The Broody Bunch

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My chicks are really growing up now!  Their combs and wattles are starting to be more prominent. They’re shedding out young feathers and growing new ones like crazy!  And I’ve watched their faces go from pink to pinker to bright red.

Chickens definitely have a unique look.  Handsomely dressed in crisp, soft feathers, strutting on two strong legs, conspicuously decorated with eye-catching wattles and crowned with a bright red comb, chickens certainly have a proud physique.  It seems strange that this commanding presence with her sharp beak and beady red eyes will melt like butter when I pick her up and stroke her back.  With a soft purring sound she closes her eyes and will even let the other chickens eat all the food while she enjoys her aptly deserved pampering.  Oh yes, a girl after my own heart! 

We’re going away again.  This time for 4 and a half days!  I feel better with the feeder that the chickens have now.  And our last absence went well.

On Monday all four of us are going to camp.  Young Master and Little Maiden are campers and GH and I are staff.  We’ll come home from the campground Friday afternoon.

I want to put some windows in the coop for extra ventilation and maybe I can work out an automatic waterer.

I just switched the chickens over to grower pellets instead of crumble.  I was told there’s less waste with pellets.  Well, as of yet, I haven’t seen any of the chickens eat them.  I mixed the pellets with left over crumble in hopes that they would adjust quickly.  It looks like they’re scratching the pellets out onto the floor and just eating the mash.  By the time we leave for camp the chickens will be on just pellets.  Will they eat them if they get hungry enough or will they starve with food all around them?  I wish I knew.

We made it home!  Albeit a mite later than planned.  We pulled in just before midnight last night. 

I went to check on the chickens right away.  They were all roosting on the shelf.  I counted them and all seven were there.  I didn’t see any immediate signs of distress or pecking, which can occur if food isn’t readily available.

The waterer was knocked over and one of the feeders had been kicked over and half buried.  There was still some feed in the large feeder that GH helped me make.

I righted everything and filled all the feeders.  The chickens all came down off the roost and ate greedily.

I closed up the coop like usual.  I’m thankful that everything turned out okay and everyone came through the weekend safe and sound!

P.S.  We had a great time on Sheffield Island with the family!  The sun was shining and the whole weekend was full of fun!

Today I bought some Grower crumble to mix with the chick starter mash.  I think I’m a bit late in changing their feed but they seem to be healthy.

I’m going to start gathering materials to make my chickens a new feeder and waterer.  They’ve really outgrown the feeders that I bought when they were chicks.  Plus, I’m going away for a week in August and I need to find a way to keep them fed.  I haven’t found a baby sitter yet.

Other modifications need to be made to the coop soon.  That includes removing the shelf, moving up the roost, making windows, and adding nesting boxes.  My girls are growing up, and I can’t believe how quickly!

It’s been the better part of a week since I first let the chicks out into their run.  Things have been happening so fast around here that I haven’t had time to write it all.

Last Saturday was the only warm, sunny day in the middle of several rainy days.  I hadn’t planned on letting the chicks into the run yet since they were still getting used to the coop as their new home.  But when I went to check on the chicks that morning, the coop was already quite warm and steamy.  So, I decided to open the hatch to the run to get the air circulating.  I sat down on the plastic feed box to see what the chicks’ reaction would be.

As soon as they saw the open door, the chicks all ran over to it to investigate.  No one was eager to be the first to explore.  The grass inside the run had grown up quite tall and it looked like a jungle compared to the size of my little chicks.

I was sure Dolly would be the first to step out into the wilderness.  As I watched I became more confident that she would lead the way.  While some of the others seemingly lost interest and went back to the feeders, Dolly hopped up onto the edge of the opening.  She stuck her head out as far as she could to see what she could see.  Soon she became engrossed in playing tug-of-war with a long blade of grass that hung into the coop.  While she and some of the others that joined her game were preoccupied, little Faith hopped up on the edge of the door casing and then jumped down into the grass.

Immediately there was a whole world in front of her filled with bugs!  Soon Faith had the attention of all the other chickens who, one by one, joined her in the hunt for bugs.  The leghorns, who are always the bravest, made their way out into the tall grass.  The RI Reds were shy at first.  Some of them would jump into the grass and then jump back into the coop several times until they were sure enough of themselves and their surroundings.

At dusk, when I went out to close their hatch, all of the chicks were already inside the coop and bedded down for the night.  Instinct told them what to do and where to go.

In the mornings now, they all gather in front of the hatch and wait for me to open it.  Then there is a great flutter of wings and a whirlwind of feathers and shavings as each chick rushes to be the first one out the door!

There are several worn paths in the tall grass now.  The slug and mosquito population has diminished.  And my chickens are getting fat and happy.  What a life!

I made it through the weekend!  It was nice to visit with all of the family that I usually only see once or twice a year.  We all got to see how each other’s kids have grown and get updated pictures.  Unfortunately Little Maiden came home with a stomach bug.  She’s resting on the couch now with a bucket at the ready…

My chicks also made it through the weekend!  Willhi checked on them to make sure they were doing alright.  She said they had filled their waterer completely with shavings so she cleaned that out.  Otherwise, they did fine.

The gardens also came through okay.  They weren’t withered or torn up.  Something did dig in the spinach last night, though.  I think I’m going to have to fence it all in.

The sun is out today and there isn’t a cloud in the sky.  The breeze is very light and I’m guessing it’s in the 70’s.  I put the chicken brooder outside on the porch so the chicks could enjoy the sun and fresh air.  I put bird netting over the top to keep them in and the hawks out.

I’m a little nervous about this weekend.  We’re traveling 150 miles to visit my family in Northern Maine for Memorial Day weekend.  We’re leaving the chicks home by themselves.  I’ve decided that with the self-feeder and waterer that they should be okay for a couple of days.  Willhi has promised to stop in to check on them.  I’m glad because I’m afraid the temperature might fluctuate too much.  The temp outside has been in the 90’s for the last two days.  Very unseasonable for Maine.  (I love global warming!)  Anyway, the house has gotten very warm so I’ve been leaving the chick’s light off so they don’t get too hot.  If it cools down this weekend while I’m away, I don’t want them to get too cold if I leave the light off.  On the flip side, I don’t want to leave their light on and cook them.

It makes me feel better that Willhi will check on the chicks.  I guess it will depend on the temperature in the morning whether I leave the light on.  I’m using a 100watt bulb and the brooder is too small for the chicks to really get out of the heat if they need to.  I’m almost as nervous as I might be if I were leaving my kids alone for a three day weekend.  I hope they’re all still alive when I get back home.  I’m sure they will look different.  The chicks are developing so fast.

Willhi has said she would water my garden while we’re away too.  I’d hate to lose my garden as much as I’d hate to lose my chickens.  I’ve already been contending with some mysterious animal who only comes out at night and likes to dig holes in the gardens and eat up all my lettuce.  I’d hat to lose all of it to a drought.  I’m going to water them thoroughly before we leave in the morning. 

I’m just a bundle of nerves.  Let’s not even mention staying a whole weekend with family…

After a week, I’m definitely becoming attached.  My chicks are starting to grow up.  Several of them are starting to get their tail feathers and their wings are feathering out too.

Young Master was playing with the chicks a couple of evenings ago and managed to get one to eat out of his hand.  Naturally, if one chick is getting something to eat then all the others come running to get their share.  Now they all come running as soon as you put your hand in the box.  It’s a nice feeling that they trust me enough to actually jump into my hand for something to eat.  The Leghorns still aren’t too keen on being held but at least they don’t run away from me anymore.

Dapper is adjusting now.  He still isn’t sure what to do about the chicks.  I think he gets a bit jealous when I give the chicks some attention.  He starts whining and shaking and trying to get into my lap.  I’ve held a chick up for Dapper to inspect.  he sniffs her and laps the air all around her.  The first night we had the chicks Dapper kept trying to get out of bed to go check on them.  He doesn’t do that anymore.  He will jump up to look in the box when we’re patting or feeding the chicks.  It makes me laugh to think of how Dapper will react when there are eight full-grown chickens that are all twice as big as he is!

 

We’ve had a lot of fun so far watching the chicks do their chicken things.  I immediately noticed the difference in temperament between the Leghorns and the RI Reds.  I try to pick up and handle the chicks frequently so they get used to me.  The Reds will just stand there and let me slide my hand under them to pick them up.  The Leghorns run away as fast as they can, peeping all the way.

I also noticed that the Leghorns are more adept to foraging.  As soon as I put the new feeder in the box the Leghorns started scratching in the shavings for any food that had been scattered off the pie plate.  The Reds all walked around the new feeder until one of them dared to put her head in one of the holes.  The other chicks quickly followed.

One time one of the chicks fancied a particular piece of shavings and took off to a corner with it.  As soon as the other chicks saw her running with something they all made chase.  She fought for it but eventually it was dropped into all the other shavings and the game was forgotten.

My favorite part of watching the chicks is when they go to sleep.  The chick will walk over under the drop light.  Then slowly she just sort of deflates.  Her eyes close and then her body slowly drops to the floor.  Then her head droops in the same fluid motion until her beak is on the floor.  If she’s warm enough, her wings will relax away from her body a little.  There is nothing cuter than a sleeping chick.  It’s funny that when the box has sleeping chicks that we find ourselves tip-toeing around the box, whispering and hushing the kids.  It’s just as if we had eight sleeping babies.  It’s fun and I’m loving it!!

It’s been three full days since we brought home the chicks.  I wasn’t sure at first if they would survive Young Master and Little Maiden.  All they wanted to do was hold the chicks.  They still ask now but the novelty has worn off a little.

I had to pick up a waterer and feeder today.  The pie plate was becoming perilous as they would slip and slide in and out to eat their mash.  I put shavings in their box yesterday since they’ve established eating the mash.  I’ve read that chicks might start eating the shavings if they haven’t learned what they’re supposed to eat.  Anyway, since I put shavings in the box, they’ve really enjoyed scratching and filled their water bowls several times with shavings.  It took a little bit of time for the chicks to figure out where their food went but once one found it the others were eager to get their share.