It was just in April when Houdi was a baby . . having just hatched, and he was running through the tiny holes in the 1″ chicken wire and I was chasing him all over the place. We ended up catching him and his mom, Louise, and putting them and the remaining 8 or 9 unhatched eggs in a big Rubbermaid box til Houdi and any other babies that might hatch could grow enough that they wouldn’t escape through the holes in the wire.
Only one more baby hatched — Gracie.
Houdi and Gracie
They stayed in the Rubbermaid box til we got a “chicken nursery” for them all. By now, they were about a month old. Gracie is the sweetest little chicken. She follows Louise (mom) around and is never more than a couple of inches from her. Even now that Gracie is a couple of months old, if Louise sits still for very long, Gracie nudges her way under Louise’s wing. She loves her mom! Houdi . . he’s the goofy chicken. He runs around 90 mph all day and he doesn’t seem so attached to Louise.
Louise, Houdi & Gracie in front of the “nursery”
Fast forward to this past weekend. They’ve been in the nursery for about three weeks. They’re getting big. Louise is back to laying eggs again.
Louise, Houdi & Gracie
Vince decided it was time to combine Louise, Houdi and Gracie in with the rest of the bantams. I wasn’t sure how that was going to work . . it’s that pecking order thing. We had read that sometimes it’s easier to wait til dark and put the new chickens in with the old chickens so that when they wake up in the morning and they’re all together, they are more accepting of the new birds.
We waited til the chickens were all in for the night and it was getting almost dark and we picked up the box that Louise, Houdi and Gracie were sleeping in and carried it to the coop. The chickens in the coop .. Thelma (dad), Tiffany, Smokie and Sally, were already in their little nesting box, down for the night. We gently set the box containing Louise and the babies onto the floor and all hell broke loose. I told Vince . . let’s just walk away . . there’s nothing we can do. They have to figure this out. Besides . . it was dark, I had on flip flops and I thought I heard a rattlesnake. But, don’t worry . . I think I hear a rattlesnake every time I walk out in flip flops.
I knew Louise would be ok but I was worried about Gracie. She’s never far from her mom and I hoped Louise would take good care of her.
Vince went out after a few minutes and said that Thelma, Louise, Tiffany, Smokie and Sally (all the old chickens) were all in one nesting box and Houdi and Gracie (the two babies) were by themselves in a separate nesting box. That wasn’t good but . . I couldn’t change it.
The next morning, the old chickens were all on the 2nd floor and the babies were left on the first floor by themselves. I know they were scared to death! Houdi does seem to be staying real close to Gracie.
Last night, I went out after dark to see what the sleeping arrangement was.
Chickens in a Box
These nesting boxes are not big. They were made for one little bantam to get in, lay an egg and get out. There are SEVEN chickens in that one box! That’s how they sleep. Gracie is on this end, Houdi is next to her. Tiffany is the brown chicken. Louise is on top of Houdi and Gracie. Thelma is on top of Tiffany. I can only guess where Smokie and Sally are . . somewhere under the back ends of Thelma and Louise . . not a good place to be if you know what chickens do. Maybe Smokie and Sallie aren’t really gray . . maybe they’re white like the others and covered in . . nevermind. Let’s not think about that.
Sally
Smokie
Carolyn says
LOL reminds me of my kids all climbing in to bed w me at night despite the size of the bed, or where thier dad and I were…. so many nights /mornings waking up like that!
Anne says
I love your chickens and the stories about them! Thanks for the laugh this morning. 🙂 7 chickens in one little box, how funny, yet how sweet.
AngieG9 says
Maybe they got cold???
Theresa Alsup says
With dogs or children, it’d be either cold or scared, but maybe that’s normal for chickens?
Judy L. says
They’re definitely not cold. Summertime is rough on chickens. They do much better in the winter with all their feathers. That’s the nature of the Silkies. They like to be real close and snuggly.
Kathy Upton says
Thank you for THE best laugh of the day…..”not really gray….
ha ha ha…..
From someone who loves chickens but doesn’t have any now I love the info on yours…..and about yesterday’s posts about the orange kitten. I have 2 cats outside that are mine. The other 9 are drop-offs. I take them to be spayed or neutered but sometimes we get a surprise with one already pregnant. Your treatment of these kittens really tells what good, tenderhearted folks you and Vince are.
Lea says
My husband has been wanting chickens for a few years now. I’m not so sure…but after reading your post about your cute litte fuzzy chickens I’m starting to consider giving him the okay. He wants them because they get along well with our bees(hives) and help with some type of bee bug issue that can get out of control. I told him if we get them I want the pretty fuzzy ones like you have!
Julie in WA says
I neve knew chickens could be so funny! Of course, the storyteller is a big part of that…..”I had on flip flops and I heard a rattlesnake….” LOL
Linda Steller says
Hahahaha! I love the chicken stories.
Jane says
That’s so cute….well, unless you’re on THAT end!!!! I’m glad they are getting along!
Donna F says
You’re hilarious! Those chickens are something else.
Tam says
Seven chickens in a box. Hmmm…wonder if that’s where KFC got their idea…chicken in a bucket? Gnaw, that’s too far-fetched.
Valorie Spanogle says
I loved this post. Thank you for introducing us to your “family”. You are a terrific writer and never cease to draw me into the antics of life on the farm. Have a wonderful day!
Swooze says
I was wondering how they were doing and you posted about them the same day! When will you know if either is a rooster?
Dawn-Marie says
We went out last night to put our chickens to bed(The ones we got because of your blog!) And only saw 5 of the ten! Then we looked way up and 5 of them decided to roost in the ceiling instead of on their roost. I have a really tall chicken coop you need a ladder to get to the top but they got way up there!