Spinach versus Earwig

This is Leigh (Chick Whisperer) again with the latest interesting tidbits on feeding our chicks.

As George has told you, they are getting bigger, noisier and smellier. They're still really cute, though, even if we now have to clean their tub, water dish, and food dish daily. 

George threw spinach in the tub a couple of days ago and, at first, they didn't know what to do about it. They starred at it...with their heads cocked. Pretty soon they figured it out, though, and now they start fighting over who gets to peck at the spinach.   

George and I have been talking over what to feed them a lot lately ( I guess we don't have much of a life!), and been really curious about when we can start feeding them different food (like maybe bugs...or grittier food). Since we don't know exactly how old they are, we have been playing it by ear. The other day I spotted an earwig crawling across our floor and I decided to throw it in the tub, thinking they would be even more thrilled with the earwig, versus the spinach leaf that had been almost obliterated that was sitting limply in the wood chips. 

I was wrong! They definitely came over to have a look at this fast-moving little pinching bug (I hate earwigs!!) but soon lost interest and went back to furiously pecking at the spinach!!

It was pretty funny to watch, needless to say. They definitely provide us with lots of entertainment. 

-Leigh (a.k.a Chick Whisperer)

The Coop

The noise and smell of these young chickens was cute a couple of weeks ago, but now fills our livingroom to a level that seems to be growing exponentially everyday.  The cute little peeps are now frantic- flapping- squaking noises necessitating cranking the volume on the netflix movies we watch at night.   While the noise isn't always bad the smell from the nitrogen rich poop production has certainly doubled within the last week.  That said, there is increased need for a permanent outside structure (coop) that we can move these girls into soon.   Luckily for me I have been blessed with a work friend that not only has a great set of wood working tools and a shop that dwarfs most houses but she also has great skills and when I mentioned our family needing a coop, she jumped at the chance to design and build this project with me.  Now let me be perfectly frank that without her help this coop would certainly have taken me way past my very limited carpentry skills.  So, as you view these photos and notice the clean angles, and cool design the credit goes to "Tam" who lucky for me doesn't seem to mind giving up a couple of Satudays to help us in our quest for getting closer to the source of our food.  

Here are some photos of the project.

-George

P.S. By a recent family vote, we have decided (over careful deliberation...as naming chicks is very important for the kids) to name the blonde chick Tam, in order to thank our good friend who has helped us to make these chicks a home.