This photo was from about 2 weeks ago. Delta (the black australorp in the middle) is still tiny and Foxtrot (the buff orpington on the left) is a skinny young lady. Echo (the barred plymouth rock on the right) seems to be on the top of the pecking order. She always picks on poor little Delta. I can't figure out Foxtrot though. She's always picking a fight but she always gets pecked at too. I think she's just a wild child lol.
This is what they look like now! Look how fat foxtrot got! She's almost as big as Echo now. Delta still looks a bit skinny but they when you take into account the fact that Echo has grown since the last picture, you can kind of tell how much they've all grown in size :)
I've been going down to The Grange in Issaquah for chicken feed. I love that store! It's a co-op that sells lots of farm supplies, gardening supplies, and even chicks in the springtime. They even have a pet bunny there that you can pet and he is THE CUTEST THING EVER. I'll definitely take pictures next time.
Although I did find a closer feed store, the Keppler Feed and Recycling in Renton. The prices are about the same, if not cheaper, and I never realized how close it was. It takes me about 20 min to drive down to The Grange but only 5 to drive to Keppler's. And they sell chicks/pullets there too! I'll probably start buying all my chicken feed here, but I'll still go to The Grange from time to time for their gardening stuff. Oh and they're the only ones I've found close enough that sells food grade Diatomaceous Earth.
I'm surprised at just how much these chickens eat!! I get TONS of food scraps from my parents' restaurant so I dump them all in their pen. All veggie scraps though. Even though I know they can eat meat I feel weird feeding them meat... What if they get sick?
I still need to make them their coop. Right now they huddle in a corner at night to sleep. It's warm outside but it's only a matter of time til they start laying (2 months?) and I wouldn't want any raccoons harassing them at night either. So that is my next big project! :)
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Echo is very pretty (even if she's a bully - naughty chicken!) We thought about getting chickens but decided at the last minute that they would probably peck our child to death as she tried to hug them. She *loves* the chickens! Yay for being 3.5 y/o. ;^) What about worms and other buggies - do you let them eat "meat" they can forage for?
Even though Echo is a bully, Foxtrot is just a darling!!! She even lets me pet her! Echo will peck back and Delta will just run away lol.
They eat all the bugs that come their way :D I just feel weird giving them pieces of beef or pork or (OMG!) chicken to them esp since most meat scraps that come out of the kitchen are either raw or seasoned. So they get the vegetarian diet from me :D
Those are wonderful looking birds. Amazing. And I've heard of the Grange. Never been down that way to shop.
Chickens eat meat? I knew they loved bugs, so protein sure, but beef and pork? I agree that they should be vegetarians except for bug protein, hehe.
Thanks for the update, it's clear they're healthy and happy and hopefully will provide eggs soon if they're not already.
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