So Many Things To Tell!

Many things have happened since I last posted! Most importantly, Carmen! Carmen is a Black Copper Marans hatched on April 26th. She is older than my flock, but not laying yet.

I had a two-hour drive to go pick her up, and on the way home she laid in my lap and clucked (Carmen honks, really) the whole way home! I was very impressed with such good behavior. I got her from a very nice lady who breeds all sorts of chickens (of which I am very jealous), and I will definitely go to her if I ever need any advice on the show world of chickens! I have not yet introduced Carmen to my girls, but I will put her in with them tonight so I will try to post pictures of everybody together tomorrow!

 Carmen refreshing herself after her long trip home!

 Posing - a photogenic chicken already!

Then she's off to explore the yard!

The other ladies were eating in the coop when I came with my camera, but I took some photos of the completed run without them!

I think chain link is ugly, but it was easy to put up so I am not complaining. I covered it with hardware cloth and lined the interior with hardware cloth as well.

 As you can see I painted the coop green - not exactly the color I was hoping for but since this isn't a long-term arrangement I didn't bother to test first.

 I converted a dog door to be their pop door and so far its worked pretty well! Since I had been practicing using the ladder with the girls they had no trouble scampering out when the run was finished. Here they are just sitting in front of the door inside the coop for a breeze and some shade.

The door can be lifted up easily from this side by just pulling on the string, but I have to work on getting it to slide down on its own. I think some lubrication might work.

Roosters for Sale! (7 weeks old)

Unfortunately, I came home from a vacation to find Betsy and Edith have started crowing. So I am currently looking for homes for the two of them, somewhere where they won't wind up on a dinner plate (or a snack dish in Betsy's case).

 

 Betsy has a pretty hilarious crow. It's pitch is equivalent to a mouse's squeak, but he is able to crow the classic three note crow. Its not that loud and its rather pathetic, but its cute. He is less afraid of people now, and I could see Betsy making a pet rooster (aside from his finger attacking habits). So hopefully I can sell his cuteness and find him a good home.

 Edith's crow is much louder and far more manly than Betsy's. It sounds more like a long squawk, but I am sure with practice it will get better. Edith's comb is far redder in real-life than in these pictures, by the way. 

I can't say coming home to Edith's being a rooster was much of a surprise. I knew from the moment I lifted him out of the box that he was going to be a very manly she at the least. Edith doesn't like being picked up (the actual lifting and grabbing part), but you can hold him in your arms and snuggle and he is content with that. I am hoping that he too will be able to find a good home, but I am thinking that his large size will make him less of a pet. Who knows.

 June was such a nuisance today!! She refused to look good in any photo, constantly hopped, flew, or ran out of the frame, made herself blurry by fidgeting continuously, and had a grand total of maybe three poses even worth shooting. So these two yucky photos are the result of June's photo shoot. Anyways, she looks sort of ridiculous with her cheek tufts and beard, but she is a sweetheart now. She likes to cuddle and be held. In fact, the whole flock seems to have calmed down. June is a miserable flyer though. She is not good at flying straight and often flies higher than she should and hits things. Like the ceiling of the coop. :( She worries me sometimes.

 

 Shirley is such a pretty chicken! She is still the queen of foraging, and is certainly very curious. Shirley is not a huge cuddler, but she makes up for it with her active and entertaining antics. I think she may miss Edith the most - even more than June. Shirley is rather inseparable from Edith; they do everything together! You can even see Edith's fluffy butt in the picture below.

 Nellie is a big girl now! She is the second biggest bird to Edith (which doesn't even really count because Edith is a rooster). Nellie (in concurrence with everyone else) does not like the actual grabbing part of being picked up, but is happy to snuggle. Maybe I pick them up in an uncomfortable way, who knows? I don't speak chicken. Although if I did, Nellie would be my go to gal for conversation. She is the most vocal hen. Sometimes she makes funny chirps that sound like people rolling their rs. Crazy bird.

 

I put the photo below in so you could see the change from speckled to oddly patterned brown. I am not sure if this will change with age, but I know the breed tends to get more white with each molt. This makes me think that Dot will have a white breast and a speckled back. It looks strange now and it will look strange later. Oh well. Dot is the first to run out the door of the coop when I open it, and she is a pretty good flyer. Dot is somewhat of an average chicken in personality. There is nothing wrong with that, it just means that I have very little to write about her on here.

And now, for some funny photos of ruffled feathers and napping poses!!

Moving Day!

The coop is finished enough for the chicks to move in now! I still have some exterior finishing touches, but it is all predator proof and functional! The only issue is I made a coop big enough for 8 hens because I thought I had 7... but now I only have 4! (I lost Zella and Edith and Betsy will be leaving shortly because they are roosters)

Hopefully in the future I will put trim around the window to hide the washers and the extra hardware cloth.

This will someday lift open to reveal three bins with (hopefully) eggs inside!

 June's cheek tufts are growing in! She looks so silly and she is definitely calming down towards people. She is probably the second most easily handled now.

 Dot's chest feathers aren't looking that bad, but her wings and her back and her head and her tail and her neck are still looking a little sparse. She is growing, but ever so slowly.

 I think Shirley is a very pretty bird - and she is terribly entertaining. Shirley is the best forager of the flock and is constantly searching for goodies in wood chips (even though there aren't any). She is not very fond of being held, but she is okay with being petted. Shirley is far more interested in perching on your arm than snuggling.

 Nellie is my only snuggler. She is probably only interested in me because I give her the favorite treatment (snuggling and petting and cornbread). But Nellie is extremely curious and is not afraid to come peck at me if I have sparkly nail polish on. She is past her nervous Nellie days!

 For a while, I was really hoping Edith was a girl. Simply a hen with a serious attitude issue. But alas, no. I am convinced due to Edith's gargantuan size and her rooster tail feathers and her large, red crest that she is a he. Betsy is a rooster too! She (he) leaves me with no doubt though. Betsy attacks my fingers, struts around like a little prince, is growing a huge red crest and wattles and has rooster tail feathers. Betsy exudes a manly aura. I am starting to look for homes for these two because I have a feeling it won't be long until I hear some crowing!

My brother and his favorite hen! Too cute! (I told him to smile but I think he was a little scared of June pooping on him)

Chicken Coop Update

Thanks to a few busy days I wasn't able to do anything to the chicken coop until today. Today I put the framing for the side walls and the roof up as well as the left wall! Lots of progress! The roof spacers are a little bit crooked but functional nonetheless!

 

Wood and nails and chickens... Oh my!

Today was the first day of actual coop construction and I am already blistered. The coop is coming along very nicely though! I have the floor done and the front and back walls are framed.

 The plywood pile! It was difficult carrying all this in to the backyard, but the frustrating part is I know that I have to bring some of it back out again so that I can cut doors and windows into them.

 The 2x4 pile...

 Here is a close-up of the extraordinarily heavy concrete pier blocks we used to raise the coop. Be careful not to throw out your back or smash your fingers with these things!

 

The chicks are still oblivious to their new home's semi-existence. But they still enjoy the yard! 

Look at that absurd tail feather! I don't know if that is the start of rooster feathers or some strange anomaly that will be disappearing soon, but Betsy looks silly with that lone feather waving around. 

Nellie had a rather adorable camera-caught grooming session today.

Fuzzy butts! Edith looks monstrous next to Shirley and Shirley isn't even small.

I thought maybe if I took a photo that hid all of Dots feathers (or lack there of) she might look pretty! Actually, this photo was a complete accident. I was trying to catch June I took this shot. Not bad for a blind photo!

I think Dot might turn out alright in the end... but she is sure going through an awkward phase. Here chest, which is supposed to be lightly speckled white, is pretty much white with a few brown speckles. She has a rather pitiful appearance as of now. I always put up her most glamorous shots though!

Look at how tall Edith can be!!