Meet Black Bean and Chickpea
About a month ago, I shared that two of our chickens were killed by the biggest fox this side of the Rockies. That brought our flock down to just three birds, which is about the minimum number of chickens needed for them to feel safe and have their social needs met, etc. Each of our remaining girls—Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy—are three years old, which is not old for a backyard bird, but also not, forgive me, a spring chicken. We decided we better get a couple more birds to round out the flock before the group got any smaller.
Saturday, we planned to get a couple of pullets. Our preschool-aged daughter and I each got to name one and we spent the latter half of the week brainstorming. She had two ideas: Black Bean and Pecker. Once Julio and I stopped laughing, we let her go with Black Bean. I decided to roll with it and named my hen Chickpea. They are both Rhode Island Reds, a breed of chicken known for hardiness, laying a lot of big eggs, and having a mild temperament.
I do not want to put anyone on blast, but when we went to get our birds, we found the pullets in pretty cramped quarters and many of them had broken beaks. Those conditions are a gruesome reality of the commercial chicken industry, but we did not expect to find that someplace where we have otherwise had good chicken experiences. I had a bad feeling, but aside from those beaks, the birds looked plump and well-feathered. I hushed my gut, but when we got Chickpea and Black Bean home, their beaks made me nervous. And they smelled terrible.
We watched them closely and found that they could still eat and were doing so with gusto, devouring old minerals for the alpacas, scoop after scoop of chicken food, and some parsley from our dinner. We will continue to monitor them, of course.
When introducing new birds, biosecurity is important, especially with the spread of avian flu. For that reason, Black Bean and Chickpea will be kept in a stall in the barn for a month before they move to the coop. Julio had the brilliant idea to haul a fallen branch into the stall to provide them with a roost. They have food and water and plenty of fresh air. They already smell better. After a couple of weeks, we might let them free-range a bit so they can meet the other chickens on neutral turf. And when they do finally move to the coop, we will have to watch them closely, because chickens can get territorial and brutal with each other. Our hens are generally sweet and the new ones…don’t have full beaks…but we will look for a peaceful transition without too much pecking to establish the social order.
Here’s hoping that Black Bean and Chickpea enjoy their new home, breathe easier with more space, and are healthier than their beaks suggest.