Chickens - A Spice Girl Update

Two weeks ago Violet and I stopped by the local feed store to pick up our 7 baby chickens (Barred Rock). Violet was more interested in running up and down the aisles then watching the little animals that were making all the noise. But with a little help from the staff we were able to find everything we needed, pick up our chicks and head home.

Once home we transferred them into our DIY brooder - a plastic box with newspaper and paper towels on the bottom, water and feed containers and a heat lamp. They happily chirped from there until the weekend when we found them a larger box to move into. In the larger box we put pine shavings on the bottom and gave them a little roost to rest on. It was really fun to see them wander around with the additional space.

It's amazing to me how much these chicks have changed over the last two weeks. When they first arrived they were covered in black and yellow fuzz, would happily fall asleep in our hands and didn't do much but eat sleep and poop. I called them our baby narcoleptics because they would fall asleep wherever they happened to be when they got tired - head in their feed, on their side with their legs stretched out, standing up beak resting on the ground, and even all piled on top of each other. 

Within the first week they started to get feathers on their wings and now during the second week their wings are more feather then fuzz. Some of them are even starting to get feathers on their tails. Their feet are definitely bigger and they spend some of their day walking around their box and pecking at the pine shavings. They've also started to fly a little and jump up at the side of the box and on top of the water and feed containers. To make sure they don't escape we've put a temporary screen over the top of the box. Although, yesterday when I removed the screen to clean out their water, I returned to find one chicken sitting up on the edge of the box. I guess I won't be leaving the screen off for very long in the future unless I want free range chickens in my dining room. 

I also feel like we are beginning to see the start of their personalities. There's one who will always try to peck you when you reach in but will happily sit in your hands when you hold her. There's one who peeps really loudly when separated from the group or when someone else is doing something she doesn't like. And there's one who seems to be the outsider of the group, although lately she seems to have found a friend. 

We have temporarily named the group the Spice Girls. We intend to trade three chicks for two hens and end up with a flock of 6. Ultimately I hope to name them Poppyseed, Pepper, Fennel and Anise for the young ones and Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary for the older hens - assuming of course I can tell them apart. Initially we had a few differentiating marks in the color of their fuzz but with that rapidly turning into feathers it's becoming a little bit more difficult. I guess we'll have to wait to see the fully feathered to know for sure if we'll be able to tell them apart.

Once the weather gets warm enough outside and our little ladies are fully feathered we'll be able to move them outside. In the meantime Marc has a few more weeks to complete the chicken coop with Violet keeping an eye on construction. The actual coop will be a post for another day.