Worra, Worra, Worra

Just went out to put the chickens in for the night and I'm worried about Brownie, one of our Speckled Sussex. Brownie is smaller than all the other hens and she always sleeps by herself in one of the nesting boxes, where all the others are now roosting at night. She definitely is at the bottom of the pecking order, but otherwise seemed to be pretty healthy.

Tonight when I went out to lock the hens up for the night, all the hens had gone in...All but Brownie, who was sleeping in the grass by herself. So now I'm all paranoid that something is wrong with her and that she may not be long for this world.

Did I mention that after Google, Brownie is Charlotte's favorite chicken. She's very mellow (or perhaps sick) and lets the kids hold her without a fuss. I'm really hoping she's ok.

I'll keep ya posted. Ugh.

OMG, TDD

The darned dog just tried to eat one of my white leghorns. It was awful, and my heart is still pumping like crazy. I think the bird is ok. It seems like my wrist got the worst of it. I just don't know what I am going to do with the beast. Ugh.

Blowin' in the Wind

Sometimes my kids come up with really funny ideas! Just this afternoon, the chickens were running around the yard and the kids were on the swings. Flynn thought it might be fun to have the chickens play along by roosting on the trapeze bars. The chickens kindly cooperated (Google and an as-yet unnamed white leghorn). They liked the roosting, except for when the kids started to swing the bar. Then, not so much.

All Quiet on the Western Front

The chicks really are no longer ... they are all grown up! They've been outside for a few weeks now and are thriving. Surprisingly, we have not lost a single chick apart from the small accident we had way back on day two. As a complete novice, I was really expecting to lost at least 25% of my flock in the first couple of months, but everyone is doing well. Let's hope I didn't just put the whammy on me.

Life in the coop is much more peaceful than in the brooder. The birds have more room to stretch. There are roosts in the hen house. AND the chickies just love scratching in the dirt. My kids will even look for slugs to feed them. Yummy.

I love this picture. It's Liam holding one of the buffs. Something about both their expressions crack me up.

By the way, we've named some of our buffs -- Butterscotch, Ginger, and Mary Anne. I think one of the White Leghorns will end up being Mrs. Howell! All this is lost on my kids, but it does tickle me!

All Day Chicken Buffet?

I've failed to mention that we own a big black dog named Hoagie. Hoagie is a lab, from a long line of hunting dogs. To say that he is high energy and hyper is a massive understatement. To say that he is smart is a down right lie. We love Hoagie, but ...

Anyway, Hoagie has had limited exposure to the chicks. (Safety is job 1 at the Peterson house.) We've tried to keep him separated from the birds. On the rare occasion he has seen a chick up close -- I've been holding the chick -- he's quickly sat down licking his lips as if I'm about to give him a nice big doggie treat.

So now that the chicks are out in their coop, Hoagie thinks that we've put out an all day chicken buffet. He's acting crazed as if he's hyped up on steroids and he continuously jumps on the coop trying to knock down the chicken wire. He's desperate to find a way into the coop to get to the buffet. I'm hoping that with time, he will get bored and give up. I'll keep you posted.

Out Out Damn Spot...I Mean Bird!

The teenagers were stinking up my basement and it was time for them to get out ... outside that is!

We moved all 18 of the remaining chicks outside today. It was time. Like any teenager, they needed their own space. I needed them to have their own space. They stink/stank/stunk.

The chicks were put in their house with the door to the ramp open. Food and water were left right at the bottom of the ramp to encourage them to move. Unfortunately, the birds were too scared to do anything other than cower. Finally, after five hours, I went out and lifted them all down to the grass so they could eat something before they got put on lockdown for the night.

It took a while, but they finally got it!

You Lookin' at Me?

Charlotte wanted to get some pictures of the chicks to take into her kindergarten (we wanted to bring them in, but her school said no way!), so we took three of the chicks outside today. I thought a nice outdoor photo would make a nice change from that kiddie pool blue backdrop.

The birds didn't quite know what to do with themselves. What was that bright thing up in the sky. What was this brown mushy stuff under our feet? Oh my god, sensory overload, must sit down and stay still!



Google, being the manly explorer he is (come on, we're not kidding ourselves anymore, he is a rooster!) eventually did get up and look around. He even snatched some tiny gnats out of the air.



Well I hope they get used to this because starting Saturday, they are heading outside to the big house - permanently!