Saturday, August 24, 2013

My Chickens

We hatched 10 baby chickens back in April.  



They were raised in a hamster cage. This is them around 3 weeks old under their heat lamp.  The one on the roost was the last one to hatch.  I called him Baby.




This was around 6 weeks old.  I was letting them roam outside during the daytime, and brought back in at night.  There came a downpour with lightning and they didn't like it.




Last month I lost 3 of them to a raccoon.  It broke my heart, especially since it was my fault.  I had left their door open after dark.  Then a couple of weeks ago, one disappeared during the day.  




These are the 6 that I have left. They are now 20 weeks old.  I've read that they can start laying eggs now.  I hope so.









These are my 2 roosters.






This one is named Spot. Obviously.



And this is Baby.  He's not so small any more.  In fact, he's as big as Spot.

This is their pen.  I lock them in overnight and the next morning they are looking out waiting for me to open it no matter how early I am.

The pen gets rolled to a different spot every few days.




And believe it or not, they are all Road Island Reds.  So where does the white and speckled come from?


They are my babies, and will follow me all around the yard.  Spot will come running when I call his name.  I didn't know how much fun they could be.  

I highly suggest you try it out sometime!





2 comments:

  1. I had no idea they were so intelligent Julie! It makes me sad to deep fry them.

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    1. I know, right! My daughter says I won't be able to kill and eat them. I tell her that I'll have fond memories:)

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