i know i know

i owe you guys pictures.
i swear im trying to get them! honest!
there so fast at this age and all over the place, but theyve all grown so much, the older ones look like chickens now and the younger ones are not far behind them.

Unfortunatly i think sammy bird might be a roo, im not sure yet but if thats the case "she" will be looking for a new home as soon as its confirmed, i hope not, i like the australorps :(
its hard to belive the little ones will be 3 weeks old on wednesday, and the bigger ones a month on weds already!

the coop and run are under construction as theyll be ready to go outside soon.
for now though they enjoy digging through the shavings in the pen, eating anything orange, and generally making a mess...
its funny to watch them running around and chest bopping eachother in a show of hierarchy lol.

im hoping by the end of this week to be going to pick up 2 goslings too, but im not yet sure if we want back yard mixes or if we should just say screw it and order from purely! they have the buffs and romans!

in other "farming" news, lowes has (ending today) a sale on all 5" bonnie veggies and herbs, yesterday i picked up 2 "bit bertha" peppers which supposedly are awesome bell peppers, and 6 tomatoe plants of 5 different verieties. well be saving the seeds from the fruits for next years planting, im hoping by then ill have the shed cleaned up and sorted out to use some of that space as a greenhouse/for seed starting.

we also planted the 2 blueberries and 2 raspberries which seem to have taken, and the 2 grape vines that i moved also seem to be doing well. im realy hoping for some fruit from those grapes soon, there a few years old already but never realy flourished where they were.

so thats all for now.

today im going out to scour the nurseries to see whats out there for the flower beds, i did pick up a sorbet peony and an artemisia for the flower beds but need more :)
my grandparents are supposed to be comming out this summer and i want the garen looking spectacular!

a big move!

well the chickies are getting bigger...
and well..more active!

milly has been practicing her "flying" and hopping up on the feed/water-er and quite frankly, its not working in the brooder box.

so today i set up the playpen upstairs
i dont have a secure top for it, so im going to see if i can use the 2 spare baby gates to make some kind of kitty proof top, and if so they will be moved in fully...
if not however they will spend their nights in the smaller brooder and their days in the playpen in the center of family activity. Im also hoping this move will increase thier confidence and make them a little less jumpy.
there sooo cute in their new playpen, ive given them a 2 x 4 on the floor as a starter roost, as they get a little better at roosting ill move it a few inches off the ground, the little ones are still happy on the ground, but the bigger girls seem to be enjoying the roost.
Digging is the new pastime lol, they seem to LOVE digging through the shavings, mabe there just searching for the newspaper underneath, gotta have something to read lol.

the older girls are in their dinosaur/scruffy stage and simply look funny, there also flapping hopping at and chasing each other, obviously establishing hierachy.
the little ones are joining in the games too, running and flapping as if the extra propulsion will get them some lift there sooo silly!

new pictures comming soon :)

so there a week old

yup the new gals are a week old today, the "old" gals are 2 weeks, its pretty amazing to see the difference. Pictures later, i promise!

the 2 week olds are beginning to enter the dinosaur stage...that stage where they have some feathers and thier fluff is loosing its fluffiness so they look like some strange creatures from a time gone by...
there getting active now too, milly particularly has taken to hopping onto of the feeder and from there she was hopping right out of the brooder...
quick fix on that one i might add, the walls are now about 12" higher...though it wont hold them for long lol.

the 1 week olds are getting their wing feathers in quickly too, there active and a little crazy, i need to start spending more time with each of them individually again...
this week has been so hectic pet sitting for my frined though...im hoping i havent missed crutial bonding stages!

yes you can bond with chickens!!!

im thinking today im going to have to rig up the playpen instead of the box, the bigger ones realy need a roost now and im sure a little extra room woundt be a bad thing for them, just have to figure out rigging for the light.
id love to move them to the main living area now there a little bigger, just so they get more used to people comming and going, but im not sure if i can rig up a strong enough roof for the playpen to keep the cat out, who would either go 1 of 2 ways...eat them, or run away from them.
theres no real way to rig the lamp up upstairs either without moving a bunch of stuff and blocking a path way so id need to get creative there too...would be better for them to be in the center of the action though...
ill have to see what i can rig up with chicken wire and timber scraps to make the playpen kitty proof and go from there i think...

tomorrow 3 of the new girls go to their new homes, 2 silverlaced and nugget the golden, weve decided to keep 2 of the easter eggers instead of 1 ee and the gold laced...its ok though because there going to a good home :)
and while 3 less may not seem like alot, thats more space for the remainders in the brooder :)

have i mentioned they are PIGGIES, i swear ive never seen such tiny things eat so much. im refilling the chick feeder twice daily now! and messy...lol. they keep kicking shavings into their water no matter how many times i scoop it all out and no matter what tricks ive tried to keep them out lol.

all in all though they are adorable!

*giggle*, the first treats!

So i gave the cluck clucks some grit to try out...
theyve done well so this morning i tried a cracker...they were terrified of it lol, so i left it in there and finally ronny decided to try it...

a little while later i whent down and it was gone...so i figured what the heck...crumbled up another couple of crackers and put it in there...
OMG ive never seen such a responce, it was like a swarm...or vultures...or a swarm of vultures, 14 baby chickens rushed the treat plate and within seconds 3 crackers were GONE!

chickens are scary :P

meet the New Chicks!

Little Gertrude, The Partridge rock. Shes the smallest of the group now...
her "twin" passed away, so this little one will be staying for certain.

Nugget, The Golden Laced Wyandotte...
We wernt orrigionally going to keep this little girl but the wyandottes are awesome eggers and since we lost the little buf brahma we were going to keep this little girl will be staying.
Nugget will be so named because ive named them all chicken nuggets lol, that led to my dad saying we should name one chicken nugget...and so...NUGGET...what, shes a GOLD laced wyandotte afterall! lol

Silver Laced 1, currently known as "Love-Lace" because she reminds me of a rock hopper penguin lol like in happy feet!

were not sure which of these 3 will be staying, but 1 will be, the other 2 are claimed.

Silver Laced 2

Cute little girl with nice facial patterning

Silver Laced 3, the fluffiest of the silvers :)

Easter Egger 1 AKA "super bird" (for the super man shaped emblem on her head lol)

shes a very cute little easter egger with a lovely fluffy face. i think shes going to be a red...

not sure which of these 3 are staying either!

Easter Egger #2, shes a little redder in down than #1, very cute

Easter egger #3, aka "sleepy head" (she falls asleep whenever you pick her up lol.)

Shes much darker than the other 2 girls and lacks the distinctive "chipmonk" styling.

totally confused as to what color this little one will be.

Myrtle, the Dark Brahma. Unfortunatly her buff "sister" also didnt make it, but this little girl is one tough cookie, shes almost as small as gertrude and look at her UGGS lol. but she always walks tall and can typically be found making sure they all know shes tough lol

Myrtle will be staying!

CHICKEN PICTURES: The Fab 5!

First theres Ethel.
She got perdy Wings!


Ethel seels to be the reserve queen bee now. Little Milly seems to have taken the top hen spot for now at least, but ethel is still the first to try new things :)
Shes DOUBLED in size since she got here and has some tail Feathers comming through!








Ronny's Perdy Wing...

We Think Ronny is a little gender confused...or...that is...we are confused about ronnys gender.
Shes bizzies favorite and as you can see LOVES to snuggle...But shes also the slowest to develop of the group...and slow development typically means male :(

Im still holding out hope that ronny is a she...and that we DONT have to rename her RON!

Sams Perdy Wing

Once Full grown Sam Will be all black...for now however shes sporting racing stripes lol! shes the most "Active" of the origioanl 5, and while not what id call "skittish" she certainly is the most likely to simply say "bonzai!" and jump from your hands!

Doesnt she look like trouble!?

Millies Pretty Wing

I Have to admit, Little Milicent is currently my favorite...shes such a silly bird.

she doesnt like to have her feet in your hands, but if you hold her on her chest she just lays there...hypnotized chicken anyone!?

shes got the most development of the fab 5, with even more tail feathers than Ethel!

Prudence Wing

Certainly a pretty little chicky, little prudence is the most flighty of the crew currently...working on that though.

shes SOOO perdy though look it!!!

Next post:
New Chickies Pictures!

Sad post...

we lost the little partridge that wasnt doing so well and i dont think the buff brahma is going to make it either...

next post however is much better...
PICTURES!

They're Here They're Here!

our second batch arrived this morning after a LONG 48 hours in a little box from ohio.
3 silver laced, 2 partridge rock, 3 amerucana, 1 buff brahma, and 1 dark brahma. they threw in a gold laced as the freebie.

unfortunatly upon arrival we had two "casualties"
the little buff brahma isnt doing too hot, her toes are curled and currently se seems unable to stand, im going to give her till the morning and if nothing getting better shes getting her toes braced. her crops also very large, im hoping its not impacted.
over all she seems like shes trying and is doing MUCH better now shes under the heat lamp...but im still worried.

our second was one of the partridge rocks, shes the smaller of the 2 and was DOA...something in me told me not to give up on her though so i put her under the ehat lamp and prepped some sugar, water and polyvisol in an eye dropper.
i managed to get a little in her then set her back under the ehat with the buff brahma, they seemd to snuggle up together and i whent back to bed...

side note: 4:30 am and me...were NOT friends lol.

i woke up at 8:30 and checked the box, buff brahma is getting around ok on her legs but not standing and is still weak...
partridge rock is also still weak, but doing much better.

ive got all my fingers and toes crossed that these 2 little ones pull through.

the buff brahma is ours, and the partirdge rock is supposed to be spoken for. :(
keep them in your thoughts today and send lots of strong "get big and strong" vibes their way? i know there "only chickens" but there innocent and dont deserve to die.

in other news its pretty intense to see the difference in size a week makes! the new ones are fuzzy little peanuts compared to our now almost 10 day olds! and about 1/2 the size...proof that chickens grow like weeds!

ill try and get pictures later of every one...todays going to be a bit of a busy day prepping for carlos and lauras wedding tomorrow, and ive got an apt this morning to boot.
so now, breakfast...
then ot go get dressed and do another chicky check up...
then off to my apt, then nails, then home, chicky check up, lunch/dinner, more chickky check up, then shower and an early night.

got to be onsite by 10:30 tomorrow so me and chris can practice the bit of a song for laura :)
then its party all night.

im wondering if i can figure out a drop off/pick up system so i can have a drink or 2...i wont even drink 1 then drive so itll be a boozeless night if im driving myself lol.

Dissapointment

They didnt arrive this morning...:(

i was up and down all night, just couldnt sleep well and was awake at 4am...
no call...
5am i called the post office as id not gotten chance yesterday to stop in and let them know to expect them..."not here yet, but well call you when they arrive"

well at 7am i get a call, "your chicks are here!" so i make the drive to the post office, NOT MINE. *GAH* it wasnt even like the name, address or phone number clearly marked on the box LOOKED anything like mine...
*sigh*
so now i just have to wait unitll tomorrow...another restless night expected.

in good news however its lovely out so i set up the playpen outside and took the fab 5 outside for a bit. At first they were frighend, huddled together peeping, but as soon as one started picking at the ground they all did and had a blast.
only kept them out for about 15 mins as there still not able to properly regulate their body temperatures, but they definatly enjoyed it.
BOY they have changed. Ill try and get some new pictures of them this afternoon. I need my ssiters help now as they dont just Stay in the box lol! they jump right out.

they did get a tisted branch that belonged to our past parrot to practice perching and roosting on.
they will actually be roositn gon a 2 x 4, but i also want to give their little feet some excersize and get them used to perching and walking on different objects of various shapes and sizes.

so...

im expecting a call at 4:30 tomorrow morning for the next batch of chicks.

of the ones comming in the spares have all been spoken for, which is awesome.
im quite excited to see how big our week olds are compared to the new ones lol

tomorrows going to be quite a long day though...
ive got to go pick the chicks up (assuming they arrive as due) and get them settled in.
then a full day including the rehersal dinner for my good friends...

friday ive got some garden work to do, lots to do on the coop before its ready for the chicks to move in :D

it starts again

conforimation from the hatchery...

1 Dark Brahma, 1 Buff Brahma, 3 Amerucana, 2 Partridge Rock, and 3 Silver Laced Wyandotte will be heading our way tomorrow. Should be here thursday morning (prepping for another 4:30 am morning! lol) and im Super Excited.

already got a home lined up for the 2 spare silver laced and the 1 spare partridge rock so thats awesome, ill just have 2 spare amerucanas and whatever extras they put in :)
all in all well total 10 chicks, hopefully noone turns out to be male...

im looking at YOU ronny bird! (theres just something about ronny, not developing as quickly as the other girls...)
i hope ronny isnt a roo, thats bizzies favorite...im probably just paranoid!

anywho...

we got the floor for the coop started yesterday...
got to wire under it to stop anything getting in the gap underneath and using it as a hidey spot and move it into its perminent location before we finnish that off...then its to start building the walls lol.

so yeah.

new pictures will be posted probbaly tomorrow.
i like to take them every other day to watch them grow :)

Todays Adventure

Involved lowes.

2 sheets of floor ply, a bunch of 2 x 6 and 2 x 4 and some hardware later we came home to start on the chicken house floor.

our coop was origionally going to be 4 x 8...but this would only REALY be big enough for 8 hens...
and dad wants 10, mabe 12...
so now...now its 8 x 8.
the frame for the floor is together, its lovely and large, and at least being bigger, if we ever decide were no longer doing chickens anymore it will make a wonderfull workshop for dad.

so with the run and coop we will oficially have enough room for up to 16 hens...
we wont be doing more than 12...
least thats what i keep telling myself...lol.
ill post a picture of our floor tomorrow...needs to be moved into place and the ply for the floor added, but its a HUGE start... especially important considering how quickly the girls are growing :D

Adventures in Cluck Clucks...Day 1 through 4

So they Arrived.

We ordered a batch of 10 chicks form healthychicksandmore.com for arrival the week of march 28th.

A nice mix of fancy standard layers, our goal is to have not only a good laying flock, but good scavengers, good personalities and they should be "pretty" too!

and so we said hello to our first order.

2 Black Australorp, 2 Barred Rock, 2 Buff Orphington, 2 Speckled Sussex, and 2 Columbian Rock. In addition they sent us an extra Buff Orphington, and a free mystery chick who ended up being a buff brahma.

Wed already planned on keeping 5 of this batch...the number we were origionally going to stop at lol, but dad fell in love with the little fluffs and wondered why we didnt just keep all 12. O.o, hed particularly fallen in love with "fluffy feet", our little freebie buff Brahma...but unfortunatly we didnt know if little fluffy feet was a boy or girl, and out of respect we arnt going to go as far as getting roosters lol...

Besides, id already lined up homes for the extras, and so i promised dad, if i found all the extras homes, and could get interest in more, id place an order for another batch...especially considering how impressed i am with this hatchery.

These little guys shipped out from Ohio on Wednesday...then on Thursday morning i got a 4:30 am phone call from the post office to tell me there was a peeping box waiting for me, so off i go, in my pajamas to pick up my box of peepers.

I examined each closely as i placed them into the brooder. Dipping thier beaks into the water, showing each where the food was and was impressed at how quickly they started eating, drinking and running around. Impressivly strong healthy babies!

Friday, Fluffy feet, the 2 extra buff orphingtons and the extra columbian rock all whent to thier new home with a wonderfull woman we met in tractor supply on Wednesday.

Then Saturday we met Becky from last years chickenstock, she took the other speckled sussex, barred rock and black australorp leacing us with our 5 little babies...

Its been amazing to see how quickly these babies grow, there now five days old, and each has their wing feathers beginning to show.

Here you can see our five little ones...

in the left front is the barred rock, behind her, the columbian rock, then the speckled sussex, buff orphington and the australorp.

These little guys are not even remotly skittish of people. Obviously they dislike being grabbed/picked up at first but they are not afraid of hands in their box, nor afraid to peck and play...they are growing like weeds!

As you can see, they are actually quite interested in whats new in their world.

Id like you to meet our new babies!

This is Ronny, (veronica) , the Barred Rock at about 5 days old. Shes Bizzies favorite and already Spoilt. She loves to snuggle and sleep in her hand, or play with her hair.

This is Prudence, the Speckled Sussex.
Shes the second most feathered and a real funny little lady. She likes to snuggle but she also likes to hear her own voice.

Sammy Bird, the Black Australorp.
Shes the most reserved of the group.

Milly (Millicent), the Columbian Rock.
Right now shes my favorite, shes got a real little personality, of the group shes the only one that actually hops right up onto my knee.

And Ethel, The Buff Orphington. Shes probably going to be Queen Bee, shes always the first to the food dish, and was the first to start trying to scratch. Shes very funny to watch.

Since all seems to be going so well, were getting more from the same hatchery.

So today i placed a new order...
We have 1 Buff Brahma, and 1 Dark Brahma comming, those are "fluffy feets" chickens, 3 silver laced wyandottes, 2 Partridge Rocks, 3 Easter Eggers.
Plus of course, my free "mystery chick" and any extras that they decide to "throw" in the box lol.

Adventures in Cluck Clucks

About two years ago we began discussing how we'd start in supplying for ourselves and the topic of chickens came up.
Mum wanted hens, i mean whats better? once grown they will help keep the ticks and bugs down, provide some of the best fertilizer available AND make us breakfast every day...

I started doing my homework...

I found out that our municipality allows up to 4 hens in our zoning...so the plans began...
as plans took shape so did our thoughts change...
4 hens wouldnt give us enough to feed the family, so we talked to our neighbors. None of them had a problem with us having chickens, infact they were excited about the prospect and so, like many suburban chicken keepers we decided to go with ninja chickens...

Yes folks, after meeting chicks and putting thought into it...weve decided to push the boundries...
*SHHH, dont tell*

why then? you ask, are you announcing all this online?

because quite frankly I belive the restrictions on keeping some pack yard livestock to be rather ridiculous.
I DO understand issues with noise...
i also understand respecting neighbors, and sanitary issues...
however for the majority of back yard "farmers" these are never a concern. we wouldnt dream of doing anything that would bother our neighbors because we wish to educate people on the benefits of getting back to basices...
and cleanliness, well these animals provide for us, the least we can do is make sure they are kept clean, and healthy...

and so, im here.

and so our adventure in chickens began.

An Introduction

We're a normal every day family, living in a normal, everyday, smallish town in the south western corner of Connecticut.

From the Outside that is...

But when you look a little deeper, theres a few things that distinguish us form the rest of our town...
Were Back Yard "Farmers".

We live in a large rasied ranch with a little under 1/4 of an acre, just outside of a quaint little downtown. Our little patch of land isnt much special, but its all we've got right now...
for 10 years its sat, we use part of the land for typical family fun, fenced for our pack of crazy dogs to play, a little fire pit, lots of flowers...but nothing much beyond that.

Over the past few years weve noticed how expensive life is getting, and worse, how far away from a sustainable way of living we have slipped...and so we decided...
were going to progress to a better way of life.

This blog is going to be all about our adventures in back yard "farming"
I say "farming" because we are not true farming, we dont have the space for livestock or mass production...but we are hoping over the next few years to become more self sufficient.

follow our adventures in this blog.