More Chicken Pics

The girls are growing fast, they are about 16 weeks old and you can see they are completely feathered (these pics are about a month old...newer pics are added further in this post).  Aside from not having their bright red combs and waddles yet they appear well grown and have become beautiful healthy chickens ~ I expect to see eggs as early as next month if my calculation in their age is correct. 

Below is a picture of them resting just inside the door of their coop shortly after they were able to move out of their little outdoor dog crate "coop" and into their big girl house.

The chicken pictured in the right of the photo is the ONLY chicken I have named...and the name is Roody ~short for Rooster.  From an early age this is the ONLY chicken that has stood out from the rest, quickly growing larger then the other girls and showing a brightly colored comb on its head and waddle.  A particular trait that this little chick had in persuading me into thinking it's a Rooster was when it would "attack".  I mean, as small as Roody was he/she didn't hesitate when it came time to protecting him/herself and the flock against me, the giant predator.  When I would enter the run at night to tuck them into their crate each night he would hop sideways at me ...jumping on my foot and pecking with all her/his might!  Lucky for me this chick was a feather weight (ha, get it!) and did very little damage, although it did make wearing flip flops into their run quite risky.  Admittedly, I always giggled at how brave this tiny beast was, not hesitating to take me on.

Roody at about 3 months

After several days of this I knew I had to get control of this bird.  I would picture myself running for my life eventually if Roody does end up being a Rooster.  I couldn't bear the thought of fearing my own chicken.  So each time Roody would attack my foot I would graciously pick the chick up and carry him/her around until I had the other girls settled in for the night.

It took Roody just a few days to realize that attacking my foot only resulted in me loving the chick even more...and he quickly gave up the attack on my foot.

I think I will be devastated if the young chicken does end up being a hen.  He makes the absolute perfect Rooster...and come on...Roody, what better name for a strong little man. 

This is Roody at 4 months, you can see the difference in his feathers and size compared to the girls beside him.  Fingers-crossed, I did want one rooster to strut his stuff around the yard.

A Place to Live

Lucky for us we have lots of quirky friends who have access to odd things like flat bed tow trucks.  Such friends come in handy when the need to bring home an oversized shed after weeks of scouring craigslist arise.

I can't even tell you how many nuts out there want to charge you brand new prices for a used shed   and attempting to build yourself a shed this size would prove to be a bigger cost then one could even imagine...no seriously, I had no clue till we went to add up material cost.

So when we found this little ditty just down the road for a price that we couldn't turn down we jumped on it!

What you are looking at is an 8x12 Kloter Farm shed...  whose roof is in slight disrepair, due to the trip home, but otherwise perfect for a few goats and a bunch of chickens!

John and Mason made quick work of partitioning off the shed to allow the chickens and goats to live in harmony together...but separate. 

The chickens will live in the back half with a little chicken door cut out and access to their own run.  While the goats will have front access with wide barn doors and access to the entire paddock that surrounds the shed.

The shed is completely wired and has plenty of lighting if we need.

I anticipate this to be particularly useful on those cold winter nights when heating lamps are a necessity.

Honestly though, what is a livestock shed without a porch?  Built entirely of wood and scraps found around the yard...how could I possibly tell John he was wasting his time?

The porch actually helps shade some of the hot afternoon sun, keeping the inside of the shed about 10 degrees cooler then it had been prior to him putting the porch on. 

It also makes a great place to sit and watch the chickens and goats "free range" each night for a while prior to locking them up for the night.  The porch is also the best seat in the house when it comes to watching a lightening storm come through!!!  I will eventually paint the entire shed the perfect barn red and give the trim a fresh coat of white paint.