Green Carpet in the Making

On the packet it says, “Fast Growing. Seven to Fourteen Days.” We haven’t seen any telltale blush of green (can green be a ‘blush’?) but, then, I’ve lost track of the time since Dave sowed that grass seed. I’m thinking “anytime now.”

We’ve watered the area twice a day when necessary, although the weather has been intermittently rainy and sunny ever since the calendar announced, ‘Spring!’ We’ve also kept the girls in their run to prevent them finding that potential snacking area. I know they miss free-ranging. They spend lots of time looking longingly through their chicken-wire fence and run hopefully toward the gate when we arrive with fresh food and water.

The wild birds are another matter, however. There haven’t been lots of them but I have seen three or four at a time pecking around. I’m hoping that they haven’t really made the connection that the entire newly cultivated area is the motherlode. Or maybe grass seed doesn’t taste so good. I’ve briefly considered putting up a scarecrow but it seems more trouble than it’s worth. I may change my mind if the imagined green carpet comes up only in spots.

Looking Longingly into the Garden

Meanwhile, the big news is that we have four new girls! We lucked out and Teresa at the Planter Box had some pullets in addition to the usual spring peeps. We were eager to get teenaged girls because we don’t really have time right now to deal with heat lamps and baby-bonding. And, besides, it’s easier to tell if they are all hens by the time they have feathered out. The last time we got chicks, four out of six turned out to be roosters.

But, I must say that when I met then late yesterday afternoon, I immediately became suspicious of one who is a bit bigger, has a fuller tail, and a more prominent comb.  Already!Looks like a rooster to me. Nyel is still confident that it is just a little ahead of the others. He is probably right.

Four Young Red Stars

These are Red Stars that, supposedly, can be sexed by color at the time of hatching. Hens will mature with feathers that are reddish brown with flecks of white throughout; the mature males are all white with nice yellow skin. We’ll see… They are said to be good layers – brown eggs, often with double yolks.

Nyel put them directly into the coop, keeping them separated from the two Ameraucanas until bedtime. I feel a bit like a pre-school nanny, hoping that everyone makes friends and shares nicely in confinement. Hurry up, grass. Grow!