chicken update

Well, the chickens just keep growing. Not much else is new with them. I actually took these pictures a few weeks ago to show how chicken-like they have started looking.  It's hard to believe that they still aren't going to lay eggs for a couple months still.  They were 4 weeks when we got them in January, which makes them about 13 weeks old now.  They should lay eggs around 18-19 weeks. ugh. it's taking forever. Several weeks ago we started letting them outside during the day.  They don't have the hugest outside enclosure, but they love it!
They also love being held! (This is a lie)

Here they are in the morning by their sliding door, waiting to be let out.
Here are a couple current pictures.  In just a couple of weeks they have really gotten a lot bigger (maybe you can't really tell from the pictures)
They are supposed to be eating our produce scraps (but don't feed them eggshells or they will get a taste for them!), but so far the only thing they really like is this "miner's lettuce" that grows outside like a weed. I'm hoping they will start eating more of our garbage once they go off the chick feed and on to adult food. That chick food is probably like candy, and old potato peels don't seem that delicious in comparison. Why the weeds outside are so delicious escapes me, however.

I will post again as soon as they start laying eggs or generally start doing anything interesting, besides eating or pooping.

chicken update

Well, it's been two weeks and chickens sure do grow up fast. During the past two weeks, Casey and Bob have been hard at work converting Bob's dilapidated goat shed into a chicken coop for the Sullys (so far, they are all named Sully), while the Sullys have been hard at work polishing off a ten pound bag of chick feed. 

The plan is: during the evening the Sullys have access to the whole shed (except for a closet area where their food is kept), but are encourage to mostly hang out in the coop area. 

In the morning, Casey and I will collect eggs and let them into their small, outdoor, fenced-in area via a sliding door. 

The shed seems pretty secure, but I am still afraid of predators. The spotty Sullys seem to be smarter than the black Sullys, as we were able to teach them how to get up to their coop area relatively fast. 

They all seem kind of dumb, though.

Here's a video Casey took!

 

Guess who got chickens?

Me and Casey!

On Saturday, Casey and I drove to Half Moon Bay to the the Farm and Feed Store to pick up a few chicks.  All they had left were some older chicks (about a month old), who are, admittedly, not that cute. We got two of the black sex-link (cross between a Rhode Island Red rooster and a Barred Rock hen) and two of the spotty ones, which are also a Barred Rock cross, I think.  

Our landlord found this cage for them and is keeping them in his laundry room for the time being. Now we have to get serious about building a coop next weekend. They are already eating and pooping up a storm. In a few weeks, thy might even outgrow this cage!


Bob's dog, Haas (or Hoss?) is extremely interested in the birds.  I'm hoping he become protective of them and will eventually fight off the plethora of foxes, raccoons, coyotes, and mountain lions that will inevitably try to eat them.