All I Needed To Know About Chickens I Learned From Bob Marley.

What are the most important things to learn about chickens when just starting out?  I learned the most important things from our rooster, Bob Marley. There are so many things to learn but there are a few " most important " tid bits to know first. 

In our previous home, we had our chickens for a couple of years. They were our very first official step towards animals on a farm. We had cats and dogs, I have always been a foster home for countless neonatal kittens over the years. Many of whom ended up staying in our home  permanently. So finally taking the next step towards a homestead by adopting a small flock of mini chickens was exciting.

They lived in their little chicken coop we were given by a wonderful friend of ours who has since passed away. Her name was Tina. It was a darling, whimsical looking little home. Painted red with white trim it was built specifically for the smaller Polish and Bantam breeds of chickens.  

Yes, they helped us move this adorable little housing unit onto our old property. I spent the next few days creating a type of chicken fort knox surrounding their coop, complete with skirting 2 feet out from every side, 6 foot high chain link fencing that was also wrapped and secured with chicken wire. I then, proceeded to add an extra chainlink panel over the top of the coop in an effort to be assured no hawks from above or racoons, weasels, mink and skunks from below could get in to my precious new flock of feathery new family members.

I was brand new to this whole farm animal and homesteading journey and did not realize the purpose for slanted roofs on barns and chicken runs, was to keep the snow sliding down and the weight of snow from caving in on the coop and the chickens. Ask me how I know this......? That was not fun to fix in the middle of winter snow and frozen ice. I ended up placing old wood boards across the top of the partially caved in chainlink panel. I would go and scrape the snow off every morning when there had been snow the previous night, that entire first winter of owning chickens. 

That too was a learning process. It was just my daughter and I at the time left in our hidden country home.  We had so much coming up in our lives we did not yet know about, but at the time were living quite happily as I learned to care for and enjoy the benefits of raising chickens.

The chicken coop was placed directly in front of the small porch leading to the door of our beloved green house.  It was a beautiful 200 square foot building with large windows on the east, a sliding glass door on the west and the green house plastic panels covering the top. Wooden planks covered the outside walls from the middle down to the ground.  I do not think I have ever loved a building or structure more than I loved that greenhouse. What a dream come true. To this day, my heart still aches for that incredible gift from God. 

The chickens seemed to love their new home with us.  I would release them in the morning and they would walk about scratching, pecking, and collecting bugs, seeds and whatever they could find in and around all the luscious greenery. Raspberry, blackberry. and other bushes surrounded the little structure.  The walk way behind it sat in between the matching greenhouse planter boxes that we had built warming lids for. 

This was my first understanding for how farm animals, in this case chickens, can literally be the solver of farm work overload, organic farming troubles, and soil preparations made easy if we learn to utilize these little creatures correctly. More to come about that another time.

The Greeen house and now added chicken coop had apple trees, newly planted peach trees, the berry bushes, huge dirt mounds with the biggest squash, pumpkins and gourds you could ever wish for, covering every inch of earth.  We had old tires that made for some pretty cool planters for flowers and many more things surrounding the whole back part of our property.  In short this was a Garden of Eden each spring and summer as far as the chickens were concerned.. I felt that way myself. 

For those of you who have followed along with our adventures for a decade or more, you probably will hear the name " Bob Marley"  and all sorts of emotions will resonate in your minds. For those that have not yet discovered exactly who Bob Marley was, and haven't read the numerous stories about him and all his ladies, you're missing out so please go and search for his stories I've written over the years on my facebook page. Perhaps I should do some editing and begin to release those stories here on the blog as well. I'll give that a think for a while and see what I can do. 

In the meantime,  and for time saving purposes, lets just say Bob Marley was the most adorable little Polish chicken this world has ever been witness too.   

As cute as he was in appearance, well.... that is how full of fire he was at other times when his appearance could be described more along the lines of, terrifying, vicious and perhaps just down right scary for lack of any better words. 

You would not believe how quickly this little rooster could go from adorable to your worst nightmare. In fact, I don't believe there is a word ever created in any human language that can describe the speed in which this change could and most certainly would, occur, and you would never see it coming. 

Everything I ever needed to know about raising, caring for, and loving chickens I learned from Bob Marley and his 5 original ladies.  I learned not necessarily by reading, or watching youtube videos, but more through observation, and love for my feathered friends. Some lessons Bob Marley was willing to allow me time to figure out, others he felt it was pertinent I learn immediately with little chance of ever forgetting it.  

The first lesson learned came the end of the year and beginning of the second spring we had chickens.  They must have all been super happy. How do I know this?  Those 5 ladies, gave us so many eggs everyday that we built up a large quantity so quickly, we were over run with eggs everywhere. 

My friend and previous owner of Bob Marley and his ladies, had let me know there was no way we would be getting any babies from this flock because the rooster, yes, Bob Marley himself, was only for looks.

Apparently he could not reproduce. They had had these chickens for a couple 3 years now and never had any babies so we could wipe that worry off the table. We were free to enjoy them as a non expansive flock. 

I had a surgery that spring and was laid up for a couple of months. I could do very little so I basically opened the coop each morning so they could peck and scratch all day to their little feathered hearts contentment. Then I would water and give them their grains at night when I locked their coop door to keep them safe. 

I  could not open the larger doors and lean in to collect eggs each morning due to the surgery so I left them. The ladies seemed to be happy with sitting on them and pretending they would some day be mother hens, and Bob Marley seemed to be taking on an appearance I did not recognize up until this time.

It was sort of a " Go ahead and take one more step " type of look. Not knowing whether it was truly a warning I should take heed to or if I was just hopped up on pain killers at the time from the surgery, I decided to just play it safe.

My thinking was, "even if he couldn't actually reproduce, doesn't mean that he believes he can't reproduce." This was spring time, a time when it would be logical to think roosters and chickens were beginning to contemplate raising families, so what was the harm in allowing him to believe the eggs his lovely ladies were sitting on would actually bring him a posterity? 

I do recall feeling a bit uneasy everytime I walked close to that coop and there he was coming out of nowhere, staring at me in a most unnatural stance as I poured the fresh water into the bowl and filled their feeder with fresh grains and precisely cut apples, perfect for their little mini chicken beaks.  

Now being an animal lover my entire life, I was keen to the knowledge that animal parents can be more protective than most would like to believe. However, I do recall thinking on more than one occasion that Bob Marley sure was uppity about eggs with nothing in them. But to each his own, I had some healing of myself to do and that was what I had to focus on.  

Apparently Bob and his ladies must have decided to wait to do any kind of family planning until they were a few years old, because wouldn't you know it things were about to change in a very big way concerning Bob and the 5...  on this  particularly fine spring morning. 

I was feeling close to being back to my regular self again. Still needed to be cautious with lifting but for the most part life was getting back to normal. It was such a lovely day and I figured it had been a few weeks since I had deep cleaned the coop, so this was the perfect morning to evict everyone  out of the coop and get to work freshening things up. 

As normal I went and filled the little pail with fresh cold water for the bowl inside and the bowl outside the chicken coop. I headed towards the tiny chicken house as Bob Marley continued crowing exceptionally loud and persistent that day. I wasn't even late. In fact I was a couple minutes earlier than normal. 

After opening the large door to the coop a couple of the chickens leaped out and headed towards the greenhouse area to find the morning worms and bugs. But, not Bob... He and two of his ladies were still inside the coop.

Thinking this strange I reached in to scoop up Bob and send him on his was for the day when I felt a searing pain localized to one area I had just dared to put in reaching distance of Bob. Pulling my hand back I was shocked, what had just happened?  No sooner had I thought that, when straight towards me flew a menagerie of feathers, beaks and chicken feet. 

Fighting for my life and screaming as if I was in the process of being devoured by a grizzly bear, in shock and horror hoping someone would hear my calls.  I was finally able fight him off. I stared at him and he most definitely stared at me. The difference was, I had to blink. Bob Marley apparently doesn't blink during moments such as this. It was very unnerving, but I could see in his eyes he had no fears, second thoughts or reserves about coming at me again. Did I mention he was  no larger than a cantaloupe? 

Grabbing a large board from behind the coop. I very carefully and humbly angled myself and the board in such a way that Bob had no choice but to hop outside of the run area at which time I was able to shut the little gate. I stood there looking at him and he stood there looking at me. Did you know chickens can literally freeze in their tracks? Not one feather will move. They reveal nothing.  Confused and unsure about what had just happened I decided to move forward with my days cleaning.

Making sure the latch was secured I turned around and started back towards the coop. I lifted out the food and water bowls and began to clean out all of the nesting boxes except the one that had two chickens in it looking a bit fluffed up but remaining relatively calm given the circumstances.

They seemed to understand I was their cleaning lady and would hopefully be gone soon. During this entire process Bob Marley was everywhere. He was on the east side, then the west side, he was behind the coop, and then staring down into the run area from the chainlink above, screeching his loudest rooster calls I have ever heard. I didn't even know he could "cock a doodle do" that loud. 

 After a few mins, he saw I was not doing anything I hadn't done a thousand times before and his ladies seemed calm at the moment. So he quieted down. Scraping out the last of the old soiled straw, I cut the strings for the fresh bale of straw, grabbed a large arm full and began to gently place it inside. Arranging it and spreading it so there was a nice, clean soft place for all the chickens to roost and sit inside their nesting boxes when evening comes again.

Facing the two who seemed to think it was a great idea to be in the same nesting box I paused for just a second. It was completely quiet. That's when I heard it. The more I listened the louder it got, the tiniest little chirps. I could tell there were several little chirps going on at once. What?!!! No Way... 

Now remember, Bob Marley and his ladies were not suppose to be able to reproduce.

Yeah.... Lesson #1 Bob Marley and his ladies can absolutely reproduce and in a very generous way. I gently picked up the first momma and placed her in the nesting box immediately next to where she was. I saw the first little peeper stick its head up. It was the most adorable little ball of yellow fluffy feathers I had ever seen. Then another and another. I counted 6 or 7 before I finally picked up momma number 2 and placed her in a different nesting box close by. Both mommas began to move about getting very nervous making an assortment of chicken sounds. Bob Marley began his rooster dance outside the run once again. 

Seeing that the nesting box they had been sharing was definitely dirty and not an acceptable place for them to keep their babies, I quickly began transferring the babies into the fresh clean boxes where the mommas were now residing, Not knowing whose eggs were what or which chick belonged where, I just kind of divided them equally and carefully transferred chicks along with the unhatched eggs one at a time, checking over my shoulder to see if Bob Marley had figured out how to breach the chicken run yet. 

The moms were beginning to be very annoyed with me and I'm certain the behavior of their leader going on just outside side of the coop was not helpful. I pulled out the dirty straw, powdered the inside of nesting box with the diatomaceous earth powder then replaced the icky straw with a fresh clean extra thick layer.

I closed that side of the coop up and stood there in complete and utter shock... THEY HAD BABIES !!!  Bob Marley and his ladies did know what they were doing after all. Bob Marley was a daddy! No wonder he was acting like a miniature velociraptor from Hell.... He was protecting his off spring, his chicks, his flock of babies that he clearly had known was there and I had not. 

Panic set in. I recalled seeing some things about chicks dying if its too cold and needing an incubator for the eggs. I felt like I was going to harm them if I left them where they were but I had no idea what I needed to do. And I was seriously afraid for my life if Bob Marley had to get involved again.  I was frantic, what do I do?  I grabbed my board of protection and placed myself in such a way that I could swing open the gate to the run, let Bob and his other ladies back inside, then step out myself all without egging on another confrontation with Bob.  Securing the gate I ran inside and told my daughter. Together we went back outside and listened. Because I had left one side of the coop doors open, every once in a while we could see a tiny chick dashing around. OH MY GOSH. Cuteness overload indeed.

As I sat there thinking and pondering on how to keep the babies warm, I began to realize. Lesson #2...... If left alone, chickens know exactly what to do. Although some eggs weren't hatched, others were in various stages as were the chicks. Some freshly hatched, others looked to be dried off and walking.  

Why did I need to do anything? Clearly they had not needed my help up until now, so wouldn't it be cruel to take the chicks away from their mommas? Of course it would. That is common sense. Right? 

I continued to sit and watch. Should I trust my instincts and leave them alone? Bob Marley now back inside the run where he could monitor his ladies and their babies. He patrolled and walked proudly around and around. The mommas seemed much happier now that I was no longer in cleaning mode. 

I watched for hours that day. Watching how moms took care of the babies. They took turns getting up, eating and drinking the fresh cool water I had placed in their coop earlier.  Bob was clearly not going to do any harm what so ever to the babies. 

I was in awe of all the babies and this new family unit. New ones popped up over the next 48-72 hours. and every single egg  in those two little nesting boxes hatched. If I recall correctly, we found only one baby that did't make it.

Bob began to settle down over the next few days as he watched and monitored me and my intentions. He was calculating my every move. He was reading me better than you and I can read a book. 

Bob Marly was a proud daddy now, he took care of his ladies and his new brood with all his attention and special abilities he was blessed with as the rooster of this flock. 

I learned so much about chickens that spring.  Perhaps the most important things were these.....

1.) Chickens can and will reproduce when they decide the time is right.

2.) Roosters know what is going on with their ladies and their eggs long before we do. 

3.) Chickens and roosters know exactly what to do when they create and care for life. 

4.) They did not want, nor did they need me to intervene.  The only job I had was ensuring they have a clean coop with fresh straw, water and food each day. ( Had they been in the wild, they would have had that taken care of  for themselves as well.) Since I was the one pretending to domesticate them and keep them in a coop , run and in our yard, it then becomes my responsibility to ensure they have clean quarters, healthy food, fresh water, and soft clean bedding at all times so they can do the jobs they were born to do. 

5.) Roosters don't attack you for no reason. They don't crow and carry on for no reason. In fact, roosters and hens know exactly what they are doing and they have zero tolerance or need to clear it with us, or to try and impress us with their knowledge. They could care less what we think about anything let alone what we think about them. They do what roos and hens do best and they do it perfectly.  They have for thousands of years, without any human interference. 

6.) Do not challenge a rooster. It will not end well.  If a rooster crows or gets all ruffled up, he knows something we don't, if we want to live in harmony with them,  show him the respect he deserves and don't interfere.  He doesn't care if you want to believe he knows what is happening or not, because he already knows what he knows. He can't be held responsible for our lack of intelligence and connection with other life forms, that is our own problem. Our problems will not stop him from being a rooster. 

7.) Roosters have a very high opinion of themselves, and they feel just fine about that. 

 

Thank you for being here and reading my blog today. Please share this story with everyone you know.   Thank you for becoming part of our dreams. 

Wild Daisy Homestead.