# We were naughty chicks today!



## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

Oh my, it's like playing whack-a-mole. I sure am glad I won't be having to clean up that room. Can you toilet train a chicken?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

No potty training for chickens, but you can put diapers on them. I think poodlecrazy has a pic of one of hers who is a house bird wearing a diaper somewhere on PF. I figured I'd be doing a huge cleanup in that room no matter what when I got them out the door. It has been a losing battle all along. It is the room where I do Lily's grooming and store my off season clothes and such. There is no carpeting, so I will bring up the shop vac from the basement, then get to mopping.

I'm just glad I heard them before I went up there with a dog in tow.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

OH MY! What a disaster! Definitely time to go to your own 'big house' you naughty girls!!!!
Thank heavens for wood floors and shop vacs huh?!!!!!!!LOL!


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

it's okay, ladies. don't let mom discombuberate you. you have just given everyone a new appreciation of toilet paper shredding by dogs and cats. they can't hold a candle to you chicks (hot mamas?).


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Isn't it just awful though! 

They want to forage through anything that has layers, hence the newspaper shredding and scattered pine shavings all over. The thing that really has me in a dither though is how much food they've scattered to the four corners of their world. Well everything organic that ends up in the shop vac will go on the compost heap, so at least it will all get recycled.

I have really become quite fond of them, not in the same way you have love for a dog, but they are much more personable than I expected they might be. I was trying to leave this morning and Sarah just didn't want to let me go. She kept hopping up on the edge of the pen and when I tried to put her back in she jumped on my hand and ran up my arm. Part of me will miss having them close at hand in the house, but part of me (the bigger part) will be very happy to have them outside tomorrow.

patk I hadn't thought about paper shredding dogs in a long time. My childhood beagle was a master of that craft. We spent most of my young life always having to knock on the bathroom door to see if it was free because TP was always on her radar!


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## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

Oh goodness! They are really very pretty. I am sorry they left you a bit of a mess, but I would hope that it can be swept and mopped easily. Do you have a floor cleaner? I got one for the places in the house that do no have carpet... It works like a carpet cleaner, but is wonderful on the hard floors. I am always amazed at how dirty the water is despite me having mopped and such...


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## deemarie03 (Jul 7, 2014)

Aw, we love chickens, yours are so pretty! Aren't they fun to watch? I learned that you cannot chase a chicken and win! A number of years ago we had about 10 chickens and we needed to catch them and put them in the coop before leaving on a trip. I ran all over the place trying to catch one in particular until that dumb chicken made me SO mad. I finally threw a large stick at it which missed the chicken, (naturally), then flew through the lilac bushes and hit my husband right on the knee! OUCH! I won't try chasing chickens again - hopefully yours will behave much better than ours, and come when they are called - LOL!


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Ooooo, naughty little chicks! Thankfully I was able to kick mine outside when they started doing that. I was surprised that the broilers were able to fly or jump. And thankfully they were in my garage which made clean up much easier because boy do those broilers poop a lot! I was having to do bedding changes 3-4 times a week!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I tried putting them back in the brooder pen yesterday afternoon and not surprisingly they wanted no part of it. I let it get dark and when they had fallen asleep all in a neat pile next to the pen I put them in for the night, but they must have hopped out as soon as it got light. I caught them all and gave each one a weight check and a good looking over and took them outside to the coop. I plan to leave them out tonight and see how it goes. I think they will be fine. Salome has been going up and down the ramp to the coop from the run during the day. Hopefully she will lead them all up there when it starts to get dark. I think it will be better for them to sleep in their house than outside since there are neighborhood cats that think my yard is theirs. All of the doorways and gates on their coop and run have double locks so I don't think any critters could actually hurt them, but I don't want them to be stressed out any more than necessary for their first nights out.

deemarie03, they are quite tame since I got them as hatchlings. They are fairly imprinted to me. I actually have found them to be a lot more likable and fun than I had expected them to be, so I feel a little sad that they won't be so at hand as for the first four weeks.

I will sweep up all that seems compostable tomorrow morning and add it to the pile. Then I will do a thorough floor washing. I did some sweeping to get the mess into piles and it isn't as bad as I thought it might turn out to be.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

*I feel sorry for my baby girls right now*

So I know I can't keep chickens loose in my house because of Lily and Peeves, but I felt so sorry for my little babies this evening. It was starting to get dark so I went out in the yard to see if they had gone into their house to roost, but they hadn't. They all looked like they were starting to settle down to sleep on the ground tonight which I really didn't want them to do. Also Sarah was running around the run following my movements and chirping an alarmed sounding call. I felt so sorry for her. She really just seemed to want to get close to me. I ended up sitting in front of the gate to the run and talking to them and offered some treats from my hand. I was able to pick them up to put them up into the coop. I closed them in to the sounds of protest. I will go out with a flashlight in a few minutes to give a little peek to see that they've settled. I feel like a terrible mom right now.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

AWWWW! What a big ol' softie you are! LOL!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Well nature is smarter than me. Big surprise there right? They are fine this morning! I peeked through the window on the front of the coop this morning and they were all quietly perched on the roosting perches. I refreshed their water and opened the door and they all came charging out and started foraging around and chirping happily! It is cloudy and coolish this morning. It should get into the low 70s but there is a chance of rain. Let's see what they do when it starts. I hope they have the sense to go inside when it does. I don't think they have enough meat on their bones to stay warm if they get wet.


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

you will be able to market eggs from pampered hens when the time comes.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Actually my town code says we aren't allowed to sell our eggs, so I think it will be a family and friends operation. I expect between 12-15 eggs per week once they get going, so 6 to give to someone most weeks and the rest for us.


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