Chickens

Adieu Le Coq

I wandered out to the chicken coop for the afternoon feeding/egg collection ritual yesterday and was brusquely confronted by the sight of a bird lying in the dirt with closed eyes. Ol' Red had kicked the bucket, shuffled off this mortal coil and joined the bleeding choir invisible. This was an ex-rooster.

I purchased him as a wee chick from the Española Farm & Feed several years ago, and Ol' Red has been a reliable alarm clock throughout those years. He was cool with people, but hell on the back sides of the hens. The girls always looked a little rough by the time winter rolled around, but when the weather got really cold, a new set of feathers would show up just in time and he'd take it easy on them until the weather warmed up and the cycle would begin again. 

This winter has been pretty mild, but the past few had taken their toll on Ol' Red's toes, and he lost the last dangling tarsal last year. Every once in awhile I'd find an old claw when cleaning out the coop.

Animals deal with hardship differently than humans. If I'd lost all my toes to frostbite, I believe I'd spend at least a few days lying in bed whining and bemoaning my ruined dance career. But Ol' Red remained stoic and never slowed down. He hopped around as if determined to win a 3 legged race.

You've seen him on this site before in a cameo in a Mule Britches video, but we'll not see him again.

Say goodbye, the rooster is dead; Say goodbye my trusty Rhode Island Red

Ol' Red in happier times. Look at those spurs!

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Chilly Con Carnage (or Bye-Bye Betty)

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"cuz there's nothin' strange about an axe with blood stains in the barn
there's always some killin' you got to do around the farm"

 –Murder In The Red Barn, Tom Waits

 

I awoke last night to the sound of something tearing and the bang of something on a metal roof. I sat up in bed trying to identify the location and cause of the sound. Then I heard the chickens. Chickens are silent in the dark, unless they are nervous or panicked. This sounded like panic.

I got dressed as quickly as I could, and scrounged around for a flashlight, but in the minute it took me to get out to the coop, something had run off with at least one bird, and left feathers and body parts strewn about as if in a tornado zone. I wasn't sure if the killer was still in the coop or not, and I had no idea what I might be faced with if I went inside, so I circled around and tried to get as good a look at the inside of the coop before I went in.

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Chicks in Dixon

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Baby chicks fresh from the post office

Are your egg yolks pale and sickly looking? Do you wonder about the nutritional deficiencies of pallid eggs? Well, look no further, neighbors!  Your egg needs can now be fulfilled! Yes, I've got eggs with yolks that will blow your socks off!

 

The chicks featured in these photos were delivered to Dixon in August, fed a strict organic diet and are now beginning to lay gorgeous and hearty eggs with rich yolks the color of pumpkins.

 These eggs are colorful both inside and out!

I'm offering these eggs to a few discerning neighbors via a subscription plan. $25 gets you a punch card good for 6 dozen eggs. Fill up 2 punch cards your card and you'll get a dozen free. I'll be packaging the eggs by weight, so they'll be available in Small, Medium and Large batches. I'll try to fill subscriptions with the largest size available, but production can be random, so you may occasionally get some smalls.

 A plump hen ponders whatever a chicken might ponder

If you want to get on the list, just click here to send me an email!

 

-awk!