Chickens

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The Chicken House Part 3

Yesterday we moved the chickens into their permanent coop. Catching chickens is not for the faint of heart. Tim and I put the box down hoping they might check it out. How wrong we were. We ended up blocking off the exit hatch and catching them one by one and putting them into the closed box. Surprisingly we managed to get thirteen on the first try. Once in the new house we dumped them out nicely into their new digs and went back for the last three. They seemed to like it right away. they picked away at the old wooden boards as though they were filled with bugs. Who knows maybe they were? They stayed in for the rest of yesterday. Last night it turned quite chilly so at 9pm we had to make quick modifications to their world. I was worried they'd be too cold. So we piled a couple of straw bales around their lamp. This seemed to make them much happier and they settled down to sleep, dreaming of caterpillars and ants. Today was the first time in the big room at their new place. To lure them out I threw some chicken scratch out the door in little red riding hood style, they followed. Right outside the door was food and water, some took a drink and nibble, others went straight for the bugs. All the chickens seemed to enjoy the outdoors more in this pen than the last. I think because the door is less tunnel like. I was happy to see them out eating, running around and generally enjoying being alive.

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The Chicken House: Part 2

Today was all about getting the chicken house ready. Currently the chicks are in our shed with lovely straw bale insulation and a heat lamp.For the first while we had them that was great. Two weeks ago we let them outside for the day. This they seemed to like, well most liked. Now they are getting too big for their home and must be moved to their permanent digs. Making sure that the waterer, feeder, and lamp were all hooked up properly took more time than expected. They all have to be out of the way of the hind end of a chicken roosting which meant trying to "be the chicken." Corny and silly yes, fun, yes again. Tonight the coop is going for a test drive and tomorrow the new tenants are moving in. The current chick house will stay functional for the moment though. Our chicks are just beginning to show their true colours and soon the boys will have to be separated from the girls as the boys are too distracting for the girls.

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Finally, a website!

I can't beleive it, but its here. All Sorts Acre has a website. Setting this up has been hard due to a new and strnge platform I am getting used to. It isn't pretty so far, but it is here. Thank goodness!! Enough about websites. We would like to thank everyone who bought seedlings from us last weekend at the Rockwood Market on the Green. It was quite a thrill to sell as many as we did. As a start-up smallholding this was a great experience and it was all of you who turned us into bona-fida growers. We sold something we grew for money! We can't wait for the next time. All the seedlings are now outside permanently, unless of course we have a frost. I woke up this morning and immediately looked to see if they all survived. I have heard too many frost horror stories. Thankfully all was good. Our chicks no longer look like fuzzy balls of fluff. they now have feathers and are about a foot high. Their legs and feet still look too big for them but they get around without a problem. yesterday they experienced rain for the first time. They seemed somewhat confused. Today some got left out in the rain and couldn't find their way back in. I had to go out and shoo her towards the door. I love watching chickens. I would have never guessed it was so much fun!