So You Want To Be A Chick Magnet...

             Arrival of the Cluckers             

Bringing home chicks is an incredible feeling. You see these cute, balls of floof. They have tiny little voices and you just want to cuddle them. However, they have different ideas.

Chickens are prey animals. They are not naturally cuddly or trusting. You have to build those relationships with your birds. When you get your chicks home from wherever you got them, give them some space. They will be tired and scared. 

I've found that working with prey animals is very different than working with predators. I've done a lot with horses and their mindset is so different than that of a dog or a cat. Dogs and cats are considered predators and while they aren't the apex predators, they have different views on how they would like to be approached. So onto chicks.

Snuggling Sweet Camilla

When you pick a chick up try to approach them from the front and at their level. Picking a chick up from above, makes them panic and it feels like a predator attack. It's scary to them. It's fast and unexpected. I've found with my girls that it was easier to slowly approach from the front where they could see me. I would cradle them with my hand and support their feet. Be very aware of their air sacs, those basically surround their chest area. You don't want to squeeze them, you can still have a firm, supportive hold without squeezing. Make sure if you have children, they know about this. Chicks are very fragile. The first few days, they were scared no matter how I approached them. I found it was better to sit down and let them approach me. Chicks are curious. Once they figured out I wasn't a threat they were more than happy to sit on my lap.

               Chick Pile!               
             

Now I am a crazy chicken lady. I have full blown conversations with my girls. I sing to them, they hear my voice all the time. This was important during their formative weeks. I made sure that they knew my laugh and that I wasn't "quiet" around them all the time. This helped them get to know me and they respond to different vocal calls that I do. I started all of this with talking to the girls. 

That was only the beginning. I would hold my hand out for them to approach. To make my hand seem more exciting, I used chick starter as my treat. As they became more comfortable, I try to approach petting them. When they would freak out, I would stop and go back to staying still and not approaching. The girls found quickly that I was warm and would snuggle. 

The look of Chicken Love!

As my girls got older, the pin feathers started to take over from the chick down. Poor things. Pin feathers are full of blood and are very sensitive. You have to be very gentle when handling chicks (and molting chickens) who have pin feathers. Always pet chickens in the direction of their feathers, you don't want to ruffle them, because it can be painful or unpleasant to the chook. The more they associate nice things with you, the more they will want to be around you.

Luna and Artemis approaching me,  
not the other way around.

I will say that there are so many benefits to handling your birds. The relationships you build will be like no other. My big worry was "OMG what if there is an issue and I can't catch my bird or me handling them will cause more stress or more injury". Handling an animal and building that trust is key when it comes to an emergency. I love hearing the gentle purrs of my girls and when they jump onto my lap it's magic. Each bird and each breed is very different. I've heard that
Golden Comets (hybrids) are down right cuddly, I've heard that they are aloof. My neighbor has Orpingtons and they have no interest in cuddling. Apparently, that's a breed that many find to be very cuddly. My Luna, who is Copper Marans x Cream Legbar, wants very little to do with me. She will tolerate a cuddle or a pet but I wouldn't go so far as to say she overly enjoys it. Artemis, my legbar, LOVES to be held and snuggled. Legbars are known to be less than friendly and skittish at times. Princess Leia hands out hugs and cuddles to anyone who will sit with her. So cuddly chickens are based on nurturing that and the temperament of the bird. 

The biggest take away from all of this is spend time with your birds. They will enjoy your company as much as you enjoy theirs. Handle your birds enough so they are comfortable with you handling them in an emergency. Enjoy this experience, it is unlike any other! It's addictive and wonderful. Take joy in the entire process.  

As always, if you have questions feel free to email us: covidcluckers@gmail.com

Fun Stuff for the Coop Omlet Edition

I don't know about you, but I take my responsibilities as a Claw and Crazy Chicken Lady VERY seriously. This means I am going out of my way to spoil my chickens. I have tons of chicken décor, I am decorating the coop for the seasons...and I am spending some serious time looking at toys (enrichment is the fancy term for this) and items that improve the girls way of life. I don't like wasting money or buying something that my girls will hate or not play with. 

Please don't feel that this is a sales pitch in any way. I hate when people only pitch products if they can get a kick back. Full disclosure I am an Omlet affiliate and I joined that program AFTER purchasing several items from this company (You can click my link here, but you don't have to). HOWEVER, I can only speak to the products I have personally purchased. If you want to click on the links it will support me as an affiliate, but if you don't want to here is the link to the website without my info attached Omlet

Things I like about Omlet. 

• The cost. Everything is very affordable. 
• The shipping is fast.
• The products are quality and created with the animals and owners in mind.
• The products are fun and enriching for your chickens and you!
• These products are available all over the world. 

The First Purchase: Auto Door

We went out one night and had to rush home to rock Artemis to sleep and to make sure that Rex made it into the coop. Chicken keeping does have its perks, but it also has its drawbacks as well.

One of those is waking up early to let the birds out and having to leave things at night to put them in the coop. Now in the age of Covid, this hasn't been too much of an issue. However, my family lives quite a distance from my home. We went to visit them and rushed home to put the girls to bed and make sure that the door was shut so no predators entered the coop. It was very stressful.

I told the Bearded Claw that I wanted an automatic door. He rolled his eyes and said yes it would be a good idea. He told me to research and see what I came up with. I showed him several, but they were very expensive and not what HE wanted in an automatic door. Enter the Omlet Auto Door. He wanted it because it looked cool (men...) and was universal.

The Auto Door features:

It's battery operated. You have the choice of a timer, using the light sensor, or manual mode to operate the door. You can delay the closing of the door too. I have girls that straggle and don't go in immediately at night because they need their Claw snuggles. The door also locks and is very secure. The predator proofing on it is amazing. It will also stop and not hurt any chickens if they stand in the doorway as it closes. 

Yes, it does look cool. We did take the front panel off to paint it to match our coop. As much as I love Omlet, the Lime Green was not going with the Forest Green that the Bearded Claw spent so much time accenting the coop with. 

It was super easy to install and the manual comes in many languages! I believe it only took about an hour tops to install and we had plenty of chicken help.

The Toys...I mean enrichment items

Make sure when purchasing chicken toys that you call them enrichment. One it makes it sound so much better and less crazy to purchase enrichment items for your animals, verses toys. Two if you say enrichment to your Bearded Claw, he's more likely to ignore that you purchased toys for your chickens.

Poppy Peck Toys

My girls love to peck. All chickens love to peck. I've found that giving the Cluckers enrichment activities has helped with some management issues. They have to be supervised when they leave their run. I can't let them just free range due to the nesting hawks nearby. 

The Peck toys are a nice size and are easy to fill. The holes in the plastic allow for pellets, worms, scratch, and grubs to pass through freely. I have the hanging peck toy and the ones that look like flowers. They're super cute. The girls prefer the flower ones, so I purchased several more. I like how it keeps the girls busy and not bullying each other. With several toys to choose from, there is an opportunity for all of them to use them. They are also very easy to clean.  I honestly thought at first my girls wouldn't be interested, but I was wrong. These are worth it. As you can see from the video below, they love their toys. Please consider Omlet when you are looking for great things for your chickens!

What your Chickens NEED for winter

Winter...over here in the Land of Pleasant Living, winter is a mixed bag of bipolar weather. It can be a beautiful 60-70F/15-21C  or it can be a Polar Vortex of weather in single digits with 6 feet of snow on the ground. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy aspects of winter, but mostly it's depressing and gray.

This will be my first winter with chickens. I have done a lot research on HOW to winterize my coop and prepare. I'll share what I know and what I will do. I will update as things seem easier or if I think I need to change to deal with an issue.

Coop

Oh the coop. In summer, we want all the ventilation. In winter we still need ventilation, but drafts are an issue. Ventilation allows for ammonia and moisture to escape. Usually this is located in the upper parts of your coop. Drafts are usually found lower on the floor and can move the belly feathers of our chickens. This can make them very sick and prone to respiratory infections. 

Here is a video that's helpful for looking for drafts. I'm lucky my coop doesn't have many and that I can use sand to block them up.

An acrylic sheet covers our windows

Our windows will be covered with plastic acrylic sheets ( but we have holes in it at the top for ventilation). This will allow for the moisture and ammonia from the poop to exit the coop without taking away too much heat. The acrylic is clear so it will allow light to come into the coop and give a gentle warming effect. If you see moisture on your windows, then you don't have enough ventilation in your coop. Moisture and drafts are the enemy. Moisture causes frostbite! (Check out this resource for more information about frostbite)You don't want your roosts too close to the windows. That temperature shift can hurt them while sleeping. 

Really quick while it's on your mind...roosts. Chickens like FLAT roosts, not round. A 2x4 that is flat with the 4" side up is a great roost for them. The flat roosts allow them to fully cover their feet while sleeping. It can help protect the feet from frostbite. 

Radiant Heater

Heater. It's very strange in my state. Some winters it's in the single digits or below. Some winters are very mild and pleasant. However, I think this year we might be in for snow, because 2020. Sometimes it's a dusting...sometimes it's Snowmagedon with 6-8 feet of snow. We never know what we're in for. The heater is for if the girls get wet. Wet birds are more likely to get sick and die. Remember moister is the enemy. A wet bird will bring that into your coop. You want that to evaporate as quickly as possible. The heater I bought was from Tractor Supply. It's a radiant heater/brooder combo. You don't want the coop to be too warm. Your birds will need to acclimate to the cooler weather. A heater and keeping the coop a cozy 60F/15C when it's in the 20F/-6C outside is not a good idea. You'll have birds staying in the coop and pooping in the coop. Not only do you have to worry about the ammonia fumes, but they aren't eating and calories are needed in winter. 

Nest Box

We are putting up nest box curtains. This will keep drafts out of the nest box while the girls are laying. It will allow to keep the heat a bit more regular as well. The nest box on our coop sticks out away from it and has about a foot of clearance from the ground. Pretty soon I will go in and fill in any cracks with some caulk. There are a few since I can see the light coming through. 

The Run

The run should be covered with a roof. This prevents snow and freezing rain to get onto the birds. Freezing rain can kill a chicken, so beware of this. The food should be in your run (NOT YOUR COOP unless you want rodents, because that's how you get rodents). The waterer should be in your run. You don't want moisture in your coop. Now...I don't know how many of you have hauled frozen buckets before. I used to break horses and caring for them in winter was a bear. Frozen water buckets weigh a ton and are just awful to deal with. Get a heated waterer. Some waterers are better than others. I know the little cups freeze. Nipple drinkers are great, but can freeze unless heated. We have a Premier 1 Poultry Nipple Drinker. It's heated. That was my first requirement for the girls. It's not cheap, but I HATE frozen buckets. It's nice in the summer too because the insulation helps keep the water cool.  We will be wrapping part of the run with a tarp if it gets cold and windy. Painters plastic works as well. Breaking the wind is a good idea because it will mess with how the chickens fluff themselves to trap warm air in their feathers. 

As winter approaches I will update what I do. We had a day that was 80F/26C. It was so hot and uncomfortable that we had to remove a lot of our winterization items. I will also update you as we find other things that work!

Welcome to the Covid Cluckers

 Welcome to our blog! We are the Covid Cluckers. We are chickens being raised in the times of Covid-19. 

Our owners purchased us before the mandatory stay at home orders occurred. They were worried about a viable food source since grocery stores were empty. The overreaction of so many people are the reason we came to be. What our owners didn't realize, was that we were more than a food source. We have helped them every day since our arrival. 

Our owners have worked very hard to research all things chicken. They will be sharing practical tips for raising chickens and just humorous stories of us in general. We want to help you sort through all the garbage advice out there. We know so many of these blogs give random and sometimes cruel advice that is harmful to your flock. We want to make sure that we are inclusive of other countries and their resources besides America. 

Many of you are here from Instagram. We refer to our owners as The Claw and The Bearded Claw.  When we were in the brooder, all we saw coming for us was a claw. That's it. No fancy story, just the Claw. 

Because we don't have thumbs or any way of actually typing (we have tried!) The Claw will be documenting our journey and any tips we find along the way.  Hopefully, you will find what we have to offer useful. 

Enjoy our blog!

The Covid Cluckers and Claws