Suge in the News

Everyone's favorite rap mogul/teddy bear Suge Knight had a bad day in court today, with a judgment against him for $107 million. Here is a photo from happier times...

Spring Break 2005!

The chicks loved their first trip to Destin! While, yes, they did live in the back of my car for the whole two days, you could tell that they found the salt air and sunshine invogorating. That is, when it wasn't foggy and rainy. But we had fun.
Being their first spring break, they wore me a little bit ragged with all their drinking and carousing and trying to peck on all of the nubile college flesh. After getting kicked out of both AJ's and Nighttown for being too far underage, they were lucky that they didn't get thrown in the Walton County Jail. I fear that my legal education to date would not have been sufficient to easily get them out.

In other news, they're also enjoying their new feeding and watering equipment; no longer makeshift jar lids, but actual chicken care accessories. Photos soon.

So now they're enjoying their first trip to my ancestral home, Dog River. The grandparents (Mom & Dad) were delighted to meet them, and soon more family (Chip and his brood) will be coming over to say hello. More on this later...

Going Through Their Awkward Stage

Hanging out on the edge of the box. You can see that with the feathers coming in, they're not as fuzzy and cute as they were a couple of weeks ago. But they are still just as charming, and look at those tailfeathers!

Drama...Suspense...

...Scout's looking at you.

What are you going to do?

Fun Pics

Sweet slumber...

What a graceful stretch... 

Runnin' loose on the rug!

Look at those wings! 

Feathering Update and Other Thoughts

The chicks are getting really feathered now. They are no longer nearly as cute and fuzzy as in the photos below. Scratch still has the more distinctive stripes and coloring, but Scout has these humongous tailfeathers now. It makes us worried that she may in fact be a he.

A lot of people are wondering what I'm going to do if one of both of them turns out to be a rooster. Well, sadly, roosters are generally not allowed in cities (although I have yet to check Tuscaloosa's laws), plus, they are loud not just in the morning, but all the time. So if one's a rooster, he may have to go back to the farm. The farmer did tell us we could swap it out for a hen if this happened, but I'm so attached to my chickies now, I don't know if I can just give one up and take another one. They aren't consumer goods!

Other news:
The chicks were so happy to see me when I got home from my recent New Orleans jaunt! They hopped right up onto my hand, had a lot to say, and proudly showed me all the poo they made while I was gone.

They are now adept at fluttering up and perching on the edge of the box. After a couple of screwups last week resulting in falling out of the box (and screaming for my assistance), they now seem to have a handle on it. Nevertheless, I bought some plastic fencing to lay over the box to keep them in and safe when I'm not around. I'll also use the stuff to make them a little pen outside soon.

Scout is proving to be the more outgoing of the chicks. She's always quicker to jump in my hand, more into sticking her head up and looking all around, less easy to calm down by light rubbing. Again...is this evidence of maleness? Scratch is more calm and reserved...quite the gentlelady.

A lot of people are curious about the brown things in the water dish in the photo below. They are stones. You're supposed to put them, or something similar, in the water dish when the chicks are small to help prevent them from falling in deep and drowning. I have since moved to a different system, whereby I have an inverted coffee mug in the dish, with a half-inch gap between edge of mug and edge of dish, so they can drink but not drown, nor get in the water and splash around, as they were doing with the earlier arrangement. Still, the search for the perfect waterer continues.

Lastly, spring break began for me today! The chickens and I will soon be heading south!

Scout Drinking

The chickens are so cute when they drink. They dip their little beaks in the water and then tilt their heads back and move their bottom jaws to swallow. It looks like they're gargling.

John Drinking

I recently participated in the law school scavenger hunt. One of the activities was to drink from a bar hose.
PS...written on my forehead is "tortfeasor."

New Pics

Here are some new photos. They actually relfect the chicks about a week ago. Since these were taken, they have grown a lot and gotten much more feathered. They are also more and more active. They can now easily get up on the edge of the box, and out of the box, and love to hop up on my hand and walk up my arm.

Today I let them out to play on the living room rug for awhile. They loved pecking at it, and when Stephanie threw them a piece of ham from her Hardee's biscuit, hilarity ensued! Scout got the ham, and Scratch was off to the chase! They ran all over the place, chirping their heads off, with Scratch pouncing on Scout whenever she stopped. So, Scout never could stop and eat the ham. Daddy saved the day when I got another piece of ham and gave it to Scratch, and they calmed down, momentarily, to chomp on the ham. It was an exciting morning.

Alas, now I must leave the chickies for a night, as I must head to New Orleans tonight for a wedding tomorrow. So sad. I left them plenty of food and water, and Stephanie will check on them while I'm gone.

That is all for now. Look at photos!

Check us out. 

Old box on the left, new box on the right. It has since had a couple more amenities added, as well as a mesh roof, since they now can fly out. 

Sleeping chicks! That's Scratch on the left, and Scout sprawled out on the right. 

Bad Chickens!

Preface: the chickens' hopping and fluttering skills have been developing rapidly in the past week.

So I'm back in my room, painting, when I hear sudden increase in the volume and intensity of the chirping coming from the next room. I ignore it for a couple of minutes, because they often get excited and raise the chirping, only to shortly quiet back down again. But they weren't quieting down this time! Finally, I get down off my stool, put down the brush, go to see what they are doing, and lo and behold...Scout is on the floor next to the box, and Scratch is standing up on the edge of the box! Crazy chickens!!! What are you doing?!

I had been worrying about the moment when they became able to get out of the box. Now I'm going to have to take measures to prevent that. Not that I mind so much the idea of chickens loose in the house; rather, I'm worried that if they get out, they won't be able to get back in to eat and drink. And yes, I guess I don't want chicken turds all over the place.

Anyway, I put them back in the box and talked to them for a few minutes...calmed them down. Hopefully they'll stay put. If not, at least I have more information on how to handle them now. The three chicken books I ordered from Amazon arrived today.

And now, back to painting.

Sunday Night Ramblings

So Scratch and Scout and I had a good weekend. I put a couple of nice sticks in their box, so they have something good to roost on, and they're getting more and more comfortable with being held and petted. They are also cool with perching on my finger and going on little rides around the apartment, such as to look out the window.

Seinfeld last night was great. Before the show, Stephanie and I did a little shopping and I got to go to the Apple section of CompUSA and drool over the PowerBooks for awhile. They are amazing. I am becoming obsessed. Come summer, I'm making the move. See ya later Dell and Windows and broken hinges and bad batteries and screwed up screens and random crashes, hello Apple.

I finally started painting my room tonight; it is now half blue. I think the fumes should help me sleep well tonight.

I was just reading some recent email and came across a forward of this article, which is a bit old but details some of the exciting discrimination being planned in Alabama.

I just ate a whole bag of Marie Callender's Garlic & Butter French Bread Crutons. They are damn good.

What's going on in your world?

Long day tomorrow. Goodnight.

Big Saturday

Going to see Jerry Seinfeld tonight in Birmingham.

But more importantly, Scratch's tailfeathers are beginning to come in! I'm starting to fear that she may be a rooster, but so far there's still no way to know. Until I obtain the expert knowledge and skills necessary to do vent sexing, apparently the best way to find out is to just wait and observe.

What is this "vent sexing" you ask? It's when you look up under there real good and check things out. Their naughty parts are internal, so you have to look up into their "vent." Imagine a squirming little chick in your hand, not in the mood for such probing, chirping its head off, and who knows what other reactions. No...I'm not yet ready to be a chicken gynecologist, or to put my babies through that.

But Scratch & Scout are going outside for the first time today! It's the first warm day since I've had them, so I'm going to put them in their auxillary box and set them out there for a few minutes while I clean out their main box. It's going to be exciting.

Happy Family

Me and Chickens!!! I know, I look a little rough...but imagine if it were your first day with chickens!

Here's a picture taken with my real camera, from their first night, last Saturday. Scratch looks a little drunk.

Responding to Comments

One area in which the blog is lacking is two-way communication. Hence, I'll use a post for that.

This morning someone asked if I am ever going to write about anything other than the chickens.
Yes, I am! I just haven't had much non-chicken stuff to say so far. Not much as been going on this week, besides school, except that I went to a UMS-Wright (high school) alumni fundraiser with Liz and Lindsey a couple of nights ago. It was raucous.

Other anwsers:
No, I won't eventually turn them into fried chicken. I couldn't eat a pet! And besides, I don't think these guys are the type for eating. They're more for admiring.

I don't know if I will "build them a coop," but I will provide them with some kind of shelter in my backyard, once they're big enough to live out there. I was thinking maybe a small Dogloo or something like that, but I don't know yet.
There is a stray cat in the neighborhood, but I'm not going to let the chickens out until they're big and bad and can stand up to the cat if need be.
And no, I have no trouble eating chicken fingers.

I liked Michael's comment about his father and the "cool swish," but I want to hear Bowie Hamilton's joke!

Raise them kosher? How do you do that? Why do you do that? I'd hate to think that Scratch & Scout could never know the joys of bacon.

Someone said "don't be mad at them when they throw your love away." I am a bit worried about that. I hope they don't run from me once they're living in the backyard. Or worse, just run away. Of course, if they do run from me, I'll just have to be like Rocky and get to the point where I can catch them. Then I'll know I can beat Drago.

New Digs and Grilled Cheese

So the move into the new box went very well. Scratch & Scout now have about three times more space, and a lovely blue Delta Airlines blanket for a floor. They're getting less skittish when I reach into the box, and seem to be less chirpy and annoyed when I pick them up. I try to hold them from time to time during the course of the day, for a few minutes at a time, so they get used to me. This results in poop in my hand about one-third of the time, but I'm getting immune to it. Is this how parents of human babies get with dirty diapers?


Here is a site that the chickens really like.

Exciting Times

So Scratch & Scout are already gaining international fame, as they have recently been linked to in my Finnish-American, Scotland-invading friend Anna-Lisa's blog. Go there for tales from Edinburgh and the world.

In actual chicken news, last night we had a quiet first night in my house, after spending their first two nights over at my girlfriend's house. Even though they were in the same cardboard box, you could tell that they were enthralled by the new location.

And speaking of the box...today is a big day. They're moving into a new box this afternoon, a much larger and comfortable space. I knew that old Packard Bell computer box would have a use someday.
In a little while I'll let you know how the move went.

I'm not sure if the chickens like me.
Sometimes I think they're just putting up with me.

Currently...

Sitting in class, wondering what the chickens are doing.

Can't wait to get home to tell them everything I'm learning about negotiable instruments today!

late night activity

Scout is trying to have a sip of water but Scratch keeps pecking her in the butt, making her hop halfway across the box.

They're also flapping their wings more and hopping/fluttering about more than they were yesterday.
The farmer said that Scratch was a little over a week old and Scout a little under a week. You could really tell that she was fresh out of the egg because one foot was still all curled up. We thought it might be a problem, and this time last night I was contemplating splints. Happily, when we got up today her foot was all straightened out.
They're still mostly down now, but feathers are starting to appear, especially on the wingtips.

Okay, they've calmed down now. No more butt-pecking. They're cuddled up between the water dish (jar lid) and the food dish (jar lid).

 

And this is Scout. What lovely feet! 

Meet Scratch. As a thank you for taking this photo, she pooped in my hand. 

Here they are, Scratch on the left and Scout on the right, along with the iPod shuffle! 

Baby Pics

Here come the first pictures of the chickens. They are a little fuzzy since the only digital camera I have right now is my cellphone. I took some pictures with my real camera, but it will be a little while before I can get those developed and uploaded.

My First Time

Greetings!
My first blog, my first post.
Why now? Why today?
Because I just got CHICKENS!!!

Brief back story:
After several years of a decently interesting life, in August of 2003 things took a turn for the dull as I became a law student at the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. As some of you may know, law school can be a bit disemboweling, and Tuscaloosa is not exactly Disney World either.
Nevertheless, after awhile, things began to pick up and there have been some adventures along the way. Good friends, nice trips, drunken homecoming parades, a bit of legal education, running, Stephanie.

Which brings us to the present. February started with Mardi Gras but then went downhill quickly...it was not a great month for me (until the end, when I gained a new friend in the iPod shuffle!). I had been thinking, and some had been saying, that I should start a blog, but at the time I was busy with school and just felt like I didn't have much to say. That all changed yesterday.

Today is my and my girlfriend's first anniversary, and as one of my presents, she got me two chickens! We had talked and joked about pets and poultry for some time, thinking about doggies and nearly getting a duck once, but always decided that it just didn't make enough sense to get into pets at this time. Yesterday we finally said screw that, and went out to a farm in Fayette, AL and brought home our new family members, Scratch and Scout!

They are tiny little chicks, BB Red color, and right now each one would fit inside a tennis ball. We don't know, and won't for some time, if we got roosters or hens, so that sure is going to be fun to discover! For now they live in a box (a "brooder" - we've been reading chick websites), but in a week or so they should be able to make it in my backyard, where hopefully they will have a good time and not run off or shit the place up or get shot in a drive-by (as happened down the street from me recently).

I've never owned poultry or fowl before, so you can imagine this is a very exciting time. We're a little worried about salmonella, abundant guano, what do do with them for spring break, summer, and the like, but those concerns are clearly far outweighed by the the sheer joy of chicken-raising, their excellent companionship, and the promise of free fresh eggs every day! Omelettes for every meal!

Thus, my blog. I can share with the world the fascinating minutiae on me, my adventures, and my new Life with Chickens. While it lasts.


Coming soon...photos of chickens!