The Early Bird(chicken) Gets the Worm

The chickens are getting so big so fast. They are now 5 weeks old. Besides a few finishing touches, Tim is done with the coop. We ended up placing the chickens in the coop while we cleaned their plastic tote out. They were a little scared at first but seemed ok. Then the next day we put them in the coop for a few hours. They are getting more and more comfortable in there and they really seem to enjoy it. They loved it when Tim turned over some dirt with a shovel, exposing worms and bugs. They went nuts. One would grab a worm and run and the others would chase after the one with the worm. They were really fun to watch.

They aren’t really scared of us anymore and will walk right up to us. They still aren’t thrilled when they are picked up but we will get there some day. I went into the coop the other day with flip flops on and Avery thought it was hilarious that they were pecking at my feet. She didn’t find it funny when she was standing there and they started coming up to her though.

Next post I will try to get some pictures of the finished coop. 

We have already made a few modifications to the coop. We hung a bottle of hand sanitizer up because they are salmonella machines and we ended up placing a lock on the inside of the coop door. The reason for this is because when you walk in the coop, the door swings open a bit and we are scared the dogs will open the door and come in. We wanted to make sure the door stays closed when we are in the coop.

 Speaking of dogs, Chewie is now the one I am scared of with the chickens. He didn’t care about them when they were in the tote upstairs but when they are in the coop, he whines and scratches at the door and tries to pull it open with his claws. I am trying to praise them when they are sitting there being good. They love watching them. They are so happy, they are smiling…see! This is how they look when they watch the girls.