By the way

I changed this blog's settings to public, so now hopefully people will have less problems getting onto it, and now you can subscribe to it if you'd like. It's still hidden from Google and the likes, but easier to access.

Peeps in their crib

What do you do with the sides from a recalled crib? Make a little portable home for the chicks, of course! Once they outgrow it, we'll use it as a compost bin. Yesterday, fifteen children surrounded and played with the chicks for hours. These are going to be the tamest chickens in the world. They are getting bigger, growing some feathers, losing some fluff, hunting bugs when they are outside, and are so funny to watch. Bowtie continues to be my sweetest chick, Fluff is the leader but always welcomes a cozy hand to lay in, and Tinny wanders curiously around, checking out everyone and everything.

chicken crib

cleaning feathers together

outdoor nap time?

hanging with their papa hen (rooster?)

Tinny ready to take flight

nesting on my hand

Fluff's huge feet

Feathers and Outside Playtime

I let the chicks play outside for about an hour today in a little fenced in area I set up for them. They were so funny - such fierce bug predators! I can see how they are related to the T-Rex.

They are getting their feathers in and apparently will go through a prolonged ugly-adolescent phase (junior high chickens). Fluff especially has big tail feathers already. They love to stretch their wings and "fly" around. It's a good thing we have a cover over their brooder.

Ramblings

Things I like about chickens:

1. They are emotionally stable. Is that a funny thing to think about a chicken? I have realized that I don't ever want an affectionately needy pet. My cat keeps her distance, with the occasional leg rub, and I like it like that. Chickens are even better than cats though; they would be happy if you never bothered them at all. Not to say that I don't bother them--they are way too fun to poke and chase and try to catch--but it's nice knowing they don't *need* it.

2. They are curious. I laid my hand in their brooder for a while this evening and each of them took turns pecking at a mole on my hand. It was funny to observe each of them individually discovering the mole, and then pecking at it to figure out what it was. Crazy chicks.

3. They eat bugs. Mine haven't exactly begun on this yet, but it is common knowledge that chickens are omnivores and enjoy a meaty bug when they can catch one.

4. They make a soothing sound. We luckily don't have a noisy hen (anymore...sorry Tinny 1.0), and the gentle cheeping and clucking they make is like a waterfall. I could fall asleep to it.

Today the chicks turned one week old. As soon as it gets warm again outside, I am going to let them have some roaming time in a little pen I built them in the yard. That will be fun to watch, as they learn about plants and bugs and other foods that aren't medicated chick feed. I'll be sure to take some pictures for you.

I'll end with a couple of coop options my dad and I have been discussing (my dad is building our coop for us--thanks, Dad!).


Simple, unassuming, nest box low enough that the kids can collect the eggs, possibly moveable.


Pretty, high enough that predators will not be tempted, tall enough that it would be easy to get in there to clean.

I am thinking #1 will be the winner. It would be easy to move around the yard if we wanted to, although I am thinking I will make a separate, mobile run for the hens for some controlled free ranging around the yard.

Harassing Chicks is Fun

I love how dramatic these chicks are. The sky is falling! 

Goodbye, Tinny....Hello, Tinny

Tinny, our silver-laced wyandotte, is the NOISIEST little chick in the world. As in, you could hear her on the second floor of the house and she is in the basement.

Tinny - the world's loudest chick - in the middle

I am all for projecting voices, but not in a chick. I can only imagine how loud she would be as a full grown chicken. Not only that, but she flies right at the other chicks and pushes them around. She tries to fly out our faux-window in the brooder. She's a bully, I tell you.

And you know what I know? A loud and bossy chick in the brooder = a loud and bossy hen in the yard.

So. What is one to do with a super loud, aggressive chick? Maybe I am a neurotic first time mother hen. The farm supply store people laughed at me.  I returned her and got a different silver-laced wyandotte instead. A quieter one. Neighbors, you're welcome.

the new Tinny

Meet Tinny 2.0. I was all for renaming her (I had Lulu picked out), but the kids wanted to keep Tinny.

She's sweet. Quiet. Fits right in. Day 2 is going well.

From left: Fluff, Tinny 2.0, and Bowtie

It's looking like Fluff is going to be the leader. "Pecking order" is a real thing in the chicken world.

Day 1: Pangs of Regret and Getting Settled

As I drove down Hwy 94 with a shoebox full of chicks and a backseat full of children, I wish I could say that I felt happiness and peace, but in reality, I couldn't help but panic. What have I done? Don't I have enough going on without adding three chickens to my house? What if one of them dies? What if all of them die?? What if the neighbors get upset about them?

the box they came home in

These were not pretty thoughts. Of course, I had all these concerns earlier, but this time they became very real. I had a shoebox of chicks next to me. No turning back.

first time in the brooder and already pecking at the thermostat

I do very clearly remember having these same thoughts when we got our kitty ten years ago and also when we got home from the hospital with each child. What is unfamiliar is scary. We will get used to this new adventure!

Ruthie viewing the chicks drinking water through the window

The chicks are happy in their brooder. The kids love watching them. The soothing cheeping is nice to hear. It will be okay. It really will.



Each kid named a chick.

Oliver chose 'Bowtie' for the Australorp (black with white belly).
Clara chose 'Fluff' for the Orphington (yellow fuzzball).
Ruthie chose 'Tinny' for the Silver-Laced Wyandotte (black and white speckled).

clockwise from top left - Tinny, Bowtie, and Fluff

Oliver is very impressed with the chicks' pooping skills.

Ruthie keeps saying "chickadee chickadee"

I must say that Tinny, the Silver-laced Wyandotte, is the spunkiest one. She cheeps louder than the rest and has tried several times to fly out of the viewing window, which is covered in heavy-duty plastic to keep them in.
 

Clara getting the aerial view

The cat has not discovered them yet. I have a feeling that even when she does, she won't care. Old and lazy, that's my kitty.

the brooder

Let's talk about our brooder (the box). It is two 2' square boxes, taped together with the inside wall cut out. Really high-tech. It fits perfectly in our fireplace area in the basement, which is nice because it is hard for the kids and cat to access the top of the box, keeping our chicks safer (hopefully). I cut a small square in the side and covered it with heavy plastic, so the kids can peep in at them without leaning over the top of the box. We have paper towels down right now but will be switching to pine shavings in the next couple days. The feeder and waterer are on bricks so they don't tip over. The heating lamp is clamped and nailed to a board on the edge of the box, but I think we need to raise it up higher already. It is steady at 100ºF, but really it should be closer to 90ºF.

eating together

And so the adventure begins!

Welcome to the top-secret society

When we decided it was time to just do it and get some chickens, I knew I would need an outlet to share, but of course Facebook would be off limits for something like this. A private blog is the perfect solution for me. 

As many of you know, I have been trying to get our city to change its backyard chicken ordinances for 6+ years now. They will not change them. This has been very frustrating for me and it was a huge decision to just do it anyway. We are taking our hens very seriously and will be careful caretakers. 

Tomorrow we pick up our day-old chicks. Three of them! Here are descriptions from the Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply website, which is the store in St. Paul we are buying our chicks from. 

Black Australorp The “Australian Orpington” is a prolific layer, docile, quiet, very hardy, shiny rich black plumage with a greenish-purple sheen. Size: 5 - 6.5 lbs Egg: Brown   Buff Orpington Originally bred in England, cold-hardy, large friendly golden birds of quiet disposition, reliable layers of large brown eggs. Size: 6 lbs Egg: Brown   Silver-Laced Wyandotte Superb dual-purpose heritage breed, good-natured, very cold-hardy, dependable layer, showy feathers are silvery white and edged with black. Size: 4 - 4.5 lbs Egg: Brown

Aren't they sweet looking? My goal for today is to complete the "brooder" - the indoor pen for the chicks to grow and learn in. They will stay indoors for 6-8 weeks before moving out into the coop.

Check back tomorrow to meet the girls!