I haven't been active in the group for a while so I want to assure the old timers I'm still alive and introduce myself to the newer members. I was the head chicken advisor on Noah's Ark. Presently I live in southern New Hampshire where I have a small flock of mixed breeds. There are three Silkies, a cock and two hens. There were originally about ten Silkies but between a neighbor's dog and the local fox that flock was greatly reduced. Both predators are gone. The laying hens, three EE's and six BR with a big EE Rooster make up the rest chicken population. Ah.. almost. One of the Barred Rocks, Louise, disappeared for a month only to turn up last week with a chick, defiantly against the rules. BR's are not supposed to be family oriented but there it was. She appeared in the coop with her baby and proceeded to chase all the other chickens out. With some effort and danger to life and limb I caught her and installed her and the little one in separate quarters. She is settling in a bit. This morning I was able to fix the feed and water without being attacked. That is not seriously, she didn't draw blood….. this time. We did find her nest hidden among the farm equipment. We suspect the chick was the first hatched and somehow fell off the shelf. The hen went to it's aid abandoning the rest of the clutch. We found a number of eggs, all dead. So that's the news from the Briar Patch.
Ol' George
