Giving the Bird

Kelley loves birds. She also loves miniature things. She's talked about having some chickens and once almost bought a crate of thirty baby chickens on the internet because that was the smallest amount the company would ship. She's serious about wanting chickens. May 18 was Kelley's birthday. Her roommate Heather and I surprised her a week early with eight chicks and two ducklings.

The chicks at about 5 days old.
















The ducks at about 6-7 days old. The one that looks headless has his head tucked down and away. Heather got jealous and bought herself one, too, hence a total of three.








I am surprised how quickly they grow. The ducks have about doubled in size. The chicks have wings and the beginnings of tail feathers, and they've begun "flying" as they jump around. Part of the present was my promise to convert the horse stables at their house into a chicken coop, and it actually seems to be a lot easier than I anticipated. They say you need one box coop for every 4-5 chickens. I'm building four, just for kicks. They'll sleep in the converted horse stable, but be free to roam around outside in a fenced-off area I'm also building during the day. Chicken wire all around with a foot of wire mesh below ground to prevent raccoons, rodents, foxes, and coyotes from digging under to get the feathered ladies. More wire mesh in the stable window, above the half-door, and in open spots around the ceiling for ventilation. Plus Crony Manor will have free, fresh eggs!

The ducks are of the Muscovy variety. According to the World Wide Web, they are ducks that fly around, not away, meaning that they'll sleep in the coop every night, but fly around all day (once they learn to fly). They make wonderful pets for this reason.

Anyways, I'm packing up and moving out of the Mohican Mansion. Going up with the rents to see my cousin graduate high school this weekend. Not sure where I'm living next week, so I'll be couch surfing for a week or so. Blah. I need a job. Blah some more.