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!