It proved to be a little harder to get the chickens I wanted than I had assumed. I had no interest in dealing with a brooder or trying to heat the coop, so I wanted young adult hens (pullets) of a cold hardy breed. The REALLY cold hardy breeds that I was interested in, Chantecler and Icelandic, were impossible to get, even chick and eggs were very hard to find. Two other breeds I was interested in, Buff Orpingtons and Plymouth Barred Rocks, were available, but usually only as chicks. I contacted quite a few breeders through Craigslist, and was generally disappointed until I finally hooked up with a lady near Show Low, AZ. We bought 4 Plymouth Barred Rock pullets and brought them home on May 11th. One of my concerns was how Zuno was going to react to the chickens. As it turned out, with some supervision and correction, he was convinced that they were not vermin and quickly became bored with them. Fortunately we were in full lizard season so he had better things to occupy his time.
We kept the birds in the coop exclusively for close to two weeks, then started to let them out to free range during the day. It has been fun to watch them scuttle around the yard, scratching and pecking.
Since that first day, they have spent more and more of their day outside the coop. They have become especially fond of a juniper near the bird feeder. They created their own little dust wallow, pretty much ignoring the dust bath I had set up in the coop (other than to throw straw into it). I liked the nipple waterer which my parents had bought to go in the coop, so I ordered a 10 pack of nipples and made a little water station for the juniper hangout.
I will update this post as the chickens mature.
