# Chickie Videos (at last)!



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I know a number of you have asked for videos of the chickens along the way. Since my tablet is new and my general use of YouTube is virtually nil it has taken me a while to get around to it, but here in order of age is a series of short videos that chronicle my little ladies growing up.

The first two are of little babies in their first week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUB6QpE_A3E&list=UUvg0UyN051LpJ436IDB8KNQ&spfreload=10%20Message%3A%20JSON%20Parse%20error%3A%20Unexpected%20EOF%20(url%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DeUB6QpE_A3E%26list%3DUUvg0UyN051LpJ436IDB8KNQ)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbwC7HahVDA&list=UUvg0UyN051LpJ436IDB8KNQ&index=5&spfreload=10%20Message%3A%20JSON%20Parse%20error%3A%20Unexpected%20EOF%20(url%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DLbwC7HahVDA%26list%3DUUvg0UyN051LpJ436IDB8KNQ%26index%3D5)

This was one of the first days I had them outside. Mom and Wolfie were over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvYCf_AfXRE&list=UUvg0UyN051LpJ436IDB8KNQ&index=3&spfreload=10%20Message%3A%20JSON%20Parse%20error%3A%20Unexpected%20EOF%20(url%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUvYCf_AfXRE%26list%3DUUvg0UyN051LpJ436IDB8KNQ%26index%3D3)

This is from a day when I put them out in their coop for a day trip. It was early September.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzNgc_CCaC4&index=2&list=UUvg0UyN051LpJ436IDB8KNQ&spfreload=10%20Message%3A%20JSON%20Parse%20error%3A%20Unexpected%20EOF%20(url%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqzNgc_CCaC4%26index%3D2%26list%3DUUvg0UyN051LpJ436IDB8KNQ)

This one is from when I first gave them an extended run space. It doesn't show them too well, but it is interesting to me to see that there was actually vegetation in there. It is bare soil now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXY...HY9kN24&index=7&list=UUvg0UyN051LpJ436IDB8KNQ)

Here they are now as grown up looking girls. Salome and Rebekah each weigh something over two pounds now. The ameraucanas should mature between 6 and 7 pounds. Salome should finish between 7 and 8 pounds so there is still quite a bit of growing to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNRSqcHPY0M&list=UUvg0UyN051LpJ436IDB8KNQ&index=6&spfreload=10%20Message%3A%20JSON%20Parse%20error%3A%20Unexpected%20EOF%20(url%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDNRSqcHPY0M%26list%3DUUvg0UyN051LpJ436IDB8KNQ%26index%3D6)


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

They are so gorgeous! They sure love getting out and scratching for worms don't they. Is that a compost pile in the last video? I tried one but it's just too dry here. I had to water it down all the time and now that we are in a severe drought it would be a very bad idea to waste so much water. They still enjoy scratching through the pile of straw and chicken poop I collect when I muck out the coop. Be careful of them eating long pieces of grass, because it can cause a compacted crop. They can still eat grass just make sure they are ripping it into small bits before they swallow. I can't wait for you to get your first egg, I bet it will be Salome. Who are you thinking it will be? Some of my Easter Eggers have surprised me and laid their first egg at a very young age, but my other two I got at Easter time still haven't started laying. They act like it but haven't popped out any eggs yet.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Yes that is a set of compost bins. They were over there this afternoon eating cantaloupes that had grown in the pile. They do really like ranging and I do try to discourage them from eating long bits of grass. Mostly I don't leave them out like that on their own because I worry about hawks and cats. Did you see my update on training dogs and chickens? Peeves saved the day with a cat in the yard on Friday.

I think the first egg will be from either Salome or Rebekah. They are bigger than everybody else and both of their combs are turning red.


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## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

When all of your girls start laying eggs, how eggs a week can you expect? Do you have any idea?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I think maybe 12-15 per week based on each girlie laying 3-4 times per week, but on the ferry Friday morning going to Connecticut we were talking with a man who has ameraucanas who says one or two of his lay every day. Either way we will probably be giving some eggs to family and neighbors.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

lily cd re said:


> Yes that is a set of compost bins. They were over there this afternoon eating cantaloupes that had grown in the pile. They do really like ranging and I do try to discourage them from eating long bits of grass. Mostly I don't leave them out like that on their own because I worry about hawks and cats. Did you see my update on training dogs and chickens? Peeves saved the day with a cat in the yard on Friday.
> 
> I think the first egg will be from either Salome or Rebekah. They are bigger than everybody else and both of their combs are turning red.



Oh my! No I didn't! How scary for the girls but how awesome of Peeves! Your training is really paying off isn't it. It sounds like he has excepted them as a part of the family, lol. I have never really had to worry about cats with my hens except for when they were tiny chicks, and it was my own cats I had to keep an eye on. I think my cats rule the neighborhood and keep the strays away from our yard completely. 

Oooo! It sounds like you are getting close to your first egg! The real predictor for egg laying is when they do the mating squat thing. They squat down and open their wings slight to balance (so a rooster can hop on and mate). That is a sign they will lay their first egg within a week or two ?. FYI when they start doing this, they absolutely LOVE having the base of their tail pet. Once you stop they will get up, fluff all their feathers and shake like a dog shaking of water. It's supper funny ?.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Here is a decent video showing the squat and fluffing up. ?. Their was another that showed the squatting better but they were a bit inappropriate about it ?. 

http://youtu.be/kchElV7imfs

And her is an example of the egg song I told you about a while ago.


http://youtu.be/47l396ZWWRo


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Thanks for those videos. I haven't seen any squatting yet. I sort of hope they will wait until they have gotten through the winter, but it is their clocks that are ticking, not mine.

We are really proud of Peeves. He is still a work in progress, but coming along faster than I would have predicted and definitely starting to think of them as part of his herd.


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## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

This made me think of you and your beautiful chicks!
Chicken hugs! | Furry Stuff That You Want to Love On. | Pinterest


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

OMG that is so sweet. My girls are certainly very imprinted on me. Last night when we had gotten in bed and were trying to settle in (Lily wanted to play) BF and I were talking about the birds and I was saying well Rebekah this, Salome that. He laughed at me over the names (which he doesn't seem to remember from day to day which is which). I said that in addition to having the job of giving us eggs when they are ready I think of them as pets and that therefore they have names. He still thinks I should just say the white one, the orange one, etc.

I went on to remind them how their lives started. They hatched, got looked over at the hatchery to determine that they were girls, were put into a box and onto a truck. The next time they saw the light of day or a person was when I opened the box after I brought it home from the post office and picked them up and started talking to them. No wonder they come running from wherever they are to get as close to me as possible! When I let them loose to range in the yard they loosely follow me and when they get ready to go to sleep they fly up to perch on me. I sometimes have a hard time getting them off. So far though nobody has run into my arms for a hug though!


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## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

That chicken hugs better than my dogs. Very cute. I had no idea that birds were like that. Since I am allergic to feathers, I have had gotten close to one to find out.

How about teaching the chicken names to your BF by saying "color" then "name", like Orange Salome. By the way, I can't remember which is which either. So it would be helpful to me too for a while.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

poodlecrazy#1 said:


> Here is a decent video showing the squat and fluffing up. ?. Their was another that showed the squatting better but they were a bit inappropriate about it ?.
> 
> Hen Squat - YouTube
> 
> ...


Had to laugh at the squatting cuz parrots do the same exact thing and even include 'moaning' Hahaha! I once had a pet Umbrella Cockatoo lay a egg in my lap while I was watching TV!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Molly that is too funny about the egg in your lap!

MiniPoo I think I will print a picture of each of them and put her name on it for him. This way if I am away with Lily and/or Peeves and something happens to one of them I can know who it is. 

For the time being for you all, here are reintroductions of them all.

First Rachel who is the smallest girl at the moment. She is a light blue.

















This is Ruthie. She used to be the little peanut but has gotten to be very big now. She is a blue splash (based on the couple of nearly black feathers splashed across her back).

















Here is Rebekah. She is a splash with mostly white but a lot of black/dark blue feathers mixed in all over. She is the biggest of the ameraucanas and may be my first egg producer since she has the most color in her comb. She is the one sitting in the doorway of the coop and that is Ruthie sitting on the door.









Sarah was not cooperative in this round of picture taking but here she is with Salome and Rachel. Sarah is the dark blue bird.









Finally here is my sweet Salome. She is such a nice mellow girl. She is a buff orpington, very pretty and a bit bigger than Ruthie.

















They turned ten weeks old on Peeves birthday (Monday the 20th).


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