Posts Tagged Cambria

I’ve been engaged in what they call “flock management”. Flock management is one of the responsibilities of having a flock of chickens. It sometimes requires making a difficult decision. The decision of having to “cull” one of my hens has taken over a year for me to make. What a heartless sounding word “cull” is. In poultry, or in any animal management, it means “to pick out for rejection for not meeting the standard or to remove for specific reasons”. In poultry speak, cull can also mean “to wring their necks, cut their throats, chop off their heads, or in some other way, dispense of the offender”. Thank goodness, it can also mean to “find them another place to live, or, to rehome”.

Taylor Newton with Petunia

I finally made the decision to “cull” Petunia. Over the past year, this beautiful Golden-laced Wyandotte, became more and more of a “bully”. She had always picked on Rosie, making her life quite miserable toward the end. Sweetpea and Daisy were her other targets but she focusd on Tulip when she was recently sick, until I intervened. I never once saw her attack the silver-laced Wyandotte, Poppy, the matriarch and “no-nonsense” memeber of the group. The final straw was her treatment of Daisy when she was broody. Every time I took Daisy from the nest to try to get her to eat and drink, Petunia would chase her around the run until she went back in.

I removed Petunia from the run and kept her in the garden shed in a dog crate for a week before finding her a home. She was as sweet as sugar during her confinement, gently chorkeling to me, and to Tulip in the next cage, as I went about my gardening. I tried to return her several times to the coop but I could see that I didn’t have the tolerance for the frantic squacking and chaotic disorder that Petunia created. She needed a larger space and what I think of as “rooster leadership”. Yes, roosters do keep peace among hens, but there is an ordinance against roosters in Cambria, so we are doomed here, to have quiet, but confused, flocks.

It was not easy finding a home for Petunia. Many people, I found, did not want to introduce an “ill-tempered” hen into their established flock. I can hardly blame them. Then, along came Taylor Newton, owner of Newton Cultivation in Morro Bay; rescuer of all things living and willing to give a “mean girl” a chance. His rescued roosters far outnumber his hens. But Petunia’s a tough little beauty. I think she will do all right.

I’ve been sad for a few days now. The act of giving up has taken its toll. But my garden is a more peaceful place. The hens seem settled and content for the first time in a long time. As I handed Petunia over to Taylor Newton, I assured myself that  Petunia is getting a chance to be a real chicken, not a pampered pet perhaps, but a real chicken. I wish her well.

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Brooke and Don at San Simeon Beach

We had visitors over the Fourth of July weekend. On our agenda was playing in the sand and water at San Simeon Beach, peeking over the bluffs at the elephant seals along Hwy. 1, watching the Cayucos parade, and of course, exclaiming over fireworks ignited over the ocean at the beachside Shamel Park in Cambria. We had what felt like a private viewing from our deck. Snuggling under blankets, our granddaughter never made it to the fireworks finale before her eyes closed and she fell sound asleep.

Parading in Cayucos

We were away from home much of the time over the holiday, but when we did come home, visiting the hens and gathering eggs was the thing granddaughter Brooke wanted to do the most.

The hens are used to children and, like dogs, follow them around hoping they will drop a crumb or two on the ground. The hens have never pecked a human but I remember as a child being chased by a hen or rooster. The more we ran from them, the more aggressive they became. My poor mother used to have to take a broom with her to hang out the laundry. She’d swing that old broom and the hens would take off running.

I’m glad our hens are tame. I made an agreement with them early on that they would have to be pets as well as egg layers or they’d end up in a soup pot. So far, so good.

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Lee Oliphant, Daisy and Sweetpea

Don Sather, Sweetpea, Rosie, and Daisy

My name is Lee Oliphant. My husband Don Sather and I live with six hens and three labradoodles on an acre in the beautiful coastal town of Cambria, along the central coast of California. The temperature is moderate here, averaging in the 60’s and 70’s throughout the year. This mild climate allows the  hens to be outside nearly every day. They’re confined to their indoor coop and outdoor run most of the time as our town is inhabited not only by people, but by preditors such as foxes, raccoons, coyotes, hawks, and occasionally by a mountain lion. We let them out to free run when we are gardening and can supervise them.

The husband, father, and grandfather in the family, was the chief henhouse architect and builder. He also took charge of outdoor technology for our hencam project and shares in the responsibility of caring for our flock. We find our hens to be quite entertaining and took on this hencam project so that we could  share their antics with you. Most evenings we sit in the garden and enjoy the quiet stillness and visit with our hens.

If you are interested in coastal gardening, please visit my site: Central Coast Gardening. I’m a certified Master Gardener and pass on information that I’ve learned through this program. I’ll continue to add garden entries to that site and concentrate on chickens on “Backyard Hencam”. I hope you enjoy our backyard hen project!