Awwwwwwwww!!! I want one! Well.................for a week I want one! Till they start getting their feathers! TheyÂre tooooo cute! I especially like the one in the first picture with the Easter Bonnet! ;-)

When I was a kid we got a couple BIG boxes of peeps every springÂand I donÂt mean the marshmallow kind! But I had to feed them every dayÂscoop of mash, can of oats, half a can of granite grit........ And we sold eggs, and I had to collect them (fighting off the rooster with my stick!), and clean and candle and grade themÂand I kinda got burned out on both chickens and eggs!

But they are just too cute for words when theyÂre babies, so give them a great big (gentle) hug for me.

Happy Easter,
Skybird

Michelle, these are such restful scenes and the infants look so very comfortable. The drinking bowl is an attractive feature with its colored pebbles to keep the chicks from falling in and getting stuck .

Sure, that essentially mongrel Ameraucana would be the one with the most going for it. And, the Polish look like some kind of alien life form. But, it's the Delawares I'm curious about.

(Haven't a clue with regards to the Faverolles but mother hens with beards just don't seem all that feminine to me. May be bringing up subliminal memories of some of those peculiar Sabbath school ladies of my childhood. ;o(
Right now, they are all cute.

digitS'

Thank you so much for posting these pics!! The kiddos and I cant decide which ones are the cutest although the fellow with the blonde toupee might be the one.
Happy Easter!

How cute! What perfectly adorable pictures for easter weekend. Enjoy your new babies!

Those are adorable. We never had chickens, and the few I've met as adults were quite likeable. Friends had 5 hens which were fed table scraps and treated as pets that laid eggs... no roosters. I would absolutely love to have a few hens, since I've never had better eggs than the ones those pets produced. I don't think my neighborhood has quite enough space for them, though, and the fox in my garden would probably have a field day.

Awwww.... I can't wait until we can get our chicks. Thanks for sharing :)

Sorry I'm late to the chix party. But they are so cute!! Thanks for sharing!

Do you have a coop yet? My neighbor and I are still working out the details for ours so I've not ordered chix yet.

cheep cheep!
Charlene

Hi Charlene,

I do not have a coop set up yet. The 'lil velociraptors have to be indoors for several weeks, so we are working on it over the weekends. I am expecting to keep them in the house for 5 weeks, and in the garage for up to 5 more weeks until they are well feathered.

They are really fun. I am enjoying them so much... We just moved them into a big stock tank for a brooder which doubles their space. They are starting to flap & run (clumsily!), and needed more room.

Cheers,
Michelle

"The 'lil velociraptors have to be indoors for several weeks, so we are working on it over the weekends. I am expecting to keep them in the house for 5 weeks, and in the garage for up to 5 more weeks until they are well feathered."

How about a few more recent pictures of the chicks, Michelle? They should be at that ungainly adolescent stage by now.

Also, I'm wondering how your 10 week inside house/garage plan is working out. Moving our chicks to the garage isn't an option. The garage is full of river rafting equipment, gardening tools and more misc. stuff than I can name.

Our chicks go into the chicken house at about 3 weeks. It is still pretty cold up here at 7800 feet so the warming light stays on day and night. The chicks seem to be doing great. They come out of the chicken house and run around doing funny chicken things for a while, then run like crazy back to the chicken house to warm up again.

I'm having entirely too much fun and wasting too much time just watching them.

Gail

Here is a link that might be useful: Chicken House

Awwww, thanks for asking! I browsed through your chicken photos. It looks like quite an assortment. Is that roo and Andalusian? He's a beauty. Also wanted to ask how the feather footed breeds do in the mud. I didn't know if they'd have trouble in our red adobe mud. I'd love to have a Brahma or three. What breeds of chickens do you have??

I have been taking loads of pictures. The chicks are all OK. I did lose one the third day - she just never picked up after shipping. One of them seems to be small, even though she eats and drinks just fine.

This is the tiny Delaware, about the same size as the bantams. She's a chicky-love.

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The rest of the Dels are big and healthy & have a lot more feathers.

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Here's a Delaware/Faverolles snuggle. The Salmon Faverolles are showing some nice color.

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Chicks still sleep face down when they are really tired.

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This is one of the Polish chicks. They are incredibly active creatures.

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And the huge Velociraptor chick checking out the new rock cairn feature in their environment. She still acts like a dino.

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They are housed in a stock tank for now, it's 6' x 2'. They needed some extra room to run and flap. :-) Only two weeks until they move to the garage... I am going to miss having them in the house, but it IS starting to smell like a barnyard!

Cheers,
Michelle

Gail, your chicken house looks like the one I used to have . . . with Buff Orpingtons. I didn't have very many but you can imagine - kind of large, feathered couch pillows.

And, besides IDing the Andalusian(?) rooster, is that a white Cochin?

Michelle, speaking of large birds, IÂve had Brahmas also. I don't really think they have any trouble with mud. Brahmas don't really have much feathering on their legs. Or, mine didn't. They've just got kind of "fringed cowgirl chaps." (Can't say they're a very feminine flock . . . well, at least they don't have beards! )

S'

Awwwww! Michelle, your peepers are still looking just adorable.

By three weeks mine seem to be poof and pin feather juvenile delinquents, not cute little angels like yours. I love how you've labeled the Aracuna a velociraptor. THe name is a perfect fit.

Yes, last year we were lucky and one of our "mixed pullets" turned out to be an Andalusian rooster. He immediately took over as head honcho of the flock after the death of "Big Red" the Rhode Island Red who was abducted by coyotes. Yes digit, the giant white rooster was a Cochin. He was given to me for my birthday by my husband's daughter & family. He met his demise at the hands (paws?) of a bobcat when dear hubby left the back door of the chicken house open a couple of weeks ago.

Let's see if I can remember all of the breeds we have this year.

Two white Rocks, a barred rock, 4 Wyandotts, 2 Black Australorps, 1 Black Jersey Giant, 4 Auracanas, 1 polish, 1 banty silky, 5 assorted banties, 4 mixed feather footed banties, 2 Red Cornish, 4 white cochins and the last of the chicks for this year, 2 Buff Orphingtons.

During mud season the feather footed varieties do get muddy feet. They don't seem to mind it and all I ask is that they wipe their feet before coming in the house. I've almost got hubby trained so I'm pretty sure the chickens can learn this little nicety too. ;-)

It sounds like a lot of chickens but I'm hoping to butcher a few this fall if the predators don't beat me to it.

Gail

Gail - if your DH is like mine, it would be quicker to teach the chickens and hope he learns from them LOL. We are up to 8 Buff hens, 3 Buff Roos (one was a hen but left to Trinidad for a few days), 8 Austra hens, 1 Austra Roo, 3 Barred hens, 1 Dominique Roo, 1 RIR hen, 1 NHR hen, 10 Americauna hens and 2 Americauna Roos, plus the 4 Cochin Banty hens and 4 roos. I won't even try to figure out what all the ducks are. Maybe next year when I start breeding for actual breeds.

Does anyone want any ducklings. We hatched our first group of mutts last weekend and I have the incubator full still. Any thoughts on using the incubator to start seeds in the off season. I was looking for more places to set seed trays the other day and actually thought about tossing the eggs! Scary huh?

Billie

New! Improved! And out in the henhouse finally!!!

Velociraptor is wild and wooly, as always. Stalking her next victim...

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Delawares are sort of sweet, want on your lap, then peck your eyes out. :-) Friend or foe? I'm not sure.

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A lady in a scarf (not a beard, DigitS!). It's a scarf, darn it.

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Forward MARCH!
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AttenTION!
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AT ease!
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Cheers,
Michelle

I have to thank you again for the cute chix pics. I hope you dont mind but Ive been using them as my laptop background pictures. The little guy with the mohawk is just too much. It worked nicely for a joke I played on my hubby. I sent him a Craigslist link for a chicken coop for "urban chickens" with the title "What I want for Mother's Day". Since Ive had the pictures as my background he thought I was serious. Ha ha ha. I am serious but not until we upgrade to a real yard out in the country a bit.
The AttenTION shot is my favorite of this latest batch.
Thanks for letting me see your cuties.

Awww, thanks! The mohawks are now about 2x the size they were in those pictures. Rid-chic-ulous. You need a chicken ark and some bantams *now* so you can practice up for the big time farm life later. :-))))

Cheers,
Michelle

Uh-oh. Six 'Bourbon Red' turkey poults have arrived! And oh, they are sooo cute. Day old baby turkeys:

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They are all named Gobbles. If a turkey should die and have to be replaced, it shall too be known as Gobbles. :-)

Childhood coping mechanism that I developed from naming every cat I ever had Dum-Dum.

Cheers,
Michelle

Hi Michelle,

Cute! Thanks for sharing.

Azura, I just read a book from the library called "Backyard Chickens" and she made a pretty strong argument why it's great to have a chicken or two (or three) even in a small space :)

Michelle, how's your coop coming along? Are the chicks in it yet or still in the garage?

My neighbor's been really busy with his own house remodel so I just ordered the little coop I found on Craig's List. I figure if I get addicted to having chickens we can build a bigger one at a later time. It fits four large hens, six smaller, or eight bantams I was told. I'm taking the paint over there on Sunday so they'll paint in the colors to match our house. We've got to make an outdoor run for it so I've been looking online for ideas on how to do that and how big.

I'll probably be back asking lots of questions about what breeds, where to buy, how to feed, etc.

Have fun with the babies!

Charlene

Hi Charlene! The chickens are living in their coop. I got it livable and moved them straight out there rather than into the garage. There is a small heater and a heatlamp. Turkeys are in a brooder in the basement, there is a shed we are cleaning out that will be the turkey barn. :-) The chicken coop needs moved to it's final location, I'm still working on the foundation. DH is going to run electric for me in June, so it will get moved after that. My uncle has a forklift that picks it right up, so moving it is fairly easy.

I ordered 6 more chicks, Speckled Sussex, and then I will be at capacity for chickens. That will give us plenty of extra eggs for our neighbors.

When are you going to order your chicks? Are you planning to brood them in the new coop or inside your house??

I'd really like to see a photo of your coop when it's ready. It should be very nice!

Cheers,
Michelle

Michelle, I suspect that some folks are amazed how your baby turkeys so much resemble your baby chickens. You know, if you really want to cover the bases on these Galliform species - you'll need to buy some quail next.

My daughter had a couple Button quail for awhile. Of course, Dad got stuck with taking care of them. But, I had a little experience from having 4 cages of Coturnix quail in the garage at one time.

They were quite a bit of fun and just amazing little egg machines! However, it was all I could do to actually crack a quail egg since about 4+ equals 1 chicken egg. Really, they were best for me hard-boiled since I couldn't make quite as much mess with trying to get them out of the shells that way.

As babies, the quail look somewhat like your Ameraucana but soooo tiny. They reminded me of honey bees buzzing around the brooder.

digitS'

Oh Steve, I want to keep some quail, too! My aunt's kindergarten class bought 100 hatching eggs from a new source this year and only 5 hatched - and they all died during brooding. She always brings lots of quail chicks out in the summer to release! I was so bummed there were none this year!!!

Don't you have pigeons? What type? There was a ringneck dove? pigeon? He flew in when I fed the chickies their scratch. He wanted in on that deal, and all but offered to become a domestic fowl. :-) Do wild ones get tame?? He was handsome and talkative!

I really am enjoying these birds. DH and I usually sit on the patio on Friday evenings and enjoy the garden... Now we enjoy watching evening games of 'Joust' and 'Run Crazy Chicken, Run' and 'Flap Crazy Chicken, Flap'. :-) It even makes him smile, which is something at the end of a long week!

Cheers,
Michelle

Sad story about my pigeons . . . or pigeon.

You may remember the story: Theresa had "run off" with Wild Tony after Old Tony disappeared, probably as a victim to a hawk.

It was obvious that Tony & Theresa were in a "continuous" laying mode last Summer. It was also obvious that wherever their nest was (probably at the bar), it was not being populated by baby pigeons. But, they kept trying.

After a couple weeks of showing up together, they'd go back into the 1st-one-and-then-the-other schedule as one or the other was occupied by setting on a nest. A few weeks would pass, and then they'd be back, as a couple, for meals. Then the process would start again. As Autumn came to a close, they just "suddenly" failed to come again.

Theresa was really beyond her abilities pretending to be a wild pigeon. As a Birmingham Roller, she was only about 75% of a wild pigeon's size. If you decide to get pigeons, Michelle, this breed is a good choice. They are likely to be available in your area, come in a variety of colors, and you and DH can sit out on the patio and enjoy the aerial acrobatics!!

I guess wild pigeons can become tame. Wild Tony was sorta tame but it was Theresa's attachment to home that kept him around. He was willing to show up for a handout under the stress of brooding babies but I suspect, if Theresa was lost last Fall, Tony may still be hanging out on derelict buildings and feeding off the grain cars down on the tracks - living "on the wild side."

d'S'

I am sure I would enjoy roller pigeons. Someone always gives them away in summer time, I will have to watch the paper.

Updated pictures, 'Chickens in the Garden'.

An Ameraucana inspecting a daylily bed.
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The Velociraptor and some friends.
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The freckle pecker mob (I'm folding my arms, hiding my freckles).
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Bantam rooster, sparring with a rowdy Faverolles hen.
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And the Rooster Glare.
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The 'lil cows. Lulu is the older, mid size heifer. Fantastic temperament. She had her first ever brushing today.

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ClaraBelle is younger and has the dwarf gene. She will stay very small. She is more cautious, and has not gotten hooked on the sweetfeed yet. Once she does, her soul is mine!

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Cheers,
Michelle

Michelle,

Thanks for sharing your chick story! I am SERIOUSLY considering getting chicks next year. Never raised them before so I'll be doing a bit of research. My only fear is that our Australian Shep mixes would use them for herding practice :) But I would love fresh eggs!!

Nancy

I dont know if anyone has mentioned it but Denver Botanic Gardens is having an urban chicken workshop this weekend. Here is the blurb:
Raise Chickens in Your Backyard
Saturday, May 31, 10 a.m. @ Chatfield
Chickens in the backyard? Yes, itÂs legal in Denver. Learn how to start baby chicks safely as part of our Urban Homestead series.

I havent been to the class but I considered going... if only they had a class on how to convince your spouse that chickens are a fun suburban pet. I dont know what there is to learn about chickens in the class but I thought it looked interesting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Urban Chicken Class Sign-up

Oooh Azura, you are going to have fun!!! It's so cool that chickens are legal in Denver. Chickens ARE fun, and very comical. Even DH thinks so, and he's an east coast city boy thru and thru.

If they aren't fun, you will have no trouble rehoming them. You could send them to me!

Cheers,
Michelle