Welcome to Cranky Puppy Farm!

This blog belongs to two Gen X-er's smackdab in downtown Kansas City where we've been renovating and decorating two old Victorians built in the 1890's. Our life is filled with 3 demanding Pomeranians (1 of them cranky, of course), honking cars, noisy neighbors and the hustle and bustle of city life but we dream of the day when we can move to our 40-acre farm and hear nothing but the wind and the cows next door. Until then, we're chronicling our triumphs and mishaps here as we try to garden and preserve on 2 city lots, raise chickens, and learn all those things we should have learned from our grandparents. Welcome to our world - we hope you'll stay awhile!

Chicken Jail

Monday, April 09, 2012


I am so incredibly sore today that I can barely move, so I guess I overdid it in the garden yesterday.  That's also my excuse for not posting yesterday.  By the time we got finished last night, I was too pooped to write.

Speaking of poop...yesterday was coop cleaning time and I also cleaned out the run as well so the girls would be able to take some nice dust baths.  Everybody got inspected for lice and mites since they've been losing feathers, but I can confidently say that I found no evidence of any nasty bugs.  Just in case, I dusted their coop. roost and run with diatomaceous earth and sprayed Poultry Protector on the girls.

While I cleaned, J. kept an eye on the girls as they free-ranged and this gave him the opportunity to spot the feather pickers.  The main offender, Cruella (a Barred Rock who has always been somewhat of a bully), got put into chicken jail in another part of the yard.  And, boy, she was NOT happy with the idea!  I wouldn't be either - it's probably like going from a 4-star hotel to a tent since chicken jail is a doghouse with a temporary chicken wire run.  She'll have to stay there for a week and we'll see if busting her down lower in the pecking order stops the behavior.  I certainly hope so or the alternatives for her aren't good.

On a happy note, Henrietta enjoyed a nice dirt bath and hanging out with the Austrolorps yesterday afternoon.  They are much nicer hens and seemed to accept her back into the flock with just a few small altercations.  J. and I got a kick out of all the growling, squawking, purring and other noises that she was making during her spa bath.  If you're never heard a chicken growl, you haven't lived.

Hope you had an interesting weekend, or at least one that didn't involve jail.  :-)

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