Free Rangin' It

What a gorgeous weekend! Since it was nice and warm out, we were able to bring our chicks outside to play:


They spent several hours Saturday and Sunday roaming the back yard. They like to stick together for the most part, but they got more adventurous their second day out. Favorite spots are underneath the kids' slide and along the workshop — especially under the peonies:


They sampled lots of weeds and insects, and Martha also learned to take a dust bath (something chickens do to help keep their feathers free of mites). She scratched out a little wallow right up against the workshop and rolled around in it, getting all nice and dirty before she shook it all off later. 

It was such a treat to watch them waddle and hop and prance around the yard, getting to be regular old chickens. They don't have a coop or a run just yet, so we could only have them out while we were there to supervise (on the weekends this can be for several hours at a time). We'll try to give them a little time each day now that they have most of their feathers. This will let them get used to being in cooler temps than they get in the brooder, and it gives them some much needed variety, both in diet and exercise.

Some cute photos from this weekend:


This is Dolley hiding under the peony bush by the workshop.


Here are Sally and Martha scratching and pecking by the workshop. Sally is stepping over a beta fish gravestone, by the way.

Tiegan and Jonas were in charge of rounding up the chicks when it was time to take them inside — no easy task! We spent a lot of time running in circles before we could get them cornered near a fence or outbuilding and scoop them up. This was pretty funny ... for everyone except the chickens, that is. Still, they are docile and sweet once you have them in hand. Good birds!

Comments

  1. SprauMay 14, 2012 at 11:10 PM

    So much fun (and so funny looking at this age!). Loving the posts. :)

    ReplyDelete

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