Free Range!

We let the chicks out today for the first time to free range for a bit in the backyard. I think they are large enough now so they can't fit easily through the chain link fence - although if really frightened they might still make an attempt.

They got to spend about 20 minutes out and about before the rain shooed us all back into our respective houses. The girls know exactly where their coop is. When they would get startled, they'd all make a bee-line right back into the open run door and just about as quickly turn right back around to graze on the grass some more.

Katie and Andrew had fun playing 'stalk the chicken'. The chickens act like they don't see you creeping after them, but always manage to stay just out of reach. They also enjoyed their fresh tomato treat from the self-proclaimed 'tomato master', Katie.

They will be getting lots more 'out' time as they get bigger and bigger!

3 Weeks and a New Run Project

The chicks are doing great outside and still growing amazingly fast. They are starting to completely feather out now, and have tiny combs starting to grow on their heads. I've missed having them in the building though, as I can't really get to them in their ChickNBarn and run. The run is too low, and I'm not comfortable letting them out in the yard yet as they can still fit through the chain link fence. Also, Daisy Dog is not happy about the chickens - I think she wants to see how they taste!

So, I'm now in the process of building a 6' high run for them so the chicks can have more space to roam in safety. I'm making it from panels, so I can move and reconfigure as needed. I have one panel done.... now if I can just get the rest made inbetween work, homework, phone calls and kids...

Our First Night Out

Well, it has been a busy day for the chicks. They love being outside in their pen so much better than the brooder that I decided today that I'd try putting them out for the night. It is warm enough out there during the day for them, but as they still may need some extra heat at night, the first step was to put an outlet where I could plug in the brooder lamp at night.

So... off to Lowe's for conduit, outlets and some Romex for a new weather-proof outlet. I had planned to run a whole new circuit just for the outside lights, but I ran out of energy and time and stamina so ended up just piggy-backing off one of the inside outlets for the circuit. I ran the romex out and down through the conduit, then into the new outlet box on the post. Just the perfect place for running a drop cord to the coop!

I did finish the predator-proofing also today so I feel pretty confident that the chicks will be safe tonight from any roaming 'coons or 'possums. I also moved their brooder pen pan into the coop for now, and added pine shavings so they would feel more at home.

We left for a late dinner and back-to-school-supply shopping and did not get home until after 11pm. I checked on them, and half of them figured out that the coop is the place to spend the night. The other four needed a bit of help to join their coop-mates in the chick-n-barn, but as of this writing, they are all settled in for the night. It's so cute that some of them have already figured out how to use the roosts - they are growing up SO fast and are starting to think they are big girls already.

From the road it looks like we have some weird Halloween house in the back yard with the red glow of the brooder lamp. The pics are a bit hazy because of the long shutter time, but I wanted to have the flash off to show how the coop really looks in the dark. You can see the chicks here inside the coop - two of them are on the roost, and the rest are hanging out together for the night.

It's RAINING in Concord!

I can't believe my eyes.. it's raining! Prayers do get answered... I was out with the kids about 4pm this afternoon and it was 102 degrees out there. I said a little prayer for SOMETHING to change about the weather - it's been over 90 deg each day for almost a month now and no rain for longer than that.

We got home and I finished up some stuff for work (I telecommute for a 'major financial institution'). I wanted to go out to work a bit more on the coop. I'm going to bury wire around the perimeter to keep anything from digging under to get to the chickens. At any rate, I went out to measure to cut the wire and there was a big dark cloud blowing in from the southwest. By the time I went back in the outbuilding to cut the wire to size, it actually started RAINING!! It's been raining now for about an hour. Although I'm not getting my coop finished, I sure am glad to get a break in this heat and drought! You can tell how dark it got from these pics and also where I've been digging to start the project of critter proofing the coop.

Another good thing about the rain is that it gave a good test of my new weather-resistant feeder I found. I was looking for a feeder that would resist the rain, and finally found something reasonable at Walmart. It's a 'squirrel-proof' feeder that is made of painted metal and has a nice roof and sides. I took off the squirrel perch that closed off the food if something heavy landed on the feeder, and rigged it with a chain so I can raise it as the chicks grow. After the heavy rain and wind, the area where the feed would be is dry as can be!

We're TWO Weeks Old Today!

The peep gang turned two weeks old today and BOY have they grown already! Some of them are already starting to get the bare spot on the top of their heads that will be their big-girl combs, and most all now have tail feathers coming in. It's interesting to see the size differences between the different varieties and also between two chicks of the same variety.

The smallest variety is definately the Golden Campines - they are quite noticably smaller than the others. You can recognize them from their brownish color. They are getting the prettiest feathers in their wings. The largest variety is the Dominiques and the Wyandottes fall somewhere in the middle.

There are a couple of the chicks that are showing their people-personalities already. "Crystal" is one of our silver Wyandottes and she is always happy to hop up in my hand for some attention, while most of the others are running the other way. The picture to the right is Crystal sitting up high on her favorite perch.

The largest chick of all is one of the Dominques and she is also pretty friendly and is starting to assert her authority over the others. It will be interesting to see if the 'pecking order' they are establishing now will hold as they mature.

Taking the Babies Outside

With it being so warm here, I figured it was warm enough outside to let the chicks try out their new Chick-n-barn and run. They LOVE being outside to scratch, and peck and stretch their wings. We ordered their hutch and run from Critter-Cages.com after doing a lot of price comparison online. I had it within just a few days and set it up waiting on the chicks to get big enough to enjoy outside time.

After a few 'modifications' which included installing a wire floor in the hutch and adding some basic security to make sure the doors are 'dog proof', the chicken house is ready! Now all we need is a good name for the chicken house. Any ideas??

SO......Today's the day! They are so cute out there - like little puppies. Their agenda is basically scratch, play, eat, drink, nap, repeat... what a life!

The dogs are facinated by the babies. I think the two shelties are more interested in herding them around, but our rescue mutt, Daisy, seems to have more 'chicken-cidal' thoughts on her mind. I'm hoping the dogs and chickens will be able to share the backyard area at the same time, but I will not be comfortable letting the chickens out of their pen until they are big enough to defend themselves a bit. We'll have to see how the dog/chicken relationship develops. For now, though the chicks are having a blast doing all their chicken things out there. Finally... one good thing about 100 degree days - it's warm enough to let the chicks out!

Our Chicken Saga Begins...

I've wanted chickens ever since I was a little girl. When I was growing up, we had a rental house in another town and we would go up to the rental house several times a year to do maintenance, etc. The name of the house was 'Greene Acres" because it was in a mostly rural area and the neighbors had pigs and cows and....CHICKENS! A big thrill was going up to Greene Acres and helping the neighbors collect eggs.

I had toyed with the idea of having chickens off and on as pets and for the eggs since having my own home, and finally decided to make the plunge this summer. My husband didn't seem TOO upset by the idea, so with the help of the kids we picked out our chicks one Sunday evening. They hatched out on Monday and were shipped to us immediately via US mail.

Tuesday morning the Post office calls... we have, um, some baby chicks for you??!!??

Off we go to the post office with all four kids in tow. What fun to have the clerk bring out the box and hear the little peeps coming out! I opened the box with some trepidation, a bit worried that we may have not had 100% healthy arrival, but there they were - the 7 chicks we ordered and a 'spare' thrown in for a total of 8 healthy and active chicks.

Of course, everyone in the postoffice had to have a look ("you can get chicks through the MAIL??"), and the clerk even showed us a box full of day-old quail chicks. The quail were no bigger than a quarter - too cute!

We headed straight home and got the girls into the brooder pen I had set up on Monday. I was glad then I had stayed up late fixing up the pen, and did our chicken supply run on Monday rather than waiting until Tuesday!

So, began our Chicken saga....

Just Getting Started

So, we have chicks.... now what? What else but to share our fun of watching them grow with you all.

For starters, the "Reader's Digest" version... ordered our chicks a week ago Sunday from Meyer Hatchery. They arrived safe and sound on Tuesday the 7th - 8 little balls of fluff and beaks. They have already grown up a lot in one week! More to come in future posts, but for now, a picture of our cuties the day they arrived.