Chick Update {month seven}

- Three out of six of the girls are starting to molt. Notice the lack of feathers on their necks. The first time I noticed it I thought that they might be fighting, but there was no sign of blood. Then I realized it must be time for them to grow their new feathers. I did some research and they will loose their feathers one section at a time. It's strange to me that they decided to do this as the temperatures are starting to drop below freezing.. but what do I know..

- Every morning they leave us five-six eggs in the cozy nesting box (made by my sweet boyfriend). I'm so thankful that they were able to figure out where to lay. It's nice to not have to walk into the coop and dig for the eggs.

- They still peck at me. Really hard. I know it's cause they love me, want treats and because it's part of their instinct, but good grief it sucks.

- The ducks can be loud and messy, but it's beyond cute they way they get along with the girls. Following them around and pooping all over the place. Real cute.

- Now that it's getting cold, we are going to have to do some special things for the birds. Like.. set up a heated water feeder and when it snows, shovel an area outside their coop. Otherwise they won't go out.

- We've started selling eggs. Just to friends, but still it's nice to have people so excited for our fresh eggs!

>> Tomorrow I am having my first Handmade by Nicole Showcase Party! I'm so thrilled to be able to have friends and family over to see my collection of accessories. I'll be sure to share it with all of you next week. But I've still got lots to do, so I better get back to work!

Have a joyous weekend loves.

old chickens / new tricks

So remember that time we got chickens, built a coop and added ducks?! Yeah me too. If you don't you can read about it here, here and here.

Well back when we were building our coop (by portioning off part of our shed), we decided to wait on building the nesting box because the girls were still too young to lay. We put it off, and put it off, and thought about it, got some supplies, drew some plans, thought about it, but continued to put it off. And then the girls laid eggs. Lots of them. And then we got messy (but so stinkin' cute) ducks. And they liked to bury the eggs. Not the best kind of egg hunt if you ask me. Finally D got sick of having to dig for the eggs and on Sunday he built the girls a very cozy place to lay.

We placed three eggs (with black sharpie smiley faces so we didn't mix up the old and new) in the box and crossed our fingers that we could teach our very smart, eight month old chickens where to lay their eggs. Day one - no such luck. They did get up in there though because the smiley faced eggs were scattered around, or on the floor of the coop. Day two - four out of the five eggs were in the nesting box! So it is possible.

At least four of our chickens are smart.

 

refresh

Hi everyone. I hope your weekends were lovely. I spent some time in the backyard with these guys. The weather yesterday was just begging me to be out there.

I've started getting into this weekend routine, (not really by choice but just because I've been so busy) of not even opening my laptop once. It's nice to forget about it for a couple days and just do other things. I feel refreshed. A little behind, but refreshed and ready to go by Monday morning. Do you ever take a break from the technology? How do you recharge and prepare for the week ahead? I'd love to know.

Have a great day friends!

Time-out

Last weekend, our lovely girls decided to do some not so lovely things. They got into our neighbor's garden and destroyed about twenty tomatoes. The neighbors couldn't have been nicer about it and never once mentioned fencing them in. The wife loves when they visit their yard and she picks them up and walks around with them all the time.

However, we felt inclined to put up a fence of some sort and make amends with the neighbors by delivering a dozen eggs. So now the ladies have a spacious area to roam with a complimentary compost heap. On the plus side, we don't have to worry about them making their way towards the road. We plan on letting them loose in our yard when we're home and are able to babysit them. Otherwise, they'll have to enjoy digging up bugs and other treats in the compost instead of the neighbor's tomatoes.

 

in case you've missed these things

I have not been too good with posting my chicken updates on a regular schedule as of late. Sorry 'bout that. Don't worry though, I would have shared all the important somewhat interesting things regardless of these posts. Like if they had won the lottery, laid a blue egg or started speaking french. Stuff like that.

We've been getting eggs on a regular basis now. Usually five a day. Which is amazing and great and wonderful but also means.. someone is seriously slacking. Six chickens = five eggs? D gives them pep-talks at night when he tucks them in (and reads them a bedtime story of course). It's so darling. He hasn't told me exactly what he says to them but I imagine it goes something like this:

Him: "Listen girls, I know it's hard and we're putting
a lot of pressure on you, but you really gotta step up
your game and give us more eggs."

Girls: "Cluck, cluck, cluuuuuuck." 

Him: "Look, I don't wanna hear any excuses ladies!
Now pop-a-squat!"

At the end of the August they'll be five months old. Can you believe that not too long ago they looked like this?! Although I love them, I must say that those girls can be little brats*. They definitely have us all figured out and they don't mind pecking at my legs (or toes) just to get a bit of scratch feed. Never again will I wear my flip flops out there. Never! Again!

*Language changed. I'm sure you can guess what I really call them

(only sometimes like all the time) (I'm kidding) (but not really).

dirt bath

Okay guys, our girls are four months old tomorrow. C r a z y  how time flies when your having fun and wearing rain boots through a poop filled chicken coop. 

Lately, the six of them have enjoyed long days roaming the neighborhood, whether the neighbors like it or not. They are still obsessed with what we call, scratch feed and I can get them to come running to me just by hitting my thumb ring against the recycled pickle jar. We've trained them well. Loud and obnoxious noise = yummy corn mixture. To see them running/flying across the neighbor's yard is the best thing I've ever seen. You should really get chickens if you're looking for a new source of entertainment.

I caught them taking dirt baths the other day and ran to get my camera.

Silly girls.

this + that

< Our Rose of Sharon blooming after a very brief shower >

Life has surely been treating me well lately. Although I would really appreciate some rain for our poor plants and grass, the last couple of days have delivered some truly great things.

Like eggs! This morning I collected our third chicken egg. We haven't tried them yet because we thought it would be best to finish the store bought ones that we already had. So this morning I had the last two store bought eggs that I'll ever eat (hopefully). I think the boy and I might have to have eggs for dinner just because I don't think I can wait any longer. I hope they are going to be as tasty as everyone says they are.

And job opportunities. Dana got offered a wonderful job as a mechanical technician at a shop in Northampton. He is really looking forward to taking this next step in his career and getting the opportunity to work beside some of the most knowledgeable people in the field. I'm so happy for him. He is one of them most driven and hardworking people I know.

I think that is it for now. On a side note, Monday night I danced for about seven hours and I still can't move normally. The only part of my body that doesn't hurt is my forehead. Hopefully a couple of hours in the studio tonight will stretch me out and get me back to (my) normal.

Have a lovely day friends.
Oh! And how about a little Handmade by Nicole giveaway for 150 followers?!

It's possible..

Scenes from the weekend

Saturday night was my best friend's bachelorette party. Dinner, drinks, high heels + laughing so hard our faces hurt. I made her a sash (pictured above) to wear and another bridesmaid brought a veil for her. It was the perfect night.

^  ^  ^  ^  ^

Sunday we slept in a bit, did some chores, played with the chickens and FOUND OUR FIRST EGG! We haven't built nesting boxes yet because we really weren't expecting them for another month or so, but I guess we should get on that. Since we didn't know how long the egg had been there, we composted it (don't want to be eating rotten eggs now, do we?!) but this morning, I knew to check and there was another egg in the shavings! I washed it and have started a carton for our free-range eggs! For now I think that there is only one chicken laying, so I hope the others catch on soon. Can't wait to try the eggs. I hear they are absolutely delicious + and as bright as the sun.

 I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Stay cool.

The Girls {month 4.5}

 

It's been about four and a half months since we brought home our six baby chicks. We are stilling loving them like crazy and really looking forward to finding their eggs hidden throughout the yard very soon.

And now for an update of sorts..

- They go out every day and enjoy spending time chasing me + sitting in the shade.

- Some of the noises they make really scare me.

- They take dust baths in our flower beds.

- They trample our spider warts and lilies like you wouldn't believe.

- Their wattles are growing quite large (I looked up the anatomy of a chicken to figure out the heck it was called).

- They absolutely love this weird corn mixture we got to lure them into the coop when we want. And it works! Dried meal worms.. not so much.

- They are more adventurous everyday. At first they had to stay together all the time, and now they are hanging out in pairs or even alone for a while.

- They love the neighbors yard. The neighbors love it, not so much.

- The way they run and try to fly still makes me laugh a little.

- When I'm outside getting the mail or doing yard work, they follow me everywhere (see crazy-shakey video below).

- They've developed a love for hanging out on our deck.

- They will be five months old on the 28th of July.

- We still can't really tell them apart enough to name them. We just call them the girls.

Chick Update {month three}

Tomorrow, the girls turn three months old but it feels as though we've been their chicken parents for years. The daily routine is quickly becoming one of my favorite things. And I just love the way that Amber stares at them when they come up to the window. She's a great babysitter.

Almost every day, I wake up and let the girls out of their coop. There are some days that no one will be home, so unfortunately they have to stay in (we wouldn't want them disappearing since our yard isn't fenced in). Luckily it isn't often and most days if they can't be out all day, they are out for at least a couple hours.

They are getting more adventurous. They have yet to leave our yard which was one of my initial concerns when deciding to free-range. Some of their favorite spots to spend the day are under the deck and in the bushes. I was also concerned about getting them in at night. Everyone told me that chickens have insanely bizarre instincts and that they'll just go in when it gets dark, but I had my doubts. If we are able to leave them out until about 8:30pm, they just go in by themselves. I was so amazed that they knew exactly what to do. Seriously. Who taught them that?! But if we have to leave and want them to go into the coop (sometimes if it's a short trip to the store, we leave them out), it's a different story. We either have to A) herd them, which involves chasing, yelling and looking like a crazy fool, or B) shake the container of dried meal worms and if you're lucky, they herd themselves into the coop like nobody's business. I prefer option B, but I usually have to resort to A. It's a blast.

No eggs yet, but from what I hear we could start getting some as soon as a month from now! And. I. Can't. Wait.

First Outing

I have to point out the red sweet in the second photo. Do see her feathers?! Their feathers puff out like that when they shake. And I just love it.

Sunday afternoon was the first time that we let them out of their coop. I did research a few weeks ago and read that an important part of the transition is to keep them in the coop for a week and then let them out for one hour right before dark. So that's what we did. And they had no clue what do make of it.

For the most part they stayed in that little area in front of the chicken door. They pecked at the plants, the ground and each other. A few of them flapped their wings around, but no one attempted flight.

Getting them to go back in the coop proved to be just as difficult as I thought. Shooing them close to the door wasn't a problem, but getting them to actually go in was nearly impossible. There were a few girls that we had to pick up and put in. I'm so glad that we handled them as much as we did when they were baby chicks, because picking them up and petting them is easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Monday it rained and I was gone for the majority of the day, so I didn't let them out. Last night though when I came home from teaching, there was an ounce of sunlight and NO RAIN so I decided to let them out for an hour and or so. I went back inside to eat some dinner and checked on them through our kitchen window what seemed like every 30 seconds. When I noticed rain drops on our deck I looked and didn't see any of the girls so I just figured they had gone in. Being the paranoid, overprotective chicken mama that I am, I went out to check on them. All but three had gone into their coop (I think they really like it in there). So I shrugged and started back towards the house. And the three girls followed! I knew they were going to be the type to follow us around the yard. They didn't come all the way back to the house with me, but I did get them to come out farther than they had before. And when it was time, I got them all back in the coop by myself!

Today I made a trip to the store to pick up some dried meal worms (still as disgusting as live ones I might add) because apparently they are great chicken treats. The girls are out now and my hope is that when I have to leave to teach later, I can bribe them with some delicious meal worms. Yum. 

Chick update { week eight }

Holy cannoli! I have not posted a chick update in three weeks! Sorry folks. It's been a crazy mess over here. But I am here today to share some exciting news..

The girls have moved into their coop!

That's right. Finally! On Friday we moved the six chickens to their coop {in our shed}. They did not like being transported but I think they really like it out there. They have so much room to fly around and re-establish pecking order play with each other.

The past couple of days, I've been doing research on keeping free-range chickens. Because between D and I, we really know less than nothing about raising these free-range babies. Anyway. I read that you have to keep them in their coop for a week straight so that they learn that this is "home". Makes sense, but I feel bad for the girlies. I make sure to check on them throughout the day because staying cooped up in there with a bunch of other females twenty-four-seven must really stink. Ha. I made a joke.

The point of this post is to actually show you pictures because I finally got around to taking some today. You aren't going to believe how big they've gotten! I'm really looking forward to the fresh eggs and a little help with bug control.

 

 

Other than the fact that they've gotten significantly bigger, not much has been going on with them. They have a few new noises in their repertoire and the feathers on the red girls change daily. We still haven't given them names because one--they are still too hard to tell apart and two--we're sure that their appearance has a lot more changing to do. I promise to let you all know what we've picked out as soon as we know. Have a happy and safe Memorial Day everyone!

Have questions or comments about raising chickens? Email me NicoleintheMaking{at}gmail{dot}com

In progress

Happy Monday friends. Oddly enough, I'm feeling productive and energized today. Usually it's a slow start and I procrastinate the heck out of my Mondays. But this Monday is different for some reason. Maybe it's because we had a really exciting weekend. We spent a good chunk of time Sunday building our coop. And now.. the shell is up! And it feels good! We still have about two weeks until the girls can live outside, so I think we're in good shape. All that is left to do is put up some installation (for the outside wall of the shed), put up the plywood, build our nesting boxes, build a door for them to go outside, build a human door and put up their roost. Wow. Now that I've listed everything it seems like a lot more.

We realized as we were measuring and building yesterday, that the coop is going to be waaay bigger than we need for six chickens, but go big or go home right?! They only need three square feet per chicken. Shocking right! I couldn't live in three square feet, that's for sure. I think we're going to be such great chicken parents. We're already spoiling them with three times the living space they need. Thinking about the everyday routine of going out, gathering eggs and letting them out to roam around our yard has been making me so happy lately. Although, I'm sure after the thousandth time I've had scoop the crap out of the coop, I won't be thinking the same thing.

Yesterday we were brainstorming names (see list below) and thinking about how we could sell eggs to all our friends! I think we're going to keep track somewhere on the coop, the names of our chickens and when we got them. So that when we get more (cause their egg production drops 15% each year!!), we'll just keep adding names and dates to the list. I was thinking somewhere on the door of the coop would be a good spot. Don't you?

I know I've said this before but really, if you have chickens or know someone who does/did, pleasepleaseplease feel free to share your tips and tricks. We are complete newbies and could use all the help we can get!

Current names in the running for our hens:

Pecker

Munchkin

Betty

Pun'kin

M.C. Hammer

 

Chick Update { week five }

> The humans still haven't finished our coop yet <

> We have funny looking mohawk beaks growing <

> Our breasts are nicely defined <

> The humans hung our food from a wooden rod cause we got too much poop in the feeders <

> We learned a trick: we fly up, sit on the edge of the box, wobble back and forth and never fall <

Please excuse the giant mess that is used to be our office!

Chick Update { week four }

Dearest readers, 

Since our last update, we have gotten much bigger. So big in fact, that we don't like to be picked up anymore (not that we even liked it in the first place). It's funny when our humans try to scoop us up in their hands and we just fly away. We also peck their fingers a lot. Not because we're hungry or because they are irresistibly delicious, but just because we like our space and frankly, don't want to be bothered. And because we need some kind of entertainment. Watching them jump and yell "OUCH" is the most exciting thing we see all day. 

The cat has taken an interest in us since the day we arrived. She sneaks into the room whenever she gets the chance and watches us peek our heads out of the windows. The box is too high for her to look over the edges now (thank god) and she might be a little intimated by us because she definitely keeps her distance. I mean check us out, our beaks pointy and our pecks are super fierce now. We would stay away from us too.

Our chirps are no longer high pitched and non-stop. It's more like a yelp and we only do it when we're playing or fighting with our sisters. We think the humans really appreciate the silence during the night. Other than that, we eat a lot, at least once a day we spill our food and we're getting really good at balancing on our roost. Sometimes we practice digging for bugs. Except we don't really get anywhere. We peck and peck but can't seem to get through that dang cardboard.

Welp, it's almost time for our naps. Later peeps.