Chicken on the Brain

We finally did it! After months of researching, talking to chicken owners, and debating coop designs, we added three baby chicks to our human flock.

Let me present to you, Batty (aka Bat Girl), Honey, and Eve.

These messy girls are such little dears. I’m enjoying getting to know their personalities. Batty is a black sex-link and has a really long neck and squawks every time you pick her up. She is much more feisty than the other pullets, and our son loves her rough and tumble ways.

And here is our lovely Araucana. She is a rumpless bread that lays green eggs. She is the glamor girl of the bunch with lovely eyeliner eyes. Named Eve by my daughter, she is a looker.

And here’s Honey, our Buff Orington bird. She is so very shy. I usually find her snuggled under another girl, hiding her face when the kids or I come around.

And here is our brooder. A plastic tub lined with newspaper and wood shavings. We have a red heat lamp to keep these babies warm, a water container and a feeder. And let me tell you these girls are messy. I usually change the water 3 or 4 times in the day due to wood shavings. And the fact these girls go poop everywhere. In their food, in their water… really it’s like having a toddler all over again.

However they are a delight to visit in the morning. And chicken TV is very entertaining. My most favorite thing to do is watch the girls nod off to sleep. They stand zoning out and their little heads drop down. Eventually they wake themselves up when their beak touches something and they bolt awake. It reminds me of being a little girl and watching my grandpa fall asleep in his chair. It’d be the same drill, he’s head would nod down, but then we’d notice his fingers would start twitching. My brother and I would giggle silently.  Such small little moments in life that simply touch your heart. Inviting these baby chicks into our home has been very enriching.

I’ll keep you posted. I’m planning on building a coop in the bottom of my son’s play structure. And I’ll keep you up to date on the development of our new girls…our city chicks!