Folara's Flock!

[Folara]

I'm so excited to share my new flock journey with you all! I've been a chicken tender in the past but this is my first flock of my own and I'm armed with so much more knowledge thanks to this community.

It's a nice 57F degrees today and the chicks are still getting used to living in their coop/run full time (day 3) - I've been locking them up in the coop at night so they get used to sleeping in there, but once they get released they have been enjoying sleeping in the door!

I'm still trying to win them over, so I brought out their first warm mash and this is how they felt about that:

(One of the olive eggers briefly looked at it, then ran right through it!)

After a little bit of time, they realized it was delicious and starting scarfing!

One of the last projects I need to do to finalize the coop is hang a garden rake head somewhere on the coop to hang various tools, like my poop scoop and poop scraper, to make cleaning a little bit easier. I'll be scoping out spots today and hopefully get it accomplished!

 

[SilkieChicken123]

I'm so excited to share my new flock journey with you all! I've been a chicken tender in the past but this is my first flock of my own and I'm armed with so much more knowledge thanks to this community.

It's a nice 57F degrees today and the chicks are still getting used to living in their coop/run full time (day 3) - I've been locking them up in the coop at night so they get used to sleeping in there, but once they get released they have been enjoying sleeping in the door!
View attachment 2957107
I'm still trying to win them over, so I brought out their first warm mash and this is how they felt about that:
View attachment 2957108
(One of the olive eggers briefly looked at it, then ran right through it!)
View attachment 2957109
After a little bit of time, they realized it was delicious and starting scarfing!

One of the last projects I need to do to finalize the coop is hang a garden rake head somewhere on the coop to hang various tools, like my poop scoop and poop scraper, to make cleaning a little bit easier. I'll be scoping out spots today and hopefully get it accomplished!

They look great! Beautiful birds!

 

[Folara]

They look great! Beautiful birds!

Thank you! I'm excited to see how they mature, although I am very suspicious of one being a roo so far

 

[Folara]

Instead of doing some much needed projects, I spent yesterday taking pictures of the chicks to get better opinions on sex - thankfully everyone says they all look like pullets! I like these outtakes:

I caught the Wyandottes napping together - affectionately nicknamed Freckles and Stripe - and Stripe is soaking up some sun today!

With the warmer weather, perhaps today will be the day for projects!

 

[Folara]

Some projects were accomplished today! Got the rake hung up and it's an effective poop tool holder - while I was working on that, the chicks were practicing their roosting skills. They still prefer sleeping pile-style and I can't wait for them to get to roosting.

I also got some dry leaves stored in empty feed bags to give the chickens some fun, dry run materials during stormy weather. I'm definitely late to the party getting chicks mid-winter, so I can't wait to start preparing better next fall.

 

[Folara]

Another project I wanted to finish soon was some clutter for the run - a couple wooden sawhorses with wood fence panels attached to the sides to create more perching areas and safety zones where lower-ranking birds can hide and enjoy some alone time. The chicks are certainly enjoying their new playground! I've also officially designated a chicken towel today because the babies are starting to become lap chickens and my clothes are getting disgusting

 

[Folara]

I caught the chicks roosting this morning. Go girls! They are growing up so fast

 

[Folara]

I found a couple suet cages at a thrift store and decided to try them out with the chicks - I've been throwing them clumps of grass as a treat but I noticed they had a hard time ripping up the long blades, instead trying to swallow them whole which usually did not go down well! So I filled a cage with the clumps and the chicks are having a much better time tearing small pieces off - they seem to enjoy the moving target and challenge as well!

 

[FantineFav]

Beautiful birds! Totally relate re not getting much done because I startwd taking photos of the birds and was enjoying watching them too much. And I like your saw horse - I nabbed my partner's rickety saw horse for the run but the sides aren't covered like yours, but I really like that idea.

 

[Folara]

Beautiful birds! Totally relate re not getting much done because I startwd taking photos of the birds and was enjoying watching them too much. And I like your saw horse - I nabbed my partner's rickety saw horse for the run but the sides aren't covered like yours, but I really like that idea.

Thank you! I'm definitely still in the "new mom" stage with taking pictures and watching them, but I like to think of it as research! The chicks are enjoying the hidey areas from the sawhorses - they are starting to figure out a pecking order and running around the walls to get away. It does make harder to take pictures of them though...