Do These Feathers Make Me Look Fat?

My Ameraucana, Matilda, hasn’t laid an egg in over a week and she’s not broody. I was beginning to get worried, fearing she might be egg bound (even though she isn't showing any of the signs), when I noticed that her tail feathers are gone and that there are numerous feathers on the ground of the coop. Is there some aggression going on that I don't know about? I haven't witnessed any, and she doesn't seem to be fearful of the other hens. She is skittish though and won't let me touch her—Tilly is the one I can always count on to let me pick her up—and she's not "taking the position" or squatting when I approach her.

Seems my beautiful girl has begun her first molt. Chickens molt once a year and, unfortunately, most stop laying until the molt is almost complete. Winter doesn’t seem like a very good time to shed your feathers to me, but I trust the natural order of things. I will certainly miss her lovely blue eggs for the next 6 weeks or so.

I'll post more pictures as she goes through the process.

You can clearly see her missing tail feathers in comparison to the others girls

An Uninspired Cook

I know it’s been a while, but was surprised to see it’s been almost a month since I posted last. A lot has been happening: the holidays (how long can I use that as an excuse?), painting, trying to live within our new, reduced budget. I’m told “don’t spend anything!” Okay, I get it, we need to rethink how we, um… live.

One of the conditions to giving up my job was that we would eat out much, much less—quite a sacrifice as Atlanta has many wonderful farm-to-table restaurants—and I would cook much, much more. I’ve been doing fairly well in keeping up my end, having dinner ready most nights (what a domestic goddess I’ve become), but I’m uninspired. I need to make delicious, nutritious meals, with whole grains, healthy meats (at least two vegetarian meals a week), and fresh, seasonal, locally-grown produce. AND, in a relatively short amount of time; I don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen—I’ve become a fan of the crock pot, but there are only so many things you can cook that way. Add to that, that I’m an irregular grocery shopper, and you see my dilemma. Lucky for me, Mr. Man will eat just about anything; I’m the picky one.

I usually decide what I'm making for dinner in the morning based on what I have on hand. Thank god for the freezer full of beef. At around 5:00pm I can hear the girls calling from the chicken coop. They know that I’ll be on my way to the compost shortly, and I always give them whatever scraps they’ll eat—tonight its carrot peel, a little celery, and a little potato as I'm making Lentil Potato Soup with sausage. The recipe calls for chorizo, but I don’t have any so I'm using brats instead—fully cooking them before adding to the soup and throwing in a few handfuls of spinach during the last few minutes of cooking.


Note: While the overall flavor of the soup is good, the brats aren’t the right fit. It definitely needs a sausage with more spice to it. The addition of spinach was good, adding beautiful color and flavor to the soup. I'll definitely try this again, but will have to plan ahead to have chorizo on hand.

Cold Weather Chickens

The chickens seem to be tolerating the colder weather. They are as eager as ever to leave the coop in the mornings—especially if it has rained the night before. At night they huddle together on the perch sharing body heat, and puff out their feathers to create pockets of warm air and increase insulation. Last week when the temperature dropped into the 20’s their water fount froze but there was no notable difference in the hens’ behavior. Most mornings find them on the perch in the coop calling to be let out and that particular morning was no different. They didn’t seem to feel the cold at all.

The first question from visitors to the coop is often “what will you do with the chickens in the winter?” I’ve consulted a few books on the subject, the best being Fresh-Air Poultry Houses by Dr. Prince T. Woods, and, even though some authors suggest a heat lamp for the henhouse when temperatures are below freezing, the consensus seems to be that the hens can tolerate the cold pretty well, especially in a climate such as ours. Their down feathers provide great insulation, and the benefits from the fresh air outweigh the risk of exposure to the cold.

We’re actually more worried in the summer when temperature can soar into the high 90’s; chickens are much less tolerant of the heat than they are the cold. Our henhouse is very well ventilated with an open ceiling (except for the hardware cloth) and several ventilation holes on the sides. Of course, the coop is totally ventilated with only hardware cloth for walls and the hens have free access to the run everyday.

We are still getting 3-4 eggs daily from our 4 hens, so we don’t feel the need to extend their day by adding a light to the henhouse. We probably won’t install a heat lamp either as our days are rarely, if ever, below freezing, and we can always buy a heated poultry fount to keep them in fresh water.

New Beginnings

Today marks the beginning of my last week of employment, which is bittersweet for me. I have spent the last eleven and a half years working in a variety of roles for a management psychology practice; although I’ve never officially had a title, perhaps “Jack of all Trades” would be most appropriate. I have developed relationships with some wonderful people within several client companies who I will miss interacting with. I’ll also miss the challenges they have presented.

My decision to leave can be put simply as unhappiness, to the point of having difficulty getting up and out the door each morning and having little patience, and in some cases respect, for the people I work with. This has been building over a number of years and began to affect my mental health and my life in general. So, after many discussions with my ever supportive husband, it was obvious that I needed to either accept that I would likely never be happy at work or make a change. I decided to make a change and follow my dream. It was hard to let go—we get so attached to what is familiar in our lives regardless of whether it is good for us or not; it is often the unknown that scares us.

Beginning next week I embark on a new journey. I will be spending my days in my studio instead of an office. I am equally excited and anxious… well, maybe a bit more excited. This has, after all, been my dream for a long time, and I am lucky to have wonderfully supportive friends and family who encourage and believe in me. I’ll blog about my adventure as I go and will post my website once it’s built.

Wish me luck!