The chicks, and things I've learned.

So many new terms! I am such a newbie!!

Girls chicks are called Pullets, adult females called Hens.
Boys are called Cockrels, adults males are Roosters (AKA Roo, or Roos)

Hens lay eggs without having a Roo, if there is a Roo present the eggs may become fertile.

Hens that want to hatch an egg are said to go "Broody". I understand that to mean, they dont want to get off their egg, and plan on attending to it, for the 21-25 days it takes for an egg to hatch.

There are SO many different foods, flooring/bedding options, nests, and ways to raise chickens.

For example, some ONLY feed scraps and leftovers. Some only feed grains, some only free range (allow to be loose on a farm/yard), some do all the above!

Different kinds of coops. There is a "Tractor coop" in which it has an open bottom so that chickens can scratch, feed, and basically "rotitile" the ground. The Hen house is typically placed above the open ground, with a ramp for chickens to use. We have decided on a chicken coop that is moveable, so I can put it in the garage. And we are going to build a moveable chicken run. We will leave the bottom open, with all sides covered in hardware mesh. (Oh! Ya...so chicken wire is cool and all, but I'm told its easy for other critters to get into...and I dont care to find a racoon in the chicken run eating my girls!).

And this is just a start! How crazy is that.

Today the chicken chores included; checking the chicks for pasty butt (basically the poop dries over their vent, and they will die because they cant poop), changing feed and water (adding antibotics to their water), upgrade their brooder box (I can not BELIEVE how big they are getting already!), and paint their coop.
We are almost done with the coop, still missing a light fixture, and I will ahve to go back and paint the white trim, I didnt want it to end up being pink with drops of barn red on the frame etc. :) Should be COMPELTE tomorrow! YAY! Next project will be the chicken run.
We also did chickie play time. I brought them all in, put them on spread out newspaper, and basically offered them treats (yogart and string cheese), and spent time holding each one. I'm hoping they imprint on me, so they are easily handled as adults :) Their personalities are starting to come out.

Okay enough ramblings. Here are the chickies ! :D



These two are my favorite, but I'm betting at least one of them is a Roo ! Yikes!