The Chicks are Gone!

Yesterday was moving day for the chicks and they are out of the bathtub and into their brooder box in the chicken run. Just in time, too. Besides the jumping out of the tub trick that a couple of them had discovered, the smell of nine chicks in an enclosed area had started to kick up a notch, so it was time for them to go outside.

I’m sure it was scary with all the new night noises but they came through just fine. Until this morning, when it started raining. Apparently the sound of the rain on the tarp that covers the run was just too much. It was the first time they’ve heard rain and it was loud. I could hear the chick who has proven to be a drama queen screaming from all the way inside the house. (It was the same one who screamed bloody murder when she jumped out of the tub the other day.) That chick has got some lungs on her!

Unfortunately, that chick also has scissor beak – her beak is misaligned. It wasn’t so bad at first but has progressed to a worrying degree. Often chicks with scissor beak have to be put down but sometimes they manage fine so I’ll keep monitoring her. In the meantime, the crossed beak makes her recognizable and she’s been re-named Criss-Cross, or Chrissy for short. She is also the friendliest of all the chicks.

The others that are recognizable are Chipmunk (Monkey for short), Thor, and Toast. The others look too much alike to figure out who’s who. I warned the boys when they named the chicks that the names would likely be changed as each developed more recognizable traits. Their legs have thickened so much that next week I’ll be able to band them. That will really help identify the rest of the crew.

I cleaned out the last of the carrots and a few more peas from the other half of the raised bed. Minus the six or eight used in tonight’s dinner, this is what my final harvest of the spring garden produced:

Next week I’ll prep that end of the bed and plant more green beans.

The beans and squash have been growing like crazy. The borage and nasturtiums have started showing above ground too. After only a week, this is what the bed looks like:

Look how much they’ve grown in just a week!

Just a little bit done this weekend but it’s still progress and I’m grateful for that little bit of progress. 🙂