Noelle K. Moser

Spring Fever!!!

Posted on March 6, 2016 by Noelle K. Moser

For anyone who lives on a farm spring means several things; planting season, gardening, and chicks. The latter being the most important! Like many of you, I too am over winter and cannot wait to get outside and get my hands dirty working the soil. I look forward to the spring season every year. So far I have planted a Gogi berry bush, Gooseberry bush, two concord grape plants, and a few blueberries. Planting fruit producing bushes in the dreariness of February reminds me that better days are coming and invests in my future harvest.

Enough of me though, the girls too are ready for spring. After a long winter with cold weather, and short days they are finally coming out of hibernation and cranking up the egg laying. I got my first farm fresh eggs of the year a few weeks ago. They are sorely missed when they are on break but I look forward to a farm fresh omelet made by my girls as the Vernal Equinox approaches.

You see, I don’t force my ladies to lay in the harshness of winter. I allow them to take the much needed break that their bodies need during the winter season. Some people put lights in the coop to encourage a bit more egg laying which is fine. I just choose to let nature do what it does when it comes to their bodies producing eggs. Yes, it means that although I have a dozen hens in my backyard I have to buy eggs at the store. It is the funniest oxymoron that I can think of, but it is true. Even those who raise chickens have to occasionally buy eggs at the store. But now that spring is coming they are leaving little gifts for me just about daily. There is nothing better than a farm fresh egg after a winter of store bought eggs. The taste and quality just cannot compare. I treasure their gifts and thank them everyday for their efforts.

My flower gardens are starting to come alive as well. Along with farm fresh eggs I look forward to my gardens perking up and sprouting. I have a humming bird garden out my back door which I planted a bunch of spring bulbs in a few years ago. Each spring it is an absolute delight to watch them come alive again after a long dormant season. Each year they become more and more numerous and more and more beautiful. I also have a bird sanctuary garden which is also showing signs of life. It is my ritual every morning to grab my coffee head out the door and check on the growth of my plants as they bask in the early spring Sun. After a long winter their presence just warms my heart and bring me such joy.

Next, as the ground starts to warm I look forward to tilling the veggie gardens. The girls are always willing and waiting to help me with this chore as I prepare for the planting and growing season. As hubby and I till the gardens the girls are close behind picking out the worms and other delectable grubs that we uncover in the soil. They know that when we start up the tiller their banquet awaits. They just about fall over each other and cannot wait to have at the freshly tilled ground. From then on they have a busy garden season ahead as they patrol the rows of plants looking for grubs to much on. Yes, I will loose a few tomatoes in the process but I see it all as their payment for their much needed help.

So, am I suffering from Spring Fever? You bet, as soon as the baby chicks arrive at my local Tractor Supply Company store I loose it, I just cannot contain my excitement for the upcoming season. Once the clocks move forward and the Vernal Equinox arrives I am in a full blown case of the Fever. But you know, after a long winter and a break from the gardening chores, it is good to bet back in the tractor seat again and get back at it.

I know we will have plenty of adventures to share this spring and summer as the girls and I garden together. We will make sure to share our stores of life here on the farm. Till then thanks for reading and keep on crowing!!

~ The Kuntry Klucker Crew~

A Boy and his Rooster.

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Noelle K. Moser

Some kids have dogs, cats, goldfish or guinea pigs as pets. My son however has a pet rooster. It did not start out this way but it has ended up this way. This is the story of a boy and his rooster.

You see Roy, our resident backyard rooster has had a few set backs with his health in the past few years. This often requires me to separate him from the girls in order to tend to his needs and treat him individually. He came to our farm the way the other girls did when I ordered our chicks and that arrived in the mail as a small peeping box.

He however was different, he has always been rather fearless and bull headed. He hates my husband due to the fact that it is often he who pushes the lawn mower, which he hates. For the longest time I was the only one who could go out the the backyard and pick him up with out being threatened with a confrontation. Now the roles have totally reversed.

This all started a few summers ago when Roy was attacked by a hawk. I never saw the hawk or the confrontation, I only saw the after effects. Roy apparently won the fight because he was alive when I found him although injured. The hawk attacked his head causing some pretty nasty wounds which I treated. He made a full physical recovery but not a neurological one. You see when the hawk attacked him it went after his head, his skull was not broken but I wonder if Roy hit his head or twisted his neck when the Hawk tried to lift him than dropped him (judging by his injuries and the crime scene).

Later that summer I went out to the backyard to check on the girls and found him passed out on the ground. After later assessment it was determined that he possibly had a stroke or some other health malfunction which caused him collapse. Ever since these two events he has had health issues and often has episodes where he cannot walk well and needs some special care.

I separate him from the girls because chickens have natural cannibalism habits which from an evolutionary perspective is beneficial in flock survival. You see a weak member exposes the whole flock to predators, so to counter the effect of this issue the flock will literally kill and eat the sick or injured member. This is all well and good except for one problem, the girls are domesticated and protected from most predators and are pets not food. Our rooster is no different. He is a our pet and a member of our backyard family, we just don’t eat family members no matter how sick.

So his life as a bachelor began. After some time of him living in a large dog kennel I finally purchased a small chicken coop for him to live in. It has been affectionally named “Roy’s Roost”. He has taken very well to his new digs and has improved quite a bit with all the loving care he has been receiving.

Now enter my son. Upon ordering this coop I had no intentions of selling out chicken care to my kids. However, once we got this coop put together my son took to it like a fly to sugar. He loved it!! It is small, easy to clean and maintain, and just his size. The resident rooster needing a bit of loving care has accepting my son as his nurse nightingale. The two have bonded and formed a close relationship. I take care of the Kuntry Klucker girls while my son takes care of Roy’s Roost.

Roy looks forward to his boy coming out and taking care of him every day. He is wide awake, looking out the coop windows eagerly waiting for him. He clucks and coos to him and my son lovingly talks back. I never thought that my son would form a strong bond with our flock rooster, but behold it has happened. It is the sweetest thing to see the two of them out in the yard together.

Roy is doing much better, he has his good days and his bad days. Some days his legs give him trouble and some days he is out in the backyard with my kids playing. I don’t know how much time he has left with us, but I do know that till the very end he will be loved, spoiled, and adored by the boy who Roy has adopted as his caretaker.

Some kids have dogs, cats, or goldfish as pets. My son has a rooster. This was the story of a boy and his rooster.

Thanks for reading, the girls and I will be back with more adventures and stores soon.

~The Kuntry Klucker Crew~

Gardening with the “Girls”!

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Noelle K. Moser

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!! I know that I did. The girls had a bit of a hard time with all the fireworks, but we made it through to 2016. Now that Christmas is over and I am beginning to get flower and gardening catalogs in the mail for the upcoming planting season. I thought I would take this time and dedicate a post to my little garden helpers, the girls. The girls get excited as I start getting the backyard ready for planting. Not only do they get to forage in the newly tilled soil for worms, but they know that it means lots of good things to snack on as they spend their day hunting and pecking.

Ok, so I guess many of you may be wondering how I turn my girls into little gardeners. As I stated in my first post, the reason that I got my girls is because I wanted to use their natural abilities to help me on my little hobby farm. Most people get chickens because they want a fresh supply of eggs from their backyard. I will have to say I also enjoy the fruits of their labor in that sense. But honestly, chickens can provide for you in more ways than just eggs. I will show you how I put my girls to work all the while keeping them happy and healthy.

First the coop, I have a penthouse coop, this means that it is raised off the ground by at least 2 feet. This discourages rodents from making a home under the coop. It also keep moisture from the heavy rains that soak the ground from seaping into the coop and growing mold and other nasty things. I have an attached covered pen where the girls stay when I am away from home or when the weather is extremely bad. On stormy days I keep them in their covered pen for protection. They will stay nice and dry under the roof of their pen. A few of my smaller girls are flight risks so I have to make sure they are secured in the pen on windy days.

Next to the coop and pen I have something that I call the chicken yard. This is an attached outdoor run (not covered) that resides under a large shade tree which aids in protection. I use this outdoor enclosure mostly in the summer time. This allows me to let the girls out of the coop but also keep them close to the coop where their water and food is. This also insures that they remain cool and comfortable under the large shade tree during the hottest part of the day. I also use this outdoor enclosure when I plant seeds in my gardens. I love their help in tilling the dirt but after I plant the seeds I have to keep them out of the gardens till the seedlings are mature enough to handle a flock of chickens scratching in the gardens.

After the seeds have sprouted and can handle the flock I release the girls and allow them to roam the backyard. When we designed our coop we designed a little “chicken door” in the big door that allows us to enter the pen. This way, we can let them out into the backyard without leaving the large human sized door open. This allows us to let the chickens out but keep the wild birds and other animals from getting in their pen.

They get very excited when I open their little chicken door. They know that fun and bugs await them.

Ok, so after I let the girls out, they get to work doing what chickens do best, hunting and pecking. They are great assets in my garden, they eat all the bugs that would otherwise damage my crops. They only things that they will not eat are squash bugs. I really wish they would eat them but I guess even they are discussing to them. They must not taste all that I good I suppose.

I have several gardens for them to work in. They make their rounds but have their favorite gardens to tend. Roy likes to hang out in the spice garden. I have a few berry bushes planted there that he likes to pick at. Some of the girls like the veggie garden, they gets lots of bugs off the plants and a few of the veggies too. But I think their favorite garden is the corn and pumpkin garden. They love corn! Occasionally I will pick an ear of and throw it on the ground for them to devour. If you have never seen chicken eat an ear of corn, I will tell you that it is a side splitter. They will peck the cob clean, literally nothing will be left. They take their corn eating very seriousally.

People ask me if I loose a lot of my crops to the chickens. The answer is yes and no. Yes they do get their share of the spoil, I will find a ripe tomato with a chicken peck out of it. I just pick it off the plant and throw it on the ground for the girls to finish off. No, because the bugs they keep off the plants are such help and worth them pecking at a tomato or two.

However, The hardest thing to keep them out of are my blueberry bushes. They will eat the berries green before I even get a change to pick a ripe one. One year, they ate all my green berries and I had little to no yield. So I have to make previsions to keep the gang out of my berry rows. After I get what I need off the bushes I let them have at the rest. My blackberries are a bit more chicken proof. They are much taller, the girls can only eat what is near the ground. We share the blackberries much better, I pick from the top of the bushes and they pick from the bottom. I will have to say there is noting funnier than a chicken going berry picking.

But all in all they are more help than not. With my chickens I can pretty much grow organic produce. They serve as pest exterminators on two legs. I do loose some of my yield to the girls but I consider it pay off for all their help and assistance. Additionally, they will eat weeds, weed seeds, and lots of other plants that I find annoying. In particular they will devour clover patches, they absolutely love clover. During the spring when the clover starts to emerges they are busy at work getting rid of it for me. They even weed my gardens for me. As they till in the dirt looking for bugs, worms, and whatever they deem delicious, they also do some weeding for me.

Here is Miss Betsy and Miss Sweet Pea hard at work. They are snacking in my wildflower garden.

I guess the best part of putting them to work in my gardens is that they fertilize as they go. In addition to the shavings from the coop that I use to fertilize my gardens, they leave fresh supplies as they tend. I have hardy plants that give me great yields in return.

Gardening with my girls is both rewarding and fun. I always have company in my backyard when I work. They are always eager to help me till, weed, and keep my plants pest free. Chickens give so much more than eggs. They are agriculture geniuses that allow me to grow organic, pest free, and chemical free food for my family.

For this reason my ladies will live out their lives here on my hobby farm after they no longer lay eggs. You see, just because they are not laying eggs does not make them worthless. They will enter a phase in their lives that I affectionally call “Hen-tirement”. Basically, instead of providing for me in terms of eggs they will assist me in other ways. Tilling, composting, providing fertilizer, and companionship. Chickens are truly a wonderful pet to have. If you take gardening seriously, adding a few chickens will only make the hobby more enjoyable and rewarding.

As the season wanes and fall begins to take my gardens over, they are still hard at work. After I harvest all that I can before frost, they spend the rest of the season and the winter tilling the soil and getting all the leftover that they can. By spring, my soil is well fertilized, tilled, and primed for the next seasons growth. They are always at work for me, doing what chickens do best, hunting and pecking with glee.

Thanks for visiting our farm. Till next time, keep on crowing. The girls and I will be back soon!!

The Kuntry Klucker Crew

The Crew and the Coop.

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Noelle K. Moser

I thought I would take this time and dedicate a post to the beginning of the Kuntry Klucker Crew. I will also combine this post with the construction of their coop. I have received many comments on Facebook and other social media sites inquiring about our blueprints or plans that we used build their digs. To tell you the truth, we had no plans or blue prints. We also did not use a kit, we simply researched on what they needed, got the supplies and built what we could.

But first the crew. I mentioned in another post that the girls arrived via the mail in a small box. I am not kidding, they really did arrive in a small box, it was the cutest things I ever saw. I have never ordered chicks before, so this was a new one for me. I have ordered live plants via the mail that were delivered to my door, but never chicks. Below is a pic of their transportation digs.

It was a cold morning when they arrived. I could not wait to get the contents of the peeping box unpacked and transfered into their warm brooder.

After bring them inside I took them out of the box one by one, showed them their food and water then set them down softly into their brooder. Immediatly they began to eat, drink, and warm themselves under the heat lamp. They scratched, peeped, and took in their surroundings, and thus our journey began.

My brooder was origionally a large , grey, rubber made tote, which did not last long. As they grew, so did their digs. Instead of getting a new brooder I just added to it as they needed.

So as one living space got too small, I would cut hole in the box and attach on another box. By the time it was all said and done they had a network of several boxes to navigate through. It was almost like a brooder palace by the time I attached the final box.

They pretty much had a house and floor plan complete with rooms. Lets see, there was the room (box) with the food and water (kitchen), the room (box) with the heat lamp (lets call that the living room), and a room (box) for gathering (we can call that the recreation room). The brooder was quite a network of boxes. They seemed to navigate it well and had lots of fun scratching in all the shavings and running throughout their digs. The brooder days were fun, but they could not stay in there forever. So, while they were growing and discovering, we were busy building their new home in the backyard.

Our coop and pen are pretty much a very simple design. We have a penthouse coop, or a coop that is raised off the ground by about 2 feet. This keeps ground water from seeping into the coop and rodents from chewing into the coop or making a nest under it. I like this design, especially during seasons when we seem to get a lot of rain. Their pen has flooded several times and each time I am so glad they were clean and dry in their coop.

Once the coop was built, we then attached the pen. The pen is just a simple rafter design which we attached to the coop. After we assembled all the wood forming the roof and frame, we then enclosed the whole structure with hardware cloth and galvanized metal fencing. This protects the girls from predators and also keeps them from escaping out of the pen. The roof of the pen also has metal fencing, this is to keep anything from flying or dropping into the pen. They girls are very secure in their pen. When I am not home they stay safe and dry in their pen. I will also confine them to their pen if there is an unusual amount of hawk or other arial bird of prey activity. We have had several occasions where I had to keep them in the pen to discourage a scouting hawk or two. The girls seem to take it in stride, they know they are safe in their house.

For the roof we just use a large tarp. This provides them shade and of course protection from the rain and other elements. Since the top of the pen has metal fencing, we did not need to add the extra expense of building an actually roof. The tarp does the job well. We replace it every other year or so to keep it in good condition. It does start to ware out after a few years. They are fairly cheap and very durable. This design meets both our budget and needs of the girls.

After we had the pen built and attached to the coop, it was time to paint and decorate. I chose to paint their coop and pen door a barn red. I then painted the trim white. I knew from the beginning when we decided to have chickens that I wanted an Americana theme for their home. It has been a work in progress and has morphed as the years have gone by. It took some time find the decorations and accents that I wanted for their home. After several years I finally had the complete project. I repaint the coop about ever other year. I do this to keep the wood in good condition and protected from the elements. We change out screws and wood in the pen as needed.

The design for their front door is our unique take on allowing them access to the backyard. At the bottom of the large door leading into the pen you see a small pet door. We call this the “chicken door”, this allows us to let them out of their pen without having to keep the large human size door open. I do this to discourage birds and other arial prey from flying into the pen. If there is a hawk scare the girls will run back to their pen and find safely there because the hawk cannot follow them in. Additionally, we cut out a heart window at their level to allow them to see out the door.

This was my husbands idea and by far my favorite design feature of their home. I think it is just the cutest thing to see them peering at me as I make my way to see them. When I unlock the latch to let them out, I usually get a willing head to assist me in working the lock. The door just lifts up and latches onto the large pen door to keep it open.

That is all I have for now. If you have any questions about our coop that you would like an answer to, please post in the comments. As always, thanks for following our adventures.

~The Kuntry Klucker Crew.~

Deck the Coop.

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Noelle K. Moser

The girls and I had a little fun today as we decorated their digs today for the holidays. They were introducted to holiday decorations for the first time.

The girls get excited whenever I come to the coop carrying something. They assume I am brining a yummy treat for them to devour. I entere the backyard with my hands full of decorations to deck out their coop with. The flock was a bit mystified with these new and strange treats. One by one they approached, pecked at the bows and finally decided that they did not taste as good as they looked. Anyhow, after a few nasty looks from the gang, they realized that I was up to something else fun. Thus, the onlookers began to assemble.

This is the first year that I decorated their coop with lights. I usually put a wreath on their door and a stocking for Santa to fill with treats. This year I dedide to pimp up the coop decorations with some exterior illumination. Who doen’t love a adorable chicken coop decorated with a bit of holiday flair.

The flock reaction to the light strand when it lit up was quite entertaining. I stretched the lights out on the ground, working to keep the light strand tangle free as I decked to coop. While I momentairly stepped away to plug in the lights, the flock issued a serious of inspections. When I plugged the strand in, they were startled by the sudden illumination. This is their first experience with Christmas lights so we will see how they take to them.

Roy as always is not impressed. Even a good spring coop cleaning is something that he actively protests with a serenade of crowing. He is not a fan of having his digs messed with. Consequently he is not a fan of decoration day. Afterwords, he inspected and decided that the lights were not a threat, thus acceptable. His expression in the pic is just precious, he is a character like none other. The girls however are cool with the festive decor like any women would be.

The coop is decked out and ready for Santa. Last year Santa brought them a bag of knock out scratch and a package of meal worms. We will see what Santa leave for them this year. Santa has a soft spot for chickens.

The Girls want to wish everyone a Merry Kluck-mas and an Egg-celent New Year!!

As always, thanks for reading. Till next time, keep on crowing.

***Roy (Buff Orpington Rooster) standing in front of the snowman guarding the coop.***

~ The Kuntry Klucker Crew ~

A Kuntry Klucker Christmas

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Noelle K. Moser

Hey there again, the girls and I have a winter’s tale to share.

Last year we had the most snow that I have ever seen here in these hills in about 10 or so years. We were battered with two ice storms then several snow storms all within a span of a few weeks. When it was all said and done, we had an accumulation of 12 inches of snow on the ground. Now most people know that farm animals are all weather, not much seems to bother them. Well for my pampered poultry, this was not the case. You see, I found out that my girls hate snow. They are scared to death of it. The white lava might as well be an enemy that needs immediate extermination. I make sure the they are protected from predators in both their coop and pen. But snow, I can do nothing about. So, after a few days of being cooped up (quite literally), I decided to try to get them out of their coop and pen for some fresh air. The result was as funny as can be.

First, after I plowed my way to the coop, I had to convince the girls that the snow was not going to kill them. Upon getting to the coop I found this, Miss Betsy trying to get as far away from the nemesis white stuff as possible. She would not even put her pampered pedies on the pen floor, which was dry except for the parts near the edges where the snow had drifted in.

Next, I had to lure them out with their favorite treat. Scratch! Chicken scratch is a treat from the gods, they love this stuff. They practically fall over each other when I come out the the coop with a cup full of their choice eats.

Miss Bossy was our brave taker, she cautiously approached her favorite treat laying in the dreaded white stuff. As the others watched carefully to make sure that it was not going to kill her. Eventually they too ever so cautiously started to approach.

After some time the rest of the gang got the idea that the white stuff was not a complete threat. The power of the scratch was just too strong. The girls started coming out one by one. They are still not too sure about the stuff, so for a while they pecked at it and scratched at it, finally deeming it safe to take the plunge.

The sole brave taker again was Miss Bossy who took the plunge, wading in snow that covered her legs. If you have ever seen a chicken attempt to walk in deep snow, it is quite a funny sight. So while the girls are taking the snow in stride, Roy on the other hand is thoroughly convinced that he needs to somehow exterminate the white stuff. Since he is terrified of the white stuff, he decided that a decent growing was in order.

For the first day, this was as brave as Roy got. He stood in the door way and restlessly crowed at the white stuff. After, he finally decided that his efforts were to no avail, finally accepting defeat. He stayed in the pen the rest of the day sulking. After all tomorrow is a new day, right? Well…

More snow fell the following night, the girls decided they had enough of the white stuff and refused to come out of the pen. So I decided to plow paths for them to walk on in the backyard. Apparently they do not like the feel of the snow on their feet. Come to think about it, I don’t think I would like it either. So with my snow shovel in hand, I cleared several paths for the girls to walk on. I had no idea at the time, this turned out to be the funniest thing ever.

You see, once I cleaned them a few paths, they would only go as far as the path would take them. In other words, when the path ends the chickens stopped. On the heels of that, I plowed them a maze in the backyard. It was the funniest thing ever, I still regret not getting a video of the girls working the backyard maze. However, I did snap a few pics that day, below are pics of the girls trying to figure out how to navigate the maze in the backyard.

I will have to say they failed miserably. They could not understand why they could not get back to the coop once they got far into the maze. They would take a path and get stuck because it lead nowhere. Since they refused to walk in the snow, the flock botted necked at a dead end. After a while to help them out, I put a trail of scratch on the paths that lead back to the coop. The flock readily accepted the offer. It event was an educational experiment in testing the my flockss ability to learn, remember, and problem solve.

We will see what the rest of the winter brings. If we get more snow I will be prepared again to plow them a maze to solve. When presented with fresh snow some people build snowmen, others conduct experiments on the mental capacities of a flock of backyard chickens. However, we could not resist the urge to build a snowman.

Thanks for reading. We wish everyone an Merry Kluckmas and an Egg-celent New Year.

Till next time, keep on crowing.

~ The Kuntry Klucker Crew ~

Welcome to the Coop.

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Noelle K. Moser

Hi, well I guess I should introduce myself and give you a bit of info on the purpose of this blog. My name is Noelle, I am a backyard chicken keeper. I started my journey about 5 years ago when I wanted some chickens to help me on my hobby farm. Most people when they think of chickens, think of eggs. Well, that is definitely a plus of having your own hens in your backyard. However, I was thinking of them more of composers and garden associates.

Chickens make the best compost (poop) in their coop all winter long, which I then spread on my gardens in early spring. The plants love their coop shavings and in return give me a nice yield. But, even better, chickens make great exterminators, they eat just about anything that flies, craws, or hops in the backyard. I don’t have to use all the dangerous pesticides that I normally would because I have my feathered exterminators to do that for me. Most of all, they are my best friends in the backyard. I cannot work in the garden with out one of my girls looking for any grubs that I might have uncovered. They are great friends to have when I work in the garden. Additionally, they are attractive yard ornaments as they go about their days work of eating bugs, tilling, and clucking with glee when they find something delicious.

In this blog, I plan to share with you the joy of keeping chickens. When I tell people that I have chickens as pets, I get lots of different responses. Some think I am crazy to keep chickens as pets. Chickens are mostly viewed as live stock, void of all compassion and emotion. I am here to say put that myth to bed. I sometimes get response of curiosity. When people think about chickens the image of poor sad looking things in cages come to mind. They do not think of chickens as being attractive or even fun. I too will dispel the myth that chickens cannot be fun loving pets. But before I go to far I should probably introduce the flock and explain the name behind my blog.

Our coop is called The Kuntry Klucker. I chose this spelling because I thought it was fun and different. I like to be original and this name just fit. We live in the country and of course there is lots of “klucking” going on. So nope, I did not misspell the name of my blog, the spelling was intentional.

The gang consists of 12 hens and 1 Rooster named Roy. Roy is a character, he loves figs, spaghetti, and corn. I am the only one who can pick him up. Everyone else he deems as an enemy that must be exterminated. This even includes my own family members. He has mellowed out some as the years have passed, but he has never attacked anyone. He perfer to crow at them and pretend that he is a fearsome bird.

He is really the sweetest rooster I have ever known. I am not sure what I would do without him. I love to wake up in the morning and listen to him greet the dawn. He runs like clock work, an alarm clock that never goes out of power or relies on batteries. I never knew the joy of roosters till I had him. He is the king of the backyard.

Now for the girls. I have a dozen hens which I affectionally call “my girls”. We have…

Miss Bossie (The alpha hen) I will get to more of her later

Miss Katie (The forever broody mama) more on her later too

Miss Sweet Pea (The prize personality hen) more on her later too

Miss Little bit

Miss Little Pea

Miss Lady

Miss Betsy

Miss Piggy (The hungriest Hen) she is always eating

Miss Liberty

Miss Lady Bug

Miss Tennessee

Miss Lucy Goosie

Now most people ask me how I tell them all apart. Well, I have a little secret. I dress my hens up, that is right, they all wear the latest in Hen Fashions. I do this because it protects their back from the rooster but has the added side effect of a name tag.

Yep, that is right my girls wear dresses!! They love their outfits and protest when I take them off for washing. They each have their own individual personalities, I try to match the outfit to it. For example, here is Miss Sweet Pea, she is the smallest of all the hens, and the sweetest. However, she is also a flight risk. You see, she is so light that if we get a big gust of wind it is not uncommon for her to ride the wind over my 6 foot wood privacy fence. I have to make sure she stays in the pen on really windy days or days when we have severe weather, because she will ride the wind. So her outfit always has butterflies because she is a free spirit.

Now Miss Katie, she is my perpetual momma hen. She loves sitting on egg and hatching babies. She has hatched two clutches for me. She is the best momma and has earned her name as the Momma Hen. She is blind in one eye, has been since hatch, but that does not stop her.

Then we have Miss Bossie, she is the alpha hen. This means she is at the top of the pecking order directly under Roy. I am sure you have head the term “pecking order”. Chickens are very social animals and have a rigid social structure. Every individual knows their place within the hierarchy. Members in a flock compete for their position and must hang on to it. Miss Bossie has made the climbe to the top of the hen ranks. She is also my bad girl, in a funny sense. She is my escape artist, my “hen-didi”. If there is a breach in the coop security, she will find it. But she is also my helper, I use her to make their coop safer by securing up escape routs. For that reason, she has skulls on her outfit. There is one outlaw in every barnyard, she is ours.

I have many more chicken adventures to share, I will stop here. It has occurred to me that it is snack time. I am running a bit late, Roy is letting me know with his constant calling (crowing) for treats. Speaking of treats, that is a subject of much entertainment, chickens love treats. I will post about that next time.

Till next time take care, and keep on crowing. The girls and I will be back soon!!

The Kuntry Klucker Crew