Chicks Story

This was the Nanna weekend but only one of my three grandsons came. I was very disappointed as I had things for them to do, repairs to the coop to be made (so the buys can get used to using the drill and hammer and learning how to paint) but it wound up being just little G and I. After we went shopping I figured out that it worked out better being with one grandson rather than 3. In this instance anyway.

We drove about an hour to get 4 chickens. I wound up buying:

a Cuckoo Maran who I found out when I got home is a brown layer not a chocolate layer but they are pretty so I am okay with it

a golden comet

a Barred Rock which looks just like the Cockoo Maran.

What I read that the farm was selling  and what what he actually had were two different things. Heck, I did not even get a plain old Rhode Island Red like I planned, but I decided to roll with them because I knew coming home empty handed would have set Little G off into a fit and I did not feel like dealing with that. Their place was in a very nice upscale subdivision. The house looked to be about 2,000 sf and I was a little taken aback. Usually people in these upscale subdivisions have restrictions against having chickens, and the ones that don’t have restrictions have pesky neighbors who don’t want chickens any where near them, but times are really changing. Its a back-to-nature movement going on. The people had a nice set up. He had a shed where he kept his bitty bins, his incubators were in the garage, and his coop was in the back behind his meticulously manicured lawn. I wanted to take a photo of his lawn but I thought that might be a bit too imposing so I let the man have his privacy LOL. I liked his coop set up and I am thinking of doing something like this around my current coop so I can let the chickens out and they will be protected. Since I saw it I have been thinking about how to adapt it to my set up and I don’t think it will be too difficult (with a little help from my muscled friends LOL).

When I got home I looked at my coop and now all of a sudden a different set of eyes seen it and it did not make me very happy. I had to take the door off my coop because I made it out of the wrong material and it was getting soft right where the hinges are and across the bottom. I loved how I painted the door but there really was no way to salvage it. That’s okay…I will just paint something different on the next door. I am going to give it a name this time too. Diva Den is one possibility, Hen Hangout is another, Red Roost Inn, and Clucky’s is also on the list.

I up-cycled my old back door and put it on the coop but I am telling you right now….it looks a hot mess!! I had to cut the door down and then I turned it upside down and put the plexiglass at the bottom so the kids can look in. It is an eye sore … I admit that…take a look…

Disgusted I figured I did what any sane person would do….I went out to get some more little chickies. I found another ad on Craigslist for Fancy Chicks at Fowl Play Farm. Hmmmm sounds interesting. Lil G and I went out there. He was in heaven because she had some goats.

She gave Lil G some food so he could feed the goats.

He had a ball.

I wound up buying 2 silkies mixed with mottled d’uccle’s from her. I wish I could have taken a photo of the parents but my camera phone’s  battery died. They look like diva chicks and are soooooo cute. This is what the each looks like. Now imagine them mixed together. ohhhhh

a Golden Laced Polish Top hat (another Diva)

A Millie

And finally a Jersey Giant/Giant Cochin cross. I couldn’t find a photo of them but this is what they look like individually

We had a ball and I think I FINALLY have a good mix of chicks. Bear, on the other hand, probably does not think anything positive of it because he is not feeling the love. He is crazy jealous. LOL…Get used to it Bear cause the goats are probably coming soon!! He is mad and went on a peeing spree in the house this morning, I guess he was telling the chickens this is his house. I am so mad at him!!! He peed three times on my Flokati rug!!! All that money I paid for that thing. I sprayed it with some animal odor neutralizer so he won’t pee on it again and I put it in the dryer under the refresh cycle and now the rug is matted! Uggggh. I could kill Bear. He is locked up now and absolutely only allowed to come out to get walked and then back to the kennel!

Oh and just for clarification purposes the photos are of adults so you can see how my babies should look when grown. I actually purchased 2-3 day old bitties/peeps….ain’t they cute y’all?

Update: I had to take the bitties out of the small cage because they were going stir crazy. I was concerned about putting them in a box because once they get a little size they will fly out and I did not want to come home to find a bunch of chickens wandering all over my sitting room. That is why I used the kennel. But ultimately it was too small. It just so happens I just got a box from Macy’s containing a bedding set. The box was perfect. I taped the top up so that the sides of the box will be higher, put some newspaper down, shavings, a slip resistant mat for the water, poked holes in the side for the feeder wires and put the lamp on the side for additional heat. They seem to be a little happier. Who likes to be cramped up anyway?

I know you are probably thinking “That is not a heat lamp!” well no it is not. I have a regular bulb in there but I also have a radiator in the room and it is nice and cozy in there. My light bill is probably going to give me a shocker but it is only for a few weeks.

9 chickens, soon at least 9 eggs a day, x 7 days = 63 eggs a week. I have no choice but to go into the egg business. 63 eggs a week is 5 dozen a week x $4 a dozen…yes! Gas money!!

What are your views on having Backyard Chickens???