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Chez Poulet Life With Too Many Chickens
I think most of my dreams have been fulfilled. After living in the city most of my life, I now live in the country where the sky is blue, the air is clean and clear and there are lots of trees. I have a beautiful property, have my business there, have a large garden, fruit trees, lots of flowers, wild berries and now the piece de resistance, chickens. I have no idea why I like chickens so much. I just love birds in general, any kind of bird really. I have two parrots, have had others over the years and put in many years of wild bird rehabilitating and rearing. After getting 28 chickens in the mail, I knew I'd like having chickens, but never realized they'd make such great pets and have such different personalities. The chicks called me at 7:30 am on May 28th from the post office. (The lady at the post office started the phone call off with their peeping and asked me if I knew what just arrived in the mail at the Shelton post office.) My friend Glee picked them up for me and brought the peeping box to my door. It was pretty exciting and I was afraid some might have died in transit. Everyone was healthy and ready to get out and eat! I do not plan on eating them since I am a vegetarian. I only wanted them as pets and layers. I gave five of the chicks to a couple who are having fun with theirs. They are vegans, so they will probably give the eggs away. Now I have 23 chickens, one is in the house because she is too underdeveloped to be with the big girls. (see Peep below) Some of my friends say I'm taking my move to the country a little too seriously and becoming too 'country.' Picture above has Ruby the black star front bottom, Meercat above her, Cleo above her, Lucy to the left of Cleo and Ginger to the left of her. They're just a few days old. Click on the pictures to enlarge. 28 Baby Chickens
I ordered an assortment of Araucanas, golden campines, red caps and black stars. I received 2 free chicks. The yellow chick was unique, since I was given an extra extra free chick, I thought maybe she was a mystery too. She is a very pretty aracauna with a golden color base to her feathers and strawberry blond top notes (heavier on her head and hackles and lighter throughout her back. The red caps (except for Peep) and the Araucanas have been more standoffish than the other two breeds. The black stars are the noisiest peepers and were the most active of all chicks and the same now as older chicks. They were the first to want out of the coop to explore outside. I wish they all stayed cute and little. Baby chicks are probably the cutest things on the planet. They were all living in a huge box in the kitchen at that time.
1 Week Old Chicks
Their coloring is very distinct at this age. They are so cute, I could just squeeze them.
At two weeks, there is a smell of poop starting to linger in the house and dust is everywhere from their dander, food and litter. They are going out to the garage in a bigger box. Red Caps Red Caps are from England originally and are a rare breed in the U.S. They lay tinted eggs and are not large birds. They have beautiful yellow green eyes.
The babies almost look like fuzzy beetles. 4 days old.
Sleeping under the heat lamp. Perfect temp. at 90º. 1 week old.
Red Caps at over 5 weeks. What Peep is supposed to look like.
A little over 6 weeks. These birds are very soft and a couple of them will sit in my lap now.
Peep the Red Cap
Got scratch?
Peep at about 4 weeks before I took her inside. See how big Sylvia the Aracauna is beside her. Penguin is on the far left and between Phyllis and Penguin is a normal sized and colored Red Cap.
Peep at about 4 weeks old. Everyone else is three times bigger than she is. She's in the house now since she seemed so tired being with the rest of the group. She was not being picked on, but was not getting much sleep and seemed lethargic. She likes to cuddle at my neck while I watch a movie (and she peeps in my ear).
Peep and Chicken Little I was babysitting CL for the weekend for Kathryn and Sean. She has a hurt leg and was limping badly, but now she's doing better and Peep loves the company. They are both underweight for their age at 5 weeks in this photo. They both have appetites, are curious and very friendly, so I have no idea why they are so tiny. They've had the same kind of food and Chick Quick as all the other birds. Peep weighs about 4 ounces now. Everyone else weighs about a pound or more. The other red caps have hardly any yellow on their faces and are very dark in color.
Peep and CL a little over 6 weeks. I moved them into the dog kennel on 6/6/08. They seem to like it. They'll run out and follow me around. They love to sleep in my lap still. You can see the size difference between them and the keys from when Peep was 4 weeks. They've grown a bit more, but are still really small. If they lay eggs some day, I'm assuming they will be peewee sized.
Peep and CL at 8 weeks spending some time getting acquainted with the girls in the aviary on a nice 'finally spring' day.
This was the free mystery chick from McMurray
This is Phyllis at a couple days old. She is a white crested black polish. She is a loner and has a strange personality. I am saying 'she' as wishful thinking since she was a mystery chick from a straight run and I'm hoping that she is not a rooster.
That little topknot on her head was the tightest mass of down I've ever felt. She was like a super q-tip.
Phyllis is quite the sexy runway model now at 5 weeks. She's tall, skinny, always looks unhappy, is very grabby with food and loud when picked up. She's so strange looking, you can't help but like her. I've read that once the feathers cover the eyes of this breed, they become a lot more tame because they can't see very well. She will stay relatively small and lay white eggs.
A little over 6 weeks old now. She's definitely a bantam, very small compared to the others. She gets pushed around a bit, but is not being pecked at. She tries to stay out of everyone's way, but look out when raisins are being offered, she's quick as lightning when it comes to snatching them. Her chapeau is coming along quite nicely, but it looks like it would hurt growing in. There are a lot of pin blood feathers. She will sit in my lap and take a nap now. Golden Campines
These Golden Campines are just a few days old. They are the most friendly of the bunch. This breed is rare in the US and are originally from Belgium. I got them because they were noted to be small and friendly. They will lay white eggs.
Sleeping while perching at only a few days old.
Sleeping while perching at 1 week old.
Dot
Dot is about 3 weeks old here. She has been the friendliest chick since since all the chicks arrived. She loves to be held and likes to take a nap in my lap. I named her such as she has a lot of dots on her back. Needless to say, she is my favorite.
Dot is on left at about 4 weeks. See how her beak is a little curved to the left? She snaps her beak a lot when she sits in my lap, so I don't know if she does it because she is excited to be with me or her beak doesn't close right and it bugs her. I don't hear her snapping it when she is off of me.
Dot at 5 1/2 weeks old roosting.
Warming herself on the stepping stone on top of the oil heater.
Dot and friends. You can see her beak curves to the left here too.
Cuddled in my lap.
Black Stars
Black Stars are born black if they are females. They are said to be 'egg laying machines' and lay brown eggs. They are the most curious, busiest and boldest of the group. They were running, jumping and trying to fly even at 1 week old. They make the most noise when caught, but calm right down with a few strokes to the head and back. They jump up into my lap or stand on my shoes all the time. They are the heaviest of my birds and will get up to 5 pounds. Some have rust feathers at their breast and one has white on her neck and chest. She looked like a penguin when she was a baby. They were the first of the breeds to jump out of the coop to go exploring in the aviary. A couple will jump up on my back and shoulder at 5 1/2 weeks.
5 weeks old
Penquin over 5 weeks. She is the only Black Star without rust feathers.
First day outside and first taste of dirt and pebbles.
Cozying up to the heater. 5 1/2 weeks.
Araucanas/Ameraucanas I received 7 (of what I believe to be) Araucanas and they were all different looking as chicks. Except for Ginger, the yellow chick, they all had beautiful feather patterns around their eyes as babies. They are the fattest looking of the group, but weigh about the same as the black stars. They just have a lot of fluffy feathers. They have cute tufts of feathers by their ears that stick out and curl up. TThere is a difference between Ameraucanas, Araucanas and Easter Egg Chickens (Easter Eggers), so you'll have to go here if you want to know more, go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araucana or here http://www.ameraucana.org/faq.html . They will lay from light blue and green eggs to turquoise and olive colored eggs. I believe most of mine to be Aracaunas since they have ear tufts and short tails that tuck in. Lady Hawk seems to be the exception. They all have olive to light green legs.
Sylvia over 6 weeks. She has the biggest ear tufts at this age.
This might be Lucy or Lady Hawk at about a week old.
Lucy fluffed up on perch. Over 5 weeks old.
Ginger over 5 weeks.
Side view of Opal and yet to be named Aracauna. She's not friendly enough to have a name Opal is one of the prettiest birds. She is just getting friendlier. She is a quiet like Sylvia. Both are very reserved about taking treats and are gentle.
Opal over 5 weeks.
Opal over 6 weeks. She has really pretty coloring.
Meerkat at 5 1/2 weeks.
Meerkat's first time on my lap. She still didn't want me to touch her.
A little over 6 weeks.
Cleo
Lady Hawk getting ready for a nap on my lap.
Assorted Photos At four weeks, living space is becoming tight in the big box out in the garage. They're going out to the coop as soon as it's finished.
Phyllis is photogenic. A Campine and black star are in foreground. 4 weeks old.
Phyllis in the middle, Penguin on left and Peep on right. 4 weeks.
Meercat at upper left, two Campines and Ginger. 4 weeks.
4 weeks.
All girls need a mirror to preen in front of. 5 weeks.
Looking out at the world from inside the coop. 5 weeks.
Got raisins? Ginger, Sylvia, a golden campine and black star. 5 weeks.
Roosting campine to left and three Araucanas. Over 5 weeks.
Dot and Ginger. 5 1/2 weeks.
Feeding frenzy on cooked frozen veg and fresh chopped fruit. 5 1/2 weeks.
First taste of the organic finisher feed, they love it. Everyone had stuffed crops and then passed out for a nap. 6 weeks.
My shoes are always of great interest. Over 6 weeks.
Trying to escape! Over 6 weeks.
The Coop & Aviary
I really like the coop, but the aviary didn't turn out quite the way I expected. I am going to have the top half rebuilt sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Inside, just adding some finishing touches. I used leftover linoleum and coved the edges. The board in the middle serves as a divider for litter. The front part will eventually have the food and water containers. Pictured right is the front door with hatch set in.
Katherine and Sean, who work for my business wanted to paint the coop. They did a great job. The coop is 8 x 8 and about 6 feet high at the front. It is up about 2 feet off the ground offering more ground space and shade for the girls. Chez Poulet is right next to the vegetable garden.
This is the view the chickens see from their portal.
Chicken wire and top of aviary being torn down by Kyle the Elder and Kyle the Younger. Pictured right, what Kyle the Younger is working on. More pictures to come when the aviary is finally finished.
In memory of Tsuki who was gentle toward the chicks. 7-18-07 to 5-19-08
Photos copyright © 2008. lorikessler at hughes dot net
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