Say Hi To The Girls!

I'd like to introduce you to the girls! We have had them now for two weeks,and the they are growing like crazy! The large yellowish ones are White Jumbo Cornish Rock Crosses. They are huge,thus living up to their name. You can see how they compare to the others. The black and white ones are the Silver Laced Wyandottes,the beige and solid black are Buff Orphingtons,and the reddish ones are Rhode Island Reds. We have four of each.

This holding cage is in our garage. You can see the glow of the red heat bulb. We bought a new white one this year,but it didn't give off as much heat,which surprised us. The red bulb is a lower wattage. I wonder if it has to do the light color? We don't have electricity in the garage,so we run an extension cord from our bedroom window,which is right on the end of the house next to the garage. A towel stuffed in bottom of the window when it's closed keeps out any cold air.

At night we put old curtains and a sheet over the cage to help retain the heat. It still gets pretty chilly here at night,with temps ranging from the 20F's-low 40F's . ( You can see my old striped living room curtains in the photo).

We have been feeding them Blue Seal Medicated Mash. We now have to feed them at least twice a day. These are some hungry little ladies! They go through a bit of water,too.

Each day I go in and say,"Hello,Girls!" and check them out. I also talk to them a bit in a weird tone of voice. You know how when you talk to a baby,or a kitten or a puppy and your voice changes to a different tone and pitch? That's what I sound like talking to my girls. I try to pick them up,but they are quick. Sometimes I succeed. I think if I didn't have to bend over the cage I would be a bit quicker and have a longer reach,especially since I am only 5'2" and the cage is up to my waist. Sometimes I ask Rick to grab one for me,he is 6' tall,and has nice long arms.

You can see on the Rock Cornishes that they are getting their adult feathers. This weekend we are getting our supplies for the coop. Rick's looming surgery date and the rapid growth of these girls are pushing us along.

Chickens are cool!