Two Weeks With Chickens: What I've Learned About Our Flock

It's been two weeks since we've built our coop and let our chickens free to roam the 60 sqft run outside. Because neither of us have had chickens before we've been learning a lot of new things...

1. They really are easy to take care of. I let them out in the morning after my walk with Dante before work. Chris puts them to bed when he takes Dante out for his last pee of the day. So they've folded into our schedule nicely. I'd say they require no more than 2 hours of hands on time a week.

2. They're truly are little garbage disposals. We've given them radish tops, zucchini ends, mustard greens, and papaya rinds. The papaya rinds were the favorite by far. One would steal it and play keep away until another snatched it away.

3. They are pretty quiet. I was worried that we may annoy the neighbors, but they don't make any more noise than the other birds in the neighborhood. We do have three roosters but they haven't started to crow yet...

4. I'm not sad about the idea of giving them away. I thought I might become really attached to them, but the thought of giving the roosters away doesn't bother me. Or the thought of taking them to the butcher to "prepare" doesn't make me flinch either. Maybe I will make a good suburban farmer! We'll be taking them to a small animal auction this weekend in hopes to trade for some more hens.

5. Monica is the friendliest. She's our only Speckled Sussex hen, and she is definitively the most calm and easy to handle.

6. They can fly better than I expected. I was under the assumption that chickens can't fly other than a small hopping flutter, but sometimes when they exit the coop they bypass the ramp altogether and float down to the run. I've also seen Phoebe jump/fly at the run door. Real life Chicken Run.

7. They drink a lot of water. They go through the 2 gallon water feeder much faster than the food. They also go to the water first thing in the morning when I let them out. I think I'll add another water feeder in the summer.

8. They don't put themselves to bed yet. We were told that the chickens will learn to go into their coop at night, but they haven't figured out that one yet. Chris herds them up the ramp into the coop every night. He tries different methods: putting the roosters in and seeing if the hens will follow, putting them on the ramp to see if they'll march in. Eventually when the nights are warm enough, we'll just leave the door open to make them learn to go in by themselves.

9. They like to sun themselves. Their coop is completely covered with metal roofing, but the sun can still peep through in spots. Sometimes we'll find them literally stretched out on their sides sunning themselves.

10. They act like a pack of Velociraptors. Chris mentioned it and now I can't stop seeing them this way. It is said that chickens are the closet living relative to Velociraptors. If you watch how they move and interact together, and how their little heads turn to look at you, it's like you're watching Jurassic Park.