Too Fast??

NIGEL:
Okay, the more I review my notes & the book Jane gave me for the festive season, the more concerned I become about how I will manage & house the chickens. When we (my family) had them in Oz, they seemed easy to manage. They ate feed, scraps & what they found in the grass & soil. Culling, disease management, separation of cockerels (males) & pullets (females), etc. etc. weren't that a great of concern. But now......

I just read that they should have most of their feathers by 3-6 weeks & become sexually active (how can that be????) at that time!!! I told Susan she better have "the talk" with HER chickens VERY SOON!!! I don't want any of the males lead astray by a flirtatious female... or vica versa.

The chasing games continue as they continue to grow rapidly. Next week I will have to move the brooder outside for a period of time each day to start acclimating the chicks to nature & the BIG, BIG world outside!! That will be a nervous day for sure!!

Flying!!

NIGEL:
Wow, the chicks are now flying short distances. I went down to the garage & made sure they cannot get out! One Australorp flew higher than the waterer... made me worried about what might happen in the next couple of days? Arrive home & open the garage & 46 chicks storm out into the wilderness.

They still sleep anywhere & anyhow. This morning two were sleeping standing up with his/her head on the mini-platform. Some have asked how Austin (has a proven chicken-killing record) & Boomer (has the potential for a chicken-killing record) are taking to their new brothers & sisters. We Austin appears to have no interest in them at all! Boomer is confused, fascinated & jealous of them.... jealous especially when Susan sits in the garage & watches them.

Hopefully both will become very protective of them?

Sleep Anywhere

SUSAN:
These chicks can sleep anywhere at anytime. (see photo, both top & bottom are asleep).
When they get tired they just go to sleep.
They could be walking, eating, chasing a brother/sister & then crash.
#46 loves to fall asleep standing & slowly tilts forward until s/he lightly crashes to the pine chips. The hilarious part is watching this happen & when he crashes HE DOESN"T WAKE UP!!! He stays asleep until another chick just walks on him or pecks at him.

One Week Old

NIGEL:
Well its been a few days since last blog. I have been busy finishing the rec room & bar & its finished!! The chicks are GROWING like crazy. They have lost their "egg tooth" & are drinking & eating heaps. They have become much more active.... the tailgate party continues, but now the football games & chest bumping are the latest games.

The football games involve one chick grabbing a dark piece of pine chip & racing off with it. Then, about 10-12 chicks madly chase after this chick & eventually corner it & maul it until another chick gets the piece of bark. Then the game starts over again. Susan says the game last "about a beer!"

The chest bumping starts randomly & can go on for 20-30 secs. If you have been to a college football game you have seen guys doing this before, during & after the game.

I have been building a new, larger, fancier wooden brooder (see photos). I made it primarily out of left over wood pieces (from basement renovation) & other left over materials from other projects. Susan is excited to see these materials being used up & out of the way. So the chicks have much more room to move around & this may have led to the development of the games.

The chicks are also growing feathers all over the place. It is exciting & also daunting that they are getting bigger as I haven't started on their coup as yet. I am trying to find someone to clear the two VERY large piles of debri from the lot so I can get going. The coup will take many days to build, although a couple of mates have offered to help & maybe my dad (who is coming with my mum this week) might help also?

Anyway the transition from the cardboard & duct tape box to the new brooder was quite stressful. The chicks have been quite flighty since... not sure if it is the larger space or being scooped up/grabbed by large hands for no appraent reason & moved from home?? I hope they calm down a little. After much activity they tend to all fall asleep.

Poop

SUSAN:
Why do they have poop still lingering on their bums? I'm unsure if this is an ejection issue or if the poop just sticks to their soft little fur. But, yes, I am very concerned about the number of chicks that have poop on their bums (see reddish photo).

So, we again called our Chicken Expert, "Miss Kathleen", on the Daughtry Farm in Metter, GA. Randy & her (see photos), have been chicken farmers for years, and have supplied us with hundreds of fresh eggs (white, brown, and blue!). They have quite the egg production operation, and have been an inspiration for "Susan's Chicken Farm". They suggested that we purchase our chicks from McMurray Farms in Iowa, and Miss Kathleen was the first person we called when our chicks arrived on Sunday. What makes us different from the Daughtry Farm? Well, they definitely know what they are doing; and, we just speak with confidence (or shall I say NIGEL speaks with confidence) based upon what we (read: Nigel) have read in the book.

Poop, according to the Book (submitted by Nigel): Is that we (I am sure he means me...) need to clean it off, so they dont eat it from each other!!!

Poop, according to the Chicken Expert: When asked, Kathleen informed me that only Martha Stewart actually removes the poop from the bums of the chicks. In fact, Martha Stewart has farm hands who are solely responsible for removing the poop! Only if we want to be like Martha Stewart should we remove the poop. The poop is on the chicks because it just sticks to their fur OR they sit in it b/c "poop is everywhere". So I think, we should NOT remove the poop. They are MY CHICKENS after all!!

Tailgate Party

NIGEL:

So once we had them settled we grabbed some chairs & sat down to watch them. Now this may sound weird, bored, crazy, but they are very funny to watch. There are no social graces.... the best analogy being it is like a tailgate party!

Not tailgates I have EVER been to.... but just heard about from Susan & others.... where you have people drinking, people eating, people passed out with others walking & falling over them... the odd fight or two, & lots of yelling & walking into things.

The chicks would be eating & then pass out/fall asleep with their heads in the feed, some were sleeping on their feet & would slowly tip forward & land beak first into the pine chips...& NOT WAKE UP until a brother or sister walked over them. We were laughing alot. I am sure if Susan felt healthier (her allergies) she would have poured a beer & sat with them all afternoon.

Boomer is very stressed out about the chicks. he wasn't sure what they were at first... but gradually decided that they may be dangerous & need growling at, or licking, or eating... yes he was very unsure. THEN, he became jealous!! He would sit outside the garage windows & whine, because we were checking on them, changing their water, etc. & he wasn't involved. Yes Susan spoils him greatly.

We Have 'em

NIGEL:

The chicks come in the tiny white box you see as I lift them out into their brooder!!! 46 squished in like sardines.There were several boxes of chicks at the PO receive & Delivery as well as crates of bees!!!

Anyway we take them outside to 'FREE' them into the new home for a while... their customized, handcrafted cardboard & duct tape brooder. They were VERY excited.... but nowhere near as EXCITED as someone!!!!

Susan was out of her mind.... & I went to the top of the class (probably beyond) for giving the best b/day pressies!!! Phrases such as:

"I love them!"

"They're soooo cute."

"I can't wait to name them."

"Hey little baby chicks... this is your mama & I am going to take very good care of you!"

"They're soooooo... cute, I love them!"

"Look at them.... ooohhhhh!!"

"Oooohh look what they are doing...look..."

Well you get the idea. We immediately named the "bonus chick" as #46. he definitely stands out & we think he is a White Polish... which has a crested or snowball feathery head??! Anyway we head off keeping the car warm (a little too warm for Susan & her hot flushes (great drama of course!!) & immediately call our 'expert' Miss Kathleen (her & her husband Randy have every kind of fowl you can imagine on their farm). She was as excited as Susan.

We got several fantastic tips (including we should have dipped their beaks into the water BEFORE giving them any feed!!) until we lost service going through the mountains. As we drove Susan would periodically get up & check on the chicks to make sure the temperature was comfortable for them (the book says they need approximately 95'F initially... but that wasn't going to happen in the car with us in it!!!).

We arrived back uneventfully & settled the flock into the garage (their new home for many weeks to come... maybe forever, if don't get to work clearing the cramp on our lot & building a super coup for them)!!!

Dog Attack

NIGEL:

Okay, so on my first road ride of the year.... riding up a steep steady incline, I was attacked by 3 dogs, the biggest of which snuck up a bit a chunk out of my thigh... while I was still riding!!! the people who owned the other 2 dogs, just sat on their veranda & watched?!?!

I called the Sheriff & the Animal Mgt fella (Dana) was onto it (well after he delt with some wild horses elsewhere in the county). He called me numerous times, including strong encouragement to go to the emergency room.... to get a record of the attack. A wasted afternoon in the waiting room (slowly leaking blood from the puncture wound as the other marks had stopped bleeding)... & getting needles (yep I am a wimp when it comes to needles) so I am behind on getting the chick brooder ready!!!

He finally found the dog & it hasn't had its rabies shots........

NIGEL:
Well the chicks arrive next week. I plan to build their brooder Sunday...
they'll probably arrive Monday.I am off to find a larger cardboard box. I have 3 feeders, two 2 gal water troughs (is that the word?), pine chips, lamp & red bulb (apparently stops the chicks from pecking at each other & eventual cannibalism! I bought unmedicated food.... trying to be organic, although surprisingly, their isn't any store that I have found that is into the organic farming supplies.... mmmmm.

A little nervous, as I want all of them to live (afterall this IS Susan's b/day pressie)& I have heard horror stories. We are going to keep in our garage & away from Austin & Boomer. Austin has a "proven track record" around chickens & Boomer has the potential to be more devastating??!?

Eventually they will live free-range (that is our intention) on our adjacent lot. I am yet to fence it (maybe my Dad will help when he comes over) & build the coup/barn. We eventually hope to have a few goats (for meat.... Susan's idea...well not really..... well not at all actually) also.

The Work B/day Party

SUSAN:

My 'old' Office friends were fantastic enough to give me a birthday party the following week. Well we were having a pleasant gathering when someone askedthey asked, "What did Nigel give me for my birthday present?" Seeking support and clarification for my concerns/fears I simply said "chickens". There was a slight moment of pause as this unexpected 'gift' was digested before incredulous laughter... & I could see in their eyes..... pity. This prompted a series of questions & clever or concerned remarks:
"How many?"
"For your birthday!?"
have you had chickens before?"
"Who are you married to & where is he from?" (Just put this one in as I could see some wanted to ask me that!!!
"What are you going to do with them?"
"You are going to eat them?"
"Are you an IDIOT?" (I know they wanted to ask this one.... but they were to polite to do so!)

My favorite comment came from Heather, who suggested that it was clear "Nigel would like diamond earrings & necklace for his next birthday."

Anyway this entertained us for more than 1/2 hour before we headed back to work.
After the party, while driving home, I felt somewhat vindicated about my concerns for receiving chickens for my b/day pressie & for how we are going to manage 46 (what a bargain!!!) chickens.

Chick Collection......exciting!!!

NIGEL:
Sunday morning I am up drearily heading to meet my mate Spock (he has incredible hearing capabilities although his ears are quite average in size) & do a road ride & lunch before he gets hitched. As I am readying the phone rings & its a call from the PO Receive/Deliver Depot in Hickory (about 1 hr away) saying that our chicks have arrived if we want get them!? I asked if they would get water etc. (having no idea what functions the box in which they would arrive had). No. So we quickly dressed & I frantically started nmaking a brooding box out of two cardboard boxes (see photos).

Yep I used duct (duck as some like to say) tape!! We had food & tons of water. We typed in the address of the PO place, as stated by the caller, into Lee (our Aussie accented GPS) only to find that no such location existed! Susan calls back to discover that the PO employee wasn't sure of which town she was located.
The PO staff don't know thier own address???
Once the actual address was settled we were off. I was very excited.... Susan, being sick still, was ho hum & having hot flushes.

Hey, you can see the remnants of the dog bite in the 2nd photo... of my thigh..

The Birthday Pressie

SUSAN:

I was so excited about opening my b/day card... I just had a feeling that Nigel had another fun pressie or adventure for me! I had thought he learned from the 24 mile ocean kayaking/primitive camping trip to Cumberland Island, GA, that not all adventures are to MY liking?!?! So I opened the envelope in great anticipation..... Inside was a note from Austin & Boomer (the most precious dachsund angels in the world):





Dear mom, Your presie is a new bike so u can ride with dad OR chickens! We love u




I looked at Nigel and said (in a VERY pouty tone), "I don't want chickens!" I wasn't to excited about the bike either let me tell you, because I knew that meant some treacherous uphill adventure was likely to be in my very near future. Such pressies from him (or the precious angels) ALWAYS lead to an 'adventure' & with the quite steep (even in a car) inclines in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains, I was sure to that I would end up crying somewhere with the bike... sobbing pitifully...."I can't go any further!!!!"



All this was going through my head, but then the guilt started from Nigel (in his ever subtle ways... yeah right!!) ... "but, they are from Austin & Boomer" (Boomer can use very sad eyes to get anything from me...) &... "you'll love them" &... "but, but, but, you said that we would have a mini-farm when we moved to North Carolina!"



Over the following days I pondered my predicament...and finally (after driving by those mountains each day) I relented..... and, my birthday present was 46 chickens. Apparently they were a bargain at "buy 45 and get one free" when Nigel (AKA "Austin and Boomer") decided to make the purchase. Once I came to terms of the upcoming 'chicken adventure' I began to realize that we didn't, yet, have anywhere to keep them, anything to feed, & that I (& despite Nigel's protestations... him as well) knew very little about chickens!! I was looking forward to naming all of them, as they would become our pets.... but then.....Nigel excitedly explained that these chickens would be "dual-purpose" birds. I niavely asked what that meant. He explained that we would use these chickens for both organic eggs... yum... and organic meat. WHAT?!??!!? As that sunk in I shrieked that I wouldn't be killing, nor eating any of our "pets". Breeding was mentioned in there as well... but I was still in shock about the killing part ....and Nigel's suggestions that I use names like 'Dinner Thursday' wouldn't help!!!

The Birthday Present!

NIGEL:

Much thought & creativity went into the b/day present. What 'would be' a long lasting, ever challenging, ever exciting, ever enjoyable, ever create a warm fuzzy feeling in someone's wife's heart gift? As I worked on our basement I had a brilliant (aren't they always initally??) idea!!! Why, CHICKENS of course!!! I know Susan will be REALLY excited about this unique gift! (Well I thought so........?) So after much thorough research & reading of my book on chickens (a very thoughtful pressie I received for Xmas... I know YOU ARE jealous) I selected two dual-purpose, heirloom breeds to start Susan's (glorious) Chicken Farm.... Australorp & Wyandotte.

So, I ordered them from Murray McMurray Farms...

20 Columbian Wyandettes @ $2.20

25 Australorp @ $1.92

We also were given ONE FREE (unknown breed!)

Both were straight run (mix of males & females).

They all also received their coccidiossis vaccination & 4oz of Quik Chik (vitamin supplement).

Total price is a secret..... it was a pressie after all!!!

So now we just had to wait until they MAILED them... yep.... thats how they arrive...& we were given a 3-day window for their arrival. Susan was in 'Nawlins for a conference & only arrived back late on her 53rd, 21st b/day. Her face, when she read the card which informed her of the chickens as her present, started to create doubts about whether this present choice was going to have the, previously envisaged, effect on her.