A little tight...

In a panic the other day I separated my flock of 12 into two cages. I was really worried that they were becoming lethargic from so little space. Not ideal to have them separate but a necessary solution as we race to finish the coop.



As you can see, things are getting a little tight...

The First Foray in the Run

Thanks to our dedicated, former Navy pilot neighbor, our run is finished! One afternoon he brought over the door because "he needed an indoor project." It was so unbelievably nice of him to help us with this part of the construction. And I think this was the worst part (see my Grave Digger post...).

Just for your information, our run is 10' x 20', allowing 10 square feet per bird outside. We have hardware cloth sunk in the ground, 1' down and 2' in. On top of that is dirt, and then play sand. And then about 35 bags of pea gravel (courtesy of Home Depot) to cover the area. We also have a large plastic tub for dirt baths that I intend to sink.

The chickens, which are growing faster than we can build, LOVED being outside. I tote them in a large plastic storage container from the garage to the run and then release them. August is thrilled to be able to run after them and pick them up on his own. (Note: He did drop one of the Orpingtons and injure her foot... perhaps a bit more supervision on my part would have been better).



The dog is also thrilled (as you can see). He is exhausted running after them.



You can start to see the personalities of the hens as they interact with you. The Orpingtons are so curious and almost like dogs - they'll come right up and climb on you.



The Rhode Island Red are also very brave and inquisitive... and they're a week younger.



I can't wait until they're outside for good!

The Great Outdoors, Part 2

Since our chicken flocks parted ways, many of our poultry experiences are now separate. That's sad, but fortunately Lisanne and I have each other to call and chat with when we try new things, or the chickens don't seem to be doing well.

After Lisanne's chicken release, I decided to let our chickens out in our fenced raised beds (hopefully avoiding newly planted lettuce). The chickens were thrilled to be outdoors and promptly got down n' dirty with dirt baths.



They do look like they're about to keel over when they're taking baths... and they have no qualms about stepping on each other (particularly each other's heads) to get to the prime dirt. Ah... chickens.

Chick Breeds

Our chicks are so cute it's ridiculous. Each in their own way. As you know, we have four breeds and I wanted to make sure I had photos of them as babies.

Their personalities are already emerging... as expected the Crested Polish are a bit more high maintenance (their pom poms are a source of interest to all the other chicks) but also very curious.



The Buff Orpingtons lead the pack and are pushy. Their color - buff - is distinctly apricot and very pretty. They look just like what you would expect a fluffy chick to look like!



The Rhode Island Red, because they're a week younger than the others, seem to be lying low and are teeny and adorable. This one is falling asleep. They literally keel over when they're tired.



And the Ameracauna are just a bit peculiar. One looks like a hawk (below at left). Not the most attractive (although Lisanne disagrees), but the blue eggs will be wonderful.



Here they are doing what they do best - eating, drinking and pooping. With an emphasis on pooping.

The chick cupcake

To celebrate our chicks' arrival, our dear friend Leah brought cupcakes made by Party Favors. Needless to say, they were a big hit.

Our Chicks are Here!!!!!!!

We are beyond excited. I went up to Dodge Grain again with August today to pick up our chicks. I had lots of things planned... but I had to cancel them. I couldn't wait until Friday. Many many thanks to Jim for all the help in planning for our chicks' arrival, and for holding the breeds that we wanted.

I loved hearing them chirp from their box on the drive home. Cheep cheep cheep - they made me SO happy.



Someone "stole" two of our Ameracaunas last night, so we had a little bit of a switcheroo. Our final count was:
(5) Buff Orpington
(5) Crested Polish - White Crested Black (you can see the black birds with the hysterical white pom pom on their heads)
(4) Rhode Island Red
(3) Ameracauna

Lisanne is taking 5 and I will have 12...



Lisanne transports the chicks from their box to the brooder, and shows Izzie and August how to care for them gently.



This is a terrible photo, but here are the chicks in their new home! You can see the Crested Polish in the middle - ridiculously cute.

Picking up the Chicks - Or not...

Today Lisanne, Izzie, August and I headed up to Dodge Grain in New Hampshire. We were so excited to see the chicks in their brooders and relieved that the chicks we had reserved - Ameracauna, Crested Polish and Buff Orpingtons were together and separate with a big "SOLD" tag.



They also got a shipment of California White Leghorns, shown here pecking at their food.



The happy crew inspects our family's quarters - looks good!

The only problem is that the Rhode Island Red still haven't arrived. Jim was very accommodating and said that he would be willing to hold the other chicks until they showed up. In New Hampshire it is state law that you buy 12 chicks at one time. No paying for 15 and picking up 12 + 3. You have to buy 12 chicks and leave with 12 chicks every time. Arrggghhh.

We were relieved that he had taken such good care of our chicks, but definitely disappointed that we couldn't bring them home. Thursday or Friday...

Building The Brooder

We set out last weekend to build the chick house or the Chick Inn as my husband likes to refer to it. The humble abode that our babies will call home for the first five weeks of their lives.

We contemplated buying a traditional wire cage brooder (see photo). But opted instead to construct our own. Infinitely more fun and customizable. Plus we already had the lumber necessary on hand left over from a prior "build our own office desks" project.

Traditional Wire Cage Brooder













The Team Departs


















Our first stop was the local lumber yard --Concord Lumber, where we searched for fine gauge wire for the top and bottom of the brooder. Something large enough to allow all of the chicken droppings (apparently abundant) to fall through, but small enough that their little feet will not get stuck.

To Home Depot - for a piece of plexiglass for the front.














While Fred started in on the construction, Isabelle and I headed indoors to test out Terry Golson's Challah recipe from her publication The Farmstead Egg Cookbook.

Fred Hard at Work



















Isabelle Hard at Work

SUCCESS

The bread was AMAZING and the brooder looks great. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of our chicks and ultimately our very own eggs so we can try out the Challah bread recipe with fresh Monument Street Coop eggs.

We are expecting . . . chicks

After much discussion and deliberation we've finally identified the different breeds that will soon make The Monument Street Coop their home. The chick order has been placed and the cluck is ticking --40 days and counting. Come mid April we'll be the proud "parents" of ten newly hatched chicks (assuming of course that they all survive shipping).

Of all of the things we considered in our selection process. . . : How rugged are the breeds; will our chickens weather winter well? How many eggs will they produce? The cuteness factor -which birds are better looking? Are they family friendly? Will they get along with one another (we're risking it with one breed that while pretty is known to be a little on the wimpy side)? The question of whether to purchase vaccinated or unvaccinated chicks was the big one. It seems that a lot of backyard flocks are unvaccinated --there are definitely pros and cons to both. We finally settled on vaccinated figuring we'd stave off as many potential risk factors as possible at the get go.

The Monument Street Flock in no particular order. . .

(2) Rhode Island Reds

(2) Ameracaunas

(2) Buff Orpingtons

(2) Polish Crested (one silver, one black with white crest)

(2) Speckled Sussex

Here is a little look at what we'll be expecting to receive in our shipment and hopefully what they'll grow into as hens. HOW CUTE!!!

Rhode Island Reds

Ameraucana

Buff Orpington

Silver Crested Polish

White Crested Black Polish

Speckled Sussex