That awkward, teenage stage

My head is so full of bee and chicken information that I can hardly keep everything straight. Maybe if I put some things here, in writing, I'll be better at remembering things. For instance, the chicks will move to their permanent home, the coop, at 5 or 6 weeks of age. I keep confusing this with the age they will start laying eggs, which is 4 or 5 months. Big difference. If we kept these fast-growing birds in that tiny brooder box for 4 months, we'd have some problems!

Right now the chicks are just over 3 weeks old. Kind of gangly. Strange feathers sprouting from everywhere. I think three weeks is the chick equivalent to a human teenager. But they are still cute to us. We took them on a little field trip out to the (really-super-close-to-being-finished) coop tonight. I still think Walter wouldn't mind moving in with them. He loves these birds.


Walter and I have chosen favorites – the two Easter Eggers have caught our attention. They are the sweetest of the bunch, so far. Nate's favorite changes by the minute, but I think he's partial to the Rhode Island Reds. 


Molly's interest in the birds is growing as fast as they are. She catches a whiff or sees a wing flap out of the corner of her eye, and her ears perk up and she's ready to pounce. We have some dog/chicken training to do.

Just a couple more weeks until they make the move to the outdoors. We'd better get to work finishing up the coop!