Exactly two days after we received our first eggs from the girls, today we were greeted with another gift.A green egg.I knew Gigi was holding out. With eggs from Nellie and Loretta, it was easy to do the math. Two brown eggs meant we were waiting on Gigi's coveted green egg.In her showgirl style, Gigi bypassed …
Week 19: We have eggs!!!
Two eggs in one day? That's how our first special delivery arrived this evening. As soon and Matt and I got home from work, I went out back for my daily egg check. I wasn't really expecting anything; the last two weeks had come up empty every time. And then I saw it. Nellie's light …
Week 17: Prepping for eggs!
Tonight, Loretta squatted for me! In chicken-speak, this means she'll be laying eggs in the next week or so. For some reason, she wouldn't come out of the coop today. Normally she's the first one barging through the door. But it took coaxing, and finally me just picking her up and putting her outside. That's …
Week two: Field trip!
With temperatures above 50 degrees today, we decided to take the chicks on a field trip to see their chicken coop! I packed all three into a cat carrier, and walked them out into the yard. At first they were scared to come out of the carrier, but the bold Olive Egger led the way. …
Discovering the crop
Last night, I gently moved my finger toward a chick and stroked her chest. This in itself was a victory, as the chicks usually run peeping, away from my hands. But as I touched the chick, I felt a lump. My stomach dropped. I gently picked her up, and palpated. Did she have a tumor? …
Homecoming!
The babies are home! After spending the weekend in Cleveland (most of it holed up in a hotel room because poor Matt is awfully sick) we got up early this morning to pick up the chicks. While we were finishing breakfast at the hotel, I received a cheerful call that the chicks were ready and …
The final countdown
Chicks are just seven days away! We've been busy taking care of last-minute details, and prepping the brooder. A couple weeks ago, Matt and I bought a new rabbit hutch that we converted into a brooder. It's just big enough for the chicks to live in for their first six weeks, before transitioning to the …
Meeting our neighbors
When we decided to have backyard chickens, it was clear we needed to include our neighbors. Over time, it came up casually in conversation with the ones who lived on both sides of us, but now that chicks are two weeks away we needed a more formal outreach. So I came up with an idea: …
Brooder experiment
I had this weekend all planned out. I planned to team up with Matt to build a brooder for the chicks. This is a box where the chicks can grow up safely and warmly inside the house, until they are strong enough to live outside. Earlier in the week I had even sketched a rough …
Mystery snow prints
As Snowmageddon descends upon Detroit, Matt and I decided to carve out a run for our dog Charlie in the back yard. While I was doing some maintenance shoveling, I stopped to admire the chicken coop. As I stepped closer, I noticed a bunch of paw prints inside the coop. Instantly I was alarmed. I …
Chicken Scratch Fever 