August 14, 2011

The Backyard Farm

The chickens are getting bigger.  The coop has expanded and the backyard is starting to look more like a farm than a yard.

This is Lillian... she's been the favorite of almost anyone who's met the chicks.  She started as a fluff ball of yellow.  What's not to love?  She's turned into a large white chicken with black markings.  The feathers down the legs always make the kids laugh.

Phil finished the carefully planned out coop.  The kids gave it a test run before we let the chickens move in.

We've added a large outdoor run area to the yard.  It's hard to see but there is string criss-crossed over the top of the open run to deter the hawks that have been moving in closer.  The girls have taken to sleeping up on their roosts instead of in a pile on the floor.  They even put themselves to bed at night now (wish my boys did that).

They are a sucker for treats.  They come running anytime we open the back door.  If we don't come bearing treats they turn their backs on us and go back to eating bugs and grass.

No eggs yet.  They still have a few more weeks before they're old enough to start laying.  We spend a lot of time outside hanging out with them, bribing them with treats, dodging hawks... fun stuff.  

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