Sunday, June 5, 2016

The Girls Are Here!!!!!

Their first time outside in the chicken yard
 Oh my word, I am beyond excited and thrilled!! I have CHICKENS!
Discovering their coop
 A good friend and owner of dozens of hens (and a few roosters) had these birds left over when a neighbor gave her some extra Easter birds. So she gave them to me. Be still my heart. I'm over the moon.
 The two black-and-white speckled ones are Barred Rocks. They are named Lucy and Ethel.
 This gal below is dark and is an Ameraucana. Her name is Punkin.
The beautiful brown one is a Rhode Island Red. Her name is Ruby. We got an "A+" from my friend on our chicken coop and yard, so we were ready to go. I love to watch them. Now I gotta go and put them up for the night. Wish me luck!
Update: I walked out to the chicken yard, wondering if they'd already put themselves to bed. Ha! Lucy, Ethel, and Punkin were SITTING ON TOP OF THE WOODEN GATE. Eeeeek! They looked like they were roosting for the night, but honestly, they could have jumped down and walked out into the pasture at any minute. (gulp) I shooed them back into their yard, got in there and picked up each one and put them into the coop, latching their little door. Thankfully, Ruby was already in the coop, being the good little girl she is. Bless her. I went in the coop then with a flashlight, and Lucy was already hopping around on the roost. But the other three were huddled on top of each other making scared, nervous noises in the corner by the door. Poor things. I think they're very stressed by the move. I think our best option now is to clip their wings. It will make them floppy flyers, but it's better than being lost or dead :(

3 comments:

  1. I always wondered how people stopped their chickens flying away. Now I know! I suppose they would always come back to their food. But I know nothing about chickens, so don't take any notice of my ramblings.

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  2. Yes, clipping their wings is the only way unless you put chicken wire over the top of the chicken run. They don't do the honor system. :)

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