Friday, April 04, 2008

Chicken Adventures ~ Baby Chicks!

So this is our latest homeschool adventure ~ we now have 12 little peeping balls of fuzz!!! And they are SOO cute!! And we are SOOO popular with all the neighborhood kids! And I'll be SOOOO impressed if half of them make it into adult-hood ~ cuz they are SOOOOOO loved!

Ok, so ~ enough of that ~ :-D ~ Let's look at the little ladies. {:^-- (<<<--isn't that a cute chicken-head?)

First, we read up on chickens, & egg-layers for our area, & what it takes to brood them, & raise pullets for laying, and all of that. Then we went to a wonderful little family-run farm (small world, turned out Wood Genius knew the gentleman who owned it through Scouting) where they let us go & look at their hens, along with all the other animals they had. ( There were goats, lambs, peacocks, & I think even a cow or two.)

They had mostly Rhode Island Reds & Sex-links, but they also said that some are ~indiscriminate mix & match~.

Our next step was to prepare a brooder, & order the chicks. On the day of their arrival, we heated up the brooder so it would be all nice & warm for the chicks, & then waited with baited breath. And finally, AT LAST ~ They came!

This is a Rhode Island Red, a Barred Rock, & an Auracauna.
Here you can also see the Buff Orpington's, and the White Leghorns. Also, notice that mason jar feeder. These little ladies are only on their second day of life, first day at our house, and they have already consumed almost an entire mason jar of medicated chick starter. AND, they have gone through an entire mason jar of water as well. Which makes for quite the lovely toodles ( or shall we say *chicken gravy*).

These are Liz's Buff Orpington's.

This is is Izzy's Auracauna.

Bek chose Barred Plymouth Rocks.

Aren't they SOOO SWEETTT??


And perky, too. So far, we haven't had any problems with mean chickens, but they have already established a pecking order.


Kat chose White Leghorns.

And Jess & I chose Rhode Island Red's.


This little lady is the only one I am worried about ~ She is sort of listless, sleeps more than the other chicks, & she is also tinier than the other ones. She toddles around with her wings sort of dragging. Here she is, ~ going.....


Gooooiiinnnggg..........


Gone! The next step, is where she lays her beak down on the ground and just sort of hunches there, snoring away.
Anyway, more on the Chicken Adventures soon! Hopefully, they make it through the night, other wise, we'll have 5 highly distraught youth, as well as about 7 sad little neighbors. (All of whom wish, on a regular basis, that they too could be homeschooled.)
(:^-- {;>)= (:^--

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those are great pics! I love how chicks fall asleep! HAHA!

We have chickens at my parents, but we are thinking of getting some of our own. We are also hoping to get our goats this year (something I have been wanting for YEARS.) :)

LeviZoe said...

Hey Carol -- I love what you are doing with the homeschooling! Also love the sleepy little chick

Love ya

Anonymous said...

I'm worried about your home-schooled children. Plus, you have 5! Haven't you heard of birth control? Do you understand the negative impact so many humans are having on our planet?
I like your coop.

Unknown said...

Coop looks great. I never knew what I was getting myself into, when I tried to builda coop. Mine is similar to your coop, in that it is heavy.

I wanted to know how/where you built the wheel assembly? Parts?

That has been the toughest part is trying to figure out how to make it more mobile.

Thanks

Greg White
Katy, Texas
281-492-2626

redhead83402 said...

My Dear Anonymous ~ ( why didn't you sign your name? Are you afraid of something?!?) If you are so concerned about the negative impact humans are having on the environment, I reccomend you take yourself out of it! Because with your poor taste of a comment, I can already tell you, unfortunately, ARE part of the negative impact! tsk tsk tsk ~ oh, & DO be certain that you don't reproduce ~ you have to do your part, you know. :-D

redhead83402 said...

hey bob ~ thanks!! The wheel assembly is actually quite easy, it's just some back wheels taken off of an old lawn mower found at the dump. Wood GEnius just used a piece of pipe between the two wheels, and then he also attached the wheels to a piece of wood at the same place they were attached to the lawn mower, just under the height assembly. That piece of wood is then attached to a hinge that is under the coop footprint. This is so that once the arc is lifted, the wheels automatically swing underneath the coop, and stay put, there-by giving you a means to roll the monstrosity. I hope this helps ~ if not, write again, & I will have my husband answer you with better details.
:-D
~Red