Snowy Days

Lucky Cluckers...snow was upon us on Wednesday and I snapped a few shots of the hens. For our new girls, born this past April, it was the first time their eyes had ever seen such a thing. They all stepped gingerly across the fluffy lawn and a few brave souls ate a bit of snow. Dawn

New coop scoop release

The fall 2006 Coop Scoop is now available. The initial reviews are in: Dawn, Thanks for another outstanding Coop Scoop. Certainly it is one of the best issues of all time. "Meet the Hens" was a executed brilliantly, with great personality selections, perfect photos, delightful commentary and wonderful insights into our chickens' personalities. "Chickens in the News" is a welcome addition, and what a whopper of a story to start that column. yours/RP

Super Sitter

We have a new chicken fancier in the Greater Newport/Toledo metro area. Angelina, house sitter for Lucky Cluck Farms, has quickly taken a fancy for our fair fowl. Never having spent time with chickens she didn’t realize how beautiful and fascinating they are. A quick study, she already knows the names of the chickens better than most co-op members. I gave Angelina the poultry quiz from the last Coop Scoop and she quickly aced it. The only hick-up was the Cookie vs. Buff I.D and, really, that's hardly fair with potential variations in photographic details such as exposure, lighting and color space. What is he talking about? Who cares. She aced the quiz and is doing a great job with the chickens. She is even giving poor Penny some extra meal worms on the side. Thanks to Angelina, our super sitter.

Chicken in the House

Penny spent several days on my kitchen table. Wait, that didn’t come out right. Penny, the delicate flower of a chicken, has had some house time recently. As she recovered from her recent injuries, Penny lived in a crate in my kitchen. There is plenty of light for her, you see. And food, too. I fed her as much as possible. Alas, I enjoy her being here more than she did. Penny was not happy away from Lucky Cluck. As soon as her wounds healed and pin feathers covered her vulnerable area I took her back to the Farm. She had to scrap a lot to get back in the pecking order, but seems to be adjusting well. I think we can all breath a sigh of relief. She’ll be OK.

Perils of being Penny

Poor Penny. This sweestest of hens at Lucky Cluck with an owner who celebrates her gentle nature, doe-eyed countenance and affinity for cheese bore the brunt of a predator attack in early October. Never mind how it happened, the result is Penny spending the past week in a dog kennel healing from four deep wounds. It's a miracle she survived the attack and I am thankful every day that she did. Her appetite and spunky personality have not skipped a beat and she has been treated to fine dining on fresh corn, watermelon, cheese, rice, wheat bread, and scrambled egg (yes, chickens love egg). In fact it may be true to say that I am suffering more from her wounds than she is thus far. Penicillin and Neosporin have worked there wonders and her wounds are scarring over nicely. As for the cat that attacked this gentlest of fowl, well let's hope it doesn't show its deadly paws around Lucky Cluck again.

"A Guide to our Favorite Fowl" now available

Dear Lucky Cluckers: Lucky Cluck Farms has a new publication! I have the pleasure of announcing that “A Guide to our Favorite Fowl” is now available to fellow chicken fanciers. The publication will be used by farm hands, rancheros, co-op members, house sitters and Doug to make sure all of the preferred chickens at Lucky Cluck get cooped up at night. The guide also make for handsome wall décor. Best Chickens, RP

Alexis meets "Blue"

Co-op Member Alexis Will recently had the pleasure of meeting her chicken, "Blue," for the first time. We can only image the emotion of such a meeting. It could be liken to the members of an arranged marriage meeting for the first time: First the timid glance. Next the awkward approach. Then comes, a long moment standing, shifting her weight, until she ventures another peak. The young woman, emboldened, looks up straight into the face of her betrothed (or chicken, as the case may be). She sees only beauty, grace and the fulfillment of her wildest dreams. Finally, there comes the trembling rush for toward that first tender embrace. This scene is pictured below.

Wet Feathers

The smallest chicken in our flock, Talla, has been plagued with mites around her vent for months now. The nasty little buggers create small sores that never heal and they proceed to feed off of it. Disgusting! It aggravates the heck out of Talla who can hardly take 10 steps without stopping to pick at her vent. I have tired of dousing her with natural pesticides, even if they are safe they apparently aren't effective. So this morning I decided to try a different approach, a chicken bath. While Talla wasn't all that happy she was very cooperative more or less resigning herself to the misery. The mites floated all around her in the water as I scrubbed her entire body, excepting her little head, with coconut shampoo made especially for animals. After the suds she got dipped in a vinegar solution to remove all soapy residue and finally into a warm water rinse. It's been an hour and she is suffering from the worst part of the bath, the drying. She is hunkered in the bathroom in a towel shivering and generally voicing her unhappiness about the situation. Although I did give her some nibbles of Extra Sharp Tillamook cheddar and fresh corn on the cob (which she appreciated by gobbling down) to help ease her embarrassment. Her natural oils that keep feathers from getting wet in the first place have been stripped so the drying process isn't fast. Sunshine would help, but this is Oregon. I've been thinking of blow drying her but I think it would freak her out. I'm happy to report that upon close inspection I see nary a nasty mite. A little cortisone cream on the vent should help her to stop picking the little sores. Tomorrow she should be the most beautiful, she's already the most charming, chicken in the flock.

Superfood of the Aztecs

Or was it the Incas? Anyway, I am writing to let you all know about Chia. Yes, Ch..ch..ch..CHIA. It is the same seed that is used to grow hair on ceramic figurines. It is also happens to be a Superfood. I think we should include it in “Dawn’s Mircle Mix for Chicken Omnipotence.” Chia has many benefits (although it does not actually cause hair grow in balding men). One of the most obvious is its incredible omega-3 fatty acid content. Chia is higher than hemp seed in Omega-3 and does not contain toxins. Hemp seeds are apparently full of toxins. This high fat content provides a great energy source. The Aztec (or was it Inca) messengers could run all day on a handful of Chia. The 11&12/05 Saturday Evening Post ran an article on Chia saying it "could be considered the world's most nutritious food crop."It emphasizes that Chia reduces the inflammations in the body that are linked to coronary artery disease (heart disease), diabetes, cancer, & Alzheimer's disease. " It even cures hang nails and sea sickness. While some of these afflictions may not effect chickens we can agree that this is some pretty healthy chow. I have a connection in the secretive South American Chia trade. I can get the goods shipped directly from Bolivia by the 55lbs sack. Apparently the seeds stay good for a very long time and one sack would go a long way. The cost is around $120 per sack. I don’t know how this compares to the cost of other feed ingredients, but it is probably more expensive. Maybe some co-op members would like to pool together to buy a sac for our fantastic chickens? Let me know what you think. Maybe first I should see if I can get the chickens to eat this stuff.

Interspecies Love?

Dear Co-op Members and casual chicken fanciers, We have 24 chickens right now and I have owned chickens for five years now, but never have I seen a chicken so smitten with a dog. Aspen is our 10 year old yellow lab. He thinks that chickens are nothing more than blades of grass - easy to ignore and uninteresting. The chickens feel pretty much the same way about him. But then came Blue. It's so strange, but she really likes Aspen. Each morning when I let them out of the coop they all go running around pecking for food and such. Aspen always walks around the fenced chicken yard smelling for coons or cats. Every morning, without fail since two months ago, Blue follows his every footstep completely around the yard ignoring all of the other chickens and disregarding early food gathering. In the evening when they are all out of the fenced yard and can mingle, Blue is found with Aspen. She studies him, follows him and otherwise enjoys his company. Dawn Grafe Co-op Founder