The Broody Bunch

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

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. 

I stopped into the LFS this afternoon with the rest of the family.  The kids always like to go there because there are always animals; chicks, goats, and the jumbo rabbit that lives there.  Honestly, the bunny is almost as big as Little Maiden.  The LFS had some more chicks in and some really cute ducklings.  When I asked, my chicks still weren’t in yet.  But the Post Office was still open so there was a chance that they’d be in later in the day.  They assured me that I’d get a phone call as soon as the chicks arrived.  We went back home and were getting ready for special services at church.  The LFS called just before we needed to leave for church.  So Little Maiden and I jumped into the car and sped to town. 

The LFS put all 8 chicks in a tiny box to carry them home in.  I picked up some pine shavings at the same time.  When we returned home, GH helped set up the box and drop light in the kitchen.  We lined it with newspaper for the time being.  I put some mash in a pie plate and some water in two small glass bowls.  Then we gated the dog in another room and ran out the door to church.  The chicks were all still alive when we got home.  That’s a good sign!

 

Well, no chicks today.  Yesterday Little Maiden and I went to the LFS to get chicken mash.  They had a large box just hopping with chicks.  I asked about them but the chicks were Ameraucanas.  I have four White Leghorns and four Rhode Island Reds coming.  But the clerk said those chicks would come in Thursday or Friday.  I bought 50# of mash and half a pound of red seed potatoes for my fifth SFG.

I was happily surprised today when I got home from work.  My chicken run was up and the chicken door had been cut!  GH and Little Maiden had been busy.  They also had filled the fifth SFG so I planted my potatoes today!

I’ve finished filling the vegetable gardens today.  In the four garden beds, we have pumpkins, squash, spinach, cucumbers, watermelon, tomatoes, radishes, yellow peppers, carrots, beans, onions, beets, leaf lettuce, head lettuce, corn, green peppers, and I’m out of room!  After looking through some scrap lumber, we’ve found enough boards to make one more bed.  I’m going to fill the whole thing with potatoes. 

I finally got my lilies planted yesterday.  I bought the bulbs almost 3 weeks ago at the Bangor Home Show.  they’ve been sitting in my refrigerator ever since.  GH dug up the sod in front of our house.  I put down some peat and vermiculite (which I picked up yesterday) before planting the bulbs.  Then I put down a layer of black mulch.  I added some marigolds today and planted some mint in the corner.

I called the LFS today to find out when our chicks will arrive in.  Looks like the 13th!!  Wow!  Only four more days.  That’s about a week sooner than I expected!

Since buying our house set on a rural 1.59 acres, I’ve been frantic to start growing our own food.  Even in our second story apartment, I attempted to grow carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers on our fire escape landing.  When I was a kid, my Grampy (who lived just across the road) instilled in me a love for nature and growing things. 

My grandparents had a small farm on which they had a few horses, raspberry patches, an apple orchard, they harvested hay and had a beautiful garden.  When it came to harvest time, all the family that still lived locally would come out to pick fresh veggies for their own families.  That was how it was intended. 

Looking back now, I have tremendous respect for my grandparents who spent the time, effort, and money to plant and care for a garden to continue to provide for their family long after the kids had left home and started families of their own.  People in general aren’t like that any more.  Our society would be so much better if we all looked out for our neighbors… not because we have to do it, but because we want to do it.

GH went to Lowes today to pick up some supplies this morning.  He picked up chicken fencing and posts for the chicken run.  I haven’t quite decided where I want the fencing attached.  GH also brought home some pressure treated 8×2”x4’ planks for two more SFG frames, and two bales of peat moss for the mix.  I picked up some compost a couple of weeks ago.  We screwed together the frames and put them down on the fabric black mulch beside last year’s frames.  We filled them with the compost and peat moss.  Now we have double the gardens we had last year.  I still need to get some vermiculite.  I have to pick it up at our local nursery.  I’ll get some seedlings at the same time.  We don’t usually put in our gardens until Memorial Day weekend, but with all this warm weather, I think I may put it in early.

4×50’ green chicken fence $26.80

6 5’ fence posts $3.93 ea. =$23.58

It’s been a beautiful sunny day!  We’ve had some unseasonably warm weather lately.  Especially for Maine.  it’s been in the 80’s today.  The kids are visiting their grandparents this week for spring break.  So I took advantage of the warm day and no interruptions.  Last week I bought a five-gallon bucket of barn and shed paint in a barn red color.  And now our chicken coop is barn red!  I’m sure the chickens will appreciate it.

Today was absolutely perfect!  The temp was up in the mid 50’s, the sun was shining and the sky was blue.  We’ve had some pretty harsh winds for a few days but it’s dried up a lot of the water that was lying around.

I finally had the opportunity to do some yard work.  Little Maiden helped me rake the leaves from around the gardens.  I cleaned up the leftovers from last year’s garden, pulled a few weeds (extremely few thanks to SFG!) and turned over the soil.  That loose black soil felt so good in my fingers and smelled so fresh!  I can’t wait to start planting.  It still goes below freezing at night so I guess I’ll have to wait.  Most planting in Maine doesn’t start until Memorial Day.  ~sigh~  However, the rhubarb is already coming up!!