Thursday, April 10, 2008

Chilly again and a new chicken field trip

Today I find myself again wearing long underwear under my jeans and a layering of shirts to keep the chill away. Why is it so damn cold?! As I sit here, more than a little grouchy, waiting and wishing for the springlike weather to return, I thought I'd post a few pictures from a softer, warmer, sunnier time: last week. Here, a few pictures of my girls enjoying their first journey into the grass...
Aerial shot (with mole hill):

Here I am being given "the eye". As in, why are you out there and we are in here:

Pretty much here, too:

But then they started to venture out a bit and explore:

I climbed in and sat down with them and they seemed to enjoy hanging out on my knees. This is Lacey the Barred Rock:

This is Pippi (short for Pip-Squeak (formerly Spot), named by my girlfriend's daughter, Sophia). Pippi is a White-Crested Black Polish:

And my girl, Sparrow, formerly an Araucana (per the feed store), now an Ameraucana (per me, as she has tail feathers):

Sparrow looks like she's about to do a somersault, but really she's just paying close attention to her personal hygiene:

This is one of the Rhode Island Red girls, Ruby. She's assuming the crouch position for a potential hawk attack. It turned out to be a bi-plane way up in the sky:

Please refrain from commenting on the red hat and purple tank combo I've got going on. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Let's focus, instead, on the cute little boids climbing on me:

Roxy, my pup, was very intent on watching the little ladies. I'm hoping she will become more of a "herder" as time goes on, and less of a "lunger". The chicks don't much care for the lunging:

This is our current transportation method to and from the brooder box. It's neither graceful nor pretty, but it works:


My girls turned 5 weeks old yesterday! Hopefully, by the end of this weekend, they will make the transition to their new coop outside.

16 comments:

  1. Danni you are a real character!! You can where anything you want to...remember you're a country girl now!!! hahaha! The girls are beautiful, Roxy too. I love it that they LOVE you!!! It was cool here today, and getting colder and rainy tomorrow....thanks!!!
    See you tomorrow!

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  2. I can't believe how old they are already!

    We still have a foot of snow on the ground. It's melting quickly though. I almost drowned when I fell through the snow, through the puddle and into the mud. This can't last forever.

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  3. We have a jack russell terrier and once we get a house we want to get chicken. Perhaps she too will learn to herd :)

    N.

    http://badhuman.wordpress.com

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  4. It is my humble opinion that you should teach these girls to herd the moles. This would eliminate the need for you to convince Roxy to herd them as she would follow their example and herd the moles as well. I also think it would make your husband very happy and he could look for larger and less reticent targets in the future.

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  5. They are so big now! If your nights are still cold make sure they have a yellow 100 watt bulb (bug light) or a safe heat lamp to keep them warm outside in the "Coop Castle". 5 weeks is still a little young to be outside in the cold at night. How is Dot doing? Is she still "wall staring"? Will you be posting any photos of the inside of the Coop Castle?

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  6. How cool! Having chicks climbing all over you must be fun. They are still all very cute.

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  7. I think it's official. You are no longer "on the way to the critter farm" you are "on the critter farm." You need to change the title! Love the chick updates!

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  8. I love the chicks! I wish I had them here...someday, tho...such cuties!!!

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  9. I love the pic of Sparrow and her hygiene attempts. hehehe

    And I don't think you're old enough to be a lady in the "Purple dress/Red hat Society"...are you? (wacky laughter)

    If you are then I most assuredly am, too. hehe

    You know I was thinking while looking at Roxy that she reminds me alot of our angora goats as their silky mohair grows out. Wonder if you can spin and knit with Roxy fiber??

    It's cold here, too. It snowed last night! And now we are dealing with the gusty wind (60 mph gusts!) and bitter cold. Here in the mountains, I've been told it's not truly Spring until the end of May.....wah.

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  10. You have a case of chicken love, and you have it BAD! I didn't know about chicken love before I got my first chicks but soon found out. The fact that they have personalities and their curiosity wins you over in no time.
    Sparrow is so sweet and pretty. I love Pippis' hairdo. So nice of you to get her ready for the photo. Did it take long with the gel and blowdryer to style it?
    And about your outfit, isn't it nice to not care. I was pleasantly surprised on my T-Bone video that I was in jeans and not my usual pajama pants. I just wish I had done something with my hair and face.

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  11. Those little chickens sure have an attentive bunch over there on critter farm. Between you and Roxy looking out for them no harm will be done to those birds!

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  12. Oooh, the chicks are big! Pippi is a cutie! I am getting a bad case of chick fever....

    Our big girls are happy happy happy now that most of the snow is gone. They are scratching and bug hunting all day, man, they must sleep like rocks at night!

    Can't wait to see mor of the coop.

    Ali in Maine

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  13. I love the chicken updates! They are getting so big and I love them all! Especially the puff ball heads.

    PS. Did they have to get permission slips signed to go on this field trip?

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  14. Logan was just asking me about the blog that has the poof ball headed chicks. So, I brought him over to show him the most recent picture. He really wants one of those. He also said he wants chicks that will jump in his lap.

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  15. Yea! Baby pictures on a field trip. I love when they tip their little heads to look you in the eye. Thanks for sharing! Pippi's hair kills me.

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  16. This is all so 'deja vue' for me!!

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