Steve needed to adjust a bolt on the mineral feeder. Caper offered to help.

First, Caper tasted the vice grip to make sure that it was the right tool for the job.

He suggested to Steve that the vise grip could be better used scratching his head, right between his horn buds.

Sometimes Caper cannot believe his own brilliance. It’s a good thing that Steve listens to him.

It was Pip and Caper’s fourth birthday yesterday! To see what they looked like when they arrived, go here.

Almost exactly two years ago I got a box of chicks in the mail. Happy Birthday, girls! Of those chicks, three were Buff Orpingtons. All of the chicks were named after Gems and these three became Amber, Beryl and Topaz. Amber is my ideal hen. She is friendly, calm and beautiful. During the season, she lays an egg about every other day. I take her to meet classrooms full of children who pet her. Beryl and Topaz are also beautiful. But they are also broody. All the time.

This is what they look like if you deign to remove them from their nests.

Here is a close-up of beautiful, broody Beryl.

Unlike her sister, Amber, I cannot take this chuffed-up hen to storytimes. Nor does she lay eggs. It’s not a big deal to have a couple of useless broodies taking up space. I have enough nesting boxes.

But, a lovely woman named Kim loves Buff Orpingtons, broodiness and all. She also has a coop large enough to accommodate their quirks. Kim came to my Chicken Keeping Workshop last year so I know that she knows what she’s doing. Yesterday Kim and her friend, Diane, drove down from Maine to take my two Orps. She said hello to Agatha. From this photo you can tell she’s a good chicken person.

She gathered up Beryl.

We carried the hens to the crate in her car.

Off the hens went to their new home. Kim lives near the ocean, so the hens will have cool breezes to keep them comfortable, even if they stay broody all summer. But, it looks like the change in scenery just might get them up and out and active.

They immediately took dust baths.

Then they surveyed their new realm.

Beryl and Topaz are in the right place for them, and now I have the space to keep a couple more of the new chicks!

Yesterday we were all jealous of Scooter’s ability to live in the moment in the sun (and not feel as if he has to be doing something else of more importance.) Today we can be in awe of a chick’s capacity to fall asleep. On her feet. Regardless of what is going on around her.

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling sleepy…

Bliss.

Chickens aren’t exactly aerodynamic. At best, some of the petite and sleek bantams can fly well enough to get over a fence, and some of the heavier birds can flap enough to get up onto a low branch. This doesn’t mean that your chickens should spend all of their time on the ground. Mature hens need to sleep on roosts for both health and comfort. Chickens poop a lot at night. A chicken that is sleeping on the ground or in a nesting box is sitting on her own damp and ammonia-fumed waste. Roosts are also important for your flock’s social life. Chickens can sort out their affiliations during the evening jostling for a sleeping spot next to their friends. During the day hens that need to get away from the pecking order drama (like Siouxsie) can hop up onto a roost for some peace.

All of these reasons for having roosts apply to your chicks, too. Although they innately know to roost, they do need a bit of practice and baby-sized roosts to get them started.

A piece of wood can be a balance beam for your chicks.

Even better is a roost made from a branch nailed onto two pieces of scrap wood. The first week I put this roost into the brooder. There was some worry about what it was, but soon the chicks were up, over, and perching.

I added a second roost, this one further off of the ground. The chicks hopped right on

and were soon comfortable enough to bask in the heat lamp and get their fluffy little bottoms toasty warm from this perch.

Meanwhile, the chicks are getting larger, growing long and sturdy feathers, and running, flapping, and getting lift-off. The sides of the brooder have been raised.

Soon the chicks will outgrow this enclosure. Twenty six chicks take up a lot of space!. More changes are in store. I’ll fill you in later this week.