Half (six) of my twelve chicks are four weeks old this weekend. The other six are probably about a week younger. All of them have been outside in Hope’s “dog run” for the past three days during the warmth of the days, so they’re practicing their flying skills, their dust-bathing skills and their jostling skills.
They’re all well and happy and becoming less flighty toward me by the day
This morning when I opened the chick pen in my den, three of them hopped right out and onto my fingers, arms and shoulder.
The oldest ones are the least afraid and most adventurous of the bunch, but the black ones are beginning to watch me closely and to step tentatively onto my fingers when I offer them.
I have a branch near the pen so they can step out on that when I open the pen, in case my fingers or clutched fist doesn’t compel them to come out.
The oldest six are beginning to get their red feathers…
The younger, black chicks’ wings and feathers are more sparse, but coming in right on time.
I’ve bought a few fun signs and decals to decorate the hen enclosure…
One of them reads, “Rise and Shine, Mother Cluckers!”
(It’s hard to see, and not in the above photo, but I put it above the hen-in-glasses decal.)
Chick/Hen ramp into hen house
Yes, I’m having a lot of fun!
NEXT GOALS
The immediate next goal is to get the chicks to follow me from their indoor den hen pen to the outdoor dog run and hen pen.
Right now I’m placing them in a plastic bin to carry them out, but that upsets them, so today I tried carrying three of the chicks outside as they perched on the branch. They didn’t jump off and seemed to enjoy the ride and the vision of the outdoors from my back door. So, I may segue to doing that until they’re 100% comfortable being transported that way. After that, I’ll open the den pen and see if they’ll follow me out to the doggie run and to the enclosed hen pen the way chicks would a mother hen. Either way, the transition will be complete and I’ll know they’re imprinted on me well enough that they won’t take off in all directions in a panic…
REASSURING “OOPSIE!”
One of the chicks flew down beside the dog run yesterday as I was liting her out of the bin. The others were already inside the run, so the “escaped” one stayed right next to the enclosure until I could pick her up and help her rejoin her flock.
So, they’re definitely a bonded flock and if any of them “escape” during the transfer and get panicked, they will head straight for the rest of their gang. That’s all I really need to know to be able to relax around them so they can tell I’m calm and assured, even when they get flustered. They need me to come across as steady and confident. That’s what I’m developing now. We’re gaining an understanding that we’re all in this together and will be fine as long as we stay buddies.
PETABLE HEN PETS
Another goal is to create petable chicks and hens. A week ago that seemed like a tall order, but this week almost half of them are allowing me to pet under their wings and their bellies. (Patience + persistence = progress!)
AERIAL ARCHENEMIES
I have to take care not to appear to “swoop in” from above, because their instincts tell them that aerial arrivals are archenemies. They hide in the plastic bin whenever a plane goes overhead or a hawk or crow flies by. That’s good! (The crows will protect and defend them when they’re older from hawks and eagles, but they don’t know that.)
Because I want them to remain afraid of aerial approaches, I approach them as close to their elevation as I can. I arrive from the front, offer a finger or my fist at ground level, and pet them at or below their wing levels. They allow this usually quite readily and often, now, they’ll step up and onto my hand or fist, flap up my arm, and perch on my shoulder. (So far, they haven’t pooped on me, but it’s probably just a matter of time! I don’t know of any potty-trained hens, but they do scoot their butts out as far as possible before they let fly, to keep their nests/dens clean! Their tendency to do so has saved me once already.)
