Of Chickens and Chicken Coops

Not long ago, our chickens had their 2nd month birthday. As a special treat, we gave them some watermelon rinds, and boy, did they enjoy them! I made sure not to trim the watermelon so low so the chickens would have some sweet fruit to nibble on, but what we saw after a few hours surprised us. The watermelon rinds were eaten down to the skin! Literally. It actually looked like rolled paper - it was that thin!

They LOVE watermelons!

So far, we found out that their favorite treats are strawberries, cantaloupes and watermelons. Oh, and they also like corn cobs and worms. In fact, they like to tug on hubby's untied shoelaces thinking that they are worms. We like to give them a variety of treats, but we always check to make sure they are safe to eat. And when in doubt, we go to backyardchickens.com. All the answers are there!

Anyway...  we finally finished our chicken coop (just in time for hurricane Debby!). Despite the strong winds and seemingly endless rain fall, the coop (and its 10 tenants) survived! We are also very pleased that so far, the chickens are safe and the coop is secure. No sign of critter break-ins whatsoever. Son actually calls it "Fort Knox" and he is mighty proud of it. After all, he is the "architect" of the coop. 

"Fort Knox" (notice the brick that keeps the door shut haha)

So, in order to familiarize the chickens to their new digs, hubby has to bring them in one by one at night and put them in their individual nesting boxes. As for the rooster, he has a special spot in the corner of the coop! Hubby did it for 2 consecutive nights, and come the 3rd night, they already knew what to do! When we came out to put them in their coop, they were already there! These chickens are really smarter than I thought!

I also found out that they recognize the sound of our voice. One time, they were huddled together under their coop, and about 10 feet away from the coop, I started calling them (I like to call them "Cheepy"). Well what do you know. They started to break away from the group and respond to my calling. It was the sweetest thing. I really am a proud momma. 

Of course, it is not always fun. Feeding them in the mornings is always a pain. Cleaning the coop is also a big task - but we have to do it so our chickens would not live in a pig sty (haha). And waiting for them to lay eggs... well, let's just say we are getting antsy and want to see some eggs soon!

Kissing cousins!