With a little help from my friends - New Coop Under Construction!

[drumstick diva]

Okay she is off the hook for now

 

[HHandbasket]

Well those chickens certainly deserve this coop, too, let me tell you! Today while I was out there helping Farmer Lew, the chickens for the most part don't pay us too much mind... until we have a sandwich. I can't eat much and always have plenty of extras for my chicken friends, so I was able to make some friends today. Linda's big main rooster, Carl, is just the biggest, prettiest ol' roo you could ever see, and while he has never come after me, I would NEVER mess with his flock if he gave me a warning. He's HUGE and has big spurs, but I have never seen him be anything other than gentle and sweet with his hens. His crow has a sound that can only be described as solid and rich. As many times as I've been out to Linda's place, Carl's always been a little bit stand-offish around me, but I think this coop-building project has helped bring us closer together because today, Carl ate from my hand for the first time. I was soooo excited, I was dancin' around the yard like a 6-year-old. "Carl ate from my hand! Carl ate from my hand!" Now Carl is very friendly toward me and followed me around the whole rest of the day... no doubt waiting for me to produce another sandwich from my pocket, as he did actually take a peck at my pocket to see if there might be a treat there that I may have inadvertently "forgotten" to share with my chicken friends. Hehehehe... it was great.

Then there's Kellogg. Now, I want Kellogg for my hens, but I live in a no-rooster zone (even though I hear roosters all over the neighborhood, but that's another story all together). Kellogg is the brother of my Olivia, and they are BCM/penedesenca/ameraucana mixes (shooting for an olive egger, but 25% of those chicks turned out straight-combed and lays dark brown eggs like a BCM or penedesenca). Anyway, Kellogg is a very pretty bird, very well-mannered and has his own group of girls out in Linda's yard. The last few times I've been there, Kellogg has apparently chosen a beautiful blue wyandotte hen as his favorite & they hang out together. I like this particular blue wyandotte, as well, because she used to belong to Kalie, and her name is Phoebe. Well, I come out there and I see Kellogg finding bugs and treats, and he'll GO AND GET PHOEBE (instead of crowing and calling her over) and bring her quietly over to the treats first before he announces it for everybody else. I happened to catch a shot with my cell phone of Kellogg taking Phoebe off to an area where he'd found a juicy tidbit he wanted to share with his favorite girl.

Here's Kellogg and Phoebe, checking out a treat together.

We really need to rehome some of these GORGEOUS roosters that Linda has. She has a high rooster-to-hen ratio (almost 1:1) & those boys need flocks of their own. I would take any of them in a heartbeat.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Great pictures.. and what a nice story about Carl and Kellogg. Aren't roosters neat?

looking forward to more pics

 

[gryeyes]

<*whine*>
I don't wanna wait for painting, I wanna outfit my coop RIGHT NOW. Who needs doors? Couldn't I just forget about interior paint? Set up nest boxes, feeders, wall decorations, and roll with that?? I wanna tinker with it!

<*deep breath*>

Okay. I'm all better now. This calmness should last another hour, maybe.

I just may put down the vinyl flooring without any assistance if I can find my staples. The chickens won't care how it looks! I will cover it with shavings, anyway. I can tack up the tin signs on the inside walls - they can be removed before I paint (down to the shavings, right?) and I'm just deciding on locations for them right now anyway....

<*another deep breath*>

Auuggghhh!!!

 

[gryeyes]

Here's a photo of Inspector No. 12 hard at work.

One of THREE Splash Jersey Giants hatched from Wynette's eggs. Six hatched out of 7 eggs: a Black (Roo), 2 Blue (Roos, maybe one is a pullet, the vote is still out on her/him) and 3 Splashes (2 Roos and just 1 pullet). They are STILL GROWING!

 

[Miss Lydia]

looks like a

from that one. and I'll add my own too

 

[drumstick diva]

is inspector 12 the one that stuffs little pieces of paper inside things that say "inspected." I never dreamed I would actually see her.

 

[Miss Lydia]

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Loving the pictures!

Keep up the good work!

 

[gryeyes]

Well, here is my handsome Carl, Leader of the Entire Flock.

This is the Black Jersey Giant Roo and one of the Blues, which I am hoping is a pullet. Oh, and some anonymous little fluffy butt, too.

Delilah, my Delaware.

This is Frick.

And this is Frick and Frack.