Chickie Update

There have been a few questions of how our chicken project is going so I thought I'd update you all. The chickens have all be outside for a bit over a month now and are doing great in their pen/coop. Out of the eight chicks, five turned out to be cockerels (young roosters). We planned on keeping two - Foxy, who looked like he was the poster boy for weather vanes, and Thunderbolt, a Barred Rock looking fellow with terrible depth perception (can't get the 8" jump into the coop and hits the threshold every time) and an endearing demeanor. He still lets Emilie pick him up and cart him around without too much fuss...especially if she has corn.

As with all the best laid plans....well they changed. Foxy got outfoxed by jumping the fence and running into Tilly, who turns out to be a chicken killer (grrrr). Honey is a chicken chaser So plan B came and Thunderbolt got promoted to sole rooster since the other 3 were not ones we wanted to keep.

So what of the other 3 young roosters? Mr. Peepers the Banty roosters, and the Red twins were taken over to a friend who raises a more extensive flock. They're allowed to stay as long as they mind their manners and don't pick on the other chickens (I'm guessing Mr. Peepers lasts less than a week ;P ). This friend also has lines with the Nepalese population in the valley and sells them meat birds so this may well be where the boys end up. Out of the deal we've been offered a pullet out of some chicks they have right now once they are bigger and we can tell if they are gentlemen or ladies. 3 Cockerels for a hen is not a bad deal.

Waiting Patiently, aka The Hard Part

Got 'Em!!!

This leaves us with three hens ( Carmey, Claire, and Blackberry) in the coop right now and one coming. Four hens and a rooster seems like a pretty good number for a family of four just looking for fresh eggs.