Roomies

So our once, little fuzzballs are all feathered out and living outdoors...finally! The problem is that in typical fashion the older gals are going after them like sharks! Until the new 2-month-old ones get old enough to hold their own, I have to separate them for most of their waking hours. It's not that big of a problem because I need a bit of weeding done, and the 11-month-old girlies more than happy to take care of it! Really once they've laid their egg, they're much less cranky, but I've expanded the coop outdoor area to give the young ones some space to hide and the older ones some respite from their incessant and obsessive peeping when they all are in there together.

Introducing:

Daisy, Ivy, & Clover

Thanks to all who participated in the poll, can't wait to see these gals grow!

Bathtime

No, you don't usually need to bathe your chicks.  But this one in particular is having some 'elimination issues,' shall we say?  I've tried all sorts of methods for clearing this little behind problem of hers, and this has just worked the best:

1. Fill a bowl with fairly warm water
2. Gently dunk bottom half of birdie in, rest there for a while (the chick will love it, seriously she'll let out contented little peeps intermittently)
3. Take chickie out, gently dab bum with paper towel (she may not like this)
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all droppings are gone.
5. Gently wrap chick in clean paper towel and hold for a few minutes (she'll love this too, it's like swaddling a baby; emulating the womb, or in this case shell).
6. Once she's not dripping wet, immediately place under heat lamp to dry completely.
7. She'll soon start preening to get her fuzzy feathers back in order and pecking around
8. Watch for pasting up in following days, when it happens once it's likely going to reoccur before she grows out of it.

Welcome Home!

I simply could not resist putting the new girls into our dollhouse this morning. It's probably because E and I just finished reading the greatest book, but we set up their brooder in our living room when we brought them home yesterday, and the dollhouse was just sitting there aching to be explored this morning. I may try and pop them in there in a week or so to gauge how much they're growing. Our most prominently featured gal has been prematurely named Clover as she is decidedly E's favorite (clearly the prettiest) and the name is leading in the polls by quite a substantial margin. The yellower of the two others is a Buff Orpington and has affectionately been named Daisy to go with our flora names. N has taken quite a fancy to her, so that leaves the white fuzzy unnamed sweetie all to myself!