Starting Over

It has been a few months since my last post and quite a bit has changed with the chicken situation.  On April 24th, three of my hens were attacked and killed by the neighborhood fox.  The worst part - the fox didn't even take the chickens - just snapped their necks and left them laying in the yard.  Luckily my husband came home and scared the fox off before he was able to get to the other two.  O'Malley and Izzie are the lucky survivors. I am convinced that Izzie has 9 lives - she survived a fox attack last year and then again this year.  I was happy when it wasn't just one of the chickens that had survived - they are birds and used to being in a flock so I was concerned that one bird would not have lasted much longer alone. 

We buried Lexi, Grey, and Spooks underneath their favorite tree in the back yard. 

I miss those crazy chicks every day.  In Memory of Lexi, Grey and Spooks. RIP 2-1-13 to 4-24-14.

 

However, after mourning my loss, I decided that it would be best to buy a few more to add to the flock.  I found a woman selling a variety of breeds out in Hamilton and decided to go for it.  I already had all of the supplies, so why not? Also, I had a few "sponsors" that wanted to purchase the chickens in return for their eggs once they start laying.  I wanted my own and so did Grant, so we ended up with 5 new babies!

 

I picked them up and threw them in the box. Such scared little ones!



We ended up with 2 Easter Eggers, 1 Buckeye, 1 Golden Laced and 1 Buff Brahma. 

 

The Golden laced Wyandotte is the same breed as Spooks and the Buff Brahma is the same type of breed as my Light Brahmas, just a different color.  They were born the end of April/beginning of May so they were all about a week old when I picked them up.  I was worried that may not survive, since they were so young - I picked my other chicks up when they were almost a month old.  So the survival rate is much lower the younger they are.  But they were eating and pooping, which is always a good sign.  They seemed to be getting bigger by the day! 

I left them in the same cage as long as I could.  I was scared to introduce them to Izzie and O'Malley.  Let's just say that those 2 have been pretty spoiled and will always be top of the pecking order, but I really just wanted to make sure these little ones would be able to fend for themselves.  Now they are fully feathered and since it is plenty warm outside, I didn't have to worry about the heat lamp like I did in the winter with the other babies.

I brought the babies outside a couple of times and let the big girls see them.  They didn't seem very interested.  In fact, they turned around and walked the other way - literally.  For the record, chickens are NOT dumb.  They know exactly who I am and where their home is and they did not like the new noises coming from the babies. 

 

 

Just last week my dad created a divider in the large coop outside.  It was time for the integration.  They had officially out grown the small cage.  So I threw them in there and hoped for the best. 

The new chicks have been in the large coop for over a week now and finally seem to have settled in after only a few minor scares - thanks to my neighbor for saving the escapee on the first day!!

So maybe you are asking - do the new babies have names to?? Why of course they do! I let my sponsors Chris, Lindsey and Lori, name their own chickens.  Here are the sponsor chickens.

Chris' chicken - Dr. Bob Dwyer. I have started calling her Doc D or just D for short. I don't want her thinking she is a boy with the name of Bob.  She is an Easter Egger and will lay bluish greenish eggs. 

Lindsey's chicken - Chickaletta, or as I call her Letta.  Little Letta is a Buckeye and one of the smartest chickens ever.  She is docile with a great temperament and loves people.

Lori's chicken - Lady Gaga (on the far left). Lady Gaga is also an Easter Egger and has the craziest, most beautiful coloring around her face.  It will be interesting to see if it stays as she gets older or if she grows out of it.

The other two are ours and as I mentioned before are the breeds which we have already raised. 

This is Jazzy, or as Grant calls her, SJ - for Spooks Jr.  I don't know if she can ever fill the space in my heart that I had for Spooks, but we shall see.  She is her identical twin, so it might be hard not to love her.

And this is Lena, the Buff Brahma.  She will have the same black coloring and feathers on her feet like the white ones, except she is orange. 
They have been fun and a lot of work, but totally worth it.  I don't know if this bunch will ever be as special as the first five...

Promise to post more regularly now that I have introduced the new chicks.  Will keep you posted! Hope you keep reading! Enjoy this awesome summer!