My, Chickies! What Big Feet You Have!

    What a huge difference a month makes!

      Other obligations in life prevented me from posting for nearly four weeks, but they did not prevent me from taking photos of our little chic brood. From small, fluffy little balls with feet and mouths, to larger, moulty, gangly bodies with much bigger feet and larger mouths, there have been obviously signs of growth for the chickens.
                  

     Below we see the chickens in photos taken on March 30th and again on April 21st. I took shots of faces, wings and feet. In the second set of photos, I just more took more face and feet shots, but no wing shots for comparison because The Hubs was required to hold each chic with both hands by this time. I don't have ye ole traditional growth chart handy, so just pay attention to the scale in relation to The Hubs' hands.

                                                         The Girls: Then....
                  
                                                                   Candy

                                                                         Arlene

Agnes

Gigi

...And Now...

Candy

Arlene

Gigi

and Agnes

                                              My, my Chickies! What BIG feet you have!!

Chicken Talk

     As we brought the chicks home from Cal-Ranch last week, a question arose: Do all chicken varieties understand one another? Do they all speak the same Chicken Language? Do the different varieties have "dialects"?
     Yes, Virginia. All chickens do speak the same chicken language. Or so I am told on good authority. I'll have to read up on the latest research to discover if they cheep and cluck in dialects, but if they do, I suppose it is no worse than a room filled with one American, one Brit, one Canadian, and one Aussie all conversing with one another. They all have accents, but everyone can understand the other. Unless chickens are one species separated by a common clucking, to use a little artistic license on a phrase coined by the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw.
     Ever since I saw the movie Doctor Dolittle starting Rex Harrison at the drive-in movies when I was a child, I always thought it would be wonderful to "talk to the animals". While I have been cheeping at them from the start, this week I decided that I would mimic each chick as I held  her and she cheeped or "Tribbled" at me. (They actually make a trill noise that sounds like one those Star Trek Tribbles.)
     They looked at me, and I'm not quite sure yet, but my best efforts to "Tribble" back seems to come across to them more like Chicken Klingon. They were unimpressed. Otherwise, I think I'm making great progress in the Chicken Language lessons. I have no idea what I'm saying to them, mind you, but I certainly have been receiving positive looks of recognition in return. Except for Chicken Klingon. I'm pretty sure I have "Needs Improvement" marks on my Chicken Language report card.
     Back to the language lab for me!

I still have the record soundtrack from one of my favorite childhood movies. It has been a long time since I have played it, but that may change tonight. There are some things you just never outgrow.

"Chick Days" Are Here!

     So proclaims the message on our local Cal-Ranch store marquee. From March 21st through the 27th, Cal-Ranch is offering a wide assortment of chicks, not to mention a variety of duck, turkey, and some rabbits. We are barely ready for chickens and The Hubs is already talking about raising some rabbits. Rabbits?! "Next year!" I insist. Yes, next year. Next year?! I can't bear to think about it yet.
     So, bright and early Thursday morning, we drove to Cal-Ranch and picked out four beautiful chicks, each one a different variety: a Leghorn, an Aricana, a Buff Orpington, and a Rhode Island Red. The criteria we used in picking out each chick from among dozens of her fellow chicks as we moved from brood box to brood box was simple, really. We looked for chicks who showed alertness, energy, and a healthy disposition. Making and holding eye contact was a definite plus. And so, one by one, four chicks were chosen.
     The Hubs has been preparing for fowl conditions for some time now. Having moved less than a year ago to a home that already sported a nifty yet roomy chicken coop in the back yard, and having approval to house up to six chickens (but no rooster, mind you), he has spent several hours researching all things chicken: coops, pens, runs, paddocks, and all the things needed to make a proper chicken feel comfortable and happy. Books have been purchased, explaining the different breeds and the kinds of eggs to be laid by those breeds. Last night he was reading up on feathers.

Meet The Girls

The Cal-Ranch store clerk nestled the chicks into a cute little box with some straw in the bottom, but we came prepared with a larger box with straw bottom. It turned out to be a cold morning, so the box we brought added some nice insulation for the ride home.

Once in the garage, under the window, they were unboxed and held up for photo ID.

Meet The Girls:

Agnes, the Buff Orpington

Gigi, the Aricana

Candy, the Leghorn

Arlene, the Rhode Island Red

      The Hubs had already constructed the brood box, complete with heat lamp and an electronic gadget that allows us to monitor the temperature inside the box 24/7. For more than a week, he experimented with it to make sure he could establish the right temperature, and devised a way to adjust for too cold or too hot conditions. The Girls' new brood box welcomed them to a balmy 92F oasis.

 It is important to make sure that your chicks are drinking water before giving them food. The reason for this is to avoid "sticky butt". This can be a dangerous condition for chicks if not cared for properly. Thankfully, The Girls all drank right away. Except for Candy, at first. She seemed to be too busy eye-balling her new people, but she did drink her water at last.