Terry Golson's Schedule of Booksignings and Hen Talks

I rarely pass up a chance to talk about eggs and hens. If you have a bookshop or other venue and would like me to come and talk about my favorite topic, email me, Terry Golson.

The Store at Little Pond Farm is open on Etsy.com. Go there to find pinbacks and magnets - some made out of old books and feathers from my hens. CUSTOM MAGNETS OR PINBACKS! I can make pinbacks or magnets from feathers from your hens! See an example at my Etsy store and I'll create an order just for you.

New View and Some Different Hens to Watch
May 7, 2008

Like dogs, breeds of chickens have different personalities. The Barred Rocks are voracious, tenacious eaters and can be pushy around other hens. Orpingtons are placid. I tell you this to explain why I've moved the chickens around again. Maizie and Eleanor were going after the bantams, so last night, I switched them to the flock with the big bossy girls, and moved Petunia and Marge back with the bantams. Petunia and Marge are New Hampshire Reds, which I call "basic brown hens." They are plain, but very nice, talkative and friendly. And they don't beat up on the smaller girls.

Meanwhile, the new camera is up and running (thanks Steve!) and the picture quality is gorgeous, don't you think? We've been playing around with the view. I rather like it the way it is now - you get up close to the hens and you can even see Candy's nose twitch.

Speaking of Candy, I know there are rabbit keepers watching this, and I need some advice. Candy's ears are a bit threadbare and the skin is looking a tad raw. I've tried vaseline (which Candy told me was too messy) and vitamin E oil (too greasy, she said.) Any suggestions for a good rabbit skin cream? Perhaps something with a sunscreen because she likes to sunbathe? Because she licks her fur, I worry about her ingesting anything I put on her ears. Please email me. Thanks!

Scooter's Day
May 5, 2008

Lily, my Border Collie/Rat Terrier mix, spends her day alert, keeping an eye on hawks, UPS trucks and deer.

This is what Scooter does:

He's curled up on the bean bag in the living room. His job is being cute. He's very good at it.

Who's Where and Why
May 2, 2008

Most everybody has been moved around, alliances formed, territory staked out, and dust baths taken. (Hey, could I make money at this? A new reality show? Survivor Chicken?) Snowball is in her private room at the spa, healing nicely. She appreciates not having to tackle other chickens to get to a melon rind.

Alma and LuLu have been put in with hens that do not doubt their own high status- Eleanor and the New Hampshire Reds, Marge and Petunia. LuLu is now on the bottom of the pecking order and behaving herself. Don't you wish it were so easy with people? I hope it stays this way. If not, I've got a zero tolerance policy here and she's gone.

My decision about the new flock compositions reads rather like one of my fourth grader's math problems. Here are the rules:

*Even with the reformed behavior of the two hens, I thought it best to separate them from the bantams.
*The Australorps have to stay together.
*The NHReds stay together.
*Edwina and Eleanor must be kept separate because together they gang up on others.
*Maizie and Perrie don't care who they are cooped up with.

And so, you now see in the HenCam barn these girls: Eggers, Betsy Ross, Perrie, Maizie, Edwina, Ginger and Buffy. Read about them on the Hen Bios page.

BTW, whatever ailment Buffy has looks to be permanent and probably terminal. But, as you can tell, she doesn't look pained or stressed, so I am leaving her be.

Now maybe I can get back to my normal schedule...

Musical Chairs Chickens
May 1, 2008

I've recently noticed that Snowball has not been her chipper self. I found out today why. LuLu has been pecking her. This morning, LuLu sliced Snowball's comb open. Snowball is now in the chicken "spa" getting peace, quiet, warmth and antibiotic cream on her head. LuLu has been banished to the HenCam barn where there are large and bossy chickens who don't put up with such nonsense. Eggers and Betsy Ross have been moved to the big barn, to keep the little girls safely away from bully LuLu.

If LuLu persists on pecking the hens' heads, she will be banished. I don't tolerate hen-on-hen aggression. I have solved this problem in the past by moving chickens around. I hope it works this time. LuLu is a character, who should be fun to have around.

LuLu was one of a batch of pullets given to my chicken group here in town. They were raised from chicks as part of a education program on a city farm. Interestingly, every one of them has behavior issues - a few that ended up at a friend's coop killed one of her longtime, lovely, placid hens. These gift hens were handled a lot by many different children. I guess that not all socializing is good. Puppies can get aggressive if handled too roughly, and I think that applies to hens, too.

Wildlife at Little Pond Farm
April 30, 2008

I should keep a camera by the bed. Lily, the good farm dog, has taken on a new job. Early in the morning she lets me know that she has to go out and protect the... frogs. A great blue heron has discovered our water feature where there are frogs galore. And fish. Ugly goldfish. I'd love it if the heron ate the fish so that I could have an excuse to get prettier ones. But no, Lily goes out and does her job, and the heron goes fish-less. Although, I assume it's eaten some frogs. Must be getting something because it keeps coming back, despite the dog that chases it away.

I live a short 35 minute drive to Boston (that is, not during rush hour!) so it's not like we are way out in the country. However, this little town is an oasis surrounded by suburbs. By a fluke of nature - lots of rocks and wetlands - it wasn't overbuilt. And in the 1960s a large dairy farm here got turned into a state park. Also, Harvard University owns 900 acres of forest right next door. There's a lovely river that runs along the boundary of our town and other waterways that reach into New Hampshire. Which means that we have wildlife corridors. A moose was spotted on my street the other day. I didn't see it. But I do think I should keep that camera ready.

We have numerous predators. Coyotes. Bobcat. Fisher cats and other weasels. Fox. Hawks. But I worry most about domestic dogs. We've had golden retrievers, pointers, jack russells, vizlas, all come gallomping through the yard, circling the coops and harassing the chickens. Their owners must think that they are home, lazing in the yard while their people are at work. But they're not. The other day, two overweight dogs wearing collars and bandanas came tearing through the yard, frantically in pursuit of deer. They were in full prey drive, their eyes rolled back so you could see the whites. Oblivious to the road they crossed to get here. Poor Lily, the good farm dog, could do nothing to protect her property. I was glad that little Scooter was inside. Those dogs could easily have switched from chasing the deer to going after a tiny brown dog.

Our dogs stay in the yard. We have an invisible fence, which was the right economic and aesthetic choice for our property. But I'm thinking about putting up a solid fence. Not to keep out the coyotes, but to keep out the dogs.

Chickens are In!
April 28, 2008

Horticulture Magazine has devoted 6 pages to the pleasures of keeping backyard chickens. It looks like one of their editors got some hens, and decided to make an article out of it. She has a nice looking coop. Very clean (I guess these photos were taken soon after acquiring the birds!)

I've been trying to convince my editor that,
a)what with HGTV, style books and shows are trendy and that
b) chickens are also trendy
so why not have a Backyard Barn Style book. Wouldn't that be fun?

And now for my soapbox: I know that people in the "fancy" - that is, those who show poultry - are worried that fewer and fewer people are enjoying their hobby (obsession for some.) But, overall, the number of small flock holders is growing. This is good news all around. It means that the producers of all of the things that we need to keep chickens, from waterers, to feed, to brooders, to the hatcheries that sell us chicks, will stay in business. It also means that there are more people to advocate for keeping domestic farm animals on a small scale. More people to keep an eye on NAIS. Don't know what that is? Go here.

Technical Difficulties
April 25, 2008

We went away fro three days to meet our 1-week old nephew and of course that's when HenCam goes on the fritz. My crack IT professional, Steve (who also is my nice husband) is at work trying to figure out what is wrong. We might need new cameras.

I get a lot of inquiries from viewers who would like to have their own HenCams. If you just want to watch your own flock for your own use, then go to a store like Radio Shack and they can set you up. BUT if you want to broadcast a live-streaming cam like mine, be prepared for a lot of expense and bother! I can't tell you how to go about doing it. Steve could, but he says that if you have to ask how, then it's probably beyond the ability of your home system, anyway. Trust me, we've paid an electrician $$$ to run cables out to the coop. We've got a room in the house just for the computers (it's the only air conditioned room here!) and Steve does a lot of software stuff that I don't understand.

It's all worth it. I love sharing the girls with you. Hopefully, Steve will have it fixed soon, and HenCam will be back to the quality picture that the system is designed for.

The News From Here
April 20, 2008

Don't worry - Candy is fine! You've probably noticed that her hutch has been moved to the side of the coop. This is her summer home location. In the winter, her house is in the sun, and she sunbathes at the top of the ramp every morning. But, as soon as it gets warm (it was in the high 70's yesterday!) we move the hutch into the shade. Rabbits die from heat prostration and it is essential that their housing is in a shady spot out of direct sun. Candy is a lop-eared rabbit, and staying cool is especially hard for this type. Rabbits' ears are their air conditioners. In hot weather, they stick them up away from their bodies, and the blood that runs near the skin in their ears cools in the breeze. Lop-ears can't do this. Their ears are always hanging next to their warm fur. They need help to stay cool and healthy. So, Candy's house has been moved. I'm sorry that you can't see her there, but it is better for the bunny.

Buffy Update: Whatever is wrong with Buffy isn't going to go away. I assume she has a terminal illness, like cancer or liver inflammation. She spends most of her time sitting, although she can still get up, eat, drink and roost. She doesn't have that look of fear that sick animals often get, and so I am leaving her to live out her remaining days in peace. Fortunately, the flock that she is in is the nicest group of girls. No one is bothering her (as so often happens when a hen is sick and in with more aggressive birds.) The other day, three hens joined her on the floor of the coop, and they all took a communal snooze.

Snowball
April 15, 2008

Yesterday, I let the hens out to free-range while I did a spring cleaning in the asparagus and mint bed. The girls got right to work, eating grubs, aerating dead bits of grass, moving around leaves. Helpful. That is, all except for Snowball. She came over to see what I was doing. Such a lazy girl. Most hens kick up their own bathing areas by scratching up a loose hollow of earth. Not Snowball. She waited and watched until I had done the work for her - a nice, loamy, rock-free corner of the vegetable patch - and then she settled right in.

Updates
April 14, 2008

PETA/Country Living Etc: My family and I went to the Big Apple Circus yesterday. They are a classic one-ring circus. Old-fashioned. Sweet. Amazing acts. They believe in animals in the circus. They used to have an elephant, until she retired due to old age. They haven't replaced her. PETA was too much to deal with. But, they have stuck to their beliefs and have a troop of liberty horses, and each year they have a fine dog and cat routine. We thanked them for having animals in the show. They were delighted to hear it. A word of support goes a long way.

Meanwhile, Country Living responded to my letter (new Hen Blog readers can catch up by reading the posts from March 25 and April 7.) Here's what they said:

Thank you for writing to Country Living magazine. We recognize your concern, and appreciate your insight on the PETA organization sourced in the May 2008 issue. We will certainly take your thoughts into consideration moving forward. We love hearing from our readers, so please don’t hesitate in contacting us again to share your feedback. Enjoy the end of your week.

So, again, a sane word goes a long way.

Buffy Update:  Although the spa treatment had her feeling better, she is not well. A HenCam friend said that he lost two hens with similar symptoms. A necropsy showed cancer. I think that's what Buffy has. For now, she is eating, drinking, pooping and roosting in the coop with the other girls. Her eyes are bright and she doesn't have that look of panic, or lethargy, that sick chickens get. So, I'll leave her be and see how it goes.

The Spa Cure
April 11, 2008

Buffy is back in with the other girls. She's fine! Last night, Buffy was still acting unusually placid, and lay on her side, with her butt a bit in the air. But, she pooped twice yesterday, so I hoped she was on the mend. Still, she looked uncomfortable when she walked, so I gave her a pedicure. For a hen at the Little Pond Farm Spa this entails getting having one's legs doused with rubbing alcohol, scrubbed with an old toothbrush, then slathered with Vaseline. (I've found this to be a miracle cure for all sorts of leg ailments and discomforts.) She was given a special meal of a bowl of yogurt. Quite pampered. I'm afraid that Buffy is getting used to this treatment.

By this afternoon, when I looked in on her, Buffy was back to her wary self and stood up when I came into the barn. So, I checked her out of the spa (and turned off the heat lamp) and tucked her into a nesting box with her flock.

It'd be nice if she'd lay an egg. I'd like a tip for all of my services.

Chicken Spa
April 9, 2008

Buffy is still not well. Wendy, in England, wrote to suggest that perhaps she had a bloated crop. I checked, and it's fine. She also sent an informative post about egg bound hens, copied off of practicalpoultry.co.uk (which is similar to the backyardchickens forum here in the US.)

I'd already known that a hot butt soak was in Buffy's future. But, what Wendy's info told me was that it had to be for 30 MINUTES! How, I asked myself, was I going to keep this hen, who doesn't like to be handled, in a tub of water for half an hour? The answer was - I didn't have to do a thing. She loved it! Here is a photo:

She also enjoyed being blown dry with my hair dryer. She did not like having her vent poked with my vaselined-finger. I checked, and couldn't feel a blockage. No egg that I could reach. I also doused her with 10 cc of olive oil. Extra virgin. The good stuff. It's all I have in the house. I used a syringe that is supposed to be used to give children cough medicine. It works for chickens, too - I opened her beak and poured it down. Once she tasted the EVOO, she liked that too, and swallowed all of it.

Buffy does enjoy her private room with the heat lamp:

As you can see, she remains bright-eyed. She's drinking water and will eat corn out of my hand. But something is seriously wrong. She'll get another spa treatment this afternoon. Let's hope it works.

What's Wrong with Buffy?
April 8, 2008

Buffy, the Buff Orpington, is not acting her normal self. For the last few mornings, she's stayed fluffed up on the roost and doesn't join the girls outside. When I put her out, she squats and sits. She took a sunbath while the others were free-ranging in the grass. Now  that's weird when a hen doesn't want to leave the pen and look for bugs. She even let me pick her up, and usually she's a shy bird.

Her behavior is off, but otherwise she looks fine. No discharge, anywhere (eyes, beak, vent.) No signs of lice, mites, or other external parasites. When she gets up, she's walking fine. Bright eyed. Eating. She's acting broody, except she's not going in the nesting box. I have no experience with egg-bound hens (that's when an egg gets stuck), but I did palpate her and couldn't feel a thing wrong.

If she's still like this tomorrow, I'll isolate her, keep her toasty warm, and even try the hot towel around her rump (just in case she is egg bound.)

Any other ideas?

Country Living Magazine and PETA
April 7, 2008

I subscribe to Country Living magazine. They have lightweight articles on collecting, decorating and "country life." So, I was excited to see, in the May issue, a page about backyard chicken keeping. (Do you realize how trendy we are? Little flocks have made it into a national magazine!) But, at the end of the page, was this, "Baby chicks are often purchased as Easter gifts - then sadly abandoned. Lucky ones find new homes, like the cover model of the 2008 Rescued! calendar (peta.org)."

So, I've just sent this off to countryliving@hearst.com.

Dear Editor,

I keep a flock of fifteen hens in my backyard, so I was delighted to see Country Living devote a page to what I call the "urban hennery." However, I was appalled that you gave your stamp of approval to PETA by suggesting that readers purchase their calendar. Under the veneer of animal rights, PETA is an organization that has an extreme vegan agenda and actively works to shut down all farms - not just the factory operations. I know many owners of small, sustainable farms who are terrified (and I don't use that word lightly) of PETA and the power they wield.

Your magazine has a lot of influence. Please be careful and use it wisely.

Perhaps you'd like to send a comment to Country Living, too?

What the HenCam Barn Looks Like
April 4, 2008

The barn is not quite five years old, but that round window is well over a hundred years, and the other windows, with the Queen Anne style diamond-shaped center panes are also antiques. The plants growing up the trellis are a climbing hydrangea and yellow climbing roses. That grey thingy sticking out of the barn to the right of the purple door is the HenCam camera. Inside, the barn is divided in half. You walk into a storage area, and the chickens' living quarters are on the other side of a wall/screen door. In the summer, there's a faucet nearby, but in the winter (and even now, it's still freezing in the morning!) I fill carry water from the house.

The Other Barn
April 3, 2008

Here's a view of the other barn that you can't see on HenCam. It is a post and beam barn, made from New Hampshire white pine. It is a wonderful space. One of those buildings that makes you feel good when you are in it. Yes, I know it's rather extravagant for chickens, but I love big antique barns, and I'll never have one, so I treated myself to this.

The sink in front looks like soapstone, but it's not. It's actually a 1960's lab sink from a school. The legs are vintage, from an 1910 farm sink. Also, the screen door to the chicken run is Victorian. I love salvage yards!

There are Dutch doors on both sides of the barn, which gives it good air flow in the heat of summer.

I use old ladders for roosts. The white brackets were for a shelf, but the chickens roosted there. What a mess. I took it down. I have a collection of old farm license plates - even one that says egg dealer!

The interior you see here is half of the barn, the other half is storage AND a small, 4 x 4 stall, that we use for chicks, sick hens, etc. One of these days, I'll get another critter. An alpaca? A pair of heritage geese? Two mini-donkeys? What do you think?

Snowball Doesn't Lay an Egg...
April 1, 2008

...but everyone else does.

Despite the fact that one of our fifteen hens didn't lay a single egg in the month of March, we collected 191 eggs last month! That's about an egg every other day from each of the girls. That's not productive enough for a farmer who has to make a living at it (have you seen the price of a bag of laying hen pellets lately?) but it's plenty for me.

The truth is, I'd probably keep a whole flock of hens as "useless" as Snowball, because at this point I'm attached to having chickens in the backyard. I love how they look. I love their company. But, I sure am glad that the girls I have lay eggs. After all of this time keeping poultry, I haven't gotten over the delight of collecting their eggs - it's like getting presents everyday.

I'd love to hear from you! Email Terry at terry@terrygolson.com

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