Week 5; Day 6 -- ESCAPE!

Mama finally decided to roost for awhile.

We finally had an escape attempt! Very short-lived, but an attempt nonetheless. One of the ISA Browns was roosting on the top of the hutch, and decided to make a break for it. She fluttered about 8 feet away before landing. One of the cats was right next to her; thankfully, one of the kids was also nearby, and grabbed her before the cat could do more than sniff.

The ISA Browns, exploring the world around the hutch.

We've also run across a slightly messy problem. When the girls roost on the top of the hutch, they sometimes sit with their heads pointed towards the hutch.... which means when they've gotta go, they go.... right on the carpet. Luckily, most of the time, they seem more interested in watching what's going on outside the hutch than in it, so it could be worse. I just have to keep a close eye on them when they're up there, so we can take care of any messes immediately. I would just put newspaper down around the hutch, but the other animals would just pull it up and play with it, thereby spreading any mess.

I've come up with a temporary change of plans for their coop. I'm a bit nervous about cutting into the wall of the garage without any real contingency plan for mistakes. Low budget means no room for error, therefore, I was thrilled when I got another inspiration. We have an old doghouse out in the yard that the dogs don't even use. The roof and floor are a little worse for wear, so yesterday I ripped the roof off so that I could spray it out and get it cleaned up. The next sunny day (supposed to be tomorrow), I'm going to replace the floor and the roof with some good plywood. We bought a roll of chicken wire, which we're going to use to enclose a section of the yard around the doghouse. I'm planning to raise and hinge the roof, give it more of a slant, build a community nesting box to attach to the wall, and replace the floor. I'm also going to made a hinged door to close off the entrance; we'll be able to leave it open during the day, and close it off at night to keep them safe. This should be more than adequate for all six chickens for a few weeks, and the three pullets until next spring, when we'll have a bit more leeway in the budget to do the garage idea.

I'm really hoping to get that project underway tomorrow, so that we can get them out of the house more often. They're old enough now, and have all their feathers, so we can start getting them accustomed to the outdoors, and soon they'll be able to stay outside for good.

Yesterday, I bought a copy of "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens", which is supposed to be one of the best sources of information out there. So far, I'm impressed. I was a little leery about spending $20 for a book (if you know me at all, you know I'm a tightwad!), but from the little bits that I've read so far, I think it's going to be well worth it. It gives all kinds of information, from specifics about different breeds, hatching and caring for new chicks, to kill methods and how to butcher them. It even gives specific information on canning the meat!

Week 5; Day 5

Whoops, guess it's been a bit longer than I thought. I had to pull up my calendar to calculate which week & day we're on. I haven't had much motivation at all in the past few weeks, though, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

The chickens are doing wonderfully! The first three photos are from April 11th. They're absolutely enormous, and getting noticeably larger every single day. They've also seemed to become very well adapted to being handled. Originally, picking them up entailed reaching in and chasing one around the hutch till we could corner it. Now, all I need to do is slowly put my hand into the hutch, and they (usually) will just sit there and wait for me to pick them up. The Cornish Rocks still HATE being picked up, but they don't mind being petted; considering how large they are, I'm sure it's a little disturbing to be held. The only safe way I've found to actually pick them up is to place both hands around their bodies, so that their wings are pinned to their sides. Otherwise, they flutter their wings and claw until we put them down.


Shelly and Isa [pronounced ee-sa] are still absolutely fascinated with fluttering up to the edges of the hutch. I'm not as nervous about it as I was originally. They seem to have realized that getting out might not be the best idea, and seem perfectly content with roosting up there for awhile, then hopping back in. They have become obsessed with dive-bombing the others when they jump back in, though. They seem to take great pleasure in choosing a 'target', and jumping onto its back to make them all run around and shriek for a moment.

Mama and one of the Cornish Rocks

At some point last week, I realized that we may have another problem. I was originally convinced that the Brahma was a pullet, since she was chosen from the bin of 'sexed' pullets. However, I realized that we have no reason to believe that. Brahmas were NOT part of the intended selection in that bin; therefore, it could've been one that was 'sexed', is a pullet, and was accidentally placed into the wrong bin... or it could've been a 'straight-run' chick that was accidentally placed there, and could be either a pullet or a cockerel. Adding in the fact that the Brahma seemed to have no real interest in the roost, and I realized that 'she' could very well be a 'he'. The last couple of days have mostly alleviated that concern; in fact, she has spent the last half hour on the roost, preening and napping. It is still a very real possibility; however, until I confirm otherwise, she will still be considered a 'she'.

Last week, I had to 'upgrade' their feeder and waterer. I simply could not keep up with how quickly they were emptying the smaller ones; also, the low edge of the waterer encouraged them to sit on the edge, invariably leading to droppings IN the water, which meant cleaning out the waterer at least 10 - 15 times a day. The new one has a much higher lip around the edge, which discourages roosting on it. The chickens' shenanigans also guaranteed that a large portion of their bedding would get thrown into the water, which also necessitated cleaning it out.


Unfortunately, the new waterer didn't help much on that aspect; however, I placed a couple of short lengths of 2x4 into the hutch as a base for the waterer, which has helped immensely! The new feeder has a sturdy wire 'handle' which can double as a hanger; a dowel run through the bars of the hutch, across one of the corners, has worked out wonderfully as a support for it. I would like to come up with a design to hang the waterer, but I'm not sure if/how that might work.


With the addition of the hanging feeder, the chickens have taken to sleeping under it. This is not an issue, but occasionally, it leads to a slight panic during my random head-counts. "Oh, no, there are only five -- where's the other ISA???"

I can't change their bedding with them in the hutch anymore; they're simply too curious and hyper for me to work around them. If it's a warm, sunny day, I'll transfer them to their playpen outside for awhile; if not, I have to move them to a laundry basket. As you can see by these photos, from April 20th, in another week (at most), they'll be too large to all fit into one basket. I also have to divide my attention between changing their bedding, and watching to make sure the cats and dogs stay away from the basket!

No matter where they are, as you can see, Isa and Shelly adore roosting wherever they can. I realize now that I have a lot less time to get their coop set up than I thought. They've shed almost all of their down already, and I don't know how much longer they'll all be able to handle being in the hutch all day. So, I guess the next project is getting that room in the garage cleaned out, and getting it set up as their new home.

It rained all morning, but the sun came out a couple of hours ago, so I'm hoping that the grass will dry enough to take them outside for awhile. And, that being said, I think I've run out of things to say. So, I'll leave you with more photos, and a reminder to leave a comment if you have any questions, suggestions, or anything of the sort. :)

The 'big boy' -- the largest of the Cornish Rocks.

Isa going for a stroll around the top of the hutch.

Week 3; Day 6

A couple of the chicks have started to experiment with actual clucking. It's actually kind of cute, although I'm sure I'll get used to it very soon. Well, that or get completely irritated, and start wishing they were outside already.


We've had a couple of escape attempts, both by one of the ISA Browns. The Cornish Rocks are much larger and heavier, so they can't get up on the roost; the Brahma seems to have very little interest in the roost at all. But both of the ISA Browns love to flutter up there and roost for short periods of time. One of them has gotten the hang of fluttering up to the roost, then from there, up to the top edge of the hutch (when the lid is opened). So far, we've managed to catch her before she can actually try to get down outside, but I'm sure it'll happen eventually. I just hope the cats and dog aren't right there when it does happen; if they are, her chances of survival won't be good.


I've also caved and decided that we can name the pullets; since they're going to be around for a few years, I'd rather give them actual names than just refer to them as "chicken". As I believe I mentioned, the Brahma is "Mama", and the two ISA Browns will be "Isa" [not very creative, but it works!], and David has requested that the other be named "Shelly".


I took them outside for a few hours again yesterday. They warmed up to the playpen much more quickly this time around, and explored a bit more. While I was moving them, our neighbor was outside, so I took some time to talk to him. He was so excited about us having chickens, and assured me that they wouldn't have the slightest problem at all. I told him that if anything about the chickens poses a problem for them, be it noise, mess, or anything else, to please let me know; he repeated that there won't be any problems from their side. In fact, he told me, "When I first heard that you got chickens, I thought to myself, 'Oh, good! Now, if we get some, I KNOW they won't have a problem with us having them!' "


In slightly related news: it's high time that our township fully accepted people keeping chickens. The following article was published on Tuesday, about one of the towns in our area: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/04/chickens_free_to_roam_backyard.html   They passed a city ordinance allowing "the raising of up to six chickens on all single-family properties". There are restrictions, such as a $50 one-time permit, no roosters allowed, 'roaming' allowed during daylight hours, and prohibiting any outdoor slaughtering. But they're all very reasonable restrictions. They even removed a proposed requirement for a six-foot high opaque fence.


If one of the more upper-class cities in the area can approve an ordinance like this, then there's no reason why our little rural township shouldn't. I'd even be happy to pay a one-time permit fee, for the comfort of knowing that I won't have to try to defend our decision to have a little more control over our own food supply, and to be a little more self-sufficient. I think I'm going to have to look into what it would take to get a proposal like this is front of our township board. I'm not very good at dealing with people (except in writing), but the alternative is to sit back and wait for someone else to do it; who knows when that might happen, if at all?

Week 3; Day 3; Videos!!

Yesterday wasn't the chicks' first taste of worms. The previous evening, my brother dug up several nightcrawlers, and, while I thought they were much too big for the chicks, David decided to give it a try. I took a few videos of the action, so you're welcome to check them out.

Also, I must note: this is my first attempt at uploading video here. I would greatly appreciate any comments, letting me know if they play properly, if there are any issues, etc. Thanks!

Week 3; Day 3

The chicks went outside for the first time yesterday. We were enjoying some lovely 80+ degree weather, so I figured it was a great day to let them have their first taste of outdoors. I put together the chick 'playpen', then had the kids help me transfer them to it. They all seemed pretty scared at first, huddling together in a corner, and not wanting anything to do with it. One of them even panicked when we tried to put her in, refusing to let go of my brother's hand! After a little while, they all got used to it, and seemed to enjoy themselves.

I was a little worried about the size of the holes in the mesh I wrapped around the pen. The holes are just big enough that I thought the ISA Browns might be able to squeeze through. After watching them for a little while, I decided that all the chicks are JUST big enough that they can't fit through. I do have mesh with much smaller holes, but I'm relieved that my first attempt worked, as the mesh I used is the perfect size for this project, no trimming required.

The cover for this pen is actually the 'spring' base for the crib mattress. The chicks aren't big enough to actually get out of the pen on their own, so that's not a concern. However, there are a number of large predatory birds that nest somewhere nearby. I'm not sure what kind of birds they are, but am fairly certain they're a breed of hawks; rumor has it that it's an endangered species [or perhaps just 'threatened']. While I harbor them no ill will, I have no desire to see our chicks carried off as some bird's lunch. We're trying to raise chicks here, not start a hawk buffet. So, even while we're outside, I want to make sure that the chicks are protected from predators.

While the chicks were enjoying the sunshine, I was busy doing some yard work. I ran across a small worm, and dropped it in the pen for them. The chicks went crazy: picking it up, running around peeping, then dropping it. After a few minutes, they actually did eat it, but they had a lot of fun with it first. I almost felt sorry for the poor worm.

We kept a close eye on the pen, but left them in it for 4 or 5 hours. Once it started cooling off a little outside (75 degrees or so), I decided it was time to bring them back in. After transferring them back inside (which they did NOT want, either!), it was still so warm inside that I unplugged their heat-lamp. With the lamp, it was over 95 degrees in their hutch; during the 3rd week, their climate is supposed to be kept at around 80. I left it off overnight, and plugged it back in this morning, and they seem to have been just fine with that.

On a slightly unrelated note: I've set the comments here to allow readers to comment anonymously. If you leave a comment without being signed in to a Google account, it will show up as anonymous. In such cases, if you'd like to actually leave a name, so that I know who's commenting, that would be nice, but not required. Again, thanks in advance for any feedback!

In closing, another remark from one of the children. We were having chicken for dinner yesterday, so I asked my son to get the whole chicken out of the space freezer. He did so, then carried it over to the chicks' hutch, held it up and said, "Hey, chickens! This is going to be YOU!"

Week 3; Day 1

Two full weeks into this experiment, and still no issues. This works for me!

We have received more evidence that our neighbors will NOT have a problem with this. Our neighbors across the street have now told us that they've wanted to get chickens, but didn't know where to start. So, another vote of confidence.

A couple of days ago, we began cleaning out the little room in the garage, and found our daughter's old crib. We were already talking about crafting a 'chick playpen' for letting them out in the yard when the weather's really nice. And this crib will be the perfect starter for it. Placed upside down on the grass, enclosed with plastic garden fencing, it'll work wonderfully. And the base for the mattress will make a perfect cover for the whole thing. Pictures tomorrow, once I get the fencing attached.

We're finally starting to reach the bottom of the first bag of feed that we bought. I'm still working on figuring out exactly when to switch them from the 'chick starter' feed to something else. I'm also trying to keep notes on what to do at what stages; unfortunately, I've had a disturbing lack of motivation for record-keeping. I'll have to work on that over the next few days.

I'll also have to take more photos of the chicks tomorrow; the pullets are growing, but nowhere near as quickly as the Cornish Rocks. It won't be long before the Rocks are too big to hold at all; they're already a little big for holding in one hand.

The cats are still trying to claw at the chicks through the mesh of the hutch. Thankfully, the chicks are (mostly) smart enough to stay away when the cats are nearby. A couple of them seem to be more curious than anything, though. It's only a matter of time before one of them gets clawed, or one of the cats gets pecked. Hopefully, the first incident will teach them all (cats and chicks) a lesson, and end it. But I'm not holding my breath.

Week 2; Day 5

It's been a few days since my last post, so I figured I'd put up a 'not-much-going-on-but-everything's-fine' post. The chicks are still doing great: eating like crazy, growing like crazy, and generally seeming happy and content.

There are a few minor updates, starting with the chick that I was concerned with. It has started to flex its wing much more than it was, and the wing seems to be catching up with the other, as far as size. I'm still watching it for any unusual behavior, but I'm not terribly concerned any longer.

We're watching all of the chicks for emerging characteristics. It appears that two of the Cornish Rocks are beginning to develop a 'ridge' at the very top of their beaks, in the forehead area. I'm sure if I looked it up, I could find out for sure, but we're venturing our own guesses, and waiting to see if we're right. David and I both think that these ridges may indicate that those two are cockerels [young males]; the third Cornish Rock has the same kind of 'ridge', but it's not sticking up as high as the others' are. We'll find out eventually, right?

We have also discovered another problem. When we first set up the hutch, David checked one of the cats, to be sure that he couldn't fit his paws through the mesh at the front of the hutch. He did not, however, check the other (smaller!) cat's paws. I caught her this morning, paw through the mesh, lazily waving it, like she was just waving "hi" to the chicks. The chicks seem to have a healthy level of caution, and generally stay away from the sides of the hutch when the cats are nearby, so it shouldn't be an issue. But, of course, it will bear watching.

I picked up some grit from the store yesterday. In the next few days, I think I'm going to start trying the chicks out with a few treats here and there. Wilted greens, hard-boiled eggs, and plain yogurt, all seem to be at the top of the list of favorites for chickens. I think we'll wait awhile for the greens, but yogurt or egg sounds like a good place to start. Will post updates as needed.

Week 2; Day 2

One of the cats, enjoying the warmth from the heat-lamp,
and hoping for a glimpse of the chicks.

I'm still working on ideas for designing the garage-coop. It suddenly occurs to me that I should mention: this would NOT be an option if we actually used the garage for our cars. There will be no danger to the chickens from living in an enclosed space with car exhaust. If our garage is ever changed to a state where we would have running vehicles in there, the chickens' space would be thoroughly sealed off from the main body of the garage. At the moment, it's strictly storage. As I mentioned, ventilation is going to be one of the key considerations; also, I think I'll plan on modifying the lighting arrangement in there. Nesting boxes, food & water dishes, and they should be all set.

I tried getting a shot of the two chicks who'd made their
way to the roost without help, but one of them panicked
and jumped down, and this one was starting to follow suit.

I was struck with inspiration on a name for one of the chickens; the light Brahma will be "Mama". She's bigger than either of the other pullets, and has already shown a tendency to groom them if they're close when she's working on herself. Plus, our youngest daughter loves saying "Brahma Mama!" Maybe not very creative, but it works. And, since the pullets will likely be around for at least a couple of years, I don't have a problem with naming them.

The whole experience is still proving to be far less effort than I expected. Granted, I don't exactly enjoy changing the bedding [which is why I've always avoided small pets that require bedding!], but it's not a major problem. And we all enjoy being able to walk over and pick up one or two of the chicks every once in awhile. Assuming the little-chick stage is the most work (as I suspect it will be), this is definitely one of my better decisions.

I am trying very hard NOT to grab the camera every time they do something cute or new; I do have to keep reminding myself that they're not pets. But they are so amazing, between how quickly they grow and the fact that they will soon be very efficient little egg-producers. I can't help it. Plus, if I'm to give this blog the proper substance it needs, photos are a necessity. Therefore, I'm not behaving like a proud mama; rather, I'm being a dedicated photojournalist. Yeah, that excuse should work, right?

Week 2; Day 1, Entry 2

So much for not having anything else today. To begin with, one of the chicks (the light brahma, actually) got herself up to the bar in the hutch today. According to my research, they don't even need a bar for roosting until they're 3 or 4 weeks old, and even then, it's suggested to place it about 4" from the bottom so that they can reach it. This one is at least 6" up, and she reached it with no problem. Very impressive.

Also, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the design for their outdoor home. I may have come up with the perfect option, but I need to do a lot more thinking about it. There is currently a small enclosed room at the back of our garage. At the moment, its only purpose is for storage, but I've been wanting to clean it out for awhile now. And now I have a reason: I want to cut another door into the back wall of the garage, opening onto that room, and turn the room itself into their 'coop'. It already has insulation in the form of carpet padding tacked to the walls; all the room needs is some paneling to cover the padding, and some ventilation to make it appropriate for the chickens.

Our garage itself isn't in the greatest shape, and will need to be either seriously re-built, or torn down and replaced (probably within the next 5 years or so); but this is the perfect idea for the chickens for now, and if it works well, we can redo it once the garage is rebuilt or replaced. I'll have to spend some serious time brainstorming and designing, but I think it can be done fairly easily. Voila! -- permanent outdoor housing for the chickens, without the need for a building permit to create it from scratch. Works for me!

Week 2; Day 1

Another uneventful day, thus far. I made a trip to the used bookstore yesterday, to look for books on raising chickens. I only found a couple specifically about chickens [there were a few that were about livestock in general; these mostly contained very short segments about chickens, so I wasn't too concerned with those]. I picked out one called Raising Poultry the Modern Way. I don't know how "modern" it will prove to be, since the book was published in 1975... but who knows? I'm sure it'll have at least a few good tips, and it appears to be very detailed on the advice it offers.

One of the Cornish Rocks is also going to bear close watching. It seems to have hurt its wing at some point. It doesn't seem to want to extend that wing; the wing also looks to be less developed than the other. If I hold the chick and extend the wing myself, it doesn't seem to cause it pain, but I have to wonder if it will cause problems later on. However, since it doesn't seem to be in any pain, I'm not very concerned. I'll just keep a close eye on it for now.

One of the biggest concerns with raising chicks is preventing the potential spread of dangerous bacteria. This means we have to be sure to wash our hands immediately after handling the chicks, and making sure the kids do the same. This got a bit tedious in the first few days; we were each washing our hands 15 or 20 times a day. So I ignored my personal feelings about regular use of hand sanitizer [you can't kill every germ around you, and if you really try, then your immune system will not be able to handle any aggressive bacteria that find their way into your body], and bought some to keep near the hutch. So far, this seems to be a wonderful idea; it's quick and easy, it makes it that much harder to 'forget' to wash hands afterward, and it saves gallons of hand-washing water every day.

And here is where it appears that this blog will slow down quite a bit. Daily posts of: "I changed the bedding, refilled food and water, and oh, by the way, they're so cute!" will get very tedious. I'll still try to update every few days, though. As always, if you have a question, or a comment, feel free to speak up!

Day 7 & Breed Identification

Today went well, as always. [Can it be "always" if it's only been 7 days? I think so!] I changed their bedding this morning, and refilled food & water dishes. I refill/refresh the water every day (sometimes more often), as the chicks tend to knock a lot of bedding into the water. The food hasn't needed to be refilled every day -- yet! With the way we have the hutch arranged, I can (theoretically) change the bedding without removing the chicks. I just have to lower the front of the hutch, slide the cardboard out from under them, and then brush the bedding into the bucket. This, of course, is assuming that the chicks will let me pull the cardboard out. I moved it slowly, gently urging the chicks to step off it... and as I moved another one off, one of the earlier ones stepped right back on. It took about 5 minutes, but I finally won!

I caught one of the cats curled up on the lid of the hutch this morning; I forgave her that one, since it was right above the heat lamp, and I'm sure it was warm and cozy. The lid was closed, so there wasn't much concern about her actually getting to the chicks. I did NOT forgive her a few hours later. I'd opened the hutch and moved the heat lamp. Shortly after, I walked into the room to find her curled up on the top corner of the open hutch. She wasn't even looking at the chicks, and instead was facing in the other direction. However, I was completely stunned to discover that she could balance up there. I know cats have good balance, but she was completely relaxed, almost sleeping, on boards that aren't even an inch thick! And, of course, this means that the cats will bear watching more than ever!

As I stated previously, three of the chicks are Cornish Rocks [a cross between Cornish roosters and White Rock hens]; two are Isa Browns [good egg-producers], and the third was unidentified. I posted photos at www.backyardchickens.com, and received a reply suggesting that she might be a Light Brahma. A Google search later, and I've confirmed it enough for my own satisfaction. I may change that opinion if her characteristics change drastically as she matures, but for now, I'm confident that it's the right breed. According to my sources, they are very "calm and easy to manage", and they tolerate cold weather quite well [both bits of info from articles at www.motherearthnews.com]. And they appear to grow up to be rather beautiful birds, as well.

Not much more to update; it's a quiet Friday night, and I'm going to go relax for awhile. Feel free to leave comments! I will leave you with a quote from my youngest daughter; as we were researching Light Brahmas, she suddenly grinned and said, "It's just so awesome: we have CHICKENS!!"

Photos of the "Odd Chick Out"