Today we acquired nine assorted chickens! Cadence found them on Craigslist, posted by a kind woman who incubated the eggs and hatched them out last October. Due to health issues she needed to find them a new home. We drove early this morning to Kellogg, an hour away, and picked them up. They made uncertain chicken peeps the entire way home in their dark cardboard boxes. When we got to their new home, this brave chicken was the first to poke his head out and hop out of the box.
They had been living in an unheated laundry room, but it was was undoubtedly warmer than our coop, so we hung two heat lamps over a straw bale - white for daytime and a red one for night so they can sleep. I would call these 4-month-old chickens teenagers - I think their feathers will still grow out to be much more showy. Some look like they will have extravagant head-feathers.
Nutmeg and Cocoa were intrigued by the chicken vocalizations and
really wanted to come in and meet the chickens. I hope they will eventually learn to protect the chickens.
I installed two roosts - one made from a dead sapling and one made from an old stair handrail. The chickens seemed to like roosting in the sun streaming through the little windows. They didn't seem to be at all phased by the dogs whimpering on the outside of the windows.
While I was bonding with chickens and making them comfortable in their new home, Rog and Cadence installed the first layer of insulation on the ceiling of the granary. We had plenty of foam insulation so they ingeniously overlapped three strips of insulation between the joists to create the ventilation channels.
So now after such a productive day, we are making supper and drinking a glass of wine. This bottle seemed particularly appropriate for today.
Today we acquired nine assorted chickens! Cadence found them on Craigslist, posted by a kind woman who incubated the eggs and hatched them out last October. Due to health issues she needed to find them a new home. We drove early this morning to Kellogg, an hour away, and picked them up. They made uncertain chicken peeps the entire way home in their dark cardboard boxes. When we got to their new home, this brave chicken was the first to poke his head out and hop out of the box.
They had been living in an unheated laundry room, but it was was undoubtedly warmer than our coop, so we hung two heat lamps over a straw bale - white for daytime and a red one for night so they can sleep. I would call these 4-month-old chickens teenagers - I think their feathers will still grow out to be much more showy. Some look like they will have extravagant head-feathers.
Nutmeg and Cocoa were intrigued by the chicken vocalizations and really wanted to come in and meet the chickens. I hope they will eventually learn to protect the chickens.
I installed two roosts - one made from a dead sapling and one made from an old stair handrail. The chickens seemed to like roosting in the sun streaming through the little windows. They didn't seem to be at all phased by the dogs whimpering on the outside of the windows.
While I was bonding with chickens and making them comfortable in their new home, Rog and Cadence installed the first layer of insulation on the ceiling of the granary. We had plenty of foam insulation so they ingeniously overlapped three strips of insulation between the joists to create the ventilation channels.
So now after such a productive day, we are making supper and drinking a glass of wine. This bottle seemed particularly appropriate for today.
4 comments:
Those are some of the prettiest chickens I've ever seen! It's so much fun watching your farm blossom. :)
How cool! Eggs are next. They are gorgeous....wait 'til they start to "sing" and coo..... :)
i had aracona chickens when we lived there. they had colored egg shells and were cholesteral free. the kids named the two roosters george and charlie. enjoy. lmbmantones
those chickens seem happy with that winter sun! imagine when they actually go outside: so much seeds and worms! yummy
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