Our Pet Chickens

2009-02-26T19:28:00.005-05:00

"Our Decorative Bird"

In Memory of "Frizzle" . March 2008-Feb 2009

2009-02-05T08:29:00.005-05:00

I am sad to report that Frizzle the Rooster has left us. He just wasn't strong enough to make it through the winter. We will miss him!

Birds on a Snowy Day

2008-12-07T17:33:00.002-05:00

Dixie Chick

2008-10-16T21:30:00.002-04:00

Click Clack Cluck

2008-10-14T21:26:00.007-04:00

In the Children's book Click Clack Moo, a barn full of Cows get a hold of a typerwriter and send demanding letters to the farmer, requesting electric blankets for the cold winter nights.

Here at Frizzle Farm that won't be necessary as Chicken Farmer Mark has dug a trench to run electricity to the Chicken Coop so the chickens will have heat and light, all winter long.

Expansion of the Chicken Farm

2008-10-10T20:55:00.003-04:00

After the hawk attack, the chickens needed someone to watch over them. Hence we have added a dog to the farm. The children are beyond excited and mom may have lost her mind. Regardless, the dog is extremely cute and seems to fit into the family well. She may not look like much of a hawk predator now, but give her a few months! She will be running the farm and protecting the chickens and the children.

Hawk Attack!

2008-10-02T20:07:00.004-04:00

A few days ago dad was out side staining the deck and all the chickens were making loud noises but nothing was there. Minutes later all the chickens started running and a chicken is screaming. Dad and I look over and there are feathers flying everywhere. Dad runs over as fast as he can and screams at the hawk. I tell my brother Kevin to get our BB guns and come outside fast. When he comes out I take my BB gun and get all the chickens in the coop. My dad says that Polie, the chicken that got attacked, is okay. After all the chickens are back in the coop I count and only find 8. I tell Kevin that there are only 8. I go back to the coop to figure out which 2 chickens are missing. After a few minutes I figure out that it is Bleu and Zebra. I tell Kevin that it is Bleu and Zebra. Moments after looking everywhere Dad finds them under a pricker bush far away.

Frizzle and Chizzle; A Story of Unrequieted Love

2008-09-18T14:18:00.009-04:00

This is Chizzle, in the hen house. She is destined to live here for life and can only leave on very rare and wonderful occasions. Why you ask?

By now you are familiar with Frizzle, the rooster. In addition to bothering the neighbors and being an overall nuisance, Frizzle is experiencing what we like to call his rooster adolescence. So you can imagine what is always on his mind. Frizzle, being a bantam, is also vertically challenged. Sadly, due to his size, he is largely unsuccessful in his efforts with the full sized birds.

As Chizzle is the only match in size for Frizzle, he is relentless in his pursuits. Chizzle has taken on the personality of an abused chicken. She never leaves the house and when she does, she is always looking over her shoulder. The only thing that saves Chizzle is that she is a great flier and she can easily reach the high perch to escape never ending torment.

The Big Kahuna!

2008-09-18T14:18:00.003-04:00

Mark was told that if yet let the chickens free range, there eggs will become bigger. This is because they are expert at finding worms and I guess this gives them more protein. That being said, they were running around for about 2 hours one day and they next morning, Cordon Bleu laid the Big Kahuna. Julia measured and this egg was 6 inches around at the widest point and 3 inches from top to bottom. Additionally, this egg weighs about 3 ounces, our average eggs are weighing in at about 1.5 ounces. Needless to say, Bleu didn't lay another egg for 2-3 days after producing this noteworthy breakfast sandwich. BTW, we have yet to crack it open yet. The kids are convinced it will be a multiple yoke extravaganza.

Chickens On The Move!

2008-08-19T10:19:00.006-04:00

In a effort to keep the neighbors happy (Frizzle is not making any friends) we had to move the chickens to the other side of the yard. It was quite a test of brute strength. It required about two weekends of work for Mark to get everything back in order and keep the chickens safe. Uncle Scott and the crew were able to muscle the coop to the other side of the yard. The chickens seem happy in their new location.

Our first 6 pack!

2008-08-18T07:31:00.004-04:00

Our first six pack of eggs, aren't they beautiful? Easter eggs all year round. We have ordered egg cartons so we can distribute the eggs to friends and family. Anyone who wants some eggs, feel free to stop by. Soon we will be getting many more eggs than we can eat! We are going to get a stamp so we can stamp the eggs cartons with our name. The kids like the name Frizzle Farms, after the rooster.

Its been a long time!

2008-08-18T07:21:00.004-04:00

Ok, so we took some heat this weekend for being behind on updating the blog! Summer gets in the way. Anyhow, lots has gone on since the last time we updated.

Most importantly............EGGS! Brown eggs, teal eggs, speckled eggs, cracked eggs. We are up to about 4 eggs a day. Definitely a brown one from the Red Cross every day at about 10AM. Then the Americauna, Cheeks, has been laying a teal green egg every one to two days. It seems that Zebraham Lincoln, the Barred Rock is getting in on the action. We think her eggs are a light pink to beige, but no one has seen her lay so this in unconfirmed. And, over the weekend we started getting smaller brown eggs with white specks. We think they are from Dixie, the Rhode Island Red.

Not all eggs are perfect, as you can see. Some are pecked by the other chickens if we don't get them out in time and the one on the left has some sort of weird appendage that looked like the end of a balloon. It was pretty strange so we didn't eat that one.

The hawk !!!!!

2008-07-29T16:34:00.005-04:00

There has been a hawk flying around our house for weeks. But then one day we saw it sitting on the top of our chicken pen and flying really low around the house. One day Mark was watering our watermelon and our pumpkin which is right next to our chickens. The hawk came down with his wings out and his claws out and tried to get one of our chickens but luckily they were in the pen. Then when it notices that there is wire it starts to come to my dad who then spays him with the hose and it flew away.

Frizzle.

2008-07-29T16:24:00.004-04:00

Frizzle is really starting to upset our neighbors by his crowing at 5:30 in the morning. We know that one of our neighbors does not care but the rest of them do. There has been a thought that we could make Frizzle a sound proof coop and not let him out till 7:00am or 8:00am.

2008-07-22T07:53:00.003-04:00

So far the neighbors don't seem to be bothered by the unexpected rooster. I am not so sure about the other chickens. He definitely bothers them. He chases them and pulls out their feathers as he tries to accomplish his mission. Do to his small size, I am not sure he ever succeeds. He is a bantam so he is about 1/2 the size of the regular chickens The kids love him and don't mind the cock-a-doodle-do. He does this every morning until about 10 am. Starts somewhere in the 5 o'clock hour.

The Rooster!!!!!!!

2008-06-26T08:27:00.012-04:00

The story of Frizzle the Rooster.
By Patrick L.

This is our rooster Frizzle. For days and days we always thought Chizzle was a rooster. When we had the child gate next to the coop door in the front we let the chickens free range for the first time and Chizzle was the first one in the coop calling them all in.

But then days later Chizzle stopped calling the chickens in and Frizzle's comb on her head got bigger and she started to grow the big red cheeks.

A few days after Frizzle stared to grow a big comb and cheeks I went on Google images to look up full grown hens and saw that they had comb and cheeks that were like what Frizzle has. Frizzle still had smaller ones back then so I thought Frizzle was growing faster then the other chickens.

Days later Frizzle started to jump on the other chickens backs. The next day I got up and was eating breakfast and I heard this really loud chicken noise. I took my cereal out on the deck and heard the noise again and figured out that it was Frizzle making his rooster noises.

That is the story of Frizzle the Rooster.

Bird of the day...... The Ameraucanas

2008-05-21T22:09:00.009-04:00

We have two Ameraucanas. They are two of our friendliest birds. They are also know as "easter Eggers" because the Eggs that they lay come out a teal/light blue-green color. I can't wait to have real green eggs and ham!

Here a Chick, there a chick every where a chick-chick

2008-05-21T22:00:00.002-04:00

Chickens just love to be off the ground. We have added perches in the coop and in the pen as well. The Chickens just love them.

The Heirs to the Chicken Farm

2008-05-07T13:36:00.007-04:00

In Response to Duke the Dogs request, pictures of the younger chicken farmers have been added! It is truly a family affair.

Today's Bird, Dixie, Our Rhode Island Red

2008-04-28T18:14:00.003-04:00

Curious and on the move. Dixie is one of our 7 egg layers. An interesting fact about Rhode Island Reds: they can produce up to 250 to 300 large, light brown eggs per year. When free ranged, (like Dixie) their first year eggs can be too large to fit comfortably in a standard egg carton. Rhode Island Reds are also the Rhode Island State Bird

Chickens Take Flight

2008-04-28T18:09:00.002-04:00

Permanent Residence

2008-04-24T08:57:00.006-04:00

Finally, the permanent chicken residence! The coop will open into the pen so that the chicks will have "Free Range" but still be protected from hawks and other predators that want to have Cordon Bleu for dinner.

They Just Keep Growing

2008-04-20T08:02:00.004-04:00

I returned from 6 days away and the chickens are twice the size. The joke is that they are "single serving" birds now. They love being in their coop in the day but they still go back to the brooder at night. Soon they will live outside full time.

Chick's first time ouside

2008-04-12T20:45:00.005-04:00

Today was the chicks first time outside. They loved it. We did not have to do anything, before we knew it the chicks were eating gnat's and fly's out of the air and pecking the worms out of the ground. We also figured out that they can really fly. The bantam with the black feathers on her feet flew up and was perching on the top of the cage we kept them in.

Dad's Favorite

2008-04-11T17:33:00.002-04:00

This bird is one of our bantams. Bantams grow to 1/4 of a full chicken's size. When we picked this bird out, it looked just like the rest of the chicks. Each day we noticed the feathers growing in were curled. We found out it's official type is a Bantam White Frizzle Cochin.

The Coupe de Ville of Chicken Coops

2008-04-07T08:36:00.004-04:00

Building the chicken coop was a family affair. The chickens will be living is style when they get hardy enough to reside outside. There will be a pen surrounding the coop to protect them from other animals when the time comes.

One of the Bantams tries to break free!

2008-04-03T14:23:00.001-04:00

2008-04-03T14:15:00.008-04:00

This girl is the newest addition, the Top Hat. Check out her funky hair do. Kevin is jealous of the mowhawk!

All the chicks got some "alone time" today when I was cleaning the brooder. They are all switching from fur to feathers. This girl is the Red Cross.

Rhode Island Red

2008-04-03T13:59:00.002-04:00

Dinner Time

2008-03-30T21:01:00.002-04:00

These birds are growing FAST!

2008-03-30T20:13:00.004-04:00

Thirteen days old and we need to start thinking about some permanent housing.....Uncle Eecle (Scotty) to the rescue.

2008-03-26T08:55:00.000-04:00

2008-03-26T08:52:00.001-04:00

We made it through the first weekend!

2008-03-26T08:40:00.000-04:00

The chicks have now been with us for 5 days and they are really part of the family. Julia has been renamed "The chicken whisperer", she seems to have a special connection with the birds. The only permanent names are "Peeps" and possibly "Tuxedo". Tuxedo because Julia thinks that one of the chicks believes he is a penguin. I plan on calling my chicks Cordon Bleu and Dixie, Patrick is waiting to name his and Kevin is still thinking.

As far as the care of the chicks, not to bad yet. Lots of cleaning the brooder and 2AM checks to make sure their temperature is alright. Just like babies!

2008-03-20T21:22:00.000-04:00

The Car Ride Home

2008-03-20T21:00:00.000-04:00

Today is the Day!

2008-03-19T22:25:00.001-04:00

We will be picking up our 2-day old baby chicks today, March 20.

Baby Chick Brooder ready--Check
Chick Medicated food ready--Check
Heat Lamp tested to 95 Degrees--Check
Feeder and Water in place--Check

Please visit back on Friday to see the girls for the first time!