CHICKENS!

 

I am probably way more excited than I need to be about this, but...I have chickens.  Chicks to be precise.  our plan was to start with ten of them.  We now have fifteen.  We haven't lost any either...not yet.  They are sooooo small and fluffy!  Our dog Zoey can barely keep herself contained; chicks are the perfect little squeaky fluff toy to her, so we've got to keep a close eye when they're in the same room.  And Quinn is beside himself.  He picks them up so quickly when allowed to.  Needless to say, the chicks are a little afraid of Quinn and his bouncy character at the moment.  Perrin wants to hold them badly but ends up being a little too rough with them, so instead he gets to pet them when mommy holds them.

Tim won't hold them.  I don't know what his problem is, he doesn't connect well with animals I guess.  I love him either way, and he is right about one thing; they are here for eggs and meat.  

I still plan on enjoying them completely though.

Our fifteen chicks are a mixed variety, supposedly all sexed females, and constantly have to have their butts cleaned at the moment.  I'm okay with it though, it's not like I'm not still in the middle of baby diapers with Perrin, so what are a few more tiny butts to clean?

A Black Australorp (we have two)

An Easter Egger (we have five)

A Buff Orpington (we have two)

A Rhode Island Red (we have two)

A Black Laced Silver Wyandotte (we have two)

A Gold Laced Wyandotte (we have two)

Right now they are kept indoors, in our office room to be exact, with shavings, food, water, and a heat lamp.  The dog loves to lay by the clear bin and watch them, and they love the space provided by the long container.  I'm still trying to figure out what to put them in next after they are too large for the bin but need to stay indoors still because of the cold.  I'm sure I'll get creative.

Obviously once they are larger they will need a coop and run, preferably outside of the house, and so I got to work a couple months ago to make sure a coop would be prepared on time.  The shed in our backyard was already large enough to create a stable, indoor place for the coop to be built within, and it has plenty of room to the side of it for the run.  After a few hours of taking measurements outside, gridding things out in photoshop, and labeling, I had a basic chicken coop plan that my husband and I could go off of.  

One or two things have changed, but the idea has stayed the same, and today we are very close to being done with the chicken coop.  A few hinged doors on the backs of the nesting boxes, a latch on the door, and add some roosting perches, plus some hay at the bottom and a closeable door to where the run will go, and the coop is done!  My parents were very kind and came out here during this time because it was my birthday and soon it will be Tim and my anniversary as well.  I got fruit trees and chickens for my birthday in essence, as well as a wonderful night out with my husband at a dinner and magic show!  It's been a very fun weekend thus far.

The Coop door is actually in already, just needs a latch to keep it closed now.

My awesome husband and dad working together to finish up the project.

Nesting boxes, about one foot by one foot so they are a little snug for the chickens.

A look at the interior thus far.  I plan on making it fun and cozy for the girls.

In the future we'll probably add a couple of turkeys to the coop as well, but for now all this space is for my girls.  Their run will be completely fenced in, even on top, because I don't want them flying out, plus we have a kite (like a falcon), that roosts in one of our juniper trees and hunts from the top of the 'bean tree', so the chickens need to stay safe from the outside as well.

Right now I'm happy to enjoy these little chicks as babies.  I'm excited for eggs and meat, but am okay with getting to snuggle them a bit here and there for now.