Most of our chickens don't have names, but the ones that do were named by our sons. We haven't named them because we don't plan on keeping all of them. The minimum order was 15 chicks, but that is more than we can keep. As it stands now a few chicks will be heading to my Mom's house so she can start her own backyard flock.
After a glorious day exploring the coop and run the chicks seemed a little lost as the sun went down. A few of them huddled together in the run. A couple tried to roost on the feeder. A couple of brave little chicks hung out at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the hen house, but not a one of them went inside. We waited for a little bit to see if any of the chickens would figure it out on their own but that never happened. I wanted to secure them for the night and make sure that all of the girls were safe and warm, I thought if I crawled inside the run I could shoo them up into the house. I convinced the girls to run silly into the space under the house, but I couldn't get them to go up the ladder.
The chickens now live outside in their spacious coop! The chicks are six weeks old, the weather is warm and beautiful, they have moved outside. It was a fun little adventure carrying each one up out of the basement and off to their new home. Each chick had a slightly different reaction.
This weekend was lovely. Absolutely beautiful weather that just demanded that we spend as much time as possible outside. It was the perfect opportunity to open up the coop and give it a complete cleaning in preparation for some new occupants. Some vinegar, some water, and plenty of sunshine later and the girls are ready for their big move to the big outdoors.
One of the sweetest parts of bird raising is seeing my children love on them. My toddler, still clumsy with words, and quick on his feet, drops everything when one of our baby chicks comes out. Buuuurd! He exclaims with absolute joy on his face. With big bright happy eyes he points at the baby chick and repeats his word, delighted at being able to name the animal correctly and being able to pet the feathered friend with the most gentle touches any 19 month old could ever muster.
Leah Rae Verde