How do you catch 25 chickens?
The Red Shed was finally complete. I filled the windowboxes our neighbor Donovan made for us, with pretty fall flowers….if only the inside looked as cute as the outside!
Currently there were over 20 teenaged chickens that had been living in a brooder in that shed, for over 3 months.
There were also 5 toddler chicks in a separate brooder.
Feathers, dust and dander was on every surface, and in every crack and crevice!
Time to get those chickens in their permanent home.
It had been a cold spring and the chicks hadn’t been outside their brooder.
We rounded them up and put them in a dog playpen out on the grass. They were so scared, it took them a while to get used to the outside and walk around a little bit.
We put them out a few times while finishing the coop and run.
Transfer Day!
The big day had arrived to transfer the chickens from the brooder in the shed, to the coop.
We called the kids knowing they would love to help. Besides, the coop was down the private drive, past the barn, out by the pine row.
Everyone grabbed something to carry a few chickens…
Aiden was so excited, he grabbed a tote and took off, lol.
Drew put a few in a plastic bin.
My daughter Emily, just got off work, and got in on the fun.
Lucy loves a project…she was all about it, lol!
Little Molly could hardly contain her excitement!
A few trips in the golf cart…and we were done.
One of many "Firsts"
First time the kids put the chickens in the coop…they were over the moon!
I look back now at that day…nothing special really.
But the kids were outside…off of their tablets and phones, having a wonderful time.
This is one of the reasons we moved here, to experience all of these “firsts” and build the memories our grandkids would have for the rest of their lives.
Chicken TV...
It seems so funny now…we were just fascinated with our first flock of chickens, lol!
We literally brought lawn chairs out to the run and would sit and watch them in the evening.
Lucy would sit out there, all by herself and watch the chickens in the grass.
Back to reality...
A couple months before we moved the chickens, my 8 year old granddaughter, had decided for her science project, she would try to hatch some fertile eggs in an incubator.
She started with 12 eggs and 5 hatched.
Because, they were younger than our original flock they had to stay in a separate brooder.
I told Ken one day, that I thought those chicks were being really mean to each other.
Pecking and pushing, tipping over their water and food.
Those five chicks made more noise than our entire flock!
Growing and growing and...
Those little chicks ate so much and grew so fast, that in a couple weeks, they were as big as the older flock! We decided to incorporate them in with the others.
One day while cleaning the coop…I heard a muffled cawing.
The hens had become more vocal, but this was different….
A few days later a couple of the incubator chicks were fighting! Their combs were bright red and they were really mad!
I got out the broom and started swishing it around, just then I noticed four of the 5 incubator chicks, were way bigger than our original flock.
And that muffled caw became a loud cackle and finally cock-a-doodle-do!
Rooster 101...
Of the 5 chicks that hatched from the incubator, four where ROOSTERS!
And if that isn’t bad enough, one of the original chicks we got from Farm & Fleet was a rooster too!
Now we had 5 roosters! They were terrible! They would gang up on the hens, clawing and pecking them.
Fighting with each other and even chase us around…something had to be done.
The hens were getting old enough to start laying eggs. We certainly didn’t need any more chickens, lol!
Real Time Update:
As I’m writing the story as it happened three years ago, it is now July 2022.
Naming the chicks…
As the chicks grew up…they all looked alike! The kids couldn’t tell them apart, or could we!
So now we call everyone of them “mommy” hahahaha!
Time for bed “mommy”, did you hurt your foot “mommy”…it’s ridiculous, but true.
Two many cooks in the kitchen!
CHICKEN FACTS
- You don’t need a rooster to get eggs
- Chicks have to be 5-9 months old before they start laying eggs
- Hens lay a maximum of ONE egg a day
- Hens lay different colors of eggs, including pink, blue and green depending on the breed (we have all of these hens at the farm, here is a picture of some of the eggs we sold to our customer Pearl she took this picture of her refrigerator door, lol!)
Please join us next time, when I start my garden and solve the chicken dilemma, lol!
Fondly, Sandy
I think that all of this sounds like so much fun! What memories you are creating for your grandkids, and for the whole family. You guys are amazing!
Lots of hard work, but tons of fun too!
Thanks Dana!