Time flies as the chikens grow Week 5 for the Red Stars Week 1 for Aracauna

Reflections from the Backcounter

And so the story continues....the economy worsens, jobs are scarce as hen's teeth and all the while my little stealth flock safely grows in the warmth of the heat lamps in their rubbermaid containers in the garage. Hope for brown and blue eggs remains foremost in the hearts of the chicken growers who eagerly ply the little peeps with chicken grow, fresh water and carefully constructed temperature ranges to encourage growth ane rapid feathering. And speaking of peeps, our latest little peeps, Lola and Penelope are purportedly Aracaunas who will grow up to supply the most beautiful green blue eggs. We can hardly wait. They are brown peeps who are hearty and hale in the incubator in the garage where we feel like we are watching time lapse photography show the sprouting of the wings throughout the day. As far as pets go, these are the least problematic in my long history of animal collecting. Much easier than cats, rabbits or guinea pigs and just forget about fish or hamsters. Dogs are a little too curious about the peeps and the teenage soon to be hen pullets in the container next store. These pullets are supposed to be high egg producing and quiet
Red star hens;. We will see...Gwendolyn, Henrietta, Josephine and Tallulah are quite the little talker squawkers. Now all human conversations surround best practice coop construction and gathering of inexpensive but effective materials to meet the three tenets of the coop project:

1. Stealth (illegal chicks must reside in a camoflauge coop)

2. Silence (squawky chicks will blow the cover of the operation)

3. Protection ( high predator risk in our area separate from domestic dogs on property. We need to be prepared to prevent predation from coyotes, owls and bobcats. If a mountain lion shows up....I may have to shelve the chicken project.!!!)

And so the story goes. I hope to provide ongoing pics of the project to document our progress. We have had very few slip ups yet and have not lost one chick to predation, escape or inadverdent broiling/roasting or freezing. Those heat lamps are tricky!

Peace and peeps,

Julia