Thursday, August 30, 2007

Junior Chickens


You might recall that Emma and Junior named the two surviving banty chicks some unpronounceable (for me) LOTR names. So far, I've stumbled over spelling them, saying them, and now, (and this will be our little secret) I really don't remember which name goes with which chick.

I didn't pay close attention when they first told me the names, and to ask now would make me look even sillier than usual ... so I just nod knowingly when they are referenced by Junior.

The chicks are still living in our living room in a laundry basket pen thingie that the kids created. They are getting bigger and it appears to me that they might be little roosters. There's some very boyish sparring going on from time to time, but mostly they get along pretty good.

I wonder sometimes, if other people keep chickens in their living room. I get strange looks when I mention this, yet if I had said, " I have two parrots in my living room." , nobody would think that odd.

I suppose they are picturing chickens wandering about and sitting on the furniture or fireplace mantle.
Okay, that did happen once, but that was a fluke ... who knew they could fly at such a young age?

We do clean their newspaper-lined basket out twice a day and lately we've begun taking them out for Chicken 101 training.


They even spent the entire day outside in the chicken tractor last weekend. During that time, they met rooster Vader (see, Star Wars names are much easier to remember), got rained on, and chased grasshoppers that made the mistake of entering the pen.
Right now, as I type in the predawn darkness, they are just beginning to stir in the laundry basket a few feet from where I sit. They're making that barely audible, soft roosting peep that resting chickens make.


It's a soothing peaceful sound, and one I'll miss when they graduate to the great outdoors.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

"chicken 101", LOL, love that. I can't say we've ever had chickens in our living room before. rabbits, dogs, trigger fish, cow fish, and porcupine puffer fish all get a check though.

Thunder said...

Well you've seen the comic strip character of a cat that we keep in the house, so I can't really comment on the chickens!

Anonymous said...

We keep a rabbit in our kitchen, so, whatever.

Will those chickens graduate to the dinner table eventually? A sort of return to the kitchen?

Jacki said...

May I remind you that Joey and Chandler had a chicken AND a duck for a short time in their apartment? Which I always thought was a bad idea. House? Do-able. Apartment? Not so much.

Oh, and I have decided it would be fun to live at your house.

Anonymous said...

When did you start worrying about looking silly?

Sharon said...

They're growing fast. Chickens, yes, doable. A friend of mine's sister want to UGA to become a veterinarian. She always had somethng interesting in the living room. The best was a fawn. :)

Deb said...

Our current batch of chicks, which are probably about the same age as those, were started in my kitchen. We bring the rabbits inside at night. Then there's the Turtle Hotel...

threecollie said...

FC, those of us who are darned near lifelong LOTR fans NEED to know those names...can we ask Junior?

pissed off patricia said...

I loved those last couple of sentences. Their little sounds of contentment as they awake are better for the soul than any medicine.

When I worked at the wildlife hospital there was one time when I had a dozen baby mockingbirds in my guest bathroom and about the same number of baby chimney swifts in my guest bedroon. What a racket when they all began calling for food.

If the laws allowed I would have two or three hens in my yard just for the fun of it and the fresh eggs.

I didn't get a pic of the baby black snake thingie because it moved so fast it would just have been a little black blur in the shot.

robin andrea said...

Those chickens are getting big, and are still very cute. Never had a chicken in the living room, only rescued birds.

kathy a. said...

they're growing so fast! for what it's worth, i can't understand keeping parrots, but raising chicks in the LR makes perfect sense.

we kept harriet the tarantula during school vacations. harriet was a classroom pet selected by my son in 3d grade; she did 9 years of school duty, impressing many a student with her spiderliness.

we also had rats for a while. the first 2 were rescued offspring of son's high school bio lab mama rat; others the product of a "miracle of life" experiment conducted by my daughter and her friend, who had a girl rat. they were friendly, curious critters. low marks for pet longevity, though; by the 5th rat funeral, i was running out of eulogy material.

h said...

And I thought you were a Country Boy. This site will let you know the bird's gender. It will help their development if you know.


http://www.users.on.net/~greggles/sexing.html

Lynn said...

We reside in St. Aug...in our house there are snakes, lizards, dogs and a cat. In the past there have been ducks living in the bathtub, 'possiums living on the patio, gator in a child's pool in the living room...all waiting to grow up. Wouldn't have it any other way:)

jojo said...

can't determine if they are roo's byt their play fighting, i think my little hens did a play fight too! Only way i could tell was by comparison to the others. Hens combs will grow slower and smaller than roo's. and the tails at that age might start to show more of a pointy look than the females. but unless you have one of each, which you don't. won't know then until they start crowing... :) and even then i made some mistakes. I kept a chicken thinking it was a hen. and now well.... he crowed the other day...

They say three roosters are better than two. This way two won't constantly be fighting...

get them some hens! :)

digitalzen said...

There are some who might opine that chickens in the living room is "Pure Alabama."

Just discovered the blog. Nice work. Good touch with the words. I'll be back.

I'm in Boynton Beach, but I have family in Chiefland and Fanning Springs. Learning the Nature Coast slowly. Just discovered Suwannee. Might retire there -- if it's still there by then. Ex-city cop. Like the country. Grew up near Lake Placid.

Bill
http://crackerboy.us

Anonymous said...

You are superb guardians!

kathy a. said...

one thing i'll say about rats -- some features of the manly persuasion are prominent, pretty early.

we only know for sure about harriet the tarantula because she spun an egg sac [some months into captivity] -- did you know that tarantulas can store semen until they feel it's the right time? yeah, we didn't know either.

Anonymous said...

I used to have a Road Island Red Chicken who sat on my kitchen windowsill and talked to me while I did my dishes. In a sad circle of life thing, she got eaten by a bobcat who got shot by my neighbor for eating his chickens. As much as I loved my chicken, I wouldn't have had it in me to kill the bobcat in revenge. Keep those banties safe.

SophieMae said...

Pretty dawgawn cool chickens! And a mighty fine tractor, as well. Did you take step-by-step pics of its construction?

You should tape the early morning roosting peep sounds so you can listen to them after they fly the coop.

R.Powers said...

RCW,
Sounds like you have a little zoo going too.

Dave,
Your cat speaks in tongues ... I expected her head to spin around at any moment.

Pablo,
No, we are not very good at feasting on our critters. Wimps R Us.

Jacki,
Validation!
It is fun ... weird sometimes, but fun too.

Mark,
You made me snort ice tea through my nose!
Which kind of confirms the silly thing I guess.

Sharon,
I want a fawn in my living room!
I've got them in the yard so maybe ...

Deb,
I always feel a strong connection to your family!

ThreeCollie,
I went and asked him to write them down. They are: Gwaihir and Eowyn.
Don't ask me which is which.


POP,
Ya know, hens are very quiet. If you penned a couple in your back yard, nobody would have to know.
Nothing cuter than baby mockers ... except for baby jays.


Robin,
I walked in the door tonight and I swear they doubled in size since this morning.


Kathy A,
Tarantulas ... shudder.
Now rats are something else, but everything you said was so true. Their lives are so short ... too painful.

Artfulsub,
Thanks! I will go there for my own Chicken 101 education!

Lynn,
As a fellow San Augustinian, I would feel completely at home in your house.
:)

Jojo,
Thanks for that good info! They will join a small flock of two roosters and two hens, all banties.

Z,
Welcome to Pure Florida!
LOL! I can hear the Alabama howls right now.
Suwannee is a nice quiet place, hurricanes willing it will still be there for you.Nice to hear from a native.

Kathy Again,
Yup, we learned quick about the superiority of the female rat as a pet. Males were too stinky.
The idea of spider reproduction just leaves me heebie jeebied.


Cathy S,
I agree. I don't hate the ratsnake for eating the other chicks of this brood. Neat that your RIR would hangout with you!

Sophie,
Thanks. I built the tractor from a book called, "The Chicken Tractor".
It's rustic, but has served us well for a long time.

threecollie said...

Hope they are not both roosters or Eowyn is in for a surprise. And thanks!

R.Powers said...

ThreeCollie,
You're right and you're welcome!