Awkward adolescence

It has arrived. Last week our chicks were cute little fluffballs. In a while they will have beautiful soft feathers. But now they're all scaly legs, goose-pimpled (chicken-pimpled?) necks, and exposed quills. And they're getting smelly. But still, there's a certain charm about them. Their peeps are still high-pitched and they're getting very curious. Every time I visit, they stretch those long necks up to check me out and come over to peck at my fingers.

I haven't posted much lately mainly because it's difficult to get a good quality photo of them in the pen; the lighting just isn't right. It's warming up a little bit around here, and I'm planning on taking them out for a field trip in the back yard soon!

A farmer is born

I know I said that children aren't supposed to handle birds, but I also keep reading how people take their chicks out and let their children play with them, so we got out the antibacterial wipes and let one of the RIRs out (not Lucky) to explore a bit. Jonah was fascinated, and very gentle. The chick wasn't afraid at all - it seems as though they're getting a little bit used to us, and perhaps less fearful as they get older. They're a whole week old now!

I can't tell you how difficult it is to get a non-blurry photo of a two-year-old with a chick - nobody stops moving, ever! But you can get a bit of a glimpse of her new back feathers. Pretty, aren't they?

The other ones

Here are the other members of our household: Zoe the border collie and Bella the lab, and Gary the mellow Siamese mix. All of them are mutts from the animal shelter, and all are very sweet creatures. We aren't sure how they are going to take a bunch of birds hanging out in their yard, though. Zoe has seen the chicks, and her response was energetic sniffing, whining and chop-licking. Uh-oh. Websites I've been to say that dogs can be trained to see the birds as livestock to protect, but that it's also difficult to make sure they don't get a taste for fresh chicken...feathered sushi!

So our chickens will have their own fortified place in our yard, surrounded by chicken wire and netting on top to keep hawks out. It used to be the site of a broken-down shed and a dirt pile. The shed and dirt pile are gone, thanks to Dave, and Jonah and I mulched the place and sowed rye grass a week ago. The grass has already sprouted - look closely and you'll see tiny red shoots coming out of the seeds.

We spent a lot of time outside yesterday, knowing that the rains were supposed to come back soon. The deluge has arrived, so today we're indoors. I am looking forward to drier weather; Jonah's favorite thing to do is work outside, as you can see.

Thanks, Auntie Lisa!

I mentioned Jonah's love for the digital camera to my sister, and this is what he gets in the mail today! His own camera! He's here with me now, pointing to the picture of himself on the computer and pointing down to his camera happily. He's in love, Lisa. Maybe I'll get him to start documenting the chicks now...
Lucky's doing fine by the way. Here she is, safe and sound. She's remarkably docile, really a nice little bird.

Happy Easter!

Dave bought some Cadbury Eggs for Easter, and I had wanted to get a cute/cheesy photo of a chick next to the egg for the blog. Unfortunately, by the time I was able to sit down and take a photo, the eggs had all disappeared! So, the chick got to hang out with some Hershey's miniatures. She complained loudly and pooped on one of the candy bars (no, I did not put it back!), but overall did quite well with her first solo photo shoot.

The two chicks that we were holding for our friend until Easter went to their new home yesterday, so now we're left with six. I think the chicks are calmer with that much more space in the brooder - less pushing and pecking, anyway. My parents and Grandma got to meet the chicks for the first time, and agreed with my assessment of little Lucky, she just appears to be a little off. But as Grandma pointed out, she's in the best possible environment (except maybe with her own mama), so if she can make it, she will. Hold on, Lucky!

Things are happening with all the chicks' wings. They spend a lot of time stretching and preening them, and even do tiny test flights. Without the hardware cloth over the top of the brooder, it wouldn't be too long before they could fly themselves right out of it! We've also noticed the beginnings of combs developing above the beaks. The comb is still too tiny to see in the photo, but the chicks are looking more hen-like every day.

Here is a (rather blurry) chick's-eye view of the brooder. The poor things are getting used to have a huge gray camera suddenly lowered into their world. I wanted to get a view of the nascent wing and tail feathers, but in this photo you can really see the Rhode Island Red I'm a bit concerned about. I know almost nothing about chicks, so it could be this one is just mellow and sleeps a lot, but she is a bit runty and often stands by herself with her eyes closed. It seems to me that she gets shoved out of the way at the feeder by the Buff birds, who are HUGE compared to her, but I've also seen her eat and drink, so perhaps she'll just be a quiet bird. Let's hope, because she is the one bird I've become attached to so far! Lisa - if this one does well, you know her name already!

The thing that looks like a limbo stick running across the picture is a wooden dowel that we've stuck in there for a roost. Nobody has really taken the initiative to hop up there yet, although Dave said he saw a couple of the Buff Orpingtons (see, this is why we need names!) on it when he checked them before bed. Mostly they just jump over it, though I have seen evidence of bird bums having been on the dowel at least for a moment...

You can see them here running willy-nilly to get away from the Big Hand, hopping over the roost, scooting to the corner. This kind of gives a sense of how they move; just imagine little panicked cheeps and you've got it!

Dave was the one who really wanted the Rhode Island Reds and I wanted the Orpingtons, but now we've got them I really am more attached to the little red ones. The feeling does not appear to be mutual, as you can see. I do hope they start liking us soon, they've got to figure out we're the nice guys who give them food, right? I assure them that I won't hurt them but then feel sneaky, because there is that small chance that one of them may end up in a stewpot one day....

Chick magnet

Early this morning I peeked into the brooder and saw that one of the Rhode Island Reds had a little problem known as "pasty butt". Basically, they get stressed out and have some intestinal problems, which need to be taken care of or else they'll die. Every problem with chicks seems to be magnified: if they have slippery bedding, their legs will dislocate and they'll DIE. If they get a tummy upset, their poop will crust over and they'll DIE. Well.

I took this little one and wiped off its bottom (familiar territory in this household with a recently potty-trained child, really). As I did this, I heard a door open and Jonah shuffled down the hall, newly woken up, squinting and rubbing his eyes. So I showed him the baby chick and explained what I was doing.

You're not supposed to let children touch chicks, first because of salmonella risks, and second because the chicks are so fragile. So Jonah just watched the chick peep for a bit, and then I took pity on the poor thing and put it back with her mates.
The chicks are getting wing feathers to replace the fuzz. We'll have to take them out of the box tonight to change all the bedding, and I'll see if I can get some good shots then.

New baby chicks!

With a little push from my sister Lisa, I'm officially dipping my toe into the blogosphere, and I'm taking the little toes of six baby chicks along with me!

The yellow ones hogging the spotlight are Buff Orpingtons, and the shy ones in back are Rhode Island Reds. None of them were at all pleased with the camera I stuck into the brooder.

We picked them up yesterday from the feed store and installed them into our brooder, which is made from the bottom of the crate we used to house-train our border collie. They've got wood pellets to stand and poop on (lots of standing and pooping happening), a little metal feeder with baby chick food, and a tiny dish of water.
On top of the brooder we've set up some hardware cloth, and over that the heat lamp. There's a thermometer inside the brooder. We try to keep the temp around 95 for the chicks. They've got a bright light on them 24 hours a day, and only blank beige walls to look at - seems like it'd drive them out of their tiny bird brains, but evidently their brains are so very tiny that it doesn't bother them. So this will be their home for the next six weeks, until they've got enough feathers and yard-smarts to move into their own coop outside.

We also have a really good two-year-old helper who loves to be involved in everything we do. Right now he is very interested in what the chicks are doing and imitates the little peeping sound they make. He has fed adult chickens at a friend's farm, so he's got some experience under his elasticized waistband. I think he is going to enjoy our little flock.

So far the chicks haven't been named. We're actually chick-sitting two extra babies until Easter for another friend, so there are almost too many to keep track of. I imagine that in a little while we will be able to pick out individuals and get some sense of personality, and maybe we will get to naming them. Dave thinks we might eat these birds someday and is discouraging names. I'm doubtful that we will have the heart or stomach to do that, but if we do, I really have no more problem eating Doris the hen than I do hen #4 or whatever. Naming is fun, so I will at least name them here so we can keep them straight. Sound good?

The other thing we have to do is get the backyard ready for the birds. We have no coop yet, and we have to protect our garden from marauding beaks. Dave is going to build a Place for Poultry with the help of a friend who has lots of experience through Habitat for Humanity...ahem...We've got some new raised beds and just put up a protective cover. We not only have to protect from chickens, but also two dogs, various neighborhood cats, and the aforementioned helper two-year-old, who isn't quite sure of the difference between a weed and a veggie yet. In the winter we'll put plastic over the cover and have a little greenhouse!

Back to the chicks: Right now there's not too much going on in the brooder, just some peep-peeping and running around wildly when the Big Hand comes in to scoop someone up or do a bit of maintenance. I will post more soon!