Greyscale Acres -- Chapter 1

Stressful day for me.

I found out Wednesday that I was definitely exposed to a confirmed COVID19 case and gave the health department a full week to contact me like they're supposed to. They didn't so I called them and then, as directed, called my own doctor.

I'll get test results back sometime early next week and am currently quarantined.

Chillin' with my peeps is definitely a stress reliever. I gave them their first taste of mealworms today -- just a few so they can get a taste for them and then be lured into our hands by the yumminess.

The Brahmas are now 4 weeks, the rest 2 weeks. Even thought the Brahmas tower the little ones keep up. The smallest, the Wyandotte sisters, are the pushiest -- going right under the Brahmas to snatch a morsel away from the big girls.

Omelet loves to sit up at the window and look out.
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Chipotle is developing an impressive tail:
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They're still hiding in the corners where I can't reach them. Thus the mealworm training.
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I did not get a picture of Teriyaki dustbathing in a hole they've dug in the shavings. It was quite adorable. She flopped around and shook dust through her feathers like a little kid splashing in the tub. :D
 
Thank you. I'm afraid that they're still quite terrified of me. :(

Mealworms have not yet proven to be the magic chicken trainer they're said to be.
I would try bread. Not too much though because too much can be toxic while they are still this young. Tear a few small pieces and hold it in your hand. You just have to be patient because they might not want it right away.
 
Chillin' with my peeps this evening.

A couple green beans from our dinner, chopped up small, lured them close but they didn't care much for them and I didn't try any chick rodeo. I just sat there, reading a Kindle book on my phone and doing my evening Bible study by the light of the sunset. Pleasantly cool -- down to only 80 or so with a light breeze.

Twice chicks popped up onto the board in the door that's supposed to slow down escapes, but they were quite startled to be so close to me and backed down.

The Brahma girls are getting quite scruffy looking as feathers are starting to come in:
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The younger girls are still baby-adorable, with remarkable flying capability on those little wings:
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We have made progress!!!!

While my chicks can take or leave mealworms -- mostly leave them if my hands are nearby -- they seem to absolutely love green stuff. So I pulled a healthy sourgrass (aka wood sorrel), out of an area that needed weeding anyway and sat there holding it where they could see it.

First they circled. Then little Chipotle, the California White, dashed in and out. Then Omelet, the larger Light Brahma, stalked up, stared at it, and snatched a leaf before fleeing.

Dumpling, the other Brahma, joined in the action with Teriyaki, the darker Blue Australorp, unable to resist finding out what her sisters were eating.

After a few tentative bites the feeding frenzy began for five of the seven. Only the Wyandotte sisters failed to join in, though Cordon, the other Australorp, was late to come and first to stop. At the height of the action Dumpling actually touched my finger with her beak.

I didn't attempt to catch any of them this time. I'm hoping that the weather will be appropriate on Friday when I'm off for me to use the butterfly net to catch each chick, to photograph them (they're getting adorably ragged as their feathers come in), and put them down on the grass inside the little fence I have around the access door.

DH is going to install the electric poultry netting but we can't trust them in it until I've secured the plastic net around the bottom so they can't readily get through the mesh (the Shock or Not version with the built-in chick net was out of stock and out of our price range).
 
It is the 14yo's job to check on the chicks for me at regular intervals while I'm at work.

When I got home today he told me that he'd checked on them an extra time, spent 15 minutes or so with them each time, and *almost* gotten Chipotle to take a mealworm from his hand.

He asked if what he'd done was OK. I told him that he had done very well. :)

I'm happy to have a partner in chickenkeeping. He does remember gathering eggs from the in-town flock half his lifetime ago.

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Note: Adorable child in the photo is now taller than his father and has a mustache. Cherish the moments. :)
 

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