Thank you Lucy! Our first egg!

I can't believe it! Our first egg on Dec. 4th, 2007! We didn't think we were going to get any until Spring! The weather has been awful here in Seattle the past week; some snow on the ground in the city, major rains and winds. This AM in the midst of a modest break in the rain, Pat went out and witnessed Lucy, our "Easter egg chicken", laying her first egg! It's blue, no it's green, no it's sort of a blue-ish green. Here are the pics, and please note, we have not built the coop quite yet so she layed in the chicken tractor we are using as the coop!

Merging Chickens: Gandalf

Gandalf was taken up to Whidbey last Wednesday. S/he was placed in the coop (in the cage) with the other two chickens at night. The next day the girls woke to see the cage and Gandalf. Apparently there was some chattering. They remained this way for about a day.

Free range integrations were attempted on Friday, without much luck. Chi Chi and Mo were not happy with Gandalf. Gandalf was then put in the chicken tractor away from them. On Saturday, Gandalf free ranged closer to the house away from the others. S/he enjoyed time with humans.

On Sunday, Pat and I brought up Lisa's other two, the Easter Egg chicken (Puffy Cheeks), and the Sicilian Buttercup (Sophia). They had no problems reaquainting themselves with Gandalf, and they were all able to free range together.

Chi Chi and Mo were also free ranging and wouldn't cross the street where the other three were. Jay made a coop divider so they would all be close together but yet wouldn't be able to attack each other. This worked well, and the report from Lisa on Tuesday is that they are all free ranging, each hanging out in different areas of the pen or tractor section, with only the occassional pecking match.

Merging Chickens: Allie

Allie was integrated with older hens. Reports are that the initial integration didn't go too well. She was introduced during the day with the new owners in the pen with all of the chickens. Apparently it was like watching your kid get bullied at school. They separated her via a fence, but they could all still see each other.
It took a few days but now she is integrated. I'm hoping we'll get pictures soon. Oh and they did hear her "singing" one morning...time will tell.

2 out of 7 are Roosters?

So again it seems we may have another rooster. This time it's Lisa's Dark Brahma, the one we call Gandolf. S/he looks strikingly like the male in the Privett Hatchery chicken poster. What is interesting is that they are two different breeds that ended up being a rooster. I knew there was a potential risk of getting a rooster, but kept thinking, "it won't happen to me", let alone twice!

Gandolf, Dark Brahma
Gandolf next to a Sicilian Buttercup

Goodbye to Alli

So we're still not sure if Alli is an Al. Regardless she's a loud talker in the wee hours of the morning and must go elsewhere. Thankfully there are two options for Alli, either a place on Whidbey or a place up near Bothell, either will accommodate her early morning demands for attention. It's a bummer because she is the sweetest chicken. Buff Orpington's are known to be friendly and she is proving that to be true.

Alli next to our Buff Brahma, Mary

Sicilian Buttercup

This is Lisa's Easter Egg chicken, we call her Puffy Cheeks.

The Dilema: Could Alli be an Al?

The girls are just 3 days shy of being 2 months old. They are turning into real chickens now! Our Buff Orpington, Alli, is one of the two biggest, the other being Lisa's Dark Brahma (we call her Gandolf, but don't tell Lisa!). Alli was a big chick to begin with and she did mature faster than the others. Now she seems to be developing a bright red crown and biggish wattles. A couple of times now, we have heard some interesting noises coming from the chicken tractor at various hours of the AM. We are starting to wonder...is our Alli really an Al? What are we going to do if she is a he?! We cannot have a rooster in the city! How long does it take to determine the true sex of a chicken!? I have been surfing the web trying to get good pics of male vs. female Buffs and well, it makes me think she's a he. Maybe it's just b/c the other girls are not developing their crowns or wattles as quickly. Theirs are mostly little bump like crowns and barely any wattle.

Hmmm...the dilema.

Alli or Al?

Lisa's Auracanas, and Alli or Al

Lisa's Auracanas, love the bushy cheeks...maybe we'll keep her!

Lisa's Brahma

Sicilian Buttercup

They have the whole yard to free-range and they choose to huddle in the smallest cage in the yard! That's chickens for ya! That's our Brahma, Mary, nex to Lisa's.

Huge Chicken Tractor

We did Seattle Tilth's Coop Tour a few weeks back in hopes of getting ideas for a chicken tractor. To our dismay we didn't really see many tractors. We did however get some great ideas for a coop, and we will be ordering an automatic water dispenser that hooks up to the hose. That way we can go away and not worry about getting someone to water them.

Here are some pics of the tractor. It is heavy, but hopefully it will keep the racoons out!

1 Month Old

Sicilian Buttercup, Molly. Alli in the background, along with Lisa's Auracanas

Alli (Buff Orpington)...where's my peeps?

Lisa's Brahma is huge!

What's up....chicken butt!

Our Auracanas, Lucy

Lisa's Auracanas

Mary, our Brahma

Mary and Alli

how quickly they grow!

Retrofitted dog crate as a chicken tractor

Brahma and Sicilian Buttercup

Sicilian Buttercup

Araucanas

the arrival

Seven baby chicks arrive June 6, 2007!!

Pat and chicks

Me and a blanket full of chicks

Sicilian Buttercup and Brahma

Sicilian Buttercup (speckled head), and a Brahma, the other is an Auracanas

Tanner's paws and a Brahma, an Auracanas, and a Buff Orpington...an introduction to the dog.

First home...in which they could escape!

Free-range in the house!

We had to put mesh around the cage

Say, goodnight!

chickens, chickens, chickens

I purchased the chicks from the Issaquah Grange on June 6th, during my lunch break. They had about seven varieties, and I chose four of the seven. I know, I know, we're only supposed to have 3 in the city of Seattle...but if anyone asks, my neighbor has agreed that one is his.

We have 1-Buff Orpington named Alli, 1-Auracanas (Easter egg chicken) named Lucy, 1-Buff Brahma named Mary, and 1-Sicilian Buttercup named Molly. We are also raising three additional chicks for my friend while she coyote proofs her property up on Whidbey. So ya, that's 7 chicks!

We initially started out with them in the house, but soon realized that wasn't going to work...they do smell, even if you clean the cage each day. So we migrated them to the garage with the heat lamp.

They grow fast! We added another cage to the first cage and created a chicken duplex. That held us over for about a week! Last night we retrofitted my dog's metal frame crate into a chicken tractor! We still have one cage attached to the crate and they hop between the two. The crate has an exposed floor and they love to scratch in the grass!