New diggs

The upgrade was successful, and the ladies now have a roomier box to call home. Erika graciously provided the living quarters (and wouldn't ya know, found a new home of her own!). We hope that this is their final indoor home until the big upgrade. Poop smells... we can't wait!



The ladies have gotten way more daring. When supervised, we remove the screen roof - they now jump to the edge of the box and peer out at the world. At first, it was only Chynna and Carnie who would attempt this, but this morning Wendy and (last but not least) DebbieGibson took the leap! Last night, Chynna actually took one more leap - 4 1/2 feet down to the basement floor, and freaked the %&^$&^ out of us! Amazingly, flapping wings slow down the descent and all was well.

Adolescence

Ah, those awkward teenage years. The ladies are beginning to outgrow their home, and the search is on to find the proper upgrade (cardboard box). Feathers are appearing in asymmetrical patterns. Poop abounds.

Is it OK to pick a favorite? We don't seem to have any guilt over it. Wendy (the black and white checkered lady) is the calmest and most fearless. She will perch on one of our fingers and comfortably look out at the world.



Chynna is emerging as the new frontrunner for queen of the flock. She pecks at the others when they roost above her, though we have observed that standing underneath a four week old digestive tract can be a hazardous endeavor.



Meanwhile, DebbieGibson is comfortable in her #2 status and is doing quite well.
Carnie, well, she's "just there." She always seems to evade our attention and steady hands. Maybe she's a late bloomer.

And Ollie? Well, now that he's had a glimpse of what goes on in that box, his curiousity has heightened a bit. Thankfully, only one month to go until the big move...

Roosting

These ladies are quick learners.

Tonight we had our first chick boot camp. For the last few days, whenever I put my hand in the brooder to feed or water or say hello, one of the girls jumps up onto my hand and flaps her wings a bit until she settles down. They seem to enjoy it when I pull them out of the bin up high above the world they know. I thought this might mean they're ready to learn to roost. WRONG.



Chickens roost at night to stay safe from predators. They sleep while roosting, and somehow never fall off the dowel like I certainly would if I tried it. It's an instinct for them and, according to all our chicken literature, they'll take to it from a very early age.




So I found an old branch from a large houseplant I killed, and hacked it up a bit to make a roost. Each chick got a turn being forced to stand on the branch high above the floor of the brooder. Each time I let go of their weird little chicken feet, they'd do a very ungraceful flap/fall/dive to the floor of the brooder. Our chickens do not seem to have instincts yet. Above, you see Chynna about to leap to her doom rather than stand on the stick. She'd such a drama queen. I wedged the roosting bar into the crate with them for tonight, so perhaps when I go visit tomorrow, they'll all be happily roosting away. Maybe they're just autodidacts.

In other news, DebbieGibson is either assertively informing the other chicks that she's at the top of the pecking order-- solo artists are like that-- or she's a dude.