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Integrating the Chicks
A week and a half ago we introduced Betty White and Vader to our flock and started what is formally known as “integration”. I’ve read many posts on integrating new chickens into a flock, and I’ve basically followed none of the advice because it’s freezing outside and we can’t wait around for all the girls to get the warm fuzzies towards each other. It’s taken us the full week to figure out what the chicks need and where they need it. At this stage, it’s been obvious that they need access to food and water close if not adjacent to a secure spot where the big hens can’t peck them.…
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New Silkie Chicks
Meet Betty White and Vader. We are crossing our fingers that they are both hens! We were happy with five ladies, and when they were babies, they’d sleep in a pile in the corner. The girls have grown up now, and sweet little Luna doesn’t roost with the others and still sleeps in the corner. With temps dropping below freezing at night, I’ve been really worried about her staying warm enough. So today we brought home a pile… two new Silkies. We have cornered off part of the run for Luna and her two new pile mates. Once the ladies are used to their presence, we will integrate them into…
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Good Morning, Chickens!
This is the walk from the back deck to the treehouse chicken coop. The ladies are always excited too come out in the yard in the morning. Little Luna the Silkie is always lagging behind.
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Chicken Lays an Egg
I waited a long time for Tweedledum to lay her egg. She was being fussy about the nest box lid being open and the camera being up in her grill. You can’t see the egg, and there’s the annoying noise of the camera lens focusing…. but it’s pretty clear once she’s finished! Tweedledum is RIR X Buff Orpington, and of all our chickens, she likes her privacy best. Maybe I’ll catch another in the act and get a better angle.
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She Got A Snake!
Yesterday evening we let the chickens forage in the garden, which has a 4′ picket fence. Chickens are definitely rough on the veggies beds and sling dirt all over the paths. However, they sure can find the bugs! There were particularly many bugs under the pole bean teepee, which had a large piece of decaying cardboard on the floor to stop the weeds. It stopped the weeds and created wildlife habitat. The chickens were in there tearing it up, when one girl darted out with a thrashing garden snake in her beak. She carried it over to the flower and rock garden corner and proceeded to greedily devour her spoils.…
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Chicken Updates
It has been so hot and humid — yet with no rain — here in Raleigh that I’ve bottomed out on summer morale. I’m doing what I can to keep the plants from drying out and the chickens from overheating, but mostly I’m waiting on rain. This afternoon we finally had a short shower with more supposedly on the way. It’s expensive to keep watering the plants, but many of the perennials and shrubs are in their first year and need the extra water to get established. We had three days of a heat index over 100°F, so I directed a box fan into the chicken run and kept the…
