Chickens update
Posted by Lauren on 18 Oct 2008 at 10:07 pm | Tagged as: chickens, pictures
The other day we were looking through my “chickens” tag on Flickr, reminiscing about how cute they were when they were tiny. I realized I haven’t taken any pictures of the chickens in a good long while, even though I (we?) spend a lot of time thinking about them and checking on them. They have grown up into adult lady chickens, are producing a lot of eggs (and poo), and are generally awesome. They are so funny! They run and flap their wings, and they are quite clear about what they like and what they do not like: they like chicken scratch (cracked wheat and corn) and they do not like Mr. Klassy; they like kale stems with bits of kale leaf attached but they don’t seem to like scraped-clean artichoke petals.
Look at them, all gossiping and suspicious like "what the hell does she want."
Don’t they look like chickens?? It’s awesome!
His neck and beard (?) have gotten bigger since we got him, about six weeks ago.
Chickens are great. Everyone with even the tiniest bit of yard should have them. They are the best.
PS. A link I just found as I am closing tabs: Nine new books for chicken-raising newbies, from urbanchickens.net.
Beautiful chickens! Amazing. You chose great looking birds! Way to go. If I had chickens, those would be the ones I wanted. Thanks for sharing!
Sinfonian, you should totally get some chickens. They worth it alone for the compost and the lawn aeration and they’re very little work to care for. Come springtime we can talk about a group order or just let you know when the cute birds are at the feed store.
But does he stay awake to crow and hump? Inquiring minds and all.
Mr. K pretty much coos and runs away from the other chickens. And, if you bend down to fill a feeder, he’ll jump up on your shoulder.
We have some doubts about his sex, I’m afraid. He is very popular with visitors though.
Great pictures, Lauren! We’ve got two barred rocks and while they’re quite beautiful in their own right, I really like the variety of looks and styles in your flock.
Hello,
I’d like to share my chicken story to anyone interested. It all started back in April when I first decided we were going to get some chickens as a hobby. Although the wife was dead set against it, I rallied the kids in my favor and proceeded with our plans. Just a bunch of egg laying ladies…no roosters allowed.
I promised the wife I would build a coop from scrap wood and found materials to minimize the cost.
On May 14th, I picked up a mixed bag of ladies consisting of 4 RI Reds, 4 Barred Rocks,
2 Yellow Buff Oppingtons and 2 Black Jersey
Giants. An oversized Guinea Pig cage would make a great first home downstairs in the playroom.
Of course, now I had plenty of time to build
a nice coop.
As usual, time marches on and by mid June they were starting to out grow the cage.(Not to mention the smell and shavings being kicked all over the carpet every day.)
These girls needed to be out of the house soon.
Not just because they were growing at an alarming rate but I was going on vacation in less than 2 weeks.
Well, my FREE coop ending up costing me about $500. Forget about scrap wood and taking apart pallets. It just wasn’t gonna work for me, I did try. Home Depot’s got some really nice wood and no dismantling required:) I finally finished the girls house with 1 day to spare.
My best piece of advice. BUILD YOUR COOP BEFORE YOU GET YOUR CHICKENS!!
To make a long story short, I just got my first egg on Nov 9. After checking my nesting boxes with great anticipation for the last 2 weeks, there it was, a lonely egg all by itself.
A little small but oh so perfect. I can only imagine the look on my face when I opened the outside trap door and saw that single egg. (Probably like my kids look on Christmas morning when they first see all the presents under the tree.)I know I was very excited.
The kids and even the wife all shared in my great joy. I don’t which hen laid the egg but I can’t wait to go home and check for some more. I’m sure this silly feeling will ware off soon. Probably when I’m going out at 5:00 in the morning before work to change the water in 10 degree temps.
Best of luck to all.
But he has sickle feathers (I thought)! I hope she/he is not a burden. I was extra spazzy on rooster watch since our block is SO dense.
Please let me know if it is a she and you wish to get a refund. :D Otherwise, I am happy knowing he/she/it is there.