spring chickens!

for real! we have been talking about getting our own chickens for some time....and now we have! we are the proud parents of 6 bantam chicks! we've been very busy the last 2 weeks building their coop in our backyard so they could move from their cozy box to a bigger area. now they are all settled in and loving their space to run around! at this point we are letting them out on nice days and back up for night but soon they'll have free access in and out. with five cats and a dog security was the top priority for their pen and we've been relieved to see that we seem to have covered all the bases. it's also been amazing to watch pepper, our great pyrenees with the chicks. she was so excited and intrigued initially but now she's accepted them as part of her 'herd'. which means that now when the cats get close to the pen she chases them away! pepper the protector! we've been making regular trips to the ag store to keep the chicks in mealworms and crickets (which STINK by the way!..who knew live crickets would stink?!?)  they eat a LOT and watching them chase after and fight over bugs is great entertainment!!! and....we just love it when we open the door and walk in and they look at us and come running. wow. anyway....it's going to take a lot of eggs to pay off the coop but we wouldn't trade them for anything. :)

 outgrowing the heating box....

 first taste of freedom!!! and bugs!

a cozy spot for the chilly spring nights