Goldie and Lucy
The chickens are good. They are incredibly easy, as everything I've read and heard about them has said. Just check on them in the morning, give 'em a cup or two of food and make sure they have water. Check on them once more in the afternoon, refill food and water if needed--the water usually lasts a couple of days so even that's easy.
Danu and Lily
They do love to eat and go a little nuts when you bring out food. Unlike other chickens I've seen and about which I've read, though, they're not really eating the weeds and other compost we're putting in their run. Picky chickens? Well, join the family...They like to climb on top of their feeder as soon as new food is put on, in spite of George building a funky little stand for it.
We also find them snuggling up together a lot. They don't seem to be hen-pecking much and really appear to like each other. I guess that's good. They definitely have their personalities. Goldie and Lily are the friendliest and bravest, always checking us out first. Lucy seems to be the most dominant, though mildly so. We thought that made her name appropriate--I Love Lucy, my grandma Luccille, etc. And Danu is fairly mild so far. We're not sure if she'll live up to her name as Danu: Irish Mother Goddess of Wisdom (and name of a really great Celtic band), but we'll wait and see.
Rose really knows each one best. She has spent the most time sitting on a stool in the coop with them, petting and holding the reluctant things. They're pretty timid, and so are Elijah and I around them. Rose figured out the distinguishing characteristics of each one so we can remember their names. She is used to several pairs of twin friends, so I guess she's got practice. :)
Overall, they're fun and funny. I just can't wait for the eggs! This weekend we go to the Bluegrass Festival so a friend of a friend is coming to cat and chicken-sit.
Comments
As far as smell, we have about 3-4 inches of sawdust lining their run. We got 2.5 inches of rain on Sunday and this morning noticed that the coop area was really smelly--we figured b/c it was still wet 2 days later. Well, after Goerge turned the bedding over a bit it started to dry out and right away it didn't smell again. You had to be close to smell it, but yeah we wouldn't even want that. Attracts pests. They say if you have enough bedding and clean the coop out once a month or so (or when it smells), you shouldn't have much smell or flies or anything. So far, one week on, it's all good.
mnultraguy, glad to know they'll start eating the compost eventually. Yay on the eggs! How are they? I can't wait.
I call chick, chick, chick when I bring them something and the come running. It took our a while to eat too. They love grasshoppers and the cucumbers that get to big to do much with.
*sigh* I dream of keeping my own chickens...
happy birthday to you!
happy bi-i-irthday dear lisa!
happy birthday to you!
good that you don't really have to hear my actual singing, but at least you know that there is a song floating in cyberdom for you from me.
love the new header. still jealous..uh..envious of your li'l ladies....and i keep thinking..some day...someday...someone will have to come bail me out of jail because i have broken the "chicken" laws of my city.
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