up

Twins! Hard to tell them apart so far.

Yes, this chick still tries to peck at her sister's eyes.

She pecks at Mayzie's eyes, too.
Little troublemaker!

One chick seems to be more adventurous than the other.

Mayzie is so tolerant!

Such a great mom!

I have some really cute videos to share, but it will have to wait because my computer is on its last leg and won't let me upload anything else. Next time!

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Our older chicks are doing great, as well! They are growing their feathers quickly. They are at the stage where they start to lose that chick cuteness and enter into their scraggly awkward phase. (I happen to love that awkward phase.) So adorably funny looking! These girls seem to be very friendly and curious. And they have names! Ruby, Pearl & Matilda.

Pearl is on the left, with the lighter colored head, Ruby is on the right, and Matilda is in the middle.
Ruby & Pearl are Silver Grey Dorking chicks and Matilda is an Easter Egger.

Matilda, standing on their feeder, thinking about flying the coop.
She's just a little bit naughty! 
(That's a "Matilda The Musical" reference there, for any Broadway fans. And it looks to be true, too!)

Awkward phase? Me?
(Pearl can't believe you think she's funny looking!)

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Our big girls have been taking field trips this week.... to our garden plot! We are letting these girls prep our soil for this year's garden. They are doing a great job digging through the soil, eating any bugs and weeds they can find. And they are breaking up the soil while they're at it. Thanks ladies!

Ryan is standing guard over the chickens
to make sure the hawks don't grab one of our girls.
We have lots of hawks to worry about here.

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My happy place.
Hanging out in the barn with my pups on a sunny day.

Cooper was loving the sunshine, too!

Always a good time with Farmer Jonathan and the tractor!
Yes, I warned the boys that the tractor bucket was once filled with horse poop.
Obviously, they didn't care.
Pass the Purell!

This is where my labradoodle likes to hang out.
I think she'd crawl in my pocket if she could. :)

So great to see the crocuses popping up along the driveway!