Pics of Chicks at 5 Weeks Old

   These photos were taken on October 11, 2012.  The chicks are 5 weeks old.

   Frigglish is still the friendliest of them all.  So calm and content... about the only one that holds still long enough for me to take a pic in rather poor light (early evening with low level of battery in camera).

   Puccini and Frigglish on a new roost that my husband is building/testing for them.  They look like chickens now.  I believe they are called pullets.

   Puccini looking pretty on the roost.  She was seen jumping and flapping her wings against one of the cats that were trying to climb up the walls.  She wasn't backing down at all.  Feisty girl!  She is very sweet with us, humans. ^^

   Here's Tapioca with almost no yellow left on her.  Her black feathers are very pretty with purple and green sheen in the sunlight.  Unfortunately, this photo was taken in the dearly dust hours, so no pretty colors are captured.  Tapioca seems to weight the most among the five pullets.

   They are getting so big and eating a lot.  We are on our 3rd bag of feed.  They are spending more time outside in the run as well.  They love collard greens, lettuce, and Swiss chard.  All of them still like to jump up on us and roost on us, which is pretty sweet.  Chickens have been definitely more fun than I expected. :)

Chickens Are Now 4 Weeks Old

   Our chickens are now 4 weeks old.  Hard to believe it has been that long since they came to our house.  Here's a picture of four of our five chicks (The black one to the left is Frigglish.  The black one next to her is Tapioca.  The light one in the upper right corner is Coco.  And the brown and tan color one in the lower left is Dorito.  Missing from the shot is Puccini.).

   Here's a good look at Puccini.  Her body is pretty much covered with nice feathers except for her neck and head.  She still has fine downs in these areas and looks a little funky. *giggles*  Her face is starting to show some pink colors (will eventually be red) as the comb is starting to grow.  The white-ish blur in the foreground is Coco barging in onto my arm at the last second to photo-bomb.  She is so 'in your face' with everything she does...

   Right after the previous shot, she 'confronts' the camera. XD  My kitty, Marshmallow, looks on right outside the run.

   Frigglish sitting on my knee, perfectly well-behaved.  This girl is so sweet.  She was the first one to warm up to us and never complained being handled by us.  Such a good girl!  We love Frigglish.

   Tapioca, looking pretty.  She is another one that really warmed up to me in the past week.  She likes to sit on my shoulder as I clean their coop.  Very calm, content, friendly, and trusting.  Sweet bird!  She will be all black at maturity.  Should be gorgeous.

   They are growing fast and very healthy, judging from their behavior.  They like coming out of the coop when it's bright and warm outside.  They are scared by the cats lunging onto the chicken wire every so often, but they run quite fast.  It's fun to see them run around when one of them has something in the mouth that everyone wants ... like a piece of leafy green. XD  Chicken football.

SFG in Fall

   It's been a long time since I wrote about my Square Foot Garden boxes.  As the weather gradually cools, the production has been slowing down.  I am no longer getting my favorite Swiss chard at the rate I would like, or  the eggplants.   Strawberries are still producing, and I am still picking and using carrots.  I miss the peak of summer when I could get Swiss chard and an eggplant to use in my lunch every single day and the garden looked as if nothing has been harvested.

   Now that it's October, and the morning low is in the low 40s, things are slowing down.  That's just nature's way.  The focus is shifted to the fall/winter crops.  I did convert my Corn Box into Winter Greens Box at the end of August.  I pulled out all the corn plants, replenished the soil with compost that I had been "cooking" in the corner of the backyard, and planted the box with some chrysanthemum plants and veggie seeds.

   You can see the red and yellow mums in the corners and the seedlings in many of the squares.  I have Japanese winter greens, radish, carrots, lettuce mix up.  I've also planted spinach seeds, but they are not up yet.  The Japanese greens are said to grow even in winter, and cold weather improves the flavor.  I am looking forward to having fresh greens in winter.  I use them in so many things in my cooking.

   On the far end of the photo above, you can see my three pots of flowering kale plants.  The lower leaves turn beautiful shades of orange and pink, while the center is starting to grow pink rosettes. ^^

   When I was growing up in Japan, chrysanthemums were everywhere in fall.  There were chrysanthemum festivals and shows (exhibits).  They came in so many shapes and colors, I loved going to those juried shows as a child.  I still love them for their long-lasting and cold hardiness.  And I love the distinct scent of the leaves and flowers.

   Here's a look at the old Spring Veggies Box.  It produced all summer long and still looking quite wonderful with some second crops growing.  The marigold and broccoli are getting huge.  I have the second crop of peas and lettuce mix.  I still have a lot of carrots left.  The Swiss chard has been my favorite and the chicks' favorite.  ^^

Photos of Chicks at 3 Weeks Old

 
   That's Tapioca leading down the ramp with Dorito and Coco watching.  Our kitty, Chaba, is watching the chicks. ^^;

   Here's a picture of Frigglish roosting casually on my daughter's wrist as Puccini looks on from the ramp (with Chaba in the background, photo-bombing yet again XD ).  Frigglish is very friendly and loves to fly up on our arms, shoulders, and heads.    These photos were taken on Sept. 27, 2012, when the chicks were 3 weeks plus a day old.  The feathers are now covering most of their bodies and they are losing the baby chick down every day.  They look like mini-chickens. ^^