Give the people what they want

And I quote;

But I want more! More close-ups! More plumage! How about some frolicking?

You want frolicking? Pot Pie will show you frolicking!

She's a crazy chicken that looks the camera in the eye. She thinks that fresh grass on her feet is far, far less exciting than perching like a parrot on a pirate (yes, she hopped up there unexpectedly, all by herself. I was sitting on the grass at the time, taking photos of Mrs. Tweedy).


Other chicks travel in small packs, darting around in the sunlight (left to right Biggie, Zippy, Mrs. Tweedy). Some of them venture out on their own into unknown areas (Biggie Rockette) while others investigate the camera a bit more nervously (Rosie). And then some are good friend and don't like to be alone (Zippy and Tweedy).

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Note: The smaller Rockette was feeling shy and didn't want to come out of the cage, while the Polish chicks are too small to venture out into the 60 degree sunshine (they are still babies and need a constant 85 degree tropical paradise).

Bird houses

The girls are getting bigger and bigger, so we've had to move them to a bigger indoor facility. Biggie the butch Rockette was lobbying for the birdhouse I got for Christmas '05 from my sister-in-law Pam, but then she realized that it was waaaaay too small.

Instead, we've moved them into Lucky's old puppy kennel. Placed on its side and propped on bricks, the kennel is a fantastic chick house for the next few weeks. The chicks romp around rambunctiously in their new big space and can practice flapping and jumping without knocking over their food and water dishes.

Paranoia sets in

I'm becoming very paranoid that some of the chicks are roosters in disguise. The chance that one of my supposed female (called Pullet) chicks is actually a rooster is 1 in 10, and the chance that one of my polish chicks is a rooster is 1 in 2. This puts the reasonable laws of probability at; one polish rooster, and perhaps one rooster among the other girls.

I'm eyeing Rosie nervously these days. She has developed a little baby comb, which Wyandottes should not have at all. Does this mean she is a rooster? Does it mean she isn't purebred? I don't care if she is a "mutt," but I'll be sad if it turns out Rosie is actually a rooster. I can't eat her. No way.

And might I add- one of the Rockettes is distinctly more "butch" than the other. Biggie, as I call her, is plumper, taller, thicker through the legs and toes, more aggressive at grabbing treats, and a lot more curious. Does this mean she's a rooster? Eeeeek!!

As for the Polish- who knows? They are such weirdos. Pria is more curious, talkative and active while Beldar is a bit bigger, more shy, and maintains a more ridiculous hairdo. Beldar stubbed one of his little toes yesterday and it is all bruised up- so pitiful on a teeny weeny little punk chick.

Only time will tell. One thing we know, though. One of the chicks is gonna look like this;

I now have a chicken-owning compatriot

A good friend of mine that has been watching the blog, and the actual chicks, with increasing excitement and interest has finally broken down and gotten her own tiny flock! She bought a Rhode Island Red (like Mrs. Tweedy), a Barred Rock (like the Rockettes), a Golden Sex Link (like the chicks we decided not to get for no real reason) and a "Mystery" Bantam that has feathery feet.

A Bantam is a 1/2 size chicken. Her bantam is a pale hay-beige color and has very feathery feet, making it probably a "Buff Cochin." Only time will tell if this is an accurate guess.

My friend and her husband might get two more chicks next week. Exciting!

Interestingly, aside from both owing chickens, we also both have pregnant sisters named Jennifer, both are from New York, and both got married this past summer. Coincidence?

Three out of four walls are complete

We made some serious headway on the coop today. First, though, we let Pot Pie survey her domain. None of the chicks have been outside yet, so it was a brief and scary adventure for Pot Pie.


The front wall of the coop us 95% done- all that remains is some mesh over the vents under the roofline. But you can see the pop-hole for chicken entering and exiting here- it is slightly ajar in both photos. Sadly, it is looking like we won't have a "ramp" for the chickens. I know, everyone wanted one, but it just wasn't feasible with our design.

In the second henhouse photo, you can clearly see how it will look from our deck, which is of course the most important part! So snazzy.


Last but not least, the final picture is of the egg-door. This is the direct access through the wall to collect daily eggs. It is accessible from the outside of the fencing, so we won't have to get chicken poo on our shoes or anything to collect daily eggs. You can see it faintly in the other photos, but Matt and I are very proud of this innovation so it gets a close-up, too.

Coop progress is made

I worked on the henhouse this weekend- roofed, put up a wall, and expanded the brick patio to the southwest. In this photo, you can see the new spiffy roof, our "Recycle-chic" siding, and the patio. The wall is done in recycled cedar boards from our old fencing, and the skirting is done in the same re-used corrugated tin as the roofing. I bought the tin from the local recycled building materials place for a very good price. What is funny is that the artistically rusty stuff was TWICE the price of the gently used stuff that I bought. I guess a good rusty patina is hard to find!

In this one, you can see how the henhouse is positioned in relation to our house, the plum tree, and our deck. When I took this I was standing in my garden, where the tomatoes will be (come June).

3... 2... 1... chicken

After a special request from one of my many visitors, I have taken a special photo just to compare the chicks. From left to right, it is Pot Pie, a Rockette, and Pria. Pria is the smaller of the two crested chicks. It is hard to catch and photograph three chicks at once- it ends of up being chick in right hand, chick in left hand, camera in right pocket, chick in left pocket. The ages of the chicks are 3 weeks and 1 day, 2 weeks and 1 day, and 1 week and 1 day, respectively.

Pria did not like having her picture taken.