Entering the World of Chicken-Keeping: Part 2

In the post prior to this one, I promised a part 2 that would be posted “soon”.

Clearly I have a heavily flawed definition of “soon”.

In fact, my definition of “soon” is so flawed that I have waited for months to even begin writing this post.  It’s a little shameful to admit.  Not to mention, this post was supposed to track our chicken’s development from where I left off in the last post until the present.  But as present became ever-farther from the date of my last post, and young chickens continued to grow, I hadn’t a single picture on my camera that accurately depicted how the chickens really look in the present.  This lead to me having to take more pictures, which meant more photo editing and uploading, which means posting would take too long, which means I continued to procrastinate.  Yup, just a little bit shameful to admit.

Anyway, long-awaited as this post has been, I figure I should stop apologizing and start updating!  So, where was I after last post?

Ah yes, the chickens had just moved into their coop permanently.  Well, here’s a picture of them when they first did that:

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s a picture of them now!

Clearly, they haven’t been wasting any time growing into their adult feathers, or growing up in general.  Also, we’ve officially confirmed that all of them are hens!  This is great news for us, because roosters are not ideal neighborhood pets… for obvious reasons.  A hen can and will lay eggs without having a rooster around, so we were delighted to learn that all the six chickens we bought would grow up into egg-laying, non-crowing hens.

They’re not quite there yet, though.  In the mean time, it’s lots of fun to watch them grow.  Wanna see some more pictures?

This is Autumn, an Easter Egger chicken named by Gloria.

This is Merry Poppins, a Barred Rock pullet that Mommy named:

Nellie, our other Easter Egger, was named by John.  Don’t you love her bright orange feathers?

This is Mumthers, a Buff Orpington pullet.  Daniel named her after a character in a book who could cook anything, and make it beyond delicious.  He reasoned that with a namesake like that, his hen would lay the most delicious eggs of any of them!  So far, she seems to be pretty food-savvy; she sticks around us even when the other chickens are off playing, hoping to get treats!

Sunshine, also a Buff Orpington pullet, was named by Daddy and looks a great deal like Mumthers.  Her feathers are a slightly lighter hue, pretty much the only indicator we can use to tell them apart.

And finally, this is my hen, Bobbles.  She, like Merry Poppins, is a Barred Rock pullet.  She’s also a big eater and the fattest hen of the bunch!

Having chickens has been a blast so far.  And now, having fulfilled my blog-posting duties, I’m heading outside to go feed them!

Edit: I wrote this post a long time ago and only just now bothered to post it, so the chickens are actually even bigger than you can see from here.

Entering the World of Chicken-Keeping: Part 1

As of 5 weeks ago, we have some new pets.  (And they are most definitely pets, not future dinner!)  We have entered the world of backyard chicken keeping, and are enjoying it immensely.

Our chicks are growing up quickly, and due to posting-lack-of-frequency, I’ll only show you their first days here.  For bigger chicks, more recent pictures, or simply a continuation of their overwhelmingly adorable cute-ness, check out Part 2!

Our chicks started their life in a hatchery in Ohio, and spent their first day traveling the 1,000 something miles between there and Texas.  While they made the journey, we waited anxiously at home for our very own “peeping package”.  Though we were worried that they might not make survive the trip, every one arrived alive and healthy,  and were soon introduced to the brooder; a strange, newspaper filled place that was to be their home for the next 3 weeks.

First came a drink of water…

…then their first taste of food…

…and finally, some cuddles.

Also, a great deal of sleeping, which I didn’t take a picture of.  After eating, sleeping, drinking, and being cuddled for three days, the chicks were ready for some adventure!  After all, they had crossed the country during their first day of life, and though the brooder and its heat lamp were more comfortable than that journey, they were not nearly so exciting.  Mumthers, a little yellow chick named by Daniel,  thought that maybe we would let her out if she gave us her “cute face”:

And she also tried to get all the others to join in!

We understood what it was like to have cabin-fever, and accordingly introduced them to a gigantic place called “backyard”.  Though they weren’t too sure about it at first, the bolder ones soon took a liking to it, and helped their friends to overcome their fears.  It wasn’t long before some of then began to enjoy sitting on the grass, taking a dust bath, or scratching at the ground.

After 3 pleasant weeks, they moved into their permanent coop and run.  How did they adjust?  Take a look at Part 2 to find out, coming soon!