Mail order chickens

A farmer’s son was returning from the market with the crate of chickens his father had given to him, when all of a sudden the box fell and broke open.

Chickens scurried off in different directions, but the determined boy walked all over the neighborhood collecting the birds and returning them to the repaired crate. Hoping he had found them all, the boy hesitantly returned home, expecting the worst.

“Pa, the chickens got loose,” the boy confessed sadly, “but I managed to find all twelve of them.”

“Well, you did real well son,” the farmer beamed. “You left with seven.”

This is obviously a joke I found on the internet, but it’s how I feel with 14 chickens. And now they are big enough they are little Houdini’s trying to escape.

Fluffy chicks

We weren’t even going to get chickens until this summer, but to be honest, I didn’t really want to wait much longer.

Michael has been working on the chicken coop for about three weeks now. It would have been easier to buy the cute one at Sam’s. But we wanted to use one of the historic outbuildings to house our chickens. The inside has new wood and chicken wire to keep any varmints out.

A friend recommended Hoover’s Hatchery to us. They have a variety of birds, as well as free shipping.  I wanted friendly birds that would be good layers too. The final list was Tetra Browns, Dominiques, Light Brahmas and Americanas.

She's in heaven.

Loving on these baby birds.

The online hatchery give you options on if you want male, female or surprise. You can also pay extra for vaccinations and beak trimming. For around $50 bucks we bought 15 hens with vaccinations. Hoover’s sent an email telling me when the birds would arrive. I called the post office to give them a heads up. They, however, said it wasn’t their first rodeo and would call me immediately when the birds came.

The chicks arrived very early in a little box. The brooder was warm and ready to go. We dipped their beaks in the sugar water. They were alert and chirping, except one. And in the end she didn’t make it. She was weak and never really warmed up.

They arrived early in the morning!

Getting them in their new home.

We switched out the sugar water to apple cider vinegar with mother to aid in preventing pasty butt. Later that day, I inspected and wiped their bottoms. And that was my last time. Something about it raunched me out, and I didn’t really like the birds. Michael took over.

Playing with the birds.

Do you see that side eye? She's my favorite. 

Birds have always made me nervous. Their pointy beaks and crazy eyes just give me the willies. But after two weeks, I am starting to understand why people love chickens.

We can't tell them apart yet so the yellow ones are Banana, black ones are Dolly and the striped ones are Cash.

We’re holding them more and learning their personalities. Some of them perch on our fingers. The Americana’s are my favorite, and the Dominques are feisty. The Brahmas think they are tough and the Tetra Browns discovered their wings first.

So sweet.

So fiesty. This one is hanging out on the feeder.

This one has a red head so we call her Lucille Ball. 

I am really surprised how quickly they are growing. Bailey is really curious about them. We let her smell them, but if she gets to close the chicks give her a warning peck.  She gives them a quizzical head tilt but keeps going in for more.

Bailey checking it out. 

Smelling the bird. Getting her nose pecked. 

But much like the farmer’s son in the joke, I feel like we are going to keep adding to our flock. Give me a Silkie!

Danger Noodles

There is a popular trend where animals are renamed based on what they look like or how threatening they are. Examples include “furry nope” for grizzly bears or “formal chicken” for a penguin. One of the most popular rename was “danger noodle” for a snake.

Now that the weather is getting nicer and we are outside more, I am constantly on the lookout for these danger noodles.

The only bad part of this rename is not all snakes are dangerous. 

True, they always take me off guard. One time I was walking down the drive way and I saw a stick that was a little wiggly. I realized it was a tiny green snake. We gave each other the stink eye. And of course, he won.

The snake on my driveway looked like this. Photo by Ranger Marty Silver

And last year, I saw a black snake in the barn and power walked to find Michael to take care of it.

I know some snakes are really good, but I turned to local icon Park Ranger Marty Silver to help me better understand our local snakes.

Marty, who has worked for the Tennessee State Parks for 39 years, said, “Keep in mind no snake wants to bite you. They much prefer to escape. Most bites occur to folks who are trying to catch the snake, or to folks who are not observant and accidentally step on a snake.”

He advises us to avoid bites by leaving snakes alone! (No problem there Marty!)

Snakes are scared of you too! Photo by Ranger Marty Silver

However, there are times when a snake might strike. I always tell my kids to kick their bikes a little bit before they get on them and check the swing set just to be sure. And I always take a stick and poke the shrubs a little bit before I start weeding. I’m not taking chances.

Marty recommends if you or a child (or your pet) is bitten by a non-venomous snake, you should clean it as you would any wound because there’s still a risk of infection from the bite. If you’re not sure whether the snake was venomous or not, do seek medical attention. And if possible, get a good photo of the snake. This can help your medical professional know what they are dealing with.

If you are pretty sure it is a venomous snake bite, be sure to keep the patient calm and cool, be prepared to treat for shock and get them to a hospital ASAP. Early treatment is the key to quicker recovery.

Luckily in our region of Northeast Tennessee, there are only two native venomous snakes - Timber Rattlesnake and Copperhead. Both are pit vipers - they have heat-sensing pits between their eyes and their nostrils. Both have slit-like pupils like cat eyes and have distinctive arrowhead-shaped heads.

The non-venomous snakes have round pupils and narrower heads. But some will flatten their heads when disturbed to make them look more like a venomous snake. And many non-venomous snakes will “buzz” their tails against dry leaves to make you think they have a rattle.

Marty said if you are close enough to see the shape of the snake’s pupils, you’re probably too close!

If you are this close to a snake, you're probably to close. Photo by Ranger Marty Silver

Snakes get a bad rap. But like all living creatures, snakes were designed to serve a purpose. All snakes are predators and help keep nature in balance. And most snakes feed primarily on small rodents, which definitely benefits us. No one likes mice in their house. We heard their little feet all winter!

“My advice for people who are scared of snakes - well, they’re scared of you too,” said Marty. “You might want to go to a snake program at places like Bays Mountain Park or Panther Creek State Park to learn to appreciate, or at least tolerate snakes.”

So hopefully this helps you understand danger noodles aka snakes a little more. 

Photo by Ranger Marty Silver

A huge thanks to Marty Silver for taking time to talk with me about snakes!! My children love when he hosts hikes and creek stomps at Warrior's Path State Park. Thank you.