I Believe I can Fly!

  It is incredible how quickly chickens grow. Within only a day you can notice a difference. Their size is increasing, their down is turning into more defined feathers and their chirps are getting louder. At only a week old they were starting to use their wings and learning how to fly.
   At first they are not the most graceful flyer's, but you are still excited to see them learn something new. You can always tell when they are about to take flight because they look at the top of the brooder and then pace back and forth until they get enough courage to give it a try. Luna and Charlotte were the first ones of our brood to be able to fly to the top of the box. They would fly up and perch on the rim. Sometimes they would even walk around the rim once they were more comfortable.  At this point it is recommended to place some chicken wire over the brooder so when you are not around the chickens can not get out. You want to prevent them from getting injured. At this time I was not worried about any other predators because they were inside our garage and we kept it closed up when we were not around.



Luna

A few times, it was a little startling watching them fly. There were a few scenarios where they over-shot the rim of the brooder and ended up on the garage floor. Immediately I wondered if they are okay, they were fine. I had to give them a little more credit, their flying skills are actually pretty impressive. I never knew that chickens could fly. Now, they cannot fly South for the Winter, however, to give you an idea now that they are older, they can jump off the side of our deck and fly down to the ground. Our deck is about ten feet up in the air!! Rock stars!
  You will notice that they will try to fly from one part of the brooder to another. Sometimes using their necks as hooks until they can plant their feet. Although, it is awkward and looks a bit painful, this is normal.
  Once they are comfortable flying, you will also noticed that they will climb up on things more frequently. The chicks love using our arms as a ramp to climb up on to our shoulders. It can be a little uncomfortable, especially if they get after you hair. But it is all in good fun! Flying will be a major activity that they love to do. Even five months later, they get so excited to leave the coop they fly out of the door and star hopping around the yard, silly girls!