Pullets, the Fifth Week

Five-week old Rhode Island Red pullet; it's easier now to see why they're called "red."

Golden Comet pullet.

Our five-week-old pullets moved to their outside coop and spent the first night roosting in the warmer upstairs.  Female chicks can be called pullets from hatching, but most people begin to call them pullets once they're feathered.

There's not many gardening experiences more disgusting than digging up a fat white grub, but watching chickens fight over and eat it is endlessly entertaining.  Gardening and chickens really go together.

Spring came all at once last week; we're finally seeing progress in our spinach crop, which was scheduled for harvest this week, but will probably need another week.  Stone fruit (nectarines, peaches, and cherries) have set an outstanding crop despite cold weather well into April.  We plowed under our green manure crop of red clover in preparation for corn planting next month.

Moving to to the coop; overall our birds are very friendly.

We're still very glad we went with these chicken nipple waterers, so easy to keep clean.

Welcome spring.

Looking much more chicken-like now, tail feathers in the air.

These girls love greeting us in the morning, quietly compared to a rooster.

Chicks, the Fourth Week

Rhode Island Red and Golden Comet chicks at 4 weeks old.

This is our curious one.

The differences in these photos from week to week are fun to see, though now that the chicks are nearly feathered, the main difference will be weight gain.  They still look thin and scrawny, maybe that's why they're such good flyers.  Each Golden Comet chick is developing a honey-brown ring of feathers around its neck.  With temperatures in the 70's F over the weekend, we didn't feel badly about moving them to their outdoor coop, though we take them back to the brooder at night.

Fruit trees are looking great; we have a great cherry set and are still waiting to see about peaches.  Strawberries and blueberries are just beginning to bloom, while apples and raspberries are finally breaking dormancy.  The garden is in good shape, just a few weeks behind with this cool spring.

Enjoying a warm afternoon outdoors.

Chicks, the Second Week

Growing up fast:  Rhode Island Red chick at two weeks old.

Our chicks have lost their adorable fuzzy appearance and instead look more like buzzards.  We read about this stage, when their soft down gets shaggy and is pushed out by tiny pin feathers coming in.  Feathers have begun to grow on their backs, thighs, and neck.  They look like living pin cushions; they have begun to preen themselves as if feather growing feels uncomfortable.  Their legs and feet are no longer spindly and fragile; they are putting on weight, so they must be enjoying their food.  This week we added grit to their diet and have started feeding them greens (red clover from the garden!).  They are very good at flying, but cannot flutter out of their 3-ft. high stall.

Comb and wattle, though yellow, are looking more chicken-like.

Tiny pin feathers are growing out of this chick's neck.

Chicks, the First Week

Rhode Island Red chick at one week old.  A miniature comb and wattle are growing on its forehead.

Wing and tail feathers.

The chicks are a week old now and are growing fast.  They have doubled in size since we brought them home, and they are showing loads of personality.  We have our eager ones, reluctant ones, curious ones, and shy ones.  Some are assertive, first to do everything; and others prefer to follow.  Feathers are starting to grow out from the shoulder, wings, and tail.  Thanks to those wing feathers, they are getting rather adept at cruising around in their 8 ft. x 4 ft. brooder pen.  It looks like a couple of the chicks are playing at pecking order, and not necessarily the largest ones either.  Maintenance is very low - we refill the feed tray every other day, and we haven't yet had to refill the gallon waterer.

3rd-year semi-dwarf nectarine tree.

We have an excellent stand of spinach this spring; lettuce, carrots, and onions are just sprouting.  Peas just went in the ground over the weekend after being pre-sprouted in wet paper towels.  Indoors our peppers, dill, and bedding flowers are growing under lights, and we will add to them tomato and other warm-weather crops this week.  We're still enjoying peach and cherry blossoms.  Happy first day of Spring!

Bush cherries in bloom.

Ready for Peeps!

Movable chicken coop with run is ready for our Spring flock.  Baby chicks arrive March 12!

Our kids are in love with the fluffy marshmallow treats that hatch on seasonal shelves in Spring, but this year they get to experience baby chicks for real, a whole dozen of the chaotic, peeping, melt-your-heart balls of fluff with two eyes and two legs.  They are being shipped on March 10 and will arrive to us two days old on March 12.

Chick feed, electrolytes, and other essential chick supplies.

Since January, when the chicken coop was finished, we have added an enclosed run on wheels and a brooder (a brooder is a safe place to raise baby chicks where they can be kept warm until they adjust to normal outdoor temperatures).  Our brooder is a stall, appropriately housed in the barn, with plenty of space for our growing flock.

Homemade, 1-gallon chicken waterer
with chicken nipple.

Clean water is vital to success, and we decided to use chicken nipple dispensers rather than the traditional inverted poultry waterer.  Baby chicks love to scratch up bedding into and even poop in traditional poultry waterers, which need to be cleaned frequently and can tip over.  Chicken nipples keep the water supply clean and bedding dry, saving us a lot of work.

Can't quite say all that's left for us is to harvest organic free-range eggs in six months, but we've done nearly everything possible to make for a successful and enjoyable first season with our backyard flock!

The brooder is set up in our barn, with heat lamp.