We got chickens!

Over the last two summers, I've experimented with growing different kinds of vegetables and building my little backyard garden.  It was really enjoyable and I hope I get to fill up my hanging planters again this summer.  But this spring, I have a new experiment: I'm raising different kinds of chickens and building a backyard coop!  I would never attempt this on my own, though.  My mom has been wanting chickens for years, and since my brother went ahead and got himself a dozen baby chicks last week, we refused to be left out and we got ourselves half a dozen.

We got all our supplies from Southern States, including the baby chicks.  These are the items we bought to get started:
  - brooder (which is basically just a big plastic box with sides at least a foot or a foot and a half tall)
  - heat lamp and red-tinted bulb
  - waterer
  - packets of electrolyte and vitamin supplements to mix with water
  - feeder
  - poultry starter feed
  - litter (no - not cat litter!  Litter is what you call the bedding at the bottom of the brooder.  We put pine wood shavings over a couple paper towels.)

Here is their current setup:

Those supplies, along with the six chicks, cost less than $70 from Southern States.  They were selling four different types of chickens: Partridge Rock, Silver-laced Wyandotte, Dark Brahma, and Amber Link.  We got two each of the Silver-laced and the Amber Link, and one each of the Partridge Rock and Dark Brahma.  In the picture, the little yellow ones are the Ambers, the one on the fig branch and the one hiding behind the water are the Silver-laced, the reddish-brown one next to the branch is our Partridge Rock, and the smallest one on the right side is the Brahma (she has fuzzy feet!).

We got the chicks home without incident, but our cat was VERY interested in the strange noises coming from that little cardboard box.  We have frequent checks to make sure the cat hasn't slipped in behind us into the room where the chicks are living.  We also have a screen over the top of the brooder to make sure the chicks can't hop out.  Even though they're still small, they're feisty and they can jump pretty high!  Especially Bernice.  She's the troublemaker.

Here's Bernice:

Look at how she stares at me.  We know she's plotting something.

We're still working on our chicken coop, but they won't move outside for another few weeks.  Until then, we'll all just be getting to know each other.