Chickam Chicks, Eight Weeks Old!

After much (no--MUCH) drama and chasing about, we got pictures of the kids. Eight weeks old, they are getting tossed out into the big, bad world with the adult chickens.

So in order of hatch, oldest first, here they are! All were hatched from eggs laid by our backyard flock, unless otherwise noted. Pardon the crummy pictures, I did my best with very uncooperative subjects.

Jonesy--We didn't hatch Jonesy, we got her at the feed store, and she is two weeks older than the rest of the chicks. A buff Orpington, Jones is a very sweet hen.

The Leaning Tower of Chicken.

Kana--Kana's daddy is Bobbie, our buff Brahma roo, mom is either Strychnine, our gray Giant Cochin/Brahma mix hen or Tingle, a mixed breed Easter Egger. Another sweet, pretty hen who refused to stand during picture time, preferring instead to be a chicken puddle. Here she poses like she should be holding a current newspaper with the date displayed, accompanied by a ransom note.

Moosebaby--Moose is a very uppity rooboy, Daddy is likely Bacon, our bantam Belgian d'Anvers rooster, mom is kinda up for grabs but is likely one of our bantam hens, maybe Paprika or Marble.

Taffy--Taffy is a sweet little rooster, Daddy is likely Milton, our tortoishell cochin/d'Uccle mix roo, mom is one of our black bantam Cochin mix hens.

Octavius--Octavius is a very friendly little girl, daddy is likely Bobbie, our buff Brahma roo, mom one of our larger black hens. Octavius is kinda thinking about growing a classic Cochin downward-pointing bun tail, she'll get back to you when she decides.

Ouzo--A white Leghorn (Boombox) mix, daddy possibly Milton. Ouzo, together with his brother Harvey, win the Baby Butthead award. Both rooboys freaked out and ran around the house during picture time, requiring chasing and doing their level best to get behind the couch and refusing to come out for the next 5 years.

Saber--Another roo, Saber's mom is likely Bonesaw, daddy likely Bacon. Saber has interesting feathering like his mom, it looks like feathers from three different chickens just kinda stuck on willy-nilly.

Biscuit--Biscuit's mom is Cheerio (she looks just like her), dad is likely Bobbie.

Sybil Disobediance--Sybil is another roo, daddy probably Bacon, mom one of the brown mixed bantam hens.

Harvey--Ah, the other half of the rooboy Baby Butthead twins. Harvey and Ouzo were both informed of how handy the junior-chick-sized stewpot was after chasing them hither and yon. Harvey's mom is Boombox, our white Leghorn, daddy is Bobbie the buff Brahma roo.

Spork--Spork is a Dominique chick from the feed store, a hen. She was friendly the minute we brought her home, and demands attention and pets. She is also steadfastly resisting growing a tail, but it is coming in nonetheless.

And no, Spork isn't leaning, it must be you...are you sure you feel okay?

When your chicken tries to gaslight you right out of the gate, beware.

Slick Charlie--Another feed store chick, Charlie is a partridge Rock hen. She is very sweet and has finally given up looking scruffy in favor of a proper suit of feathers.

Nyx--Now, Nyx is a bit of a mystery. Very shy but still sweet, she is supposed to be a Midnight Majesty Marans hen. But Nyx is growing undeniable vulture hocks (though soft feathers and not stiff) and has some white primary wing feathers coming in that are not supposed to be there. I suspect she is a bit of a sport, so I call her a Midnight Marauder Marans.

Charlotte-- Charlotte was a late addition, she was the one in baby jail for weeks due to her smaller size. She is a dark Brahma hen, and two weeks younger than the rest of the chicks. Charlotte has been doing the Brahma thing though, and eating...and eating...and eating. Growing all kinds of long legs and chicken meat. Char is pathologically friendly and DEMANDS attention, frequently shoving aside the other chicks if you accidentally pet one of them instead of her, foolish human. In this picture Char has been enjoying corn, apparantly rolling in it so it's all over her chest, the little slobette.

So there we go! As usual, the roos and extra hens we decide not to keep will be rehomed. Yesterday all of the chicks went out into the flock except for Taffy and Charlotte, they go out in two weeks--Charlotte being too young as yet, and Taffy kept with her to keep her company, as it's cruel to keep chickens by themselves--they are flock animals and require company.

Delinquents In The High Sierras

So the other day I looked out my den window and noticed these two, being very pastoral and nibbling on the purple-flowering plant at the base of my mailbox.

Which is cool, because that plant is a volunteer that thrives on neglect, tough as nails and comes back on its own after winter. I have no worries and at any rate, I'm willing to give up a little foliage for the sake of our local deer. Up until about a week ago, these two were hanging out with a buck and two does, they'd roam up and down the street. Last time I amused myself giving my husband a play-by-play as they stood at the other end of our fence, very interested in our neighbor's truck--I kept saying they were gonna steal it and go joy riding.

But then...

One of them started eyeing my car! Criminy, those little juvenile deliquents are gonna boost my car!

Luckily, they decided against it--trucks are more butch, I guess--and continued on, no doubt looking for someone who had foolishly left their keys in the ignition.

But if the radio goes missing next week, I know who to blame.