Chicken update
May 4th, 2009 by Amy
It has been a busy couple of weeks! We have neglected you for a week now and it is time for a chicken update.
Over the two weeks of being chicken parents, I have definitely gotten much more relaxed. At first, I was waking up in the middle of the night, worried they were being attacked by a raccoon. I did this despite the fact that the coop is very safe with many added measures of security. One of the reasons I am more relaxed is because they all snuggle in the nest box which is completely covered and off the ground. They have each learned how to successfully jump to the roost and into the box, so Matt doesn’t need to put them up himself.
A friend recommended we put a golf ball in the nest box to prompt them to lay in it and also so they wouldn’t peck at the eggs. Since we did that, it seemed to accomplish both goals. Buffy (the Buff Brahma) likes to play soccer with the golf ball in the afternoons. She spends the most time in the nest box with the least results (2 eggs slightly larger than jelly beans), but at least she is having fun.
When we lift the lid to the run at night to put them to bed, all but one of the white cochins scurry into the coop. She waits for us to pick her up, pet her, and put her in the nest box. Its really kind of sweet, but typically involves crawling into the part of the run without the removable lid to get her. Sometimes this means kneeling in some chicken poop.
We move the whole setup about once every 2-3 days so they have new ground to feast on. They are now very aware of the drill and dart out of the coop the second we open the door. The first hour or so after moving, it is a feeding frenzy. They eat every weed in sight and dig through all the loose soil. We have found they do a good job of working the soil and weeding. I have noticed that they don’t enjoy little western bittercress as much since it now lacks any leafy green for them to nibble on. They love almost any broadleaf weed, however. We have also given them some slugs and snails to feast on. They ignore the snails (probably because of the hard shell), but love the slugs.
Next we have to settle on some names, now that we know their personalities a bit better.
