My four little chickies "arrived" (from the feed store) a week ago today. Two Buff Orps (Grace and Geneva), one Americana (Polly) and one Barred Rock (Daisey). I know...I know...bad idea to name them so young, especially as our town won't let us keep a rooster...so of course we named them anyway and after mothers, a favorite aunt and a grandma.
What a difference a week makes at this age! They have gone from little puff-balls to pre-adolescents with attitude! They are already sorting themselves out, and to our surprise their little rankings pretty much match their namesakes! They are all showing wing feathers and little bristles on their butts!! They are also getting wilder and wilder, so today I made a chicken-wire cover for their home. They are in my bathroom, and I figured it would only be a few days 'till they were perching on the towel rack and pooping in the shower, or maybe vice-versa.
Last Saturday (remember we have had them a week today...Wednesday) I decided they needed to start getting used to being handled, so I crumbled up a tiny bit of boiled egg yolk in my palm. They were shy at first but now they absolutely go NUTS. I do this 2-3 times a day ("random positive operant conditioning" and all that stuff) and now when THE HAND is empty they climb all over it looking for where the treat is hidden and glaring at me reproachfully. Yesterday I tried them on a little green veg...no thank you boss!
Broccoli! Ewww...yuck...
(From the left they are Pretty Polly with her stripes, Daisey with her little white spot, Geneva the smaller Buff Orp and, Gracie Queen of the Flock up on her perch!)
For now I am working sporadically on the future outside home. The coop is done but I am still stringing wire for the run. The plan is for them to have about a 10x20 permanent run, and then allow them to forage around the yard when we are around. I am finding that running chicken wire is not easy...it keeps wanting to snap back! However, by the time it gets warm enough for them to be out AND they get big enough to be a real pain inside, it will be done.
Dave
What a difference a week makes at this age! They have gone from little puff-balls to pre-adolescents with attitude! They are already sorting themselves out, and to our surprise their little rankings pretty much match their namesakes! They are all showing wing feathers and little bristles on their butts!! They are also getting wilder and wilder, so today I made a chicken-wire cover for their home. They are in my bathroom, and I figured it would only be a few days 'till they were perching on the towel rack and pooping in the shower, or maybe vice-versa.
Last Saturday (remember we have had them a week today...Wednesday) I decided they needed to start getting used to being handled, so I crumbled up a tiny bit of boiled egg yolk in my palm. They were shy at first but now they absolutely go NUTS. I do this 2-3 times a day ("random positive operant conditioning" and all that stuff) and now when THE HAND is empty they climb all over it looking for where the treat is hidden and glaring at me reproachfully. Yesterday I tried them on a little green veg...no thank you boss!
Broccoli! Ewww...yuck...
(From the left they are Pretty Polly with her stripes, Daisey with her little white spot, Geneva the smaller Buff Orp and, Gracie Queen of the Flock up on her perch!)
For now I am working sporadically on the future outside home. The coop is done but I am still stringing wire for the run. The plan is for them to have about a 10x20 permanent run, and then allow them to forage around the yard when we are around. I am finding that running chicken wire is not easy...it keeps wanting to snap back! However, by the time it gets warm enough for them to be out AND they get big enough to be a real pain inside, it will be done.
Dave
