Picky, Picky...

Two days ago, I took out corn on the cob with most of the corn gone to the girls. They barely picked at it.

Yesterday, I took them some Jazz apple slices that my son didn't finish. They barely picked at it. Turned their noses up at Jazz apples... what kind of chickens did I get??

Today, I threw out about a cup of bird seed with sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, peanuts, you know, the good stuff. They went for the apple slices I forgot to take out last night.

I get growled at when I bring treats out there unless it's bread. Did you know chickens growl? Take my word for it, they do.

Better Pics of the Girls

I got some better pics of the girls yesterday morning.

Their personalities are something else... Saturday night I had to put them to bed early because we were going to Michigan City to meet up with some friends and wouldn't be getting back until late. They obliged, but weren't too happy. When I let them out yesterday morning, Ruby stood about 3 ft from me, look right at me and I swear she was telling me off... I went to give them some treats yesterday afternoon and they ran from me :) Last night, they put themselves to bed.

The Chickens Are Here!

I picked up "the girls" on Thursday!

This is Lace. She is a light Brahma.

This is Goldie. She's a Buff Orpington. My niece named her :)

And finally, this is Ruby. She is a Rhode Island Red. My "Idon'twantchickens" husband named her!

They were hatched in April/May of this year and should be laying in a month or so. I hope :) They have settled in well. They came from the same flock and get along. I will get better pics later :)

Coop Building - Day 6

Quite a bit has been done on the chicken coop and it's almost ready to go. I have a second coat of paint on the exterior and might still have to do another. I have to do at least two more coats on the inside. The window is in and screened with hardware cloth. I need to find bird netting for the kennel cover and then we'll be ready to go.

The roost will have to be moved. It's not even 2 inches from the back wall and it's supposed to be 12-18 inches.

Not bad for $3 paint from Habitat for Humanity ReStore! I love the trim color. It's Sherwin Williams Wool Skein. The red is Sherwin Williams Rookwood Red.

I'm most likely picking up the "girls" on Thursday. I'm getting three from someone I met on Backyard Chicken. I will leave a spot open for when I find an Easter Egger. I *need* a chicken that lays blue eggs :)

Coop Building - Day 3

Coop building, day 3

Roof panels are on. Clean out door/chicken door combo is cut. Latches and locks are temporarily on.

This area will be painted and covered in hardware cloth. For the winter, I will partially cover this to prevent drafts.

Inside skylight view. My uncle bought smoke panels. Yes, the roof is a pallet :)

For now, the vents are 6 holes that need to be cleaned up. If it ends up not being enough, we will take off the vents and make the openings bigger. There is a vent on the back and both sides.

Looking good so far!

Building the Coop Days 1 & 2

Day 1

My husband and uncle got the floor and three sides done.

I put primer on it, and then 15 minutes later, it started storming, complete with hail.

Day 2

The guys worked hard and now the coop has all four sides and a roof. They used a pallet for the roof. Right now it has a tarp over it, but my uncle is going to come back later this week to finish it.

Tomorrow and Tuesday are supposed to be nice and rain free. While my son is napping, I plan on finishing the primer and get started on the painting. I found a lovely red at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Slowly...

We are going to use wood from a shed kit that was never assembled for the chicken coop. Some of the pieces have been used for other things. I helped my husband pull the pieces down from the barn loft yesterday. It looks like we'll be able to make it work. I am only building a 4ft x 4ft coop.

My sister-in-law is taking our 2 year old for the day on Saturday so we can work on it. He's at that age where he's into everything and it would not be safe to have him outside with us while we're working on it.