I love my chickens, in case you couldn’t tell! I’m so happy I went ahead with this project. They provide a lot of enjoyment for me, just sitting outside watching their antics–chicken TV 🙂 They now look like little miniature chickens.
MLG came over Monday and helped (well, he did the whole thing) to put bird netting over the top of the chicken yard. I wasn’t worried about adult chickens, but the babies were still so small, I was worried that a hawk might decide they were easy pickin’.
So then we opened their little door to the yard. Nothin’. They are afraid of anything new. Later in the day, I carried four of them out to the yard. And threw four of them out their little door. Pretty soon others were curious. And now, four days later, they are LOVING their new yard. They scratch around in the dirt, run from one end to the other, check out anything moving, and eat any vegetation they can find (the planters of pansies I had put out there are stripped bare already.)
This morning I thought I would bring them some offerings from the garden. Oh boy–such excitement!
This one in the picture below has stayed out past her bedtime for the last two nights. Chickens automatically go back inside their house when it starts to get dark. They are blind, as far as I can tell, at night. So I’ve had to go and rescue this little girl before I close their little door each night.
A very self-assured chicken:
Don’t panic. Its not a dead chicken. This is what they do to relax. They stretch out on their side in the sun.
The same day, I had some leftover lettuce leaves. I decided to give it to the chicks that stay in the house. My favorite Baby is still going strong, and I was hoping she would get some of the lettuce. She has not ventured outside yet.
This was so fun–she grabbed a piece of lettuce and ran around like a crazy woman, going to all her hidey-holes, and stopping once in a while to take a nibble. But mostly just running around 🙂
And that’s the chicken report for this week. I keep saying I won’t post chicken news every week, but I can’t help it–they are just so darn cute!
debby weighs in 
Please do post a weekly report. Love them and I really enjoy all the pictures.
I agree! Keep these reports coming- your chicks are so different as they grow – very interesting!
I love the personalities of these chickens, please keep posting about them!
And since I’m late, your garden looks so lovely and I’m happy that your bougainvillea started blooming. It’s one of my very favorite blooming bushes.
We had a bougainvillea across our whole front porch when I was a kid, so have happy memories of it. Besides it being the PERFECT color of magenta pink :))
Yes, please keep posting about the chickens! They’re changing so fast! They are very cute. We think we had a coyote around here lately. I’ve seen one before just standing in the street! I won’t tell him where you live.
Yeah, when I had chickens years ago, two other neighbors also had them. I said it was like the Bermuda Triangle of chickens. Coyotes and bobcats made regular appearances, and they were quite bold–just standing there staring at me (and the chickens.) Foxes and raccoons also came by, but mostly at night. That’s why I had such a secure pen and house built for them.
I’m glad you all are enjoying the chicken show 🙂
Aw, our baby chicks are growing up!! Pretty soon they’ll be off to college…*wipes tear away*
I’m in agreeance with everyone else – please keep the chicken report coming!! My next door neighbor has chickens and she just lets them run everywhere – they have a small coop for the night but during the day she lets them run amuck! We live in a rural-ish area so we have coyotes and dogs that run free…one of her own dogs has killed a couple of their chickens recently. I asked her if she couldn’t build them a protected area of their own and she said “but they like to have the whole run of yard!” and I thought “well they won’t like it so much if they get EATEN!” but of course I didn’t say that… This isn’t the first time I’ve questioned some of her choices though.
I can’t believe she lets them out when her own dog has killed them. Years ago, I used to let mine out until the Bermuda Triangle formed, and then no more. But a nosy neighbor felt sorry for them when I was gone, and let them out, and my favorite rooster Buddy got taken away by some animal. I was sad and mad at the same time.
Well this neighbor is not terribly bright. She doesn’t discipline her kids or her dogs very much at all. I’ve darn near bitten my tongue in half in order to keep the peace.
Chickens Move Outside could be the name of a children’s book – and I am loving all of your chicken updates and seeing them grow and all the fun chicken things that they are doing. Still loving your baby with her lettuce leaf (Mine Mine MINE!!!). It’s nice that you got these chickens to entertain us. 😉
LOL. I know. I had just about run out of blog fodder, and now I’ve got an endless supply of entertainment 🙂
I just took them out some beet greens, and she did the same thing–grabbed the biggest piece and ran around like a maniac. which makes the others think she has something SPECIAL, so they try to get her leaf instead of getting one of the others scattered on the floor. So cute.
She totally is the STAR of your chicken book.
I can’t believe how big they have gotten so quickly! I love all their personalities 😀