Chick update

They grow up so fast. On Tuesday, we took down the small enclosure and let them have the run of the whole inside of the coop. Before we started, we had to put them all in a bin with a screen over the top so we could clean and reconfigure their home. The certainly filled the bin more than when we first got them!

Chicks in the bin while we clean the coop

Poor Spot. He isn't doing well. In the picture above, he is in the lower left corner being stepped on by one of the other broilers. He will eat if you put his head in the trough, but he just doesn't seem willing to get in there and fight it out with the others. He's about half the size of the other members of his breed.

The pullets are getting big in their own way. Their wing feathers are developing rapidly. Wing clips are right around the corner.

Consuela

Black Star chick

Idalis had a big adventure early in the week. On the fifth day, we started taking the food out at night. One cold morning, Hilda was horrified to see Idalis in the feeder, where she has spent the night alone and away from the heat lamp and her buddies. Once reunited, however, she bellied up to the food trough, and seemed to be no worse for the wear. We never thought to check for stowaways. Clearly, she can already fly a little.

Idalis

Hilda told me she likes Rosa Dolores (Rita Moreno’s birth name) better than Rita Dolores. I liked Rosa Dolores better from the get-go, but I thought Hilda preferred Rita. So Rosa Dolores it is.

Rosa Dolores

Sunday morning, I put up the chick fence. The afternoons have been getting hot. We don't want them to bake in the coop. Of course, it cooled off as soon as I put the fence up. We haven't let them out yet. It's good to have the fence, however, because we leave the coop door open in the day, covered with a screen that doesn't go all the way up. Should one of the chicks fly over, it will be contained. We'll never catch it, but still...

I bought 10 new steel posts this year. They are lighter and shorter than the ones Terry scavenged from God knows where. We had an 2.2" of rain on Wednesday, so the posts were easy-peasy to put in, and I didn't have to lift the slammer over my head. In past years, we used a few of Terry's monster posts and some wussy fiberglass and plastic posts we ordered with the electric fence. The wussy posts never did very well keeping the fence from sagging. I have high hopes for my new posts. I angle them in on purpose, by the way. If they angle out or sag, the chicks climb right up them.
The orioles have not gone south yet. Things can get quite competitive first thing in the morning.

Orchard oriole and Baltimore oriole in a standoff.

The bird equivalent of fisticuffs

Hilda took the row cover off the zucchini and the other raised beds. Other than having a few damaged leaves from being covered, they look beautiful. No sign of squash bug eggs yet. The first blossom will be opening soon.

Zucchini uncovered

First zucchini blossom

Terry has a pot of hen-and-chicks in the greenhouse that is blooming. I'd never seen them bloom before. It's spectacular, with a long spike and multiple flowers with many small petals.

Hen-and-chicks floral stalk

Hen-and-chicks flowers

We also passed a momentous milestone, shown here in a sign my dad made. He also does all the charting of the egg production, and is the only one who would know when we got to 1000. That seems like a lot for 6 months. Where have they all gone?

1000 eggs since January. Think of it!