I haven't posted lately because there hasn't been too much new happening. The chickens have learned to put themselves to bed at night, so no more running around under the net trying to stuff them into their coop! They've got a little roost set up in their coop, and every time we open the back door we find them all nestled together on it. They're learning to run to the other side of the pen when the dogs come over, and to run to meet us when we come over. They are as low-maintenance as promised and even more fun. It got into the high eighties here yesterday and the chickens spent a lot of time lolling in the shade, but they didn't appear to be distressed.

The dogs got a bath outside yesterday, too. Both girls adore swimming, and they always want attention and petting -so why is it that adding a little shampoo to the mix makes them so miserable? After the torture, they ran around joyously and rolled in the grass, so it looks like it made them feel at least a little better.

Spring

It's here! Jonah helped me with transplanting by dumping my pots full of soil and delicate little leek and broccoli starts onto our gravel paths. However, it turns out that leek and broccoli starts are more hardy than you'd think - maybe he has found the easy way of doing this for me!

The dogs have found that the straw is a nice place to rest when it's chilly. Zoe makes a nest for herself under the coop (on the other side of the fence from the chickens, of course), and Bella will lie next to her but out in the open. She's a shelter dog and has always been claustrophobic. Here's the back of the coop, sans dogs:The section poking out in front is for nest boxes! It is just tacked down for now. Later, we will add hinges so we can get eggs without having to disturb the hens. Eggs won't happen for a few months, though.

The chickens like their new spot. They hang out in a group at all times, just the four of them. We all love to go back and just watch them. The Buff girls will poke their heads out of the fencing to see us, and they'll eat out of our hands. The Rhode Islands are still more timid, but they'll come over and see us, too. Dave's had to catch them and put them in the coop at night - they won't go in on their own, so he has to chase them. Which is a feat, considering that the bird netting is stretched about 3.5 feet high and he's 6'2". He still likes them.

This is the only decent shot I got of the birds yesterday. I had to poke the camera through fencing, and it was sunny, so I'll try and get some nicer ones later.
Oh! And the new owner of our rooster e-mailed me some shots of the rooster in his adoptive home. The rooster is in chicken heaven: he now lives with eight hens in a huge and fancy coop, shares space with some horses and later will have a whole acre to wander during the day. It worked out perfectly for everyone, and we've even been invited to stop by to visit him sometime. Here he is in the middle of his harem:

We're out!

At long last, the chickens are out of their too-small brooder. It was probably a week overdue - their peep-peeps are gone, now they sort of croon (although I heard some clucking out of our suspected rooster when Dave picked him up). They've had feathers and combs brushing the roof the brooder for days, and whenever I went into the laundry room I saw little yellow heads peeking out curiously at me. Dave made a superhuman effort to finish the coop this weekend, and though there is still quite a bit of finishing that needs to be done, it is now habitable for birds. They are so happy!
Those are nest boxes on the right, spots for future egg laying. We put their food and water inside the coop for now. I'm not sure if we'll keep it in there, or if that will go outside, but since they're still so young, we want to make sure they have access to everything they need. Dave put up the heat lamp out there; it makes the coop glow like a jack o'lantern! I can actually see it out the window behind the computer desk. I wonder what the neighbors think...

It got too dark for more photos. Jonah and I will bring the camera out tomorrow for the chickens' first full day outside.

And, Monday news: Our rooster is officially going to be picked up today and taken to his new home on a farm with lots of hens. The man who is picking him up told me that he'll take photos of his new home and e-mail them to me. I'm so happy, even though this was the chick that completely grossed me out a few posts ago, he's grown into himself and he is lovely, and I'd hate to think of him going off to his death. So after today we'll have four birds, two of each breed. A nice number.