The original set of chickens were born the first week of February
2013 and they laid their first eggs on July 4th, almost exactly 5
months after they were born. The new
chickens were born the first week of May and, like clockwork, they laid their
first eggs today – October 1st. 5 months. Must be the magic number.
And to top it off, they were bluish greenish eggs from the Easter Eggers.
First eggs laid by the original set of chickens last year
Eggs collected from the nesting box today!
The babies have grown so much in the last couple of months since
the last post. They are finally big enough to fend for themselves and they have
been fully integrated into the coop. But not without some excitement along the
way.
I had my Dad create a divider in the coop so that the Izzie
and O’Malley would be introduced to the babies but wouldn’t eat all of their
food or peck on them too much.
It was a pain in the butt to clean the coop and
constantly replace the two different types of food. I kept the babies on
their side for as long as I could. But then it was time to integrate. I ripped out the chicken wire and hoped for
the best. The next morning I remember
checking on them first thing when I woke up – worried that one of the babies
would be huddled in the corner or well I wasn’t quite sure. But all was fine.
Now when I let Izzie and O’Malley out in the yard, the
babies would be able to join them. At first the
little ones would barely stray from the coop.
Scared of the unknown. But I mean
who can blame them? They aren’t stupid that’s for sure. When the first 3 months
of your life are spent in a small cage under a heat lamp with very little
exposure to the elements the big backyard with what seems like little safety
with foxes lurking in the woods, hawks circling in the sky… that coop was home.
But eventually they made their way further and further and realized their were
bushes to hide in and bugs to peck out in the grass.
Still staying close to the coop
We had a minor scare with Chickaletta – Savannah got her and
mouthed her, basically Savannah was trying to carry her around like a pup. But I still don’t like seeing the chicks like
that. I nursed her for a day and put her
back in the coop. Now Chickaletta is the
ring leader for the babies. She is the
most interactive and always runs toward me when she hears the treats.
All 7 chickens roaming along the fence on the opposite side of the yard
It was also funny to watch the babies figure out where they
are allowed to sleep. Their first instinct was to jump up on the small roost –
but they quickly learned that Izzie and O’Malley sleep there. Lena was up on
the roost and O’Malley was up next to her just pecking away until she finally
jumped down. The big girls have never
pecked any of the babies to the point they draw blood, so I have never had to
interfere. Just letting the natural
cycle occur.
Overall, this experience has been much more interesting to
watch how different the breeds really are. Jazzy is beautiful and looks so much
like Spooks but yet, has a different personality.
The Easter Eggers are skittish
and do not like to be held. They are fast and very lean compared to the
Brahmas. The first eggs are much smaller than the brown eggs laid by
Brahmas. I’m curious to see what size
and color the other babies lay. Lena, the other Brahma, has a much broader
chest just like the other Light Brahmas.
She is sweet but also quite scared ever since the neighbor dog was
trying to play with her and she got caught in a huge vine of weeds along the
fence.
Lena and Lady Gaga taking a dust bath in my mulch (Grant loves the mulch mess :)
And as I mentioned before,
Chickaletta, the Buckeye has grown into a pretty chick with deep, rich auburn
feathers.
These babies are definitely growing on me. And I am excited
to have the others start laying too. But I don’t think they will every replace
my original trio that was lost to the fox. And I’m not sure I could handle many
more – I think this coop is at capacity! Stay tuned for another update as more
eggs arrive.
Enjoy this beautiful fall weather. Peace, love and eggs.
