We’re Raisin’ More Peeps!
There were two things I was super excited about for this Spring: planting a new Aspen tree where a previous one had died, and getting some new peeps! We’ve had our backyard chickens for about three years now, and have suffered a few losses. It’s time to add to the crew! (Or flock, or whatever. What’s a group of chickens called, anyways?)
There’s just not much cuter in this world than a baby chick.
Sticking with the Disney naming convention, meet our latest additions to the family: Belle (white), Lightning McQueen (black), and Hei Hei (mixed)!
Most Social Chickens You’ll Ever Meet
When my mother in law visited us a couple of years ago, she commented “You have the most social chickens I’ve ever seen.”
My family are all suckers for animal babies. So I’m pretty sure this is due to all the [gentle] manhandling our chickens get when they are peeps.
We love to put down towels in the living room (they poop like crazy), and bring them in to hold them. I love how they fall asleep in your hand. So precious!
You can see why we will not be eating The Girls, once they are done laying eggs. Ha! I figure we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Sisterly Bonding
Raising peeps is fun and exciting, but not without a little work. We keep them in a giant box in our garage, with a heating lamp. We’ve integrated a group of new peeps once before, and interestingly there’s a chicken hierarchy involved. The previous / older chickens will bully the new ones a bit. And our second group never did fully fit in with the original group.
So even though these three little peeps were not from the same hatching batch, they are bonding now as sisters. They’ll be their own little support group once they graduate to the backyard.
*Blink*… They’re Grown!
It’s fascinating to watch how quickly these baby birds change. The feathers rapidly grow in, replacing the fuzz. You can literally tell a difference in their appearance each day.
We love having backyard chickens! Although I will say The Girls have pretty much trashed our backyard. Scratch – scratch – scratch. Dig – dig – dig. Peck – peck – peck. They are busy little things.
Another item on our Spring list: I think we’re going to section off an area just for them, and try to rejuvenate our backyard.
Hooray for Spring!
Do you have anything you are planning for this Spring?
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