We keep the heat lamp on all day long, but we shut the over head light off every night. The minute I turn the light on in the morning they jump right up. A few stand up and fall asleep in some awkward positions. Tonight after coming home from work around 6:30, I went to check on them and everyone was asleep. I guess this is good since they will go inside the coop when the sun goes down. I can tell they are getting bigger, they have gone through almost 2 quarts of feed.

Poor little guy is trying to sleep.

Sleeping while standing up

Morning clean up routine.

This morning I got up and had not heard a peep. I went downstairs to check out the situation and they were all sleeping. Some were standing up sleeping, and others were all laid out fast asleep. I turned on the basement light and instantly they woke up and were chirping. I decided to put down fresh paper towels and add fresh water. I came back down a few hours later and as you can tell from the picture below, they really make a mess. Food spread all out, and poop everywhere!

We’re still trying to figure out who is who. The chicks came with a few marks on their heads. We are assuming the Buff Orpington, with the blue and orange stripes, is the only rooster we bought. The other ones we think are Orpingtons have a single orange mark on their head. If this is the rooster, he does sit a little taller than all the others. He also has done the most “pecking” and keeping others in line.

Rooster?

Another look at the top of the possible rooster

We also purchased

-4 Barred Rocks.

Barred Rock

-4 Rhode Island Reds

Closer look at the Rhode Island Red.

RI Reds feathers

and 2 White Leghorns and 5 Buff Orpingtons. It is so hard to tell the Buff Orpingtons and Leghorns apart.

White leghorn or Buff Orpington

White leghorn or Buff Orpingtons

As the days go by we’ll find out who the rooster is, that is unless another one sneaked in.

Today we only had a few hours to work before it got too dark. We decided on using Rubbermaid washing tubs as the nesting boxes so they will be easy to clean. All we need to do it create dividers, a roof, trim the fronts of the tubs down, and create a bar for the chickens to step up into.

Tubs for nesting box.

We ran into the chicken wire that was already up when we bought the house, so we decided to help us remember it was there.

Don’t hit your head!

The roof is complete. We will have some minor adjustments once the dividing walls are in place.

The roof is on, now to make dividers.

Joey stayed out to help us tonight, and is one tired pup now! We will keep researching chickens while Joey relaxes on our lap. Inside brooder work will begin this week with the temperatures dropping a little bit. Only 16 days until our 15 chickens will be living with us!!

This is one tired pup!