orpingtonnz
Chirping
I got chickens last Thursday; a hen and her seven chicks.
When I picked them up the girl had lots of chickens in not the best conditions and they were in a cage less than 1m x 1m inside a farm shed.
For the last nine days they have been in the coop/shed which is 4mx2m and they seem really happy there. They seemed quite scared at the start but every day my toddler and I went in and sat down quietly and fed them some treats. I noticed the hen looks much healthier and glossier already, though I will need to treat her feet for mites.
Today we finally had the time to finish fencing a bit of the garden off as a run and let them out in the afternoon. I was a bit worried about how it would go and was antipating they might try to get through the fence or that I would need to chase them or that they would run away from me.
Anyway, they did so well! They barely left the immediate area for ages and then all lay in the sun outside the run. They weren't worried about us walking around them and let my toddler get so close that even she could have caught one if I let her. They just bumbled about and then they went back into the coop when I was giving it a refresh so I just shut the door and put them away again. I'm stoked with how well that went and while I'm sure they will get up to mischief in time I'm feeling pretty optimistic about how things will go with them, and that the chicks should grow up fairly friendly and calm
Just wanted to share my excitement as my partner is probably sick of hearing about them haha.
When I picked them up the girl had lots of chickens in not the best conditions and they were in a cage less than 1m x 1m inside a farm shed.
For the last nine days they have been in the coop/shed which is 4mx2m and they seem really happy there. They seemed quite scared at the start but every day my toddler and I went in and sat down quietly and fed them some treats. I noticed the hen looks much healthier and glossier already, though I will need to treat her feet for mites.
Today we finally had the time to finish fencing a bit of the garden off as a run and let them out in the afternoon. I was a bit worried about how it would go and was antipating they might try to get through the fence or that I would need to chase them or that they would run away from me.
Anyway, they did so well! They barely left the immediate area for ages and then all lay in the sun outside the run. They weren't worried about us walking around them and let my toddler get so close that even she could have caught one if I let her. They just bumbled about and then they went back into the coop when I was giving it a refresh so I just shut the door and put them away again. I'm stoked with how well that went and while I'm sure they will get up to mischief in time I'm feeling pretty optimistic about how things will go with them, and that the chicks should grow up fairly friendly and calm
Just wanted to share my excitement as my partner is probably sick of hearing about them haha.
The broody instinctively knows what to do since she's got 7 chicks that far already, and I expect they will thrive on the things they find to eat in that undergrowth.
They look very content in their new home. 
Good Wishes being sent your way!
