Arizona Chickens

[pdx2phx]

Little duckie is 4 days old. Very hard to take pictures of a speeding bullet!!! Here are some that turned out ok:

SO stinkin' cute!!

I love the little weenie fuzzy wings

 

[pastrymama]

Mama Hen

DON'T YOU DARE GIVE AWAY THAT SWEET LITTLE MAGPIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pastrymama]

SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!
I WILL BRING MORE!!!!!!!!!!
YOU KEEP THAT BABY!!!!!!!!

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!
I WILL BRING MORE!!!!!!!!!!
YOU KEEP THAT BABY!!!!!!!!

She can go back to her real mama if you want. You know you want her.

 

[City farm]

Lunch with AZ BYC.      Perfect for catching up.

In your own home? Or are you coming down this way soon for lunch??? Let us know.

 

[pastrymama]

She can go back to her real mama if you want. You know you want her.

i am afraid the STILL BROODY MUSCOVY will step on her and kill her too

or, maybe she will snuggles her

i am coming over friday

 

[kacklinkelly]

Demosthine - I love your video and the background noise. My two favorite sounds, children and
chickens!!! I also heard the racket of the egg song preamble this weekend only to be skunked.
My BA was singing away and I was running in and out checking all over the coop. I told my
daughter it reminded me of when she was in labor - (she wasn't thrilled with that comparison

)
Since Sunday, no further singing taking place. I believe that BA is now just mocking me.
I was oh so patient until the song came. Now I am beside myself with anticipation like it's
christmas eve or the night before easter sunday's egg hunt. My family already thinks I
am chicken obsessed. I love having the company of my BYC buddies. Thanks for letting
me share.

 

[City farm]

The Great Chicken Lift took place tonight.  21 (or is it 22?) five week old Black Java chicks have finally been moved from the brooder to the coop/run.  Just in time! 

Background:  I had ordered 25 chicks in October for delivery this spring.  Didn't have a definite delivery date but was expecting February.  I built the brooder, which is outside, and got it more or less functional when we got that horrid cold spell in mid January.  Great, I thought, I can experiment with the heating systems to see what works best. Two days later I got the call that the chicks had shipped.  Yikes!  (Haven't built the new coop yet.)

Chicks arrived January 16, the last day of the deep freeze.  One was DOA.  I am reasonably sure I counted 24 live chicks as I put them in the brooder.  Had to cull three the first week because they weren't thriving.  Which left (I thought) 21 chicks. In the meantime, I started frantic construction of a new hoop coop.  Progress was slow.

Last week I converted my compost bin into a chick run attached to the side of the brooder to buy some extra time.  I had put a chick-sized pop door on the brooder when I built it.  The chick run doubled the space available to them and they liked being outside. 

Finally got the hoop coop functional yesterday, and moved my five laying hens into it last night.  (It's smaller than the other coop/run, so the layers get the hoop coop and the chicks get the old coop/run.)  They seem to be settling in well.  Got three eggs today out of five hens.  So far, so good. 

This morning I tried to move the chicks into their new, expansive quarters but all I succeeded in doing was triggering a stampede in the brooder.  Gave up quickly and waited for dark. 

Tonight I managed to move the chicks, three at a time, into their cushy new digs.  Well, it was supposed to be three at a time.  21 chicks should have been seven trips with three birds apiece.   Apparently one of the chicks cloned itself, or the neighbors sneaked a chick into my brooder when I wasn't looking.  Because when I took the 21st bird out of the brooder I checked, and there was still one left!  I have no idea where the extra chick came from.  Apparently I've been counting wrong for the last 4 1/2 weeks. 

Anyway, the chicks are in their new space.  They aren't quite happy about it yet because it's dark and strange, but they are hunkered down in their bedding peeping quietly and peering around curiously when I check on them with the flashlight.  It's gonna be like Christmas for them when morning comes, with all that space to explore.  Too bad I won't be awake to see it!  (ZZZzzzzzzzz...)

Oh what a nice surprise!!! Great story...

 

[squeakyballs]

The baby duck!

 

[City farm]

I just heard the chickens making a commotion and looked out my bedroom window to see a coyote trying to get at them.     I sent the dog after it, which made her day.