Baby chicken steps.

Good morning readers. We have now had our chickens for a few days. And besides the first night of them peeping for a few hours, before we went to bed, it has been easy, semi uneventful and fun. The only “negative” thing so far is they have pooped on me a few times. I think that has to do with I let them climb on me a lot when they are free.

 

We have made some improvements to our set up and we have doubled the total amount we have spent. From around $15 to $30. I will have a detailed running total soon. Still doing some technical studies on the best way to present that to you. I went to Kaneohe Farms Supplies to get a few things we will need in the future as well as can use now. Asagi Hatchery has most of these items, they just didn’t have them in stock, and I kind of wanted to get them sooner than later.

Feeder with out mason jar

I picked up a galvanized feeder. It accepts a mason jar on the top to hold feed. This will be more than enough for at least a day for two full size chickens. I passed on the plastic version of this. I think that is just the part of me that believes that metal is more durable, with no evidence in the chicken business to prove me right. I still might end up getting the plastic one, mostly just because it comes in purple, Geneva’s current favorite color and at under $4 it is a cheap birthday gift. I am holding off on putting the mason jar on, and just filling it will small amounts, but I have a feeling for sanitation reasons, it will have a jar soon.

 

Waterer

The next purchase was a waterer. Plastic was the only option, so I picked it up. It also accepts a mason jar, but the guy at the feed store says the mason jar once screwed in all the way covers the wholes and doesn’t let the water come out properly. So for an extra $3 I got the water container that is made for it. Needed, I don’t know, but at $3 I figured it didn’t matter if he was right or not.

Cedar shavings. Was a little concerned it did not have a picture of a chicken on the packaging.

The last purchase was a bag of wood shavings. I chose cedar shavings because it was the same price as the regular wood shavings and as a bonus has a nice fragrance that hopefully will mask the not so nice fragrance of the chicken poop. The plan is to line the box with newspaper then to cover the newspaper with shavings. This morning while in the garage saying hi to Princess and Fairy I saw a big Rubbermaid tote that is not very full. I think I am going to use it for the remainder of their non coop time. It for one is rubber and easy to clean. Two, it is bigger than the box they are in.

 

Princess and Fairy’s first time outdoors

Last big news, if you can call it that, is we spent some time out doors with the chickens. They loved it and I think we loved it too. They just walked all around my plants and pecked at things. Leave, bugs, seeds. I don’t know what ever chickens peck at. The big news with that is the height of our fence and the locations of the neighbors windows, I don’t think there is any chance of them seeing the chickens when they are walking around the back yard. That is a good thing. The ideas for the coop are solidifying, well at least in my head. No, I mean it, I actually have the whole plans in my head, with details and notes. They will materialize onto paper, computer or both soon. You will see them when I do.

 

Watching chickens is hard work

I hope you all have a good weekend. And may the force be with you.

We have chickens!

I don’t know how this happened, well, actually, I do, and I will get to that soon enough. We are now the owners of two baby (two week old) chickens. Egg laying chickens. I say we, but they are Geneva’s. No, they really are hers. I will try to keep this short, but I am known for making short stories long. So here goes.

 

Yesterdays visit to
Asagi Hatchery

How it started. One day, some day, when we move to a place we can have chickens, we plan to. Geneva and I talk about it all the time. She likes to look at chicken stuff online and watch videos on YouTube. She loves playing farm tending games online. She just really loves animals, and chickens seem to come up often.

They love my knee

I also want chickens. I want them for the eggs and the manure, for meat in the future and a little bit as pets. I also talk to Geneva about when we move to a place we can have chickens we are going to. Then it kind of dawned on me. What am I really waiting for? Yes, and this is between me and you, I don’t think, but don’t know if chickens are actually allowed in our housing area. I look at the situation this way. You are allowed two hens in the city of Honolulu, where I reside. These are pets and you are allowed two pets in our housing area. I am in compliance. That being said, I don’t know for sure. Moving on. Back to “the what am I waiting for thing.” I just figured if we keep on waiting, I am and she is missing valuable time in Geneva’s young life to teach her and let her experience things. Specifically keeping and caring for chickens. So, with that thought, I sought Jenn’s approval, and when she said go for it, I pulled the trigger.

Owner with current coop

We now have two chickens in a cardboard box with paper towels, food and water. I have a few days to find a larger box. I have a few weeks to make a coop. Let’s talk about the coop. Since we are keeping the local knowledge that we have chickens on the down low a bit, I am not going to design and construct a coop that screams "I am a coop." I am going to make an incognito coop. I am sure I will blog the design and building process, so I will only give you the idea here. I am going to build a close to ground level coop that will look like and function as a bench. Then I am going to have my existing palms on either end giving some shade and concealment, and I might even put some potted herbs on top. I will also have some amount of sunshade on the outward facing side for both morning sun protection and more concealment. More to come on the coop.

A little out of coop time

I want to blog this for a few reasons. One, Geneva is five and this will be an awesome record of a time and an event in her life. Even if this somehow ends up being the only chicken experience in her life it will be recorded. She will remember some of it maybe, but she will be able to revisit this blog and know what happened. Two, I want to keep a detailed record of time and money spent and egg production and lessons learned. I will leave the use of that information for tax purposes up to Jenn, but the information will be there. Third, this is for both me and Geneva a learning and bonding experience. I am planning on this going well (never a good idea) and this being the start of a life with animals both as pets and a food producers.

So, if you are interested in any of what I just talked about, I invite you to follow this blog and to comment as you wish.

This is what pure joy looks like

Three final things. 1. Their names are Princess and Fairy. Princess has an all blond head and seems to be the quieter of the two. Fairy has a brown bit of fluff on her head, and is the louder one of the two. 2. When we had them out and were “playing” with them, they took a few poops. Geneva jumped up and got tissues and cleaned it right up. Without being asked. I even told her I would clean up one, and she said “no, it is my responsibility.” That is a good sign. 3. It is 9:33 PM, they have just quieted down after over 2 hours of “peeping” and not quiet peeping. What the cluck have we gotten ourselves into!