Friday Fotos

Social Hour

Wow, it has been a busy week and I only just realized that we have not had any updates on here. The girls are getting bigger every day. A bunch of them are starting to get feathers all over their bodies. They love scratching in the litter and absolutely do not care where they are throwing it. It lands on the others and in the water or food, but it makes them happy.

We should be about done with the hen house this weekend. I can't wait to get them in there, they are going to love having more space. We will still have the heat lamps going for them because they are still not fully feathered enough to stay warm on their own.

We took them out of the tubs yesterday and socialized with them. It took all of us to keep them out of trouble and herded in but it was fun. Some of the girls are pretty calm and don't run from you but there are still others that are not. Our hope is that if we talk to them enough, pet and love on them enough, that they will be easier to handle when they go out into the coop. If we need to catch one to check on it, hopefully this way they will come to us or at least stay calm instead of running from us.

The kids loved hanging out with the chicks. They are learning to use soft voices and how to pick them up. At one point Zelda was on Daniel's head and another was on his shoulder. The one on his shoulder decided it wanted to be higher so it flew on top of Zelda and they both came sliding down. They are quite comical to watch. One of the most important things that the kids have learned is that after touching the chickens they MUST wash very well with soap and water. Safety first.

I go out and talk to the chicks through the day so when they hear my voice they all start craning their necks to see me. They look like a curious ostrich family. They have become much more chatty lately and always have something to say. I will post new pictures tomorrow but for now I am off to the feed store to get more starter for those hungry girls.

Weekend Happenings

The chicks are doing great. This weekend we changed them over to pine shavings as the litter and it has been a challenge. First of all we had to raise the water and feed higher as to keep it clean. In raising the feed they have found they can easily move the feed tray around, which means make a bigger mess.

Everyone seems to be starting to get tail feathers. The need to try and fly, as well as just be the highest chicken in the tub, means that we need to work faster on the hen house. Zelda has finally managed to get on top of the waterer. She is the only one I have seen up there so far and she thinks she is queen of the tub.

I was hoping that this weekend Daniel would write a post about the chicks. Maybe he will soon. He is very happy with the chickens and is starting to show more responsibility with them. He forgets all of the steps in taking care of them but we will do a picture schedule for him and that should help. The plastic waterers are wonderful for someone with autism because they screw together and can be easily picked up without dumping the jar. Because of sensory issues we were concerned that switching to the wood shavings would be tough for Daniel, but he actually likes the feel of the shavings. This means that cleaning the litter should be a fun chore.

Daniel decided that we should keep a journal of expenses for the chickens. That way we will know how much they are costing to raise and if he decides to sell eggs later, he can see when he makes a profit. This will be a fun money lesson, which is always a good thing.