Ready for the Big Move

We have 7 pullets (female chickens that have yet to lay eggs) that we have raised from 3 day old babies and now they are almost big enough to move into the main chicken population. Farmer Jeff has been after me to move them for a while. As the protective Chicken Mama that I am, I have had a time letting them grow up and leave the nest/garage...sigh...

The one above that is peering into the camera lens is the one that I have bonded with. She is a young Buff Orpington Hen. Once she is full grown she should look like this:

Right now all of the little kids are in 2 cages in the garage. We have 6 Ameraucanas and the one Buff Orpington. When I go into the garage twice a day to feed, water and check on the girls, I make a little clicking sound with my mouth. The Buff O always moves right up to the cage and sticks out her neck, just like she does in the picture above! She has really endeared herself to me!

In order to mix in with the other grown-up hens, they have to be at least 8 weeks old and big enough to defend themselves. Pecking order is a reality in the chicken coop and pen. The last 5 chicks we introduced were almost killed by Napoleon's gang. They are mean on his side of the pen. The side with all of the other chickens, the side with the 5 roosters (*%*#(@@#!!!) actually is a bit kinder.

I don't think I have mentioned that of the 3 bantam hens we have, one of them, Lacey, turned out to be ...GRrrrrrrrrrrrrr...another ROOSTER!!! I can't believe our luck!!! I couldn't have picked a cuter chicken to be a rooster. Lacey has now become Eric (a good friend of Farmer Jeff's in high school) but I keep thinking of Erik the Viking movie from Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. *Eric is the black and white one, a Seabright. The one right next to Eric is Sarah, another favorite. She is an "Old English Game Bird".

Tomorrow we will begin the slow introduction of the kids to the other chickens. Don't worry, we will leave them in their safety cages for 7 days or so, or until they are big enough to take care of themselves. I think this is going to need to correspond with the exit of the roosters formerly known as hens, Duke/Duchess and Sophia. I never came up with a good boys name derived from Sophia! These guys have gotten HUGE.


I hope you are getting a good night's sleep, girls. Tomorrow is going to be a big day!