March 2008 Archives

I had an opportunity to be part of the chicken coop building panel at Chicken Fest 2008 at Living Scape Nursery on Saturday. There were three other coops on the panel. Each coop was very different from the others, there was a true green roof planted in strawberries, a converted shed, a hen house on sawhorses, and the Tasty Shed. It was great to see how each of us created such different structures using the same principals. I think it went well, I hope the workshop attendees thought it was helpful.

Our good friend Ann is enamored with the chicks. There is no other explanation for her behavior. As soon as she walks in the door, she is over often, she makes a bee-line for the basement to visit the chicks.

Our neighbors love the chickens (and chicks) too. People pop by if they see that we are out in the yard with the girls and want to chat chickens. And once they hear we have chicks in the basement they want to see them too. I like that the chickens are a neighborhood novelty and people are interested in them. I like to think that the chickens will some how make our little block a little friendlier. Knock on wood...

It didn't take long at all for me to find a good home for the chicks. I was very choosey about who the chicks went home with. The Barred Rock chicks and the bitchy-er Sussex went to a beautiful coop in St. Helens today. Their new coop is nicer than ours!

The two remaining Sussex chicks immediately relaxed and the constant din of peeps and squawks has ceased. Now I feel terrible that the chicks were feeling so stressed.

I listed 3 of the chicks on craigslist, the PDXbackyardchix list, and on the BackyardChickens forum. I am hoping at $5 each I will be able to re-home the chicks quickly. They really are cramped and I am afraid they may begin to injure each other. Fingers crossed for a speedy response.

The chicks are really loud and rambunctious. The Barred Rock chicks are clearly top of the pecking order and bully the Sussex chicks. I was hoping to hold on to all 5 chicks until they were 6 weeks old but it is becoming clear I will need a new home for the spares with in the next week or so.

Between keeping the chicks brooder somewhat clean, mucking out the chicken run once a week and the cat box my life has become super focused on animal waste management. Two adult chickens pooping adult size chicken poops is just about as much poop as I want to deal with. I don't know if I really want to deal with 5 adult chickens pooping adult size poop. Perhaps we should only keep 2 of the Sussex chicks. A trio of chicks will be easier to re-home than just two. Something to think about.

The chicks a little over 3 weeks old now. They look a lot like dinosaurs. Not at all cute and more than a little creepy.

Torta laid her first egg today. Way to go Torta!