Why Chickens
We really wanted to keep chickens for the fresh eggs; we kept chickens when I was growing up, and had been reintroduced (for me) / introduced (for Steve) to the joy of truly fresh eggs by a work friend (thanks Iain).
I started the research with the book "Barnyard in your Backyard", which states that the first thing is to choose your breed and that this depends on why you want your chickens. Some breeds are great layers, while others a good meat birds, then you have the dual purpose breeds. Once we started considering it we decide that a dual purpose would be the best idea. I object to the conditions that most chickens, that end up on grocery store shelves, live in. It is now reasonably easy to find free range eggs, but it is very difficult for us to find reasonably priced chicken that I will consider buying.
So we will cull our flock for the freezer. It has been asked of me, frequently, will I really be able to do it? Well no, I wont be able to do the job myself, I struggle with reading the chapter! Steve is currently considering whether he will be able to. Otherwise we will bring in help. But I am much happier knowing that for all they will have short lives, their lives will likely be longer than those poor captive 'supermarket' chickens. They will have lived good lives, free range, with chicken company, but not overcrowding. Right now they are running around in a field with a great big barn for shelter, eating plants and bugs and playing 'chicken' games.
An additional reason why culling for the freezer is necessary is the balance of the flock. Chickens have a pecking order and this needs a balance of about 1 rooster for every 8-10 hens. If you have too many boys they will fight to rule the roost, and this can seriously affect the quality of life for all.
Why Chantecler Chickens
We had decided that where possible and practical for our farm we wanted to stick with heritage breeds. Heritage breeds tend to be hardier and better adapted to local environmental conditions; but also because it is important to us to be able to keep animals in a natural way, requiring a minimum amount of interference from us. And especially because we are beginners!
Then I came across Chantecler's. From the French ‘chanter,’ “to sing,” and ‘clair,’ “bright,” the Chantecler is the first Canadian breed of chicken. It is a heritage breed that was bred in the early 1900’s by a monk, Brother Wilfred Chatelain, in Quebec. He wanted to create a dual purpose breed that could withstand Canada’s harsh climate. He originally bred them as a white bird, but then chose to create a color pattern more suited to a range of conditions, and that could blend with its background, and the result was the Partridge Chantecler. There is also a Buff variety that has been around since the 1950’s, but is has never been admitted to show standards.
Chantecler’s are an excellent choice for a dual purpose bird that will excel in a wintry climate, and they are noted for being hardy, calm, gentle and excellent layers. They are listed as Endangered by Rare Breeds Canada and Critical by The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
Why the Bovan Nera's & Bantams
The Bovan Nera's happened by chance. I saw an add one day in November 2008 on UsedOttawa for 3 laying hens. The Chantecler's were not laying very much or very reliably at the time so we thought that having 3 established layers would be a good for the pantry and may even encourage the Chantecler's.
The Bantams followed in December 2008, again I saw an add on UsedOttawa. The hen had hidden her nest and hatched 11 chicks in mid December! The person selling them had nowhere to keep chicks in the winter. So we bought them and raised them in a dog crate in the house.
We hope to be able to use the bantams as broody chickens so as to not lose out on the egg production that we would if we let a Chantecler go broody.
We collected 25 Buff Chantecler chicks on Sunday 11th April from
Performance Poultry. They were born on the 29th April.
The chicks are 61 months old.
Sadly we have lost four to different causes (one in a sheep stampede), and culled eight (roosters). We currently have 13 Buff Chantecler chickens.
Sometimes the Chantecler's warrant mention in the blog - Chantecler Chicken related posts.
Chantecler chicks at 12 days old
11th May 2008
Chantecler chicks at 16 days old
15th May 2008
Chantecler chicks at 30 days old
29th May 2008
Chantecler chicks at 5 weeks old
6th June 2008
Chantecler chicks at 7 weeks old
13th & 15th June 2008
Chantecler chicks at 10 & 11 weeks old
8th & 17th July 2008
Chantecler chicks at 16 weeks old
21st August 2008
Chantecler chicks at 17 weeks old
28th August 2008
Chantecler chicks at 18 weeks old
31st August 2008
Chantecler chicks at 20 weeks old
18th September 2008
Chantecler chicks at 23 weeks old
4th October 2008
Chantecler chicks at 27 weeks old
29th October & 3rd November 2008
Our first egg!
13th November 2008
Bovan Nera chickens - The Beverley Sisters
We collected 3 seven month-old Bovan Nera hens on November 18th 2008. We call them the Beverley Sisters or The Bev's for short!
Sometimes the Bev's warrant mention in the blog - Bovan Nera Chicken related posts.
Bantam chickens
On the 16th December we collected a little bantam hen and her 11 chicks. The chicks were between 4 and 7 days old.
The flock they came from includes Silkies, Araucana and frizzlings (frizzling is when the feathers turn backwards) and other very pretty bantam birds, so it will be very interesting to see what we get!
Sometimes the Bantam's warrant mention in the blog - Bantam Chicken related posts.
Bantam hen & chicks at 1 week old
16th December 2008
Chicken Facts
Collective: brood, flock or peep of chickens; chattering or clutch of chicks
Poetry
The Little Black Hen by AA Milne
Berryman and Baxter,
Prettiboy and Penn
And old Farmer Middleton
Are five big men . . .
And all of them were after
The Little Black Hen.
She ran quickly,
They ran fast;
Baxter was first, and
Berryman was last.
I sat and watched
By the old plum-tree ...
She squawked through the hedge
And she came to me.
The Little Black hen
Said, "Oh, it's you!"
I said, "Thank you,
How do you do?
And please will you tell me,
Little Black Hen,
What did they want,
Those five big men?"
The Little Black Hen
She said to me:
"They want me to lay them
An egg for tea.
If they were Emperors,
If they were Kings.
I'm much to busy
To lay them things."
"I'm not a King
And I haven't a crown;
I climb up trees,
And I tumble down.
I can shut one eye,
I can count to ten,
So lay me an egg, please,
Little Black Hen."
The Little Black Hen said,
"What will you pay,
If I lay you an egg
For Easter Day?"
"I'll give you a Please
And a How-do-you-do,
I'll show you the Bear
Who lives in the Zoo,
I'll show you the nettle-place
On my leg,
If you'll lay me a great big
Eastery egg."
The Little Black Hen
Said "I don't care
For a How-do-you-do
Or a Big-brown-bear,
But I'll lay you a beautiful
Eastery egg,
If you'll show me the nettle-place
On your leg."
I showed her the place
Where I had my sting.
She touched it gently
With one black wing.
"Nettles don't hurt
If you count to ten.
And now for the egg,"
Said the Little Black Hen.
When I wake up
On Easter Day,
I shall see my egg
She's promised to lay.
If I were Emperors,
If I were Kings,
It couldn't be fuller
Of wonderful things.
Berryman and Baxter,
Prettiboy and Penn,
And Old Farmer Middleton
Are five big men.
All of them are wanting
An egg for their tea,
But the Little Black Hen is much too busy,
The Little Black Hen is much too busy,
The Little Black Hen is MUCH too busy ...
She's laying my egg for me!
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Chicken Related Sayings
- Like a chicken with its head cut off
- In a frenzied manner.
- No spring chicken
- A spring chicken is a young fowl ready for eating, so 'Spring chicken'
indicates a young person. Middle-aged and elderly women used to say
"I'm no spring chicken," meaning they were past young adulthood, when talking
about their health and energy level.
- Wave a dead chicken over it
- Means to make a token effort which one knows will ultimately be completely
useless but must be done nonetheless so others are satisfied that enough effort
has been used to try and fix the problem.
- The chickens have come home to roost
- This saying is comparing a person's evil or foolish deeds to chickens. If a
person does wrong, the "payback" might not be immediate. But at some point, at the
end of the day, those "chickens" will come home to roost.
- Some days chicken, some days feathers
- Sometimes you succeed, and sometimes you fail. Foxes and other wild animals often
eat chickens, but when the chicken escapes the fox only gets feathers, which he
can't eat.
- Walk on eggshells
- Egg shells are fragile; to walk upon them takes great care unless one is going to
smash them. To 'walk on eggshells' means to exercise great delicacy in some situation
demanding it.
- Don't put the fox to guard the chicken house; Don't set a wolf to watch the sheep
- Don't assign a job to someone who will then be in a position to exploit it for his own ends.
- Winner winner chicken dinner
- From when you could purchase a chicken dinner for a few dollars. If you were gambling
in a casino and you won a couple of bucks then your winnings would give you enough to
buy a chicken dinner and the dealer would state the phrase as he paid you off.
For more on sayings about chickens and their origins why not check out the Phrase Finder.
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