The young girls have tripled in size in the last week and they are getting into some grown up ways. They are quite curious about the big girls. Hopefully they will not imitate their habit of eating their own feathers. The one Rhode island red is almost completely bald now, and she is doing it to herself. The young ones are now able to get into their coop for the night, with a little persuasion. That means moving their food inside. Chickens always follow food. A few of them have figured out how to get on the roosts, though they still seem to sleep in piles. Yesterday when it was raining, they were under the coop in two piles, one at each end. One pile had the black and whites, and the other had the reds. So they have established some age segregation it seems, which coincides with color also. One of the wyandottes is really looking like a rooster already, and the guy at the feed store says we can bring it back and maybe exchange it for another. Hard to see what we would bring home however. All the chicks at the store are only a day old or so. There are so many really cute ones. I almost came home with a few of the Polish chicks, which have an extra cap on their heads that looks like a beenie. They are really sweet looking. But I was disciplined and only returned with food and a big chick drinking can.
Since the resident squirrel in the garage had chewed through the plastic feed container, we have moved things around and acquired another big metal can. The food for the young ones is in a white bag in the same can as the big girl food for now, so pay attention. Scratch and the new developer food in the other can.
Our broody hen has changed little in the last week. She sits all day in the same box. Some of the hens lay on top of her and she broods the eggs until we get them. She can be carried outside and she might walk around for a few minutes. But she is rather grumpy about it, attacks any hen that gets near her, and soon returns to her box. It is not clear when she eats or drinks, but when she is kicked out for awhile she seems perfectly normal. Since she gets no exercise, she feels like a bag of jelly. She doesn't seem to like anyone, but is willing to watch out for eggs. Several others will sit on a few until we come to get them. We do have a few egg eaters who have been caught in the act, so it seems the others are being protective. So far we have caught a red, an auracana, and a barred rock eating eggs. Average egg production is now 13-14 a day.
The new coop needs cleaning. Who wants to be the first to try it with ten teenagers running around under foot?
Peggy, teenage guidance counselor
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