The sun rose up like a diamond over the mountains. We had no idea our flock of chickens was increasing from six to ten hens.
4 weeks later... they are venturing out of the kennel into the main coop. In the picture below, Henny Penny is always in front. She is quite the adventurer. The other are leery after being pecked by the older hens. We are designing an escape section in the main coop for our little young hens.
Here are all the supplies we needed. We already had a kennel. It came in real handy. You can slip a stick through the bars when the chicks get old enough to roost.
When we lived in Southern California, we would turn on the lamp when it was 50 degrees. That temperature was cold for us then and we thought they needed it. But these girls do fine here in Utah weather. They say the red colored lamp does not bother them at night.
Related posts:
Feeding My Chickens- A collection of gourmet recipes that my girls love.
Raising Chickens In The City Our first experience with chickens.
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| The Day We Purchased Four New Chickens |
That morning, Paul and I found ourselves shopping in IFA ( Intermountain Farmers Association). We were getting some feed and supplies there. As we walked in we heard the little peeps of the new spring chicks basking under warm lights in the silver troughs near the entrance of the store. There were a lot of chicks to choose from, Leg Horn, Golden Sex-Link, Ducks, Turkeys and Barred Rock Pullets. Though I dreamed of having ducks and turkeys one day, our eyes wandered to the Barred Rock. We had done pet sitting for a few Barred Rock Hens and they were a delight. Their cackles sounded like gentle laughter. The next thing we knew, we were carrying out a little box filled with 2 Barred Rock Pullets.
I sat the carrier on my lap in the truck and I could here them peep and scuffle about. When we got home we set up the large kennel in the main coop with water spiked with electrolytes and placed the feeder with medicated chick starter inside. An infrared lamp was installed. We poured the little chicks out of their carrier and into their new home.
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| Barred Rock Pullets- Henny Penny and Betsy |
We like them so much, my husband and grandson took the little carrier box back to the store ...
... and asked for a refill! "Two more, please!"
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| Four Barred Rock Pullets |
Meet again Henny Penny and Betsy with their new coop mates,
Cali ( Caliente) and Peck.
The Chicken Sun Ritual
The afternoon sun made it's way into the coop in long streaks of warm clear light.
I was surprised and enchanted to see the little chick instinctively open her wing to her first sliver of sunlight.
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| Chicken's First Sun Ritual |
4 weeks later... they are venturing out of the kennel into the main coop. In the picture below, Henny Penny is always in front. She is quite the adventurer. The other are leery after being pecked by the older hens. We are designing an escape section in the main coop for our little young hens.
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| Four weeks old Barred Rock Pullets |
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| Betsy is now bigger than her bowl! 4 weeks old |
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| Barred Rock Pullets 4 weeks old. |
Here are all the supplies we needed. We already had a kennel. It came in real handy. You can slip a stick through the bars when the chicks get old enough to roost.
Just add your own mason jar to this feeder.
Chicks Turn Teenager
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| Barred Rock Pullets about 3months old Egg Laying Adults  3 month old Peck was injured by Lucy our aggressive Rhode Island Red Hen. Peck was bleeding a bit from the neck. We scooped up her quivering body and quelled her inside in the kitchen in a kennel ( See? The kennel comes in real handy). We applied Mercurochrome and I held her in my lap with my hands lightly on her wings. * She relaxed and nodded off to sleep. We kept her overnight and found that her wound was healing nicely. she was eating and drinking. We released her in a couple of days back to the coop. Since that episode, she has been particularly friendly running up to greet me and following me underfoot. |
Chicks Become Chickens- These hens are very friendly.
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| The Barred Rock hens lay the reddish rust colored eggs. |
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| Little Mama Chicken with her two white daughters Venus and Jupiter. |
We collect a rainbow of colors everyday from all our hens. We also have two Black Sex-Links ( Madonna and Faith), two Rhode Island Reds ( Lucy and Kitty Hawk), and one Leg Horn ( Venus). Mama, our first chicken, hasn't been identified yet. She appears in my post Feeding My Chickens. She is tiny and lays small white or pale beige eggs. Above is a picture of Mama
Can anyone identify the dark grey and white hen?
These barred rock hens are the friendliest hens we have. They do really well in the freezing cold of winter and are the last to go into their coop at night. We use an infra red lamp for their insulated roosting area when it gets in the 20's or teens or sub zero temperatures.
When we lived in Southern California, we would turn on the lamp when it was 50 degrees. That temperature was cold for us then and we thought they needed it. But these girls do fine here in Utah weather. They say the red colored lamp does not bother them at night.
Related posts:
Feeding My Chickens- A collection of gourmet recipes that my girls love.
Raising Chickens In The City Our first experience with chickens.
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