Oh, Coop!

The coop is one week away from being ready, I think we are in trouble!

5/2 Update: We are running out to our local home improvement store to pick up supplies to build a secure fenced in area for the pullets. It's raining here in the SF bay area and I have ever built a fence before so it will be a challenge and muddy I presume. Wish me luck! I'll post before and after pictures of the backyard soon. I can't wait to get the lil buggers out of the sewing room, they are starting to smell "fowl".

Saturday in the Yard

Saturday was the first day the chicks got to check out the backyard. We are waiting for the coop to be completed and they are still living inside with us. Everyone loved being out in the dirt investigating the area. Jessica's take on what they might be saying was: "What's that, what's this, can I eat this, & I'm gonna eat that" I think she was right! I hope the coop is finished soon they are getting mighty big.

Telephoto Hens

So here they are, rooster, chicks and all! I went back today to get some better photos and they were all ready for their close-ups. From what I could tell we've got a Red Jungle Fowl rooster, a couple of Ameracunas or Araucanas , a few Australorps (with chicks!), a few mixed breeds and a Orpington or Rhode Island Red hen. I welcome any takes on the breeds especially the red hen at the bottom!

Black Australorp

Ameraucana or Araucana?

Is she a Buff Orpington?

The Coop at the End of My Street

I've known about it for awhile, I'm mustering up the courage to knock on the owners door and have a friendly chicken talk with my unknown urban chicken raising neighbor. I have gone to the front of the house but it has all sorts of "beware of dog" signs posted so I've been too "chicken" to knock on the door. While I was taking my stalkerazzi photos from the street I could see chickens of all ages running in and out of the shrubs, I'm going back with the telephoto lens to get better pics. You can hardly make out a black hen to the right of the upside down wheelbarrow in the photo above, nice coop anyway.

Another Day at the Office (sans chicks)

Jessica and I started Urban Escapes in 2oo6, since then my work days seem to fly by. I am one of the lucky few who gets to do what I love for a living. Below is a small sampling of my hike with the doggies today.

Annie plays keep away from Kiko with a stick

Kiko chases Abbey

Annie looking pretty in the lupine

Little Helpers

Lacey a Golden Wyandotte at one week.

Pippi - shown here about four weeks of age.

This week has been a exciting one already! The launch of Aroo Studio my dog collar company has been keeping me very busy. The chicks are temporarily being housed in a 110 gal. storage bin in our sewing room and have really gotten used to the sound of the sewing machines. We have been sewing like mad to get items done for our website photos and just love the company of the chicks as we work. I and even the dogs (all four) have grown accustomed to the sweet sound of happy peeping. It will be hard to have them in the backyard separate from the rest of the family but I know it's for the best.

Time Flies

The chicks have started to fly short distances. Coraline is preparing for takeoff in the photo above. Her favorite roost is now the at top of the feeder and her aim for landing is spot on. Today she flew from my desk to the chair back and landed like a pro! Violette, Madalyn & Lacey have yet to take flight, but I could see just how excited they were to do it as they watched their sisters land on top of my camera.

Mabel shows off her fine feathered feet.

Gettin' Dusty

Coraline enjoying her "dust" bath. She's in the food dish.


After her dust bath she was content to lounge in the dish.

Hi everybody, (if anybody). It's already 3 weeks into our journey of becoming backyard chicken raisers. The chicks are growing at an alarming rate! I have to reacquaint myself with them each time I see them for feeding and water changing.

They have been on medicated mash from the start and we have introduced the six of them to live foods such as small crickets and meal worms. It is hilarious to watch them running away and into each other, worm in beaks, each engaged in their own private game of keep away. They bring out the kid in me and I find myself getting lost in their little world in the Rubbermaid bin they have graduated into.

Just the other day after cleaning the food dish and refilling it with fresh mash, our little buff Cochin, Coraline, laid down in the middle of the dish and had herself a "dust" bath. Food flew everywhere, and the other chicks were pecking the chick food that was sprinkled on her downy feathers all over her back. Coraline just stayed in the bowl despite the pecking, loving every second.

Today we introduced a new food bowl with round openings for the chicks to peck at the food without being able to walk in it (or scratch all the food out which they've started doing too).

Coop Dreams

We were unable to get a coop from Wine Country Coops (Over $2000 for a 3 foot by 4 foot coop, unpainted!!!). Happily, we found Cool Coops, and just put down a deposit on our very own coop! The photo above shows a 3 x 4 coop, the one we are getting is a bit bigger at 4 x 5 feet. We are also getting a stand so the coop will be up off the ground. Cool Coops was started a couple years ago by a fifteen year old, so I am happy to support a young entrepreneur too. I'm so excited to pick it up and put it in our backyard (probably in 2-3 weeks). We are going to paint the coop ourselves and build a enclosed yard to keep Mabel, Violette, Coraline, Madalyn, Pippi & Lacey safe while unattended.

The more the merrier!

Yep, you guessed it! We were hooked on chickens -we returned to Rivertown Feed the next day and picked up 2 golden laced wyandottes, 1 black star (sex link) and 1 more Cochin chick for good measure.

We will be eating lots of eggs in the near future so we are starting to find egg recipes to try out. We just made a Mushroom Quiche last Saturday that we found here.

The First Night

The Coraline and Mabel spent their first night in a old 10 gal. glass aquarium with the heat lamp dangling from a old useless lamp. We spent hours just watching them eat, drink, preen and sleep. Coraline was the picture of health running around and sleeping just like a mini hen and Mabel the smaller yellow fluff ball seemed to be breathing hard and sleeping with her limp body sprawled under the heat light . I was convinced I would be waking up to a small tragedy and made plans to take Mabel's lifeless body back to the feed store the next day.

I had trouble sleeping and got up at the crack of dawn to check on the status of Mabel. Mabel was still positioned awkwardly but I could see she was breathing! I was grateful and relieved I hurried back to bed and had some much needed rest. When I woke Jessica was up and tending to the chicks She couldn't have been more happy to see Mable had made it through the night. We knew what had to be done so it was off to the Rivertown Feed once more!

The Peeping Box

Hi, this is my first blog! I hope to share my experiences of having a mini "farm" right here in the city. I'm hoping to start growing some of my own produce in the near future, and have just jumped in head first to raising chickens so I'll have fresh eggs.

We purchased 2 cochin chicks from Rivertown Feed located in Petaluma, CA on March 28, 2009.

Jessica was having a "off day" and wasn't feeling to good. We had planned a trip to Petaluma and I thought a visit to the feed store would be just the thing to cheer her up! The feed store had a "chick days" poster taped to the front door. I asked the first employee I saw "where are the chicks?" and we headed straight for them. They had 4 different types, all of which I'd never heard of. They had cochins, a feathered footed breed, golden laced wyandottes, black sex links, and black australorps. The chicks had been sexed (90% accurate). We were smitten. I think we were in there for 15 seconds when Jessica turned to me & asked "can we have one?" The next thing we knew we were in the car heading back to the East Bay with a peeping box containing 2 cochin chicks. On the way home we named the buff colored chick Coraline, and the white one Mabel.