Been Awhile! Here's What's New...

So sorry to my readers that I haven't posted in awhile. I've been on hiatus, taking finals, finishing projects, and graduating. And graduate I did! 

But, even though I've been offline awhile, I have been taking pictures! Prepare for a massive influx of pictures. The girls are really big now, one in particular, and they've been given names! Their names are:

• Esther--largest, silver-laced hen. Dominant streak, shows signs of being top bird in the pecking order. Can get a tad nasty with the other girls, and likes to get up in their faces and remind them that she's boss. Her comb and wattles are developing before all the other girls' are.
• Grace (Gracie)--larger of the two gold-laced hens. Sort of Esther's right-hand (wing?) hen. She can get a bit fresh too, but is usually mellow with the other girls.
• Rosaline (Rosie)--silver-laced, very pretty plumage. She doesn't like being handled at all, and makes quite the peeping racket when picked up. She's the noisiest of the flock.
• Penny--smallest hen of the flock, gold-laced. Despite being the smallest, she's not a pushover, although Esther does like to pick on her sometimes. She's also relatively calm when being handled.
• Josephine (Josie)--silver-laced. More aloof than the others, to the point of shyness. She doesn't mind alone time, as opposed to being with the entire flock all the time. Esther gives her a hard time on occasion (but Esther gives everyone a hard time).

That's a brief synopsis of the girls.

I've done a lot of coop work. In fact--it's finished! The only thing left to install is the nesting boxes, but since they're not laying yet (not for another 9-10 weeks), there's not as much rush. However they were rapidly outgrowing the garage brooder--they figured out how to roost atop the brooder walls, and began to explore the garage--so I needed to finish the coop essentials ASAP.

See? Big girls now!

I'll do coop pictures first, to force you to look at them ;)

I installed the coop door, put up henhouse walls and floor, put in plexiglas for windows, made a pop door mechanism, installed roosts, lots of hardware, yadda yadda. But it looks good.

Door: I got a hand from my friend Leslie in the construction and installation of the door. We had to make it fit the frame so it could actually work--a real challenge. But it's good now!

Ray helped me install the door stop, screen door spring, and bolt lock. See detailed pictures below.

Directly above: screen door spring pulls door closed.

Right: drilled a hole for the bolt with the largest bit I own.

After that was henhouse walls. I got a lot more circular saw experience from this, since I can't cut plywood/OSB with a chop saw. Here are pictures from my first wall.

When I cut holes with a circular saw, as for a door, I always finish my cuts with a hand saw to avoid over-shooting the cut.

Above: cutting

Below: installing wall and egg door, framing egg door (the blue-gray wood inside the doorway) 

I did the rest of the walls in a similar fashion. The other 2 outside walls have windows, two on the wall to the right of the one pictured above, and one on the wall across from it. They are plexiglas windows. The inside wall has a human access door for easier henhouse cleaning, and I added a small window covered in hardware cloth. I also created a pop door of my own invention for the chickens--another challenge. I can open it from outside the coop in the morning. Pics to come.

I installed hooks for the waterer and feeder before I did the walls, actually, to go unchronologically for a moment.

 
 More coop pictures. These have the inside wall that opens into the run, with the pop door and the ladder down from it, then wall pictures, and an inside view of the henhouse from the egg door.

 Front view, with chickens on the roost one the left.

 Blue cord is pulled to open the pop door from outside. A cleat keeps it in place. I've since replaced this cord with a green nylon one, since this one didn't work.

Wall with two windows.

 Back wall, with one. This one is easiest to see in through.

 Inside view of henhouse from egg door, since nesting boxes aren't in placed. You can see the roosts (the small,  super low one is temporary and from the old brooder).

And voila! Complete!

I HAVE TO RUN, BUT I'LL FINISH THIS POST SOON. STAY TUNED FOR CHICKEN PICS.

Weekly Journal #5

Hello, readers!
It's been a busy week of studying for AP exams and running around like a chicken with its head cut off (see what I did there?), but I did somehow manage to get coop work done!

Summary

The chicks are growing so fast... I find myself constantly amazed at how much bigger and feathery-er they look every day! They've lost a lot of down, and little feathers have/are emerging instead. It makes them look at little silly, since its an "in between" phase, but they're as cute as ever.
They do a lot of scratching in the bedding, and they're slowly starting to use the roosting poles. On occasion, I see them walk across or sit on one. They also have become more interested in the outside world, trying to peep (heh heh) over the brooder walls. They elongate their necks to look outside and at passing people.

Ray and I managed to get close ups of all five of them the other day, so I've included at least a fraction here. Pictures are the best way to summarize, so check them out.

 A little bit of roosting.

 Exploring the world of clean bedding!

 Some lovely wing feathers on a silver-laced girl, and even some tail ones. She has the most developed feathering. She's also one of the more meek girls--more of a follower than flock leader.

 Chick butt!

 Wing on a gold-laced girl.

 Some pretty golden shoulder feathers.

This one ran up my jacket when I picked her up, and nestled there.

 Further adventures of the hiding chick.

 She fled my hand when I tried to move her out of my jacket, and ended climbing all the way out to my back. 

 Photobomb! Curious chicken.

And a very pretty gold-laced wing!

Video treat!

As for the coop, I installed almost all the hardware cloth! Yayyyy!!! I just have to install the piece on the right side under the henhouse and, of course, the pieces in the door (which I have yet to build). Construction's been slow since the chicks arrived, but this is a big step. 2 kayers are necessary, as the hardware cloth comes in 4-foot high rolls. I installed the lower roll, then the upper roll. I had to make sure there were no gaps or especially weak spots a predator or pest could take advantage of. When attaching the cloth with staples, it is a good idea to have the staples span a junction=form a diagonal across two perpendicular wires. This allows the staple to catch more than one point of the hardware cloth, and increases the strength of the attachment.

Left: Tools of the trade--poultry net staples and a trusty hammer. Right: Lower roll installed. Wire cutters (red tool) are good too.

 Left: One of the bottom corners, near the cinderblock, where the hardware cloth and chicken wire skirt overlap in a big mess of wire. Right: Both layers after installation at an overlap point.

Reflection

A challenge I had with building was the fact that it's hard to get the wire not to pucker. The hardware cloth often doesn't lie flat against the frame, so it's a struggle to work with sometimes. Luckily, once it nails down, all is well.
This week I was able to observe firsthand how systematic chickens really are. They're busybodies with their own little chicken schedules. Their behavior is pretty predictable--scratching, attempted flight, eating and drinking, and sleeping are all things they tend to do as a group. The flock really is central to their lifestyle--they usually do whatever the rest of the flock is doing. I don't know where the center of command is for this behavior, but a lot of it seems to ebb and flow throughout the day. They'll do one activity, travel throughout the brooder, and move on to the next.
I also really thought about how impossible it would be for me to do this project without help. I nearly always have friends or my sister to help me build or keep the brooder in order (upside: they get to see cute chicks!). While I plan and run and do most of the things, there are tasks that are much faster/easier to execute with company (and less tedious), and there are some building tasks that are absolute two-person jobs. I was going to save acknowledgements until I had completed the coop and gotten the girls moved in, but now is as good a time as ever to thank Ray and Marielle, and any other friends (Mary) and family (Mom and Papa), who have either physically or financially supported me in this project. Thank you!

Breed Information

Hello, readers!
The chicks are growing so fast. They already have little feathers. There will be another post today featuring pictures of them--this is not my weekly journal update. But I realized today that I never did post what breed my lovely little girls are! Here is some information about their breed, taken from Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, and from other sources.

The chicken breed I purchased is Wyandotte, in two color variations, silver-laced and golden-laced. The breed name comes from the Native American tribe Wendat, from parts of Canada and upstate New York. The breed was developed in the 1870s. Silver-laced was the first color, and its roots are not so much known.

The Wyandotte is a soft, heavy breed. Soft refers to the contouring of its feathers--it is more loosely feathered than "hard" breeds, whose feathers stick to the body. Soft breeds are generally also considered cold-hardy breeds. Heavy refers to the breed's standard body type. The Wyandotte is a dual-purpose bird, meaning it can be used for eggs or meat. Meat birds are often considered "heavy." Heavy breeds tend to be calmer and less flighty than "light" breeds, which are primarily for egg-laying and can be very feisty.

They have a small rose comb (the fleshy part on top of their heads). The comb and wattles (dangly flesh under the beak) are used for heat release in chickens, since the birds do not sweat. The small rose comb is good for  cold environments, as it reduces the areas for frostbite.

Wyandotte hens weigh around 6.5 lbs (3 kg) when fully mature. They are a pleasant, docile breed.

Silver Laced hen

(http://www.backyardpoultry.com/old/vis/wyandotte1.jpg)

Weekly Journal #4

Hi readers! I was going to write this journal earlier today (around 2:00), but I wanted to do it once I had completed this afternoon's project work, so I put it off.

Summary

The chicks are growing, and they're growing fast!!! It's amazing how much bigger they seem, although they're still little cuties. In addition to growing in size, they seem to become increasingly chickenish in their appearance and behavior each day. Their primaries and tail feathers have started coming in, and they are attempting to use them to make short "flights" (it's unbelievably cute), and their feet have broadened out. With their first feather coming in, it also becomes more apparent which girls are silver-laced, and which ones are gold-laced, and also what the pattern on their feathers is. Today, I also observed some hierarchical behavior among them. They chase each other sometimes, and one tried to push another off a roost (they still don't really have the gist of the roosts yet).
There is one chick that is a bit less sociable than the other four. While she enjoys being with the group, she does not get as distressed when she's set apart from them, and sometimes chooses to withdraw on her own accord. As a result, she is one of the easier girls to handle. The are slowly becoming more accustomed to human touch. Their biggest problem with it is being apart from the rest of the flock. I tend to pick them up in twos or threes because of this. I then put them all on my lap, and they like it once they are all together. It makes them more comfortable with being handled by people. See some exciting photos below!

 Pride rock for chicks

 As the proverb says, an adorable chick on the shoulder is worth a hundred chicks not on the shoulder (close enough).

 Yes, my Tuesday was better than yours. 

 A fantastic selfie

 A little bit of food from Mom. See the wings on the rightmost girl?

A patterned silver wing

The work that delayed me from making this post earlier today was two things--regular brooder upkeep, and a bit of coop work!! Brooder upkeep includes cleaning out the poop, which I do at least every other day (they poop a lot). I bought a pooper scooper with a handle the other day so as to make my job easier. I checked their water levels, which I also do in the morning, replenished their feed, and crushed new grit. I use gravel from my yard, which I crush into slightly smaller pieces using a mortar and pestle.

I haven't been able to get much coop work done since the girls arrived. Due to weather and the chicks, this was the first time this calendar week I was able to get out and work on it! It certainly was muddy today. Ray helped my install hardware cloth beneath the roof. Then, we moved on to create a skirt of chicken wire around the base of the coop, extending 2+ feet on the ground around it. This is to deter any potential digging predators and pests. Our biggest difficulty is getting the chicken wire around the corners of the coop. You have to pleat and bend it a lot, and it gets ugly. But chicken wire is a lot easier to work with than hardware cloth!! We started to bury it with dirt and pea stones, and I will continue that this weekend.

 Grinding gravel for grit.

 Hardware cloth under the roofing panels. A struggle to install.

 Left: covering chicken wire with dirt. Right: chicken wire rounding a corner, held down by a rock

More chicken wire. Right: closeup of a corner. A big mess of it!

Reflection
I learned a lot about animals this week, and how I deal with them. Contrary to what you may believe, the chicks do not come up to you looking for food and love when you first appear. More likely than not, they will run away, even if you've shown them repeatedly that you are no threat. Mine are still mostly scared. The only real way to get them used to you is to handle them. And they won't like that, either. They will not calmly sit in your palm, happy to be there. You must actively hold them, as they will struggle and flap their wings, and will jump out of your hand, even if they are a few feet above the ground (don't worry, they're sturdy little creatures). I must admit, it made me a little unhappy at first that they do not trust me, but if I really wanted constant love, I would have gotten a dog. These are chickens, with a world of their own--one that includes you far less than that of a house pet. They will eventually come to you when you come out the door, or even come when called if you teach them--but this process is not immediate. It is a relationship that must be constructed from scratch, from a terrified, cold chick to a lovely, friendly hen.
On a more concrete level, I've learned that chicks poop a lot. No, really, a lot. I clean their bedding, come back a half hour later... And I feel like I need to clean it again. I try to do it every day. I've only gone two days without cleaning once. They also have been drinking more and more, and eating more as well, although less increasingly than drinking.