News from the Peeps - week 14!
Hi Third Graders!
Sorry we haven't sent any news for a while ... there hasn't been a whole lot going on with us but eating and growing, growing and eating ... take a look at us now!!
Us pullets are near our full size! Aren't we pretty ?! Our combs (on top of our head) are starting to turn pink and our wattles (under our chin) are starting to grow. They'll get much bigger and turn bright red over the next few weeks, and when they do (in as little as 4 weeks, but possibly up to 8 weeks time) we should start laying eggs!
Cock-a-doodle Roos! Check us out! Big red combs and wattles, big tails, and crowing from first light ALL. DAY. LONG. (but not through the night!) We like to eat. It's the only time we stop crowing. And we're not quite as scared as the girls, especially if the person visiting has food! We'll even let you pet us if we can eat!!
Sorry we haven't sent any news for a while ... there hasn't been a whole lot going on with us but eating and growing, growing and eating ... take a look at us now!!
Us pullets are near our full size! Aren't we pretty ?! Our combs (on top of our head) are starting to turn pink and our wattles (under our chin) are starting to grow. They'll get much bigger and turn bright red over the next few weeks, and when they do (in as little as 4 weeks, but possibly up to 8 weeks time) we should start laying eggs!
These pics are a little closer up to show off our combs and wattles.
In the meantime we are enjoying the view from our coop, eating weeds, grass clippings, chicken feed, kitchen scraps & even restaurant leftovers!! We're still pretty scared of everything and everyone!! Those cockerels are getting pretty noisy next door in the garage ... they crow all day long!! Hope they don't wake up the neighbors too early in the morning!
Cock-a-doodle Roos! Check us out! Big red combs and wattles, big tails, and crowing from first light ALL. DAY. LONG. (but not through the night!) We like to eat. It's the only time we stop crowing. And we're not quite as scared as the girls, especially if the person visiting has food! We'll even let you pet us if we can eat!!
Am I not the most perfectly handsome rooster you have ever hatched??
Now that we're so noisy, we're not sure if we're going to get to live outside ... the neighbor did not appreciate the other resident roosters waking her up at 5am and they had to move away :( Maybe we'll have to move away too?
We'd love to come and visit you one last time before school is out for the summer ...
Eggucation: Chickens are pretty much the most productive pets you can own!
- The most obvious is that chickens lay eggs ... the most easily digestible and highest form of protein in nature (especially eggs from backyard, free-ranging chickens)
- Chickens eat biomass (such as food scraps, lawn clippings, weeds, leaves) keeping it out of land fills.
- Expert garden cleaners, especially at the end of the growing season after crops have been harvested.
- Insecticiders - chickens eat bugs, including insect larvae, ticks, fleas and stink bugs!
- Herbiciders - chickens love weeds - a small flock of 6 chickens can clear 20 square feet of ground in a few days! A great way to prepare a new garden bed!
- Chickens are natural garden tillers, mixing top soil with their manure and other amendments like mulch or compost.
- Fertilizers - chicken manure is very high in nitrogen, among other nutrients, and can be used to make liquid fertilizer, or can be composted to make a nutrient-rich top dressing for gardens. It actually helps compost piles to break down more efficiently.
- Chickens can help with composting by turning your pile (it needs air) and cleaning it of insects & larvae
- Chickens make great companions, can help people fight depression, and there are even therapy chickens that visit nursing homes!
- Chickens are great entertainers! They are fun to watch with all their antics, and how many chicken jokes have you heard?!
Good Earth Publications Inc (c) 2000 - used with permission
How many of your pets can do all that??!!
Bock, bock, Cock-a-doodle Doo from your Peeps!!