# The little tiny ladies are here!



## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

How sweet - so glad they are drinking and eating for you - you must be so excited to have them finally at home. Will be looking forward to watching them grow.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I placed the order for them way back in March and have been so busy that it wasn't until this weekend that I really got the "nesting" feeling. Once we get through the first week or so they get a lot easier. They are so tiny and all kinds of odd things can happen in the first few days, but I am sure they will all be fine now that they are here.


----------



## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Awwww Chickies sure are cute! Glad they seem so healthy and eating well! Hope you take a pic every week and post it so we can see how they grow and change!


----------



## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

Yes, I want a chickie 52 week thread!

They look very cute and I'm glad they seem to be in good spirits after their long journey.


----------



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

They are so darn cute and teeny tiny. Yes, please post photos often as they grow.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

They change so fast at the beginning you may end up sick of pictures for the first few weeks! I just looked in on them again now and picked each of them up and touched every beak, wing, foot and tail. Just like with puppies touch everything to get them used to being husbanded properly. Although I haven't needed to trim beaks or nails since my older girls were making their transition to outside I think it is important to be able to do whatever is needed. Everybody is eating and drinking. Then they just stop and fall asleep for a few seconds. Then just as fast they wake themselves up and look startled.

Here is a link to a bit of video of the tinies exploring their little world.


----------



## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Catherine, your chicks are suuuupppper cute! When I was a young kid, I would visit my grandma in China for the summer and she would take me to the market early in the morning. This was the early 1990s before the modernization of everything took place. I was responsible for carrying her wicker basket. 
I would go with my grandma every day because they have chicks like this for sale in the market. I went every day that summer to play with the chicks. She finally purchased two chicks before the summer was over and I was over the moon! My evil plan of looking sad and being on my best behavior all summer finally worked! They were the cutest thing I've ever seen and heard. I loved hearing the sound of their chirping in the morning. I remember grandma had put them in a large box in the living room. They would huddle together in a corner. I would visit them all the time but was not allowed to bug them because they were so young. I was pretty bummed when summer was over and I had to come back to the states and to my boring pet-free home. The next time I went to visit, it was three years later and the tiny chick grew up and became a beautiful hen.


----------



## Muggles (Mar 14, 2015)

Oh they are so cute! Welcome home little chookies!


----------



## rj16 (Jan 30, 2017)

Oh my word! They are even more adorable than I imagined! They chirping is such a sweet sound. It's quite lovely that they are all distinguishable from day one. My mum's Henny and Penny are darlings but it would take some serious studying to be able to tell them apart. 

Just before logging on here I RSVP'd to a talk at a public library about backyard chickens. The town I'm in now has a motion before the council to allow chickens in residential areas and a nearby town just recently updated their bylaws to allow them. It's definitely chicken time!


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Even New York City allows chicken keeping. I know Kelly Ripa often talks about wanting chickens and Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC also has chickens. There is one Long Island Township that doesn't allow chicken keeping, but I know people who live in that area that have them anyway. They are lovely pets (more than I expected they would be) and having truly fresh and truly organic eggs is awesome. BTW Meye Hatchery participates in a program called the National Poultry Improvement Project (NPIP) and they certify that their birds are free of _Salmonella_ and H5N7 bird flu. The risk of getting Salmonella from pet chickens was in the news recently, but I am not concerned about my birds being carriers.


----------



## rj16 (Jan 30, 2017)

It's absolutely ridiculous that our town doesn't allow them. We're not talking about a very urban setting here where houses are built on tiny little lots... I honestly think that anyone who is against people being allowed to keep a reasonable number of hens in their backyard has probably never interacted with one. Even just for the eggs they are fabulous but like you said, they make lovely pets. 

It makes my blood boil... My husband and I are currently house hunting and these bylaws factor prominently in our location choices. I'm serious about chicken! Lol!


----------



## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

About 10 years ago our city passed an Urban Chicken ordinance. You are allowed up to 6 hens per household and roosters are NOT allowed. In the old part of town, homes built in the late 1800's and early 1900's chickens were always grandfathered in as many homes still had the original coops in the back yard. If you walk down the alley you can see the old coops and no longer used outhouses. . . And a few chickens, a duck or two and one guy had a VERY large turkey as a pet. 

Many of the HOA's put up a stink when the chicken ordinance was passed as HOA's could not prohibit "hens in the hood". 

Catherine, your ladies are so cute and itty bitty. I am sure you will have fun watching them grow and develop individual personalities. Enjoy!


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Our neighborhood is quite suburban with most of the lots in my neighborhood being about 1/4 acre. We are allowed 8 hens, no roos and are not allowed to sell our eggs. rj16 I hope you win the right to keep hens.


----------



## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

They are sooo cute! Glad they got there so quickly and are settling in well.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

zooeysmom said:


> They are sooo cute! Glad they got there so quickly and are settling in well.


Now I have my first time being nervous about them since I have to leave for class and won't be home until around 11:00. BF doesn't have much of a clue as to what to do so hopefully I have everything (temperature mostly) set up just right. They seem fine, not hot and spread out panting but also not huddled up feeling cold.


----------



## LizzysMom (Sep 27, 2016)

They're so cute! A friend of mine just gave me a dozen eggs - including two especially lovely blue ones! - from her hens today. I've often considered getting a few myself, but I'm not sure I'm up to keeping the henhouse clean!


----------



## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I enjoyed their video and the little chirping sounds they make. Glad the USPS delivered them to you safely.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

My worries while out seem to have gone unfounded. They are all good tonight. They are sleeping a bit spread out from each other so not too cool and they aren't panting or trying to get way away from the heat lamp, so I think I have it set right for the first week where they need an environment of about 95 degrees. It wasn't hard to get today since it was about that temperature outside!


----------



## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

That sweet little chirping sound is so endearing. I am so glad you caught it on video.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Isn't the chirping darling? When I went to the post office, I told the man at the window that I had come to collect the chirping box!


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

*They had a good night and are lively and cute this morning*

I decided on names and took some pictures of each of the littles this morning.  I also introduce Javelin to them. He was very good. I didn't take any pictures because it was more important to manage the interactions than to record them.

Anyway here are pictures of each girl and an introduction, first Phoebe, the buff orpington.

















Next Naomi, a lavender orpington.









This is Hannah, one of two blue splash marans. Marans have feathered legs. She already has quite a bit of feathering showing up on hers.

































Finally this is Miriam, the second blue splash maran. She just has a little tuft or two of leg feathers starting to show.


----------



## Muggles (Mar 14, 2015)

They are all beautiful - what lovely wee faces!


----------



## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

haha I like their names


----------



## AngelAviary (Aug 12, 2014)

Oh how wonderful! I love them and love the names!!! I just got 4 new little chicks the end of March too! We are technically not supposed to have them where I live but I guess if the neighbors don't say anything, we are ok. We also feed Organic and the eggs are the best tasting things ever! I cant wait for this batch to be old enough to lay. We had 2 ISA Brown hens a couple years ago that got killed by something that got into their coop. This was before we had our fence and the 3 extra pups in the family. 
We have 2 ISA Browns, 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte and 1 Golden Laced Wyandotte.
Picture 1 is the wee ones the day we got them. 
Picture 2 is them outside in their pen exploring.
Picture 3 is the 2 ISA Browns figuring out they can fly good enough to get to the top of their coop. But no worries, the pen has a complete top made out of the same gage wire as the rest of it! We were in the process of putting the top panels on when they flew up there to see what we were doing! The pen is a big 7 x 6 dog kennel type pen. No critters are getting in to hurt my girls this time!!!


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Well I was a bit concerned about the little lavender orpington girl (Naomi) when I left for work yesterday. She just looked low energy compared to the others. I checked her for a sticky bum (which can give them problems when they are young) and that looked okay, so I left with my fingers crossed. I am sad to say crossed fingers didn't work and she had probably just died as I was walking in the house since her little body was still warm when I scooped her up. BF said she had looked listless all evening. I don't think there was anything I could have done, but it is sad to have lost her.


----------



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

lily cd re said:


> Well I was a bit concerned about the little lavender orpington girl (Naomi) when I left for work yesterday. She just looked low energy compared to the others. I checked her for a sticky bum (which can give them problems when they are young) and that looked okay, so I left with my fingers crossed. I am sad to say crossed fingers didn't work and she had probably just died as I was walking in the house since her little body was still warm when I scooped her up. BF said she had looked listless all evening. I don't think there was anything I could have done, but it is sad to have lost her.


Oh Lily, I'm so sorry - that's sad. 



AngelAviary said:


> The pen is a big 7 x 6 dog kennel type pen. No critters are getting in to hurt my girls this time!!!


AngelAviary - don't be so sure nothing can get in. Years ago I knew someone who raised homing pigeons and they had a large completely fenced in cage (frost fence) similar to yours with locks - raccoons got in and killed all the birds.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Thank you Skylar, I am bummed. And yes I think you are right that determined predators will find a way. I have locks on the doors to my coop and the cinder block footing is to thwart digging. I think it also helps that Peeves is so good at alerting us if there are cats in the yard. BF said he chased off a cat Tuesday evening, probably the same one that Javelin alerted on when I got home with him later that evening. Peeves and Lily tag team cats in the yard. Since she is a great broken field runner she can cut them off when they change direction and she tends to drive them towards Peeves. He has had tails slip through his mouth a few times, but otherwise has never made contact (which is fine with me). I think the experience of having two large dogs on their case a couple of times dissuades the neighborhood cats. Somehow although I know there are plenty of raccoons and opossums in my neighborhood I have never had one in the yard. There I think Peeves, but all three dogs, are just to strongly deterrent to them. I also throw a little ammonia into the bottoms of my garbage cans once a month or so to make the garbage smell uninteresting to them. Our cans never get raided, but my neighbors cans do.

The hatchery has a 48 hour viability guarantee and the little girl who died did so in that window. I will call them in a little while to arrange for a replacement bird since I really want the lavender orpington in the flock. Since it is a rare breed it looks like I will have to wait until July 5th for the next hatch of them and I may have to get three birds since that is the smallest number that can ship safely. If I am able to replace that way (rather than taking a refund) I think I will get two lavenders and another buff. That would make a total of nine birds if they all make it. Nine is one over the town limit, but I doubt my neighbors would notice or report me. If somehow it was just too many for the coop and yard space then I could certainly give one or two birds to the guy who owns the nursery yard where I buy my bird feed. He has tons of chickens that free range the property of the business and has many breeds, including polish, various bantams and some other really pretty birds.


----------



## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss of little Naomi :'( When I was going to get my chicks, I was the most excited about the lavender orpingtons. It was nothing you did--they are just fragile at that age. Hugs.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

zooeysmom said:


> Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss of little Naomi :'( When I was going to get my chicks, I was the most excited about the lavender orpingtons. It was nothing you did--they are just fragile at that age. Hugs.



You are so right about how fragile they are. It is sort of a miracle to me that all of the first chicks I raised made it since I am sure I was dopey about some of what I did with them. I weighed them the day they came and once each day since. The biggest of the three still only weighs about 45 grams (roughly 1 1/2 ounces).

I called the hatchery this morning and had a great and supportive customer service experience. My account will have a credit for the bird who passed. They are having another hatch of lavender orpingtons on July 5th and I ordered a replacement using the credit plus to make the 3 bird ship minimum I added another lavender and another buff. If everyone makes it that will be nine birds, but I can give one or two away if I need to (and even give them to someone where I would be able to see them and know how they do first hand). I am sad to have lost the little girl, but happy with the resolution of the issue with the hatchery.


----------



## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

So sorry that you lost the young lavender one. Glad the hatchery was so responsive to you and that you have more new chicks to look forward to in July. Keep us posted on how they are all doing.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Asta's mom thanks for your nice words. This hatchery is a really nice business. They are in Ohio and ship all around the US, so for anyone thinking of chickens I would definitely recommend them (www.meyerhatchery.com/index.a5w). Now I just have to get BF used to the idea that I am not just replacing the lost little one, but adding two additional feathered friends. I realized that if I do keep all of them I will certainly be able to donate eggs pretty regularly to the food bank that we run on campus. Many of our students struggle to put food on the table for themselves and their children. Even some of our contingent faculty struggle to make ends meet. Most of the food is non-perishable, but I know they have a refrigerator and would welcome eggs. One of the features of Meyer hatchery is that they will give you a bird for free if you want when you order in exchange for you donating the meat or eggs from that bird to a food bank. They call that bird the Meyer Meal Maker. I didn't request meal maker birds with either of these orders, but will be happy to donate eggs. 

Phoebe, Miriam and Hannah are all doing nicely today. I weighed each of them and each has gained at least a few grams in about 24 hours. They are starting to be pretty funny and lively to watch. Since it is my birthday today and I just spent a lovely afternoon with my mom I don't have time to take and to upload video before I leave for work.

Mom brought lobster rolls (for those who don't know this New England/northeastern specialty: a hot dog bun or similar roll that is toasted and stuffed with a nice serving of lobster salad) for lunch and I splurged with the perfect lobster beverage of beer. She got to meet the three littles and they put on a cute little run around for her. I showed her the feathered feet coming in on the marans too. After lunch we took the three poodles (my two and her mpoo) for a stroll paced walk around the neighborhood. There wasn't much traffic and it is just around 80 deg with low humidity, so perfect for walking. My fitbit is happy I took midafternoon steps.


----------



## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

Happy Birthday Catherine. Sounds like you are having a great day - I love lobster rolls but they are unheard of here in Alabama.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Asta's Mom said:


> Happy Birthday Catherine. Sounds like you are having a great day - *I love lobster rolls but they are unheard of here in Alabama*.


Thanks a bunch. I had a feeling it was a good idea to explain what a lobster roll is since it is one of those things that is really a local specialty. Since I love lobster I am very happy to live somewhere that you can order them and not have people look at you like you are crazy.


----------



## rj16 (Jan 30, 2017)

Happy birthday Catherine! That sounds like a lovely day for the occasion. 

I'm very sorry to hear of little Naomi's passing. It's always very iffy with little animals... I'm glad the hatchery has such a good policy and you'll be making the most of the unfortunate event. I look forward to more pictures!


----------



## Muggles (Mar 14, 2015)

Happy birthday! [emoji322] [emoji324] [emoji512] 
Very sorry about little Naomi [emoji26]We had chickens growing up and it's definitely hard when they're so little - nothing you can really do.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Well after that bumpy start with losing the lavender orpington girl everybody is looking good. All of them gained at least 6 grams in the last day! They are starting to feather out their little wings with little feathers. They are pretty active running around, flapping a bit and stretching their legs. Here they are.

Phoebe seems to be taking lessons from Lily on being camera shy.









Here is Hannah with her feathered feet. She must be talking to Lily about picture taking too.









And here is Miriam. Hey girlie where are those leg feathers? She does have a couple of little tufts showing, but not like her sister. At least she is looking at the camera (my phone).


----------



## AngelAviary (Aug 12, 2014)

Oh they are adorable. I'm sorry about the little one and glad you have such a great place to get chicks from. I love McMurry Hatchery too. I get their on line catalogs and just dream of a time where I can "really" have chickens. I love the idea about donating extra eggs to a food kitchen or food bank. We have a lot of schools that collect food and supplies during the school year and send backpacks home with the kids for them to have good meals over the weekends. Our schools provide a lot of kids with breakfast and lunch free of charge and they worry that the kids wont have food to eat over the weekends. I will look into it. We will not be able to use 4 eggs a day so thanks great idea! 
Cant wait to see pictures of the new girls when they arrive.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

AngelAviary McMurray is a great hatchery too, but their minimum chick order is 15 birds and Meyer is 3. Since we can really only have 8 birds, McMurray is out for me, but they have great selection of breeds.

I am psyched about having the college's food program (ironically (for my upcoming role) called the Nest) as the place to send my extra eggs.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

The three littles are six days old now and starting to get funny little personalities. I put a treat ball with some dried mealworms in it in their pen. Since I have generally found my older birds to be suspicious about new things I was not surprised that the tiny ones acted like an alien spacecraft had descended. They have started to check it out since I did this video. Everyone is eating well and gaining a few grams a day at this point. I think all three of these birds will grow up before our eyes before you know it.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

They hatched one week ago today and at this hour of the day were in their box on the road to me. Weight check today shows that each of them has just about doubled her weight from the day they arrived. Given that they had on board yolk to consume (a weight loser) I am very happy with their progress. I lowered the temperature in their brooder today and they are active and chirpy cheerful.

the original heat lamp bulb burned out yesterday. I replaced it with a ceramic reptile heater that gives no light. I think they slept better last night since they didn't stir when I went past the room they are in to go to the bathroom the way they had been doing.


----------



## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

So glad to hear that they are doing well! They are absolutely adorable and look like they are thriving and healthy. Am sorry too that you lost Naomi, not easy losing animals even if they've only been with you for a short time.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Our town just voted no to suburban chickens. I'm so sad, because I've been following your thread. Your chicks are the cutest things. I'm enjoying coming a long for the ride.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Click-N-Treat I am sorry your town voted away chicken keeping. They are great pets and they do help people be self sustaining in many ways.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

*12 days old*

The three littles are not so tiny anymore, but still pretty little. I do weigh them everyday though and everyone is 75 grams or more including Miriam as the first to break 100 grams. Not bad given that they were all only about 30-35 grams when they were first here.

They all have little tails and wing feathers along with the beginnings of their combs.

Here's Phoebe showing her wing and tail feathers.









Here is Hannah with her well feathered legs. 









This is Miriam showing off the start of her comb.









Here is a link for a tiny little video showing that Miriam thinks she can fly already. Not yet little girl..


----------



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

They are adorable - especially Miriam trying to fly.

People here talk about the dreaded coat change of their poodles transitioning to their adult coat - is it a problem with baby chicks growing their adult feathers?


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Feathering out is not much of a deal other than having feathers floating about. Mostly they just look pretty laughable as you will see in a few weeks. 

The other thing to watch for with molting birds is that they don't break feather shafts down close to the skin when big feathers are growing in since there are a lot of blood vessels in those shafts. A bird can lose copious amounts of blood from breaking such a feather. If it happens you take a pair of pliers and pull the base of the feather out and that generally closes down the bleeding pretty quickly. I've never had to do that, but I have quicked bird claws rather dramatically once or twice.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

*2 1/2 weeks old*

The girls are growing by leaps and bounds. Hannah and Miram are both over 100 grams now and Phoebe is just over 90 grams.

They still are total little chirpers and I love listening to their sweet little voices. But as this video shows, they are also very messy. Their innate interest in foraging clearly shows.

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=XymT3vCE9Wc

Given how much they kick stuff around I am forever cleaning their water. They have finally decided they like their treat ball which has holes on the end that let them scrounge for the dried meal worms inside. The first few times one of them got one out the others would chase her for it, but now that they all know how to get them they are a lot nicer to each other about not stealing the prize.

They are all starting to put out adult type feathers to replace their down. It is interesting to watch even if a tiny bit sad since the baby fluff ball look is disappearing.

This shows the tract of new feathers coming in on the side of Phoebe's breast.









Here are a few of Miriam and parts showing new feather growth.

























And here is Hannah and some of her leg feathering which for some reason is further along than Miriam's.

















And another view of just how messy they end up being, although the bedding outside the pen is stuff I dropped there when I picked it out of the waterer.

I know some people keep chickens indoors, but even I who am sort of mess tolerant can't wait to kick them out the door.

If it is warm here this weekend I will take them outside in a play pen run I have for them (video for sure when that happens).


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Oops one more of Hannah.


----------



## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I noticed how fearless they are now with the treat ball. When do they move to the chicken condo outside? It's too nice to be called a coop


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Mfmst i have to introduce them to Ruth, Rachel and Sarah before I make them all live together. The introduction of new birds to a flock often creates pecking order arguments. I still have the old coop in the yard and will use it, the play pen and perhaps a wire dog crate as tools for the introductions. I am sort of hoping I can have them outside next week since I have a replacement+2 on the way for the first lavender orpington who didn't make it. If I hadn't really wanted the breed I probably would have just chalked it up as a loss and stuck with the six birds, but when I spoke to the hatchery folks and realized that they were hatching another batch of lavenders on July 5th and then probably no more of them in 2017 I decided to take my credit as a replacement bird, with the sticking point of course that they can't ship a single hatchling. The minimum is three. So next week I expect two lavenders and another buff orpington. I don't think I want them all in the same brood pen since Phoebe, Hannah and Miriam will be giants and also not in need of the heat lamp.


----------



## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

Good to see they are enjoy the "alien orb that dropped from the sky"! They're growing up so quickly (as expected).


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

galofpink I love that idea of the alien orb from outer space! That is how they viewed it at first, along with harboring deep suspicion of the delicious treat cake I lowered down from the sky a few days later which is now the best thing since sliced bread. Clearly though it is adaptively very sensible for them not to jump on any old alien object that comes their way.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

It was a beautiful and fairly hot day here today so I set up the play pen I have for the chicks and brought them outside for the very first time. They liked it a lot. I also had the older girls out loose in the yard, but they were under my forsythias at one end and I had the play pen in a shady spot in the middle of the yard. they never got to check each other out (which I hoped would happen). I will try again tomorrow a little earlier in the day and move the playpen down nearer where the older girls like to forage.

Here they are! As you can see they are feathering out like crazy along their sides and across their backs and on their legs. They still have baby down heads. Phoebe is in front. Hannah is on the right in the back and Miriam is being camera shy at back left.

















Here is a tiny little video too.


----------



## Beautiful Blue (Apr 24, 2017)

They want to get out into the big wide world don't they...so cute.

What must it feel like to grow big, coarse, grown up feathers!?! Kinda weird. 

I had a canary for maybe 5 years. My mother thought we should get him a mate. In no time it seemed, I was helping them hatch and care for 7 (2 clutches one right after the other) tiny canaries in the family room!! They all resembled Woodstock from Peanuts cartoon at the certain stage in their development.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I always imagine that putting out new feathers must feel sort of itchy, but they don't seem to scratch when they molt. If only we could read their thoughts (and our dogs too).

That is cool about your canaries. I have had canaries and actually my childhood canary (a male and great singer) lived to be almost 20! He was tamer than most psittacine birds I have had. We hatched tons of zebra finches but Johann was a bachelor his whole life.


----------



## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Hey! It sounds like your flock is growing......with the new chicks how many will you have? You might have to start selling eggs to your associates!!! hahaha!


I once handfed a Zebra finch chick to see if it could be as tame as a parakeet and it was! Cutest thing ever when He would fly to me and perch on my shoulder when I let him out of his cage! He was actually friendly and people were amazed when they would come to visit and a tiny bird would land on their heads....had many requests for one, but declined as it was too labor intensive to do!


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Molly I have three blue ameraucanas and now these three littles (2 are blue splash marans and one a buff orpington). There is a hatch on July 5th and I am getting a free lavender orpington to replace the one who didn't make it from the June 12th hatch. The minimum number of chicks to ship though is 3 so I added another lavender and a buff orpington for what will be a total of nine. I am seeing us buried in eggs, but we have a food bank at my college and they do have a refrigerator so I can donate excess eggs there. I also give them to my neighbors and to family and friends as I have available. Technically I am not allowed to sell by town ordinance.


----------



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

It's fun to see their transition from helpless baby chick to an adult chicken. Hope the introduction goes well so they all settle in quickly to the pecking order.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I took the little girls outside for some playpen time again this morning, but I moved it closer to the big coop and put them in it before I let the big girls out. Well, once again the big girls just went right by them to go forage in one of their favorite spots around the compost bins and they ignored the babies. I guess this is better than three of them charging over to attack but it is odd to me that they are working so hard at ignoring them. I sat near the pen and the babies for a while and Sarah came over to say hello, but she paid more attention to me than the littles. I know it isn't really possible that it will be this easy. Does anyone have any suggestions?


----------



## Beautiful Blue (Apr 24, 2017)

lily cd re said:


> I always imagine that putting out new feathers must feel sort of itchy, but they don't seem to scratch when they molt. If only we could read their thoughts (and our dogs too).
> 
> That is cool about your canaries. I have had canaries and actually my childhood canary (a male and great singer) lived to be almost 20! He was tamer than most psittacine birds I have had. We hatched tons of zebra finches but Johann was a bachelor his whole life.


I should have said that "Tweet", the canary (I know) was 5 years old when we bought him a mate (Sweety). I was staying with my mother while my husband worked in China for 6 months. And though the canary, who sang beautifully, was entertaining, Mother thought it would be fun to find him a wife. And it was fun!! And a riotous time. I did have to deliberately exercise him, strengthen his wings, and slim him down a little so he could mate with her.

Every year as he grew older, his "song" got longer, more complex. He did live to be 12.

The pet store expert, who promised to buy the babies, told me that he could not take them until they were 6 weeks old because he would pay more for the males and would not know until then which were singing and which were merely chirping (females)

But, those 4 little boys - - cute as can be - -were trying to vocalize and emulate their daddy in no time at all. I knew at about 3 weeks.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

The third trip outside seems to have been the charm for getting some hint of interest out of my three older birds. I put the littles in a dog ex pen (Phoebe can pop between the bars, but the other two can't) near the coop. then I let the three older girls out. They ignored the littles for quite a while but eventually one girl approached very cautiously. She made concentric circles that started with the closest approach at about 8 feet and that gradually got closer and closer each time around. Eventually she stopped and took a look at the chicks and they took a look at her. It was very quiet and peaceful.

















The littles are fun to watch. It is interesting to see behaviors that I know are very innate emerging, like foraging and even the desire for dust bathing. Little Phoebe tried a number of times to dip down into low spots and rolled around a bit like she wanted a dust bath. I realize it may look like she is hurt or sick especially since one of the marans stood on her head for a few seconds, but she is fine.

























And a little video.






Oh and tomorrow is hatching day for the lavender and buff orpingtons. They should be here Thurdsay or Friday.


----------



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

They are growing up quickly - so cute.


----------



## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

It looked like the blue Marans thought that Phoebe was a comfy roost. I've noticed that flock members are not often offended by each other. Once firmly established though, the flock does not take kindly to interlopers wandering into their territory.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Charmed said:


> It looked like the blue Marans thought that Phoebe was a comfy roost. I've noticed that flock members are not often offended by each other. Once firmly established though, the flock does not take kindly to interlopers wandering into their territory.


Charmed that is why I am concerned about the apparent lack of interest on the part of my older birds in the babies. I just can't imagine that introducing them all to living in the same space will be easy without at least some interaction before I put them together. I also have hatchlings arriving tomorrow or Friday to replace the lavender orpington who didn't make it (plus 2 since the minimum number to ship is 3). We will keep doing what we've been doing and when the littles are a bit bigger I will let them loose with the other three for supervised mingling. I may also put a wire dog crate in the coop for the three youngsters once I know they can't slip out as a transition tool. Mostly of course it is on them to work it out. Wish us luck.


----------



## rj16 (Jan 30, 2017)

They are ever so darling! The dog crate sounds like the perfect intermediary. I look forward to hearing how that goes.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Uh oh!!!!!!









I was hoping this would happen for a few more days. Guess who will have to move outside this weekend? Little stinkers...


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Since my older babies will have to move outside soon (as evidenced by BF finding Hannah and Phoebe perched on the top of the brooder this morning) I took them out and put them in the ex pen for a while. They had a good time foraging. Phoebe stayed in the ex pen (last week she kept popping out). And most importantly the three older girls showed some active yet benevolent interest.

















I am not quite ready to put the teens outside yet since they haven't feathered out their heads (even though it is hot here). Therefore they are in jail now with an aviary netting roof over their heads. Isn't it just typical to see that the little children have a neat room and the teenagers are slobs?


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

This is probably the last installment of these little tiny ladies baby story line. They are really just about pullets now (although I will feed them chick crumbles for another week - ten days. They are well feathered and they can fly! It is warm but not wildly hot here now so it seemed like a pretty seamless environmental change to have to day be their day to move outside to the big girl digs. I had them loose with the seniors this afternoon and there was a tiny bit of chasing, but nothing terrible. I put up a dog crate in the run and left the plastic tray out so they can forage and dust bath dig. they have food and a waterer. I also put a large dowel in as a perch. Rachel has been wandering back and forth between the coop and the run and all seems good to go. It is a little nerve wracking and a little sad, but if you could see my office where the brooder is right now you would know why I am happy to get at least these three out of there. It should be about 3 - 4 weeks before I can put the rest of them out.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Well I need to put in one follow up about it being chilly last night. It went into the low 60s. I let the poodles out at about midnight and peeked into the littles containment to check on them and initially only saw the marans. On closer inspection Phoebe (buff orpington) was underneath them. They haven't huddled that closely since they really were tiny.

They are fine this morning and one of the marans has even figured out how to use the perch (they didn't have one in the brooder). Outside is where they will be staying! We have no real chance of rain until possible thunderstorms on Thursday. For now I have a sun shade blanket over the run, but I will put a tarp on top of that Wednesday so that BF doesn't have to do anything to keep them dry while Javelin and I are away over the weekend.


----------

