Skip to main content

Week 1


Little Tweets
We've been so wrapped up in the chicks that I haven't shared any updates, many apologies.

Check out Marigold watching Lily preen herself. It's amazing what the chicks know what to do.


Here is a bird's eye view (haha) of our brooder (the place the chicks live for the first 6-8 weeks until they get their feathers and thus are coop ready). We got the idea from this awesome site, Fresh Eggs Daily. A plastic box, shelf liner, and a wire fence frame in the lid keep make up the brooder.



There is a tunnel that leads to another box. It took the chicks one day to travel to the other box. Here comes Daisy through the tunnel with Lily watching. 


I came across the book Fresh Eggs Daily in the Spring when we were investigating renting chickens. Oh yes, you can. Check out them out, Rent the Chicken. Renting chickens didn't make sense for us, but I could see how it would work for others. Here's another place that rents chickens too, Rent-a-Chicken.

 The content in Fresh Eggs Daily, combining herbs and flowers with chickens, resonated with me. I love gardening!! The author, Lisa Steele, provides excellent content for which plants to use or not use and why. 

 Below is a picture of Petunia and Verbena enjoying some fresh herbs.

Lily, Myrtle Mum, and Violet investigating clover and grass clumps.



Daisy eating some cornmeal. The chicks love cornmeal as a treat. It helps with digestion. 




Ms. Steele also mentioned in her blog and book providing the chicks opportunities for dust baths. A dust bath helps keep the chicken's feather clean and free of mites. Scott & I met a new friend in the Spring and she mentioned using ashes from our fire pit can help eliminate mites. 
Check out Forsythia taking a dust bath! Verbena is waiting for her turn. So cute and amazing! Forsythis knew just what to do.

Petunia taking her turn with Violet on deck.


Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 26, 2016 at 9:19 PM

    Rent chickens? Wacky! But I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 1, 2016 at 5:49 AM

    This is too cool! We have a friend who has I think 6 chicken but their bigger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownOctober 9, 2016 at 8:27 PM

      We love our chicks, but they too are getting bigger. I can't get over how fast they've grown!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 10

Chick Days The chicks are excited to come out of the coop each day. They are getting better at making the leap into the yard. The chicks run around the yard together. Lily and Verbena seem to be at the top of the pecking order. They are the biggest chicks by far and will top out at 10 lbs a piece. The other chicks will be 5-7 lbs. The other chicks don't seem to mind not being the lead chicks. Petunia often hangs out with Verbena as seen below.  Verbena and Petunia eagerly look for bugs as Honey takes the birds-eye-view.   The chicks spend almost all day exploring. We offer water dishes around the yard. Here the girls are meeting around the water cooler.  We read that the chicks will return to the coop each night. The evening we went to put them in the coop and they were all settled in. So cute! We have to yet to watch the chick parade at dusk, but hope to soon. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Week 3

They're Growing! The chicks needed more space; we added a third box. We call it the Triplex. Verbena in the tunnel Petunia on a perch   We continue to be mesmerized by the chicks. We watch the chicks explore their home. We love their curiosity.  Lily sitting on my chair Myrtle found a new perch Violet laughing at the empty pool. Where did all of the chicks go? Now that all of the chicks can fly, the containment pool no longer worked. We sectioned off part of our porch and lined the floor with newspaper. The chicks like their new space. Petunia landing on the divider  The chicks get a few treats each day. They love raw oatmeal, sesame seeds, dill, and parsley. They scratch in their food, sending it everywhere! Hence the tray.  The chicks love clover, thankfully we have a yard full of clover and dandelions. I knew we kept weeds for a reason!  The chicks play chase and keep away...
Post a Comment
Read more

Egg Update

Egg-citing Days Daisy layed the first egg, followed a few days later by Violet.  The chickens layed 16 eggs in 13 days. As the days have gotten longer and warmer in March, the chickens have layed 105 eggs! There are usually 4-6 eggs in the coop each day. While many people say their chicken lay their eggs in the early morning, our girls take after their keepers and often lay in the late morning to early afternoon. We aren't morning people in this house.  Opening the egg boxes each day is like a surprise party. How many eggs will there be? What colors will we find? Check out these beauties, Our first dozen Daisy and Forsythia lay pinkish-brown eggs. We get one blue egg and one blue-green egg from Violet and Petunia; we haven't figured out who is producing which color. Myrtle's eggs are brown with speckles. Marigold's egg are truly spectacular, check it out:
Post a Comment
Read more