Getting the Chickens Under Control | Chickens in the Road

Mar
19

Girls?

First of all, you need to get tidy. You’re not pigs. You’re chickens.

Stop throwing the straw out of your nest, and start polishing your eggs a little bit. Let’s keep it clean. And would you start sitting on that nest already? I want babies.

Also, whoever is laying on the floor?

Cut it out.

And you. Mean rooster!

Stop looking at me and huffing at me and nipping at my legs.

And the rest of you hens? Those of you who AREN’T LAYING???? Let’s practice some visualization techniques.

Imagine you are in a beautiful garden filled with fruit and vegetables and cracked corn spilling from overturned buckets.

Now imagine you feel naked…..

…..and hot.

You feel very, very hot.

You feel burning, scalding, boiling hot.

Because that garden? It’s chicken heaven, where you’re gonna be when YOU ARE FRYING IN A SKILLET. NOW START LAYING EGGS ALREADY!!!

And that goes for you, too, Mean Rooster. I mean, not the laying eggs part. I’m not calling you a hen!!!

I’m just gonna leave now…..

While I’ve got stuff under control and everything…..

More posts you might enjoy:

44 Responses
RSS feed for comments on this post | TrackBack this post

3-19
1:52
am

HAHA you are so talented with your animal stories!

Nancy Straka

Flag this comment
3-19
4:08
am

No matter how much straw I put in the nesting boxes, they take it our an lay on the bare wood. The straw on the floor is pushed to one corner. I guess they have their own chicken feng shui! And why did I make so many nesting boxes when they all lay in one?

Kathie

Flag this comment
3-19
4:25
am

I have been following your blog for quite a while now, and posts like this one crack me up. We bought a house in the country last November, and while we only have three acres (surrounded by many, many acres), we are working on acquiring some livestock. A friend is giving us a dozen laying hens (who are already seasoned layers) and a rooster, and we have ducklings and poults brooding in our foyer. Hubby is busy working on a coop for all of the poultry. Then will come rabbits, and he wants a goat or two…

Kelli

Flag this comment
3-19
4:40
am

I see union organizers arriving on the scene.
I see chickens on strike….be careful. You may have a chicken revolt LOL

Patty Norton

Flag this comment
3-19
5:05
am

That’s right, girl, you tell ‘em who’s boss. Don’t let them chickens push you around. tee hee
Love those close-ups!

Fencepost

Flag this comment
3-19
5:06
am

I absolutely love the chickens! I have decided that next spring I’m going for the raising of chickens. I want eggs. No rooster though. I’m still to close to suburbia for that and well, I just don’t want to deal with a meanie.

Cyndi Lewis

Flag this comment
3-19
5:07
am

I see some of those extra roosters becoming chicken dinners too. You can always make chicken soup.

Jodie

Flag this comment
3-19
6:00
am

I love your chickens, I am excited to see what my little chickies grow into!! What kind of Roo is that? He may be mean but he is handsome.

lisa

Flag this comment
3-19
6:00
am

That’s the spirit! A little tough love can work wonders, and your speech will wake those chickens up! If you have the time, would you mind coming over here and having a chat with a woodpecker that is determined to eat up our house? TIA!

Kathryn

Flag this comment
3-19
6:06
am

He may be mostly a barred rock? I’m not sure, but none of my chickens are purebreds. They are mutts.

Suzanne McMinn

Flag this comment
3-19
6:20
am

I have some freeloaders, too! I have so many that I have no idea which ones are freeloading. As for you rooster, kick him across the barnyard when he comes after you. You won’t hurt him and he will think twice about bothering you. I have a monthly fight with one of mine and I always win.

Ang.

Flag this comment
3-19
6:21
am

I love my chickens! They are so much fun to watch. I’ll often just sit in the coop and watch them interacting. (I’ll have to move that past time outside as it starts getting warmer!)

I esp. love my little banty hens. They crack me up! They are finally getting to experience catching worms. Oh goodness! You’d think they found buried treasure! (well, I guess in a sense, they have!) They run around squealing and playing keep away from the big birds.

epon4

Flag this comment
3-19
6:32
am

Heeheehee! Are you having chicken for dinner? or have they got back on the straight and narrow?

CindyP

Flag this comment
3-19
7:05
am

Those chickens! You almost make me want some–except for the poop and the feeding and the watering and the poop and the dug up flowerbeds and the poop on the porch!

Dawn

Flag this comment
3-19
7:14
am

Uh, huh. We all know how well that attempt to control worked with Clover….I can just see you building little individual chicken ramps with tiny headlocks to keep them in place on their nests. Oh, and tying one little chicken foot up to the side so it won’t kick you. As I said, uh, huh!!!

Nancy in Atlanta

Flag this comment
3-19
7:19
am

We have 9 hens, and I average 4-8 eggs a day. Yesterday, we had 9! (This was after my version of the chicken stew pot lecture). Every girl has contributed. They all lay in the same spot, and occasionally, there is some bickering over who is going to sit in that spot and lay at what time. One brave Rhode Island will even stick her head under a laying hen to see if she is done. That is my Quantity Control Chicken. She drives the others nuts. I never thought I would love chickens.

Taryn

Flag this comment
3-19
7:30
am

An old farmer told me years ago to drizzle castor oil over the chicken food for a couple of days to jumpstart laying. It’s particularly effective after a molt. I usually notice a significant uptick in egg production over the next couple weeks.

LauraP

Flag this comment
3-19
7:32
am

I love chickens. And their roosters. So…regal with that little crown of theirs. If we had another life, I’d do everything I didn’t get to do in this one.

Lucy

Flag this comment
3-19
8:41
am

All I know is that I hate roosters. Mean, mean, mean and ornery. You don’t need one in order for the hens to lay, do you? I can’t remember.

- Suzanne

Suzanne, the Farmer's Wife

Flag this comment
3-19
9:13
am

What a gorgeous rooster!

Barbee'

Flag this comment
3-19
9:22
am

Looks like they’re about to join a union;) Watch out!

Mental P Mama

Flag this comment
3-19
9:31
am

My eleven year old and I were laughing very hard at this one. We also like the BEEYOUTEEFUL photos of Mr. Rooster. Gorgeous. But don’t tell him that. He’ll be crowing and thinking he’s all cool.

Maria

Flag this comment
3-19
9:32
am

You tell ‘em, Suzanne!

Amy

Flag this comment
3-19
9:45
am

ROFLMAO!!!!!

Nancy K.

Flag this comment
3-19
9:48
am

Just loved this post…you’re crackin’ me up!
Write a book about about all these farm animal antics!

Suzy

Flag this comment
3-19
10:20
am

Suzanne, if the tough love doesn’t work out, that chicken recipe Georgia posted today sounds GOOD! Maybe showing up in the henhouse with a can of soup and some cream cheese just might let them know who’s boos.

nursemary

Flag this comment
3-19
11:49
am

I must really be warped – I thought you were going to give us a romance scene with the rooster and his chickens

catslady

Flag this comment
3-19
12:20
pm

What if you confine the hens closer to the next? Would that make them more likely to sit?

Robin G.

Flag this comment
3-19
12:57
pm

I love Taryn’s QC bird. ha!

And Suzanne, the last photo is calendar-worthy, don’t you agree??

IowaCowgirl

Flag this comment
3-19
1:30
pm

Your rooster looks just like my “George” and he’s the nicest rooster I’ve ever encountered! He walks beside me and lets me pet him and my 6 year old daughter just walks over to him and picks him up. He’s huge and gorgeous. I have a blown up picture of him in my kitchen! Maybe your hens just aren’t ready to start setting yet. You can tell when they are getting broody because they are fluffed up ALL the time, even when walking around the yard. My Gypsy did this days before she started setting and has done it every time she wants to go broody. I think she is telling me what’s going on and preparing me.

feathrencox

Flag this comment
3-19
1:52
pm

Good luck training them!

Susan

Flag this comment
3-19
1:58
pm

Those eggs are beautiful!

Kate

Flag this comment
3-19
2:11
pm

My silkie hen just hatched out two baby chicks. I’ve got pics on my blog if anyone would like to see. Out of all my chickens, the only two who have ever tried to set are my two silkie hens. Which is why I got them in the first place. Plus they are very cool to look at. Also, to keep my chickens laying through the winter, I keep a light in the chicken house until about ten at night. Although I have heard of a suggestion of putting cayenne pepper in their water to keep them warm and laying, but I haven’t tried this. Oh, and I love all your pictures. They are so great, they almost tell a story by themselves.

Steph

Flag this comment
3-19
2:32
pm

Good luck!

Estella

Flag this comment
3-19
2:54
pm

You tell ‘em!

Brandy

Flag this comment
3-19
3:02
pm

I want to have a Barred Rock and name him Barrack. I voted for him, but I don’t know if he would appreciate having a mean old stubborn rooster with his namesake.

Is the comb blackened from injury or frostbite? When I was little, we had bunch that it affected the way they walked and they forgot how to eat. They died soon after, but They just weren’t right after getting their comb frostbit so bad.

monica

Flag this comment
3-19
3:06
pm

I think it’s frostbite, but he seems okay, mean as usual!

Suzanne McMinn

Flag this comment
3-19
6:40
pm

You may want to read the rooster post at American Way Farm’s blog and how she handled her meanie Rooster. She has an obituary dedicated to Androscoggin. Well worth reading and a laugh out loud! Here’s the link: http://americanwayfarm.blogspot.com/2009/03/obituary-androscoggin-rooster.html

Shelley

Flag this comment
3-19
7:15
pm

LOL!!! HIlarious!

Amy W

Flag this comment
3-19
7:33
pm

You said:
I’m so eager to have new chicken babies. As soon as I have enough chickens, I can start free-ranging.

How many chickens do you need to free-range, and why?

Julia

Flag this comment
3-19
8:03
pm

The reason I need more before I free-range is because free-ranging (while better for the chickens’ quality of life overall) carries inherent risks. I only have 7 hens right now, so I can’t afford to risk losing any. I won’t free-range until I know I can free-range and still not lose my whole flock in an unfortunate incident.

Suzanne McMinn

Flag this comment
3-19
8:11
pm

I think chickens like classical music. Play a little Mozart or Bach for them and I think you will get a lot more eggs.

Jeanne

Flag this comment
3-20
12:17
am

Very, very cool pictures! That’s one handsome rooster!

M

Flag this comment
3-20
9:27
pm

they are all so beautiful…you are so lucky. tomorrow i plan for the good husband to see this entry…might help!

kritter keeper

Flag this comment

Registration is required to leave a comment on this site. You may register here. (You can use this same username on the forum as well.) Already registered? Login here.

Discussion is encouraged, and differing opinions are welcome. However, please don't say anything your grandmother would be ashamed to read. If you see an objectionable comment, you may flag it for moderation. If you write an objectionable comment, be aware that it may be flagged--and deleted. I'm glad you're here. Welcome to our community!