Happy in the Henhouse

I am fairly new to the chicken world, but have learned quite quickly what to do to keep my crew happy. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska.  I'm sure my challenges are the same as in other places but it has been a learning experience.  Last year in the spring, I thought I would get a few chicks and have farm fresh eggs.  After all, how hard could it be to raise a few chickens. It's a little harder than I thought it would be plus I didn't really know how delicate the chicks were or how heartbreaking it would be to lose them. After losing one and crying over the little thing, I decided to get a few more. How fast I fell in love with raising them and looking forward to seeing them grow into mature hens.

I kept them in the bathtub until they were feathered out because that seemed like a warm, safe place for them. Plus the bathtub was easy to clean and it didn't matter if it got wet.  I had eight at the beginning.  My husband was glad when they vacated the bathtub so he could take showers freely in the main bathroom instead of my daughter's small shower.  I put them in a clothes basket because they could see out and I could put them in the sun. I put something over the top so they couldn't get out and nothing could get in. I eventually put them in a bigger pen that I put together and kept them in the living room with plastic under them until they were big enough to put outside.

They did very well. I started feeding them greens and they finally got a small chicken coupe they really enjoyed.  I would allow them out for as long as I could to free range and then put them back in at night.  I put them in a location that seemed shaded and safe. I had no idea that a Harrier Hawk would be bold enough to land in the fenced area and kill one of the hens.  Of course, they all had names by this time so Freckles died under the talons of this hawk.  As the summer went on, they grew and we had some just come up missing at times.  I had no idea I was going to enjoy the company of these scratching hens and look forward to their antics.

As fall grew closer, my husband and a friend built a sturdy chicken coupe so we could enclose them during the first winter.  Another friend had a rooster and a hen that needed a home so we told him to bring them over.  Shortly, after George, the Rhode Island Red Rooster arrived, I started getting eggs to my delight.  During the winter months, I kept giving them scraps and occasionally would make some oatmeal and put scraps in it for them and they laid eggs all winter. There were two heat lamps to heat the hen house and we bedded them with straw.  They seem happy and content.  I was happy and content because they were a captive audience that I could handle more easily because they couldn't leave the hen house or run from me like they could when they were in the more open space.

There is just something about the gentleness of a hen that soothes a person's soul and brings you joy when you have them nestled on your lap. They are calm, enjoying your caresses and their calmness is a good therapy. Who knew that owning chickens would give me more than a few eggs.  It's the best endeavor I have ever invested in.  

My Happy Hens

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