Chicks First Day Outside

 Our new chicks are five weeks old, so they are getting close to outside living.  It is still chilly at nights, but the days have been quite warm.

Today, the chicks went outside for the first time.  The other four hens showed interest right away.  The chicks were quite wary.

However, the older girls lost interest soon.  The Speckled Sussex stayed interested for just a couple minutes more.

The pullets are sticking quite close to each other.  We will bring them into the house tonight.

Picture of the Day 2/4/2013 Flock of Five

We had a flock of four just ten days ago.  When we introduced Sassy to the flock, the sweet, gentle original four accepted her right away.

Sassy did not know how to behave around hens that would let her eat her share and not pick on her.  Sassy showed aggression a couple of times, but our original four allowed her to be in the flock. 

Now, the flock of five have gotten used to each other.  Sassy is not showing aggression towards the others; she found that it was not necessary.

What a great flock of five!

Notice how gray the day is.  The temperature is in the 40s, but the wind is howling.  Brrr...  The wind chill doesn't seem to bother the girls. 

Pictures of the Day 1/28/2013 Sassy's New Flock

Sassy finding water.

 Sassy, our rescue chicken, has a new flock.  Our original flock of four chickens consisted of one Buff Orpington, one Black Austrolorp, and two Speckled Sussex.  All of these four birds are sweet, gentle, and easy-going. 

After the initial posturing of the birds, they accepted her into the flock.  We kept the four original birds in the enclosure and Sassy in the small coop that was inside the enclosure.  The girls were curious, but not aggressive.  We let the four out of the enclosure into the yard.  We let Sassy out of the small coop and into the enclosure.

Sassy found the food and water, so we knew she would be fine.  She also found a bit of sunshine to sit in.   Since she has been in isolation for three weeks at the Zoo, she was very cautious.  It took her a bit to remember how to be a chicken.

Scratching for food.

The five birds had only one moment of aggression -- and it came from Sassy.  She moved toward one of the birds, letting them know she wanted a place in the pecking order.  The other four birds acquiesced.  So, now life is good.  I love my birds!

The new flock stayed in the large coop last night without an incident.   Which is good, because it is snowing right now and the temperature has dropped below freezing.

Sassy and her new flock.