Chickens!

[Rue]

We're finally getting chickens again! In fact, I have 30 in my laundry room - the coop isn't quite ready to go...

Chickens in a Box!

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q152/Rue_album/BoxOChicksOpened0508-1.jpg

Chickens in the laundry room!

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q152/Rue_album/ChicksBasementBrooder0508.jpg

This is where they're supposed to be!

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q152/Rue_album/CoopRightView0608.jpg

[Rue]

At 11 days old the chicks are growing rapidly!

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q152/Rue_album/Chicks11daysold06081.jpg

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q152/Rue_album/Chicks11daysold0608Whazzat.jpg

But they're still babies...and babies need lots of naps! :1luvu:

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q152/Rue_album/Chicks11daysold0608Sleeping.jpg

[sandy_n]

That's going to be a nice coop when it's completed. :c3:

[Rue]

And just because:

Here's my horse!

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q152/Rue_album/Dundee0608.jpg

Here are some butterflies!

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q152/Rue_album/Swallowtails0608.jpg

And here's our new well! Isn't it beautiful! Glorious! Exciting! :hmm3grin2orange:

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q152/Rue_album/WellNew0608.jpg

[Lady Hobbs]

Yeaaaaaaaaa on the well. The pictures are great! Chickens are sooo cute and the horse is beautiful!

[Rue]

That's going to be a nice coop when it's completed. :c3:

Thank you! I hope so! Still need to finish the outside...do the rest of the painting, soffits, eaves...put up the run...make a screen door for the front so I don't have chickens escaping...and then do a wee bit of landscaping so it's cute. I have the barrels for plants, but would like a cute little bench as well.

It's an old coop that we got for free from a neighbour...so we've winterized it and put the siding on...but the original door swung outwards, which isn't very safe...

[Rue]

Yeaaaaaaaaa on the well. The pictures are great! Chickens are sooo cute and the horse is beautiful!

Thanks! I'll tell my horse you think he's a hottie! :18:

The chickens are adorable...I hope I don't have to rehome too many roosters...I want to keep them all!

And the well is so necessary! Living without water was brutal!

[ladyoutlaw50]

The chicks are cute!!! so cute when little
I love your horse!! I had to sell mine back in 2001 due to divorce -- must admit I was more heartbroken over losing her then I was about the divorce!!:laugh1blue:

[squirt_12]

Very nice chicks! The horse is beautiful aswell! The coop will look really nice when it is complete.

[Rue]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to having the chickens outside in the coop...

I find they're a lot like a tank of fish...

It's just fun to sit and watch them doing their chicken thing...esp. at meal times...:hmm3grin2orange:

[angelcakes]

youre chickens are sweet................:1luvu:

[Rue]

Thanks!

I've had chickens before...but I've always bought older pullets...this is the first time I've had babies...

I get such a kick out of watching them do their chicken stuff! They're scratching...having face-offs (must be the roosters)...one little guy attacks my hand as soon as I put it in the little run - gotta have a long heart-heart with that boy!

I hope I don't end up with too many roosters! I can only have 2 at the most...more than that and you have a lot of fighting. Two will usually work it out...

[MandyL]

Aww they are so cute! Don't you wish they stayed tiny and adorable?

Beautiful horse too!

[Ryuu]

Wow lol I miss my chickens they got a disease and died last month sad it is

[troy]

Yes, roosters are a problem. Chances are half of them will be roosters.

[KingFisher]

That's great. I have eight 6 week old chicks. I go them when they were one day old. It has been fun so far watching them grow. None of mine are roosters, though, I do not want to wake up to ERaERaER every morning lol.

[Rue]

I like the crowing of the roosters! We get up early regardless...so it will be nice!

Yes...I only want about 15 in total...but I figured if the odds hold...half would be hens and the other half roosters...so I ordered 30 babies...

Just hope I didn't hit the Rooster Lottery...:hmm3grin2orange:

[Rue]

I did it!

I just finished hanging the screen door I built :19: -and moved the chickens to the chicken coop...

It's still not 100%, but with screen door in place (for ventilation and extra security) they can move in - it'll be another 2-3 weeks before they can go outside, and by then we should have the run up...

I also ran a long extension cord out to the coop...they still need a heat lamp for a while, esp. since it's been so cold here for the most part. I put them back in their little enclosure - they can jump out of it if they want to - but we found that they just jump back in when they're hungry, thirsty or want a nap...

...for the record...the 30 chickens didn't want to be caught...*pantpantpant*

I'm very proud of myself...I designed, built and hung the screen door by myself (hubby insisted on stapling on the screen to the frame - likely just so he could say he had a hand in it - because he told me it would be impossible to build our own door! We'll have to build another similar one for the run too...:hmm3grin2orange: ).

And also for the record - it was not hard - not at all...:c1:

[MeganL3985]

Beautiful chickens and horse Rue! :)

Sounds like you need a nice big glass of cold lemonade or iced tea! lol

[sandy_n]

OMG, I missed the pic of the horse. I've always wanted one. She's a beauty. :1luvu:

[Rue]

Thank you both!

Lemonade would be nice...good idea...think I have some canned stuff downstairs.

Now I'm trying to motivate myself to do all the clean up...lol...

Yes, Dundee is a handsome boy! Need to find more time to ride...it's been so busy with kid-stuff and work. Hopefully when school's out - and I'm done my job (it's a mat. leave and I'm done at the end of the month).:c4:

[sandy_n]

Thank you both!

Lemonade would be nice...good idea...think I have some canned stuff downstairs.

Now I'm trying to motivate myself to do all the clean up...lol...

Yes, Dundee is a handsome boy! Need to find more time to ride...it's been so busy with kid-stuff and work. Hopefully when school's out - and I'm done my job (it's a mat. leave and I'm done at the end of the month).:c4:

I'll volunteer to ride him until you can, lol. :hmm3grin2orange:

[Rue]

You're hired! I have 12 in total! 2 are retired...and 4 are injured/pets - the other 6 need time put on them!

Dundee
Blaise
Berkeley - all well broke/ show horses

Kinni
Justice
Chaos - all have ground work done or started under saddle...and not getting any attention at the moment...

[sandy_n]

I'm on my way! :hmm3grin2orange:

[TowBoater]

NOICE! I have about 50 chickens personally but all of mine except one are just farm chickens. The one is a little bantam rhode island red and he will walk up to me and let me pick him up. No idea why either, he just does it, never worked with him at all.

[sandy_n]

It's because he's special. :1luvu:

[Rue]

Hurry up Sandy! They're a-waitin'! :18:

My godfather had 2 pet chickens. I was very young at the time, so I don't know what all he did to 'train' them. But everytime he went to the coop, he'd call them - put out his arms - and they'd leap up into them, then they'd sort of sit on his shoulders...it was awesome!

I'm just hoping for a couple of friendly ones...:c2: Mostly I'm looking forward to just watching them be chickens and doing their thing; watching them eat table scraps and collecting eggs (always fun!).

[TowBoater]

I think he has bad mental problems personally. I actually think I hit him one time with my car pulling in and he lived if thats the same one.

[sandy_n]

OMG than he really is special, lol!

[FishPrincess]

Thanks!

.....I hope I don't end up with too many roosters! I can only have 2 at the most...more than that and you have a lot of fighting. Two will usually work it out...

You are so lucky. Some day I will live somewhere that I can have chickens. I don't think my nieghbors in the city would like me having them where I live now.

Can't they sex chickens? I thought Mike Rowe (sp?) on Dirty Jobs went to a chicken farm once. That was a big commercial farm, though. Where do you buy chickens?

[troy]

You can order them from http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/ and you can usually find people giving them away or selling them for cheap prices, but since you live in a city I don't know. I'm also 99.9 % sure your neighbors will complain about your chickens.

[Rue]

Yes, chicks can be sexed by professional sexers...but they do don't it for the exotics...I suppose they don't want to have to deal with all the males that people likely don't want...