It's unbelievable how much the chickens could change in a week.  The biggest issue is that they have literally grown feathers overnight.  With the exception of Millie and Boots, our chickens have grown beautiful wing feathers and tail feathers are very noticeable in Gracie and especially Hazel.  Check out their before and after photos.  It's only been 6 days!! (When we chose Penelope, her wing feathers were already well established). 

The temperature in their mini coop is now around 90 degrees.  They are enjoying about 1/2 hour outside everyday, which they seem to be very happy about, even though they huddle around the heat lamp once they get inside for about 15-20 minutes.  They have been introduced to a roosting stick, which Penelope mastered first.  She looks quite funny sleeping on it, because her head hangs so low, but Hazel is now enjoying the roost and it looks like Gracie will be next.  

5/17 A Chick Field Trip

Today it was gorgeous outside!  85+ degrees, a bit breezy, and a sweet spring smell in the air.  The boys and I did some yard work and after an afternoon of manual labor it was time for some hosing off and a refreshing popsicle.  I felt it was holding at around 85, so I made the decision to bring the nursery outside for a little while.

Tom and I decided this morning to make a wire lid out of some 19-gauge hardware cloth, just to keep the cats from nosing around in the nursery while we're out of the room.  It was a little wider than we needed so we just bent down the sides so it hung over about 8 inches on either side.  

When we brought the chicks outside, it was originally just my idea to let them enjoy a little sunshine, but as they seemed to like it outside and didn't seem cold, I decided to put one in the grass to see how she'd do.  Well, our cat, Maizy, immediately went into stalking mode, so for the chicks protection, I put the wire lid over her and presto! and outdoor playpen was born.   

Talk about happy chickens!  Oh, it was delightful to watch them scratch around in the grass and pick the ground for whatever they wanted.

Hazel and Boots both found burrowing themselves into the grass and laying down almost irresistable.  (She's sleeping, I swear!) 

They spent at least an hour in their little outdoor pen, and when we finally brought them back inside, they all settled into a nice long nap. Going outside must have been quite a highlight for them all.  And it was great entertainment for us as well.  I love happy chickens.  

5/16 Oh, no! Poor Ariel!

Tom and I had a wedding to attend today.  We left the house around 11am, and didn't get back home until 7pm.  We had left the nursery in good shape.  All the chicks were happy and moving around well.  There was absolutely no reason to belive that Ariel was in trouble before we left.

However, when we returned, I found her alone in the corner of the box, and she was already gone.  From her condition, I suspect she had died several hours prior.  I can't tell you why she died, anymore than I could guess why Midge did.  Our suspicions are that they were just not very healthy to begin with, and because of their size didn't have enough in them to really thrive.  

We also have considered that perhaps the walk-in closet where they are kept with their brooding light, became too warm during the day while we were away, and that caused her to perish.  The other hens in our flock seemed to have been fine when we returned, so we're less inclined to belive that, but nonetheless, we are truly saddened to have lost another one.  And it deeply troubles us that it was the two smallest ones.  Now we watch our little Gertrude like a hawk, checking on her nearly every hour or so to make sure that she is doing okay.  

Ariel was buried next to Midge and we pray that we won't have to add any others to our hydrangea bed.  

5/15 Some New Additions

Jaron and I found ourselves in my hometown, Sandy, Oregon today.  We drove past a feed store on our way to meet a friend for lunch and we decided that on the way home, we would stop and see if they had any bantam chicks available to bring our block back up to 6.  

When we got to the feed store, they only had one breed of bantams available, Sebrights; a beautiful breed with remarkable fringed feathers.  But there were two colors, White and Silver.  

How could we choose between 

them?  So we brought them both home and brought our flock up to 7.  

The white one we named Penelope. She has VERY long wings that reach the end of her body, and has an impressive wing span.  She likes to peck the beaks of her nursery mates and steal whatever food they may have.

The other one is speckled black and brown.  We named her Gertrude. 

She is quite small like Ariel and very sweet, but its clear now that our Gracie is a Golden Sebright.   A rainbow of Sebrights?  How fortunate, it seems like we'll have a beautiful flock indeed.  When they are full grown, the feathers are absolutely gorgeous on these birds.  

5/13-"G" Meet Our Flock - "Hazel"

Last, but not least is Hazel.  She is all grey, which seems to be quite uncommon in bantams, so I have no idea what breed she will be as an adult, but no doubt she will change color.  She is an expert scratcher, is probably the biggest of our flock and likes to look up at me with the "Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?"  look on her face.  

5/13-"F" Meet Our Flock -"Grace"

Next came the thumper.  She repeatedly beat her wings on the ground, scratched a lot and kept falling over because she had no real balance.  She fell over so often, that Patrick decided to call her Grace, or Gracie.  She is a really sweet bird and has similar markings to Millie.  She is not as fluffy, has longer wings, and a longer torso with a sort of scarf of black around her neck.  

5/13-"E" Meet Our Flock - "Millie"

Next is my lone silkie.  She has 5 toes, instead of the usual 4, and she has feathered legs and a little bonnet of feathers on her head as well.  Based on some internet photos, it was easy to determine which color she would be, based on her color markings.  She will grow into a Patridge Silkie, or sort of a dusty black.  She'll have a plume of feathers on her head and a dusty boot of feathers on her feet.  She'll look ridiculous and goofy, and I can't wait.  Meanwhile, she kind of resembles a leopard right now.  She has spots and stripes of orange, black and brown and is very pretty.  She was named Mildred, but we keep calling her Millie.