They Get so big so fast! Nugget update

Eating out of the palm of my hand

Salutations! I know, I know..... I said I would update the progress of the Nuggets on a weekly basis...but let's face it, shit happens and time gets away from you.  I have learned so much from my girls in the past couple of weeks. Everyday I try to spend a few hours with them so they know that I'm the person who feeds and cares for them. So far, as teenage nuggets, they are still a wee skittish and petting and holding them will take patience and trust. I'm in for the long haul~

In the last week I have also had two emergency visits to the vet! Jayne broke a toenail and had to have it surgically removed and poor wee Reed got stung or bitten by something...It was a week indeedy!!

Another first as well...Reed was diligently guarding the Nuggets when he stuck his nose through the fence a got a bonk on the nose from Zoe...lol
He took like a champ

As some of you may know SOCO is on fire, the #Springfire is up to over 60K acres burned and many homes destroyed. Currently it's about 20 miles from the house so I am trying to keep up on wind directions and the like. (with a little help) It's scary when all you have seen for 6 days is the smoke that has blocked out the Sun and an unbearable heat. It's melty here. The Nuggets are hanging in there. I have learned that chickens do best between 65 and 75 degrees...it's been hovering in the high 80s and low 90s for days.  Trying to keep them cool has been a learning experience.  A few tricks I have learned:

1. Add ice to their water a few times a day. They will stop drinking if the water gets too warm. (Note to self: Buy another waterer!)

2. Feed them fresh greens with frozen berries and peas and a few nuts...They love that

3. Give them a little wading pool. I'm really not even sure they stand in it to cool off...haven't been able to catch that yet. I add a little ice to that as well to keep the water cool.

4. Frozen watermelon treats! High in water content and fun to watch them
devour.

5. Shade, shade, shade....Finally purchased a shade for the fencing and it has help a great deal.

I know my Nuggets are only 7 1/2 weeks old and according to "experts" I shouldn't really be giving them treats until they are a bit older. But they seem to be eating all the feed and drinking lots. I'm not worried about it...

What is THIS? So curious~

Come 8 weeks on July 8th they will be a whole new animal so to speak...They will weaned off starter chick feed and on to Grower feed. Very exciting!!

Took some new pics this afternoon, Enjoy~

Nugget Central
Adorbs!!

Coming to check out what I got in my jar!
(ignore the bruised and beaten knee in the corner)

Inara, River and Saffron....
(I can only seem to call her Red)
Here you can see they combs have grown a wee bit!!

Red, Kaley, Zoe and Inara

Little Kaylee the Easter Egger

From what I could see this morning, Miss Kaylee appeared
to be missing some feathers around her neck. Me thinks she's
at the bottom of the pecking order....She on Nugget watch!

Miss River
She's on her Meditation Rock

Naps for the Lady River <3 br="">

The Lady Saffron or....Red
She is a Road Island Red after all 

She is so pretty and has the coolest color legs
Too bad I can't capture them lol

Zoe and Inara in their favorite place
Dirt is the Word!

Inara...She is getting braver. Zoe just needs to have her back

The Boys on watch

Finally got Zoe to sit on my hand while I was shooting pictures
Such a brave girl

Trying to steal my seat!
Just like the Boys!

Until next time

The Nuggets~

The "Nuggets" Have Come Home to Roost

The Complete Coop and Mini Barn
Oh....and Reed's butt 

Damn...It's been a long time hasn't it? As many of you may or may not know.....After an entire year of prepping for them, building them shelter, buying all the things a baby chick may need, and reading ALL the things I can find on raising chickens...(Trust me, there are as many ways to raise a chicken as there are chickens in the world...No Joke)

My Five beautiful girls are finally here!!  I have waited a week to name them, even though I had names in mind already, however I just wanted to see their personalities for a few days before I decided on who was who. As many of you may or may not know I am a HUGE fan of the show FireFly  Sooooooo....you know how this will go! First I adopted my Borgi mix and named him Jayne, one of my favorite characters in the show. Now, I have my five girls...Zoe, Inara, River, Kaylee and Saffron! The women of Firefly!

It's been a week and 2 days since I went to pick them up and they have grown so much already. They were said to be hatched on May 8th, 2018 Making them 6 weeks currently? Or thereabouts....You can see their combs started to develop on their wee heads. It's all very exciting.

Have a look~

Introducing the "Nuggets"
from Bottom going Right
Zoe, Inara, Saffron, River and Kaylee

Zoe and Inara are Black Australorps, Saffron is a Rhode Island Red, River is a Wellsummer and Little Kaylee is a Easter Egger. Most of them will lay delicous brown eggs but, there is a chance that Kaylee my lay other colors!  I will be honest here however...Between Kaylee and River, I could have the breeds mixed up. We'll see as they grow, it will be easier to tell :)

There is still a huge learning curve for me and since they are in there teenage year currently and are a wee skittish. I have finally found a treat that they will eat out of my hand....

Dried Meal Worms
Crack for the Nuggets!

So, each day I spend some time with them just so they know my voice and feel my aura :) It will be somewhat of an uphill battle for complete trust, but I am sure I got this. Here are some extra pics for your viewing pleasure~

The Nuggets
Inara, Zoe, Saffron, Kaylee and River

Bossy Inara

L to R
Zoe, Kaylee, Inara, River and Saffrons butt

What's UP? Chicken Butt!

Photographing Chickens is Hard...Jusy sayin~

I'll keep you all posted on the growth process on a weekly basis. I am doing it primarily for me so I don't miss any part of it...feel free to follow along if you like :)

Until Next Time~

Me & My Nuggets

PS: the loving term "Nuggets" was coined by a very dear friend of mine...and well. It stuck

Manic Monday

Wordless Wednesday

In Case of emergency break glass...

YES! I am giving it a go! Three weeks ago I called the Colorado Quit line and told them it was time to let go of my little friends who have stood by me through everything without judgment or hate. After a few personal questions from a Quit coach regarding my commitment to this endeavor, he determined a course of action for me. Personally, the text pep talks and coaching calls make me want to smoke lol😜  But I endure.

That being said...I am in mourning for my little friends. Being a 30+ year smoker you become rather attached to your little stress relieving friends. The first few days were very easy and I thought "Damn...I got this"...then a stressful moment sent me back to one cigarette.  Not even a whole one. As a yogi and herbalist I know this is an unhealthy past time and an expensive one. So, it makes sense now to stop. My little farm needs stuff and stuff costs money I should be saving over 2K a year! That should be motivation enough yes? /smh

  As it stands right now, before I even decided to quit I didn't really smoke that much any more. So I thought it would be easier. You know when you were a kid and your parents told you no you can't do something? and It made you want to do it more? It's kinda like that haha.. I am moody and bitchy at times (not every day :P)but menopause does that too so...the double wammy..Gah! This is a true test of my constitution.

Yesterday was a bad day cigarette wise. I had 3 in the course of the day. I have decided to forgive myself and start again. The morning began with a new 14mg patch. The 7mg wasn't cutting it. So a small step backwards but I continue to trudge on and try a little harder!

Wish me luck ✌

Wordless Wednesday

The Man They Call Jayne

As promised, I mentioned a new addition to my furry family...His name is Jayne Arcturus Cobb. You may be wondering why I named him Jayne...If you are not a Brown Coat, (I'm sorry for you) and not familiar with a certain iconic TV show, then I will give you a little education as to where I got his name...Jayne Cobb
The man they call Jayne

His middle name is the name the shelter gave him so I decided to keep it because who doesn't love a star!

On January 10, 2018 I hopped in my truck and headed to Lamar, CO. This is where the foster family from Second Chance Animal Rescue was located. Now from my house it was a very long ride and this was my view for about 80 miles...A whole lot of nothing. It was rather peaceful so I cranked the country music and sang my way there. After all...I was about to meet my future fur child!

Nothing but Cows, Hay and open land

Upon my arrival, I met the founder of the rescue along with a entire herd of about 12 puppies, My application had been approved by this time and all I had to do was pick out my little bundle of fur. The puppies were from two litters. One was a cross of a Corgi mom and a Border collie Dad. My two favorite breeds mixed together. A friend of mine has coined the term "Borgi" The other half of the litter was also Border Collie and some breed I can remember now, but all were...well. PUPPIES! And if anything can make you smile...it's a small herd of puppies! 

Meet Jayne!

I am quite curious as to how he will look when he is grown due to the corgi influence...will he be vertically challenged? Currently he is now as tall as my other fur child..Mr. McCorgipants. So only time will tell. Jayne is very talented and he is learning a great deal from his big brother. It's been a little over a month since I brought him home, but I think he kinda likes it here. 

Once I picked him up in the Springs, my first concern was meeting Mr. McCorgipants. He has been the only dog for almost 5 years. He did have a sister named Penny, but as a older female, she told him who's boss. But now Mr. McCorgipants is top dog and the meet was well...interesting. He totally ignored Jayne for the most part, until he realized he was staying. He and I have been spending some time with a friend who has two dogs and all went very well in the butt sniffing get to know you stage. But, that being said...it was not on his turf and he wasn't the alpha. This is a whole new ball game. 

Gotcha Day 1/13/18

The meeting of the Corgilicousness

I have not had a puppy in some time, Mr. McCorgipants was already 10 months old when I rescued him. Jayne does test my patience on a continual basis, puppies chew ALL THE THINGS...I tried to puppy proof my house, but...easier said then done. It has been a learning experience or a reminder of what it takes to bring a newb in to your house. He is rather entertaining most of the time!

He loves spending Cocktail hour with Mom

Sometime meditation Partner

Makes my Yoga practice a wee difficult

Big Brother gets in on the action too!

Helps with the Laundry...

A LOT!

We take lots of walks...

One week in residence..Seems pretty content

Taken yesterday..."Momma...I'm watching
TV...Can you stop already?"

This is just the beginning of Jayne's life here. I am sure it will be full of all kinds of antics over the months and years to come. He is quite a treasure~

Until next time....