So, you remember the distressed chick I mentioned? Well.... I believe it is a rooster. The hatchery is 90% sure they are sending female chickens when they send the day old chicks, but alas, that 10% mixup fell on us, I think. I verified it by a few clues (namely that roosters are whiney and develop slower at first) at two weeks, but cannot verify again until a few more things develop at 8 weeks. So, 4 more weeks to go!
(he's the one in front with the pretty colors)
This weekend we went to a really fun wedding (Dan's best friend- Kelley). We were gone 5 days and when we got back, the chickens had doubled in size- yikes! They now need to go out to the henhouse, which is currently under construction. So, this week, June and I are spending some time with them outside to get them used to the weather. She loves being outside and exploring!
The henhouse and coop will be finished this weekend, courtesy of Dan and Sayed :) I am not sure how to clip wings yet, so I hope they don't fly away or into a tree. We have to be with them at all times until the coop is finished so that a hawk doesn't get them! - I hope it doesn't try while we are out there!
Speaking of predators....
Today, was a nice day outside, so we took them out. They were a little skittish, being their first time outdoors, so they stayed close to me and their transportation box. Zeus was very interested in all their movements, but acted like the nice, little gentleman he is, except when he tried to pounce on one and I yelled at him. So, he then stayed far away from them, until they wanted to be around him and went over and checked him out- go figure! I think its all playing into his master plan... (I hope not!)
They are developing little personalities. Definitely, Miss Penny is my favorite. I don't know why I named her that, but she is the sweetest and wants to be around me the most and never squawks when I pick her up.
The rooster is the second friendliest, and then the black one has pretty much no personality. The one that will lay blue eggs is very skittish and I do not enjoy her that much, although she is pretty. She runs the others, I think, though, so she is Madame Cluck (the VII- name passed down from a long line of chicken in my family).
We are ready for some eggs and for them to leave our breakfast room- they are getting smellier- yuck. And today, I didn't notice they were out of water soon enough, so they pooped in their water holder (which is nearly impossible to do, I might add) to let me know their dis-satisfaction. Hmph! Too many opinions around here! :)
