While Bre and I enjoyed our tea and scones Michael got stuck in the middle of a sequential vortex created by our girls - of the hen variety. We purchased 12 chicks in April. It's time to move them out of the garage. It seems straightforward....but when we do that we split the chicken yard in 1/2. We put up a temporary fence from the corner of the coop to the fence line. This will give them the ability to be outside and see each other - whilst being safe. We have done this for two years. The fence is ready. It should be a simple job. HOWEVER, Michael insulated the main door last year. The girls have been pecking at the insulation in the door. This means we can't leave this door open or they will make themselves ill. Michael set about making a chicken proof insulated door.
He did this under the very watchful eyes of the girls.
These gals were in the brooder on my hearth, they transitioned to a giant box in the garage and today they will move OUTSIDE to the big world. It's always fun to watch the chicks come alive when they move outside.
The big girls know to run to wherever they see a person...FOOD. This is helpful if we need to get them OUT OF OUR WAY. We throw food where they need them to be. They LOVE to peck the nail polish off my toes. I am not so happy with this tendency. The blue line shows where the fence is dividing the yard.
Michael turned Dash's hutch into a coop for the new girls...it will be a nice place for broody, or sick, hens too.
I went out to throw some scratch to everyone. I want the new ones to get used to people being a good thing. It was odd to me that only ONE ran for the scratch...
while the rest huddled on the other end of their yard. And then I noticed signs that Pietro had been near the one. Yep, one ot the big girls decided to jump the fence and join the little girls. I helped her get out and the others were happy to search for treats.
Within a week or two, if they are like previous groups, we'll be able to take the fence down and they'll rather painlessly integrate into the existing flock.
Cathy, a local friend who has chickens, shared she adds a different color to her flock each year so she can easily tell how old the girls are getting. That would have been a wise way to build a flock. BUT, I like variety and have bought 2 - 3 types each year. At this point we have one gal who is five years old. Most of them are one - two years old.
1 comment:
Fun to add new chicks to the flock. I like your friend's color idea of adding but yes I too have all sorts of colors. The downside of that could be inability to tell individuals apart within that year I have a few that look the same so they have to live with the name name as I can't tell them apart, haha. Some of our 7 year olds are still with us and doing fine.
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