Annalise and Nikolai

This afternoon my friend George Reikerk stopped by with his children, Annalise and Nikolai (hopefully I'm close on the spelling).  Annalise is writing a report on chickens for school, so a little first hand experience was in order.

School Picture Day!

I have to put the car in the shop today, so I decided to take advantage of an unhurried morning to take some portraits of the girls.  Here they are - tweens!

Geneva

 

Percy

 

Gladys

 

Dixie

 

Janie

  

Helen

Chicken Jokes

Q. Why do chicken coops have two doors?
A. If they had four doors, they'd be chicken sedans!

"Colonel Sanders? He kicked the bucket years ago." 

A Visit from Sophie

Can you believe it, we are halfway to the longest day of the year! And, thanks to Daylight Saving Time, I can take the girls outside for a while when I get home from work. Tonight, I decided it was time to clean the brooder and put in fresh litter, so with Barkley on guard I took the girls outside for a romp in the yard. They got it immediately, and true to their inner chicken, took to pecking at the pebbles. They got terribly excited when I threw in some small pieces of cut up apple, but they didn't get that it was food. I guess that will come later...

My neighbors, Pauline and Kirk were playing with their children at the corner, so I invited them over to see the chicks.  Sophie was all over it, very quiet even though she was very excited. A Global Dominator with a gentle touch!

The chicks are growing fast. They hatched three weeks ago today. I keep thinking I should track their progress - maybe measure their tail feathers every few days or something... nah. I'll just enjoy watching them grow. Geneva and Janie continue to be the outgoing ones, while Helen is the epitome of Chicken Little.

Janie (foreground) and Helen

The girls first venture outside

Sat, 3/20/2010

The chicks are about 2-1/2 weeks old now, and growing fast! Gone are those cute little down covered fuzz-balls; these girls are serious adolescents! As you can see from the photos, they are feathering out nicely, even growing their tail feathers. And they have discovered - like Orville & Wilbur - the joy of short term flight.

Today was a gorgeous first day of Spring, with temps in the high 70's. No better time to introduce the brood to the great outdoors! I bundled them into a cardboard box and took them out to one of the fallow raised beds. The girls were in shock! "Hey, what happened to our nice little spa?" "Where's the heat lamp?" Where's the Room Service?"  They stood motionless for several minutes. Maybe it was the bright sunlight... Eventually Dixie wandered to the edge and hopped down onto the gravel walkway [a shady spot] and the others followed. A movement in the rocks grabbed their attention,,, and that's when they discovered.... BUGS! The lightbulb went on, and suddenly they were pecking like crazy, nabbing tasty little insects, rolly pollys, anything small that moved. The great fun for me happened when I dug up a small earthworm. I dropped it into the middle of them. Janie grabbed it, and it was a furious game of keep-away! She was running all over, with the others trying to steal her prize. Eventually Geneva got a hold, and the worm became the center of a serious tug of war. I can only assume the worm got the worst of it!

ChuckTown Chicks

Let's talk chickens...

the girls first day in the new home

So what's an urban farmer supposed to do besides "farm the yard"? Raise chickens! OK, I got the idea more than a year ago while reading a copy of Mother Earth News. It seems like a logical progression, and when I bought this house 20+ years ago the previous owner had not only chickens, but ducks and geese in the yard. And, it seems, my favorite store has gone from REI to Tractor Supply.

In January I was talking with friend, coworker, and farmer, Bob Richey. Bob and his wife Dee have 2 acres in Jedburg, SC, a small farm they call Second Chance Stables, where they have horses, cows, dogs, koi, parrots, and yes, chickens. Bob and Dee are 4-H leaders, and were putting in an order to Cackle Hatchery for spring chicks for their 4-H kids. I went in on the order, and a few weeks later, voila! The chicks hatched March 2, shipped March 3, and 75 or so baby chicks arrived USPS Express Mail March 5th. My order of pullets (hens) included Janie ( Dominique), Geneva (Silver Laced Wyandotte), Henrietta (Gold Laced Wyandotte), Percella and Dixie Chick (Buff Orpingtons). I picked them up Mon, March 8th. The chicks had a tough shipment - several of them died - and little Henrietta was sickly and passed away on Wednesday. She was replaced with Henrietta Too, who is now named Helen (after my mother - Gold Laced Wyandotte), and Gladys (Barred Plymouth Rock).

Their home for the first 6 - 8 weeks is a wooden shipping crate that I salvaged from work, measuring 24 x 36 x 18". I fitted it with a  top made from recycled hardware cloth and wood from the garden, just in case they decided they wanted out or my cats, Joel and Eliza,  wanted squab for dinner. It's "Chick Days" at Tractor Supply, so I have the box outfitted with a suspended 250w heat lamp,, a feeder, a chick waterer, and a big bag of pine shavings. The eventual home will be a mobile pen; most folks call them either a "chicken tractor" or a "chicken ark". Floor space is an issue; each grown hen will need 4 - 5 sq ft to be happy. In all likelihood six hens is too many, and I will eventually pare the flock back to four. I think I may have a neighbor that would like a pair!

Even though they are only two or so weeks old, each chick is growing like a weed and exhibiting personality. Janie, for instance, seems to be the friendliest and most curious of the bunch. Geneva is the adventurous one; she has already "Flown the coop" a few times. Percy is the timid one, and rarely do I see him on the roost. He screams like crazy when I try to pick him up. Helen is equally scared, and loves to "dust". Gladys likes to be petted. Dixie is a lot like Helen...