We got them when they were chicks just over a year ago- 8 layers, we thought. As you can see from the photo above, we have one imposter in the mix- I don't know who he thought he was kidding, but he sure hasn't laid eggs for us yet. The day that we picked them up was a blistering hot day in mid-May. We read up on chicks and chick care prior to picking them up- we were warned not to have them in any drafts, so for the 2 hour drive home, we dutifully kept the windows of the car rolled up and sweat buckets- but those chicks were comfortable!
We kept them in the house for the first month, as the coop wasn't quite ready, and we were still getting frost (it's cold where we live!). Okay, I'll admit it- we kept them in a box on the dining room table until they outgrew that box, and then we converted an old trunk for them and put them in our indoor greenhouse. How I remember waking at night to hear their cheerful chatter- how it filled my heart.
The things we didn't know about chicks & chickens:
•Baby chicks don't necessarily know how to drink- we had to hold those little fur balls and dip their beaks into the bin of water when they were a day old
•They are adorable- even as full grown chickens
•They go back home to roost in their coop all on their own (except in the dead of winter- and then we have to go searching for them under the deck, under cars, etc.)
•They really do use the nesting boxes
•They can get frostbite on their bombs
•The other chickens bite at the frostbit parts and then they bleed instead
•Polysporin heals these bites, and deters the other chickens from more attacks- bonus!
Mr. Roo, or 'Coq au Vin', or 'Stew'
As I mentioned before, we have one boy who snuck in with our flock. Which has been fine. It was funny, though, in the beginning, when we thought he was a hen- at some point, we noticed he was a bit bigger than the others, and his comb was a deeper red. When we saw the spurs, it was confirmed! Now, don't get me wrong- I love this guy. One night he stayed out all night- I found him the next morning under a pile of timbers- he couldn't get out, so we got him out, cuddled him, and put him back with the girls. He has been fine with me until quite recently, but unfortunately, he has that rooster instinct in him- which involves him fluffing up his chest, and then charging at you with his feet & spurs. He has actually bruised me! Up until now, he mostly 'attacked' men, but now I'm also on his hit list. It's too bad- I know he thinks he's protecting his girls, but we're not the enemy! So, unless things change really quickly, he's likely destined for coq au vin. We have a 9 year old, and when she and her friends are gallivanting out in the fields this summer, we don't want to worry about rooster attacks!
They free range, and roam around at will, but the most fun is how they follow us around the yard. The white leghorns are more approachable for 'petting', with the rhode island reds a close second. The Plymouth Barred Rocks are a bit more stand-offish, but they're coming around in terms of being approachable.
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| We tried to build a bomb-proof coop for them out of materials we had here already. It was a cute and fun project. The nesting boxes are accessible from outside.
I like to put them to sleep at night with a lullaby- yup, I sing to my girls (and the boy!). I go in when they're on their roosting stick, huddled up for the night, and sing and stroke each of their bellies. And every time I go collect an egg from the coop, I thank my girls and tell them how much I love them. Am I crazy? Perhaps. But we sure do get some delicious eggs! And they sure do make me smile!
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