Our little flock

Wowie wow, do chickens grow quickly...and require lots of time and attention!  I may not be up to the task of giving you play-by-plays of this adventure in anywhere close to real time, after all.  I will endeavor, however, to keep you as posted as possible on the scoop from the new coop.

About five weeks ago, 13/18 of our eggs hatched!  They were unbelievably cute, as you might imagine, and I was immediately more invested than I ever expected (surprising no one else😏).  While we were giving everyone ample time to emerge (i.e. not opening the incubator), the chicks were read to, cooed at, and fawned over.  Once they came out, and after watching a few videos about how to raise tame chickens, we did what we could to gain their affection and imprintation (pretty sure this is not a word).  This included, but was not limited to, making eye contact, holding them often, and according to Lydia, blowing hot air in their face.

preparing the brooder box
(very thankful for friends who have gone before us and let us borrow all the gear!)

All the chicks are still alive and well...and have grown into awkward teenagers!  We have such a variety of colors, though since a few are similar, it has been difficult to keep them straight.  I have considered painting their toes, not only for fun and aesthetic purposes (ha - you're not surprised), but also to help differentiate between those who are similar.  Due to the aforementioned uncertainty, as well as the additional uncertainty about which are hens (staying) and which are roosters (not allowed to stay), we are still waiting to officially bestow names.

Do not fear, though - I took newborn and subsequent milestone pictures for you, all the same.💗  There is little guarantee that any are actually the same chick in each sequence, but in order for me to sleep at night, I am telling myself they are. 😉 Of course, the most recent pictures are already dated, and they have continued to grow and change.

This one (I think...) is named "Dolly," because of her sweet demeanor.
(We sure hope she's a she...)

This one was called "Houdini" early on, because it escaped to part of the brooder box that was partitioned off and screamed loudly till it was rescued.  If she is a she, we may call her "Houdina" or perhaps do some research into Houdini's wife's name.

Lydia named this one "Robin," because of the reddish (brown) tint to her head.
(Again, we're sure hoping *she* gets to stay...)

While the growing pains of acquiring and learning new responsibilities has not always been pleasant for everyone over here, being able to love on these babies and share the miracle and joy of them with others certainly has been.  We are trying to hold them loosely (literally and figuratively) and not get too, too attached, while still enjoying the "pet" void they have seemed to fill and make sure they live their best lives here.  So, they have been on several "field trips" to the yard and garden before making their official move to the coop (soon).  

I hope that sufficiently covers it all.  Please let me know if you have any lingering questions.  We are certainly learning as we go, here, so would also welcome any advice and/or input you might have from your own chicken encounters.  It takes a village!  😁😉

Favorites of the day:

open windows

Caterpillar Chronicles: Part 2!
This one spent a few short days devouring parsley (that's where we found it in the garden) before making itself at home in our butterfly habitat. 
We'll see if this one stays in there for as many months as the previous resident!

♥

Caterpillar Chronicals

Once upon a time (September 2024), our kids found a little caterpillar on the dill plants in our garden.  They quickly fetched the bug house (one from my childhood) and gave the caterpillar everything it could possibly want (including lots of dill...which it obviously enjoyed - it was very hungry, of course).  Knowing what would likely come next in the caterpillar's life cycle, I immediately ordered a butterfly habitat (which very closely resembled my college-days collapsible clothes hamper).   It was to arrive in a couple days.

Thanks to Google, we identified the critter as a black swallowtail caterpillar (affirmed by their documented attraction to dill plants).  The article mentioned that once a caterpillar's chrysalis is formed, it could either hatch in a couple weeks or it could potentially winter inside the chrysalis for several months - something I read over, but didn't necessarily consider happening.  (Narrator: She should have considered this possibility.)

(caterpillar is at the far right of the bug house)

As luck (or Amazon's timing) would have it, we only just missed getting the caterpillar in the butterfly habitat before it built its chrysalis.  Instead, it formed it in the little bug house...with the tiny door...which lead to plenty of late-night anxiety for me.  What if the butterfly couldn't get out of the house once it emerged?!  What if it emerged and harmed itself trying to fly around in there?!  What if we have to demolish our beloved bug house just to set the butterfly free?!  I tried to put these thoughts to rest and know that we would cross that bridge when we came to it.

It stayed here for a long time anchoring itself, at which point I knew we were too late to transfer it to the butterfly habitat.

Perhaps you, too, can see the big white spot at one end of the caterpillar? It reminded me of a spider web material.

Meanwhile, the chrysalis just hung there - in the bug house (with the door open)...in the butterfly habitat(the size of a clothes hamper)...in our dining room (by a window, per the advice of a friend and creature expert).  We checked it daily for a few weeks.   The weeks turned into more weeks which turned into months during which we were maybe checking it once or twice, and mostly only when we had to move it when company came, etc.

9/19/25

9/20/25

9/29/25

10/11/25
This was the day I further researched the part about it staying in there till the next spring.

At some point, I stopped taking pictures.  It looked dried up and dead, and I lost nearly all hope that it anything would ever come of it.  I thought I could see spots resembling what I knew about swallowtail wings in there, but also thought it was probably just wishful thinking.  I considered spritzing it with water, setting it outside, or researching anything else that might assure us we would see a butterfly, at some point.

And then...

We were getting ready to head out the door one morning this week, and by the grace of God, I happened to catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye.  I had no reason, really, to be in that corner of the dining room on that day and at that time, but I am so glad I was.  There was a butterfly in there!  I immediately opened the habitat to make sure that tiny bug house door was open.  The movement spurred the butterfly into action and with some finagling/tipping, it safely crawled out of the house and into the habitat.  Crisis averted.  Phew.  

The empty chrysalis was not extracted in tact, so this is the best picture I have of it.  It had not grown, or anything, since it was formed.  It maybe even shrank...?  

Yes, we are a little disappointed we didn't get to see it all happen.  We had been gone almost the whole day prior, so I'm not sure how long it had been since it emerged.  But also - nearly all interest had been lost and no one had been checking on it with any regularity, so it is to be expected we missed the big moment.  I'm just choosing to believe it happened at nighttime, and we wouldn't have caught it, anyway.  😉  

Of course, upon its discovery, a butterfly photoshoot promptly commenced.  Of course, the pictures through the mesh, etc. are terrible quality and don't do it justice, at all.  Of course, I'm still going to share them.  😁

Go figure, Jacob was gone the morning we discovered it, but he was very surprised and delighted upon his return!

See the little curled-up proboscis?!

The butterfly was very still for at least twenty-four hours, moving its wings only occasionally.  It did crawl around some, but from what I could tell, it never partook of the sugar water-soaked sponge, banana slice, or selection of flowers we provided for its consumption.  Lydia believes otherwise. 😏

At this point, I had (and still have!) so many questions:

• How was it not just a dried up, "crispy" (Lydia's word) thing after all that time?
• How did those big, beautiful wings fit in that itty-bitty living space?  (😉🧞‍♂️)
• How did the butterfly know it was time to come out (I realize it has something to do with circadian rhythms or something, but still!)?
• How did it have any energy to not only emerge, but use its body afterward before/without consuming anything?
• How does this happen in the wild?!?!?  How does a tiny chrysalis stay safe and secure the WHOLE WINTER and most of spring?  And THEN - how does the butterfly stay safe (and secure!) while it dries its wings for a whole day's time?

All these, and more, have been speculated about in our home...and will likely continue to be.  I know we could do research and potentially find some answers, but mostly, we're just excited to ask God when we get to Heaven.  There are so many everyday miracles occurring in and around us; what a privilege it was to get to experience this one so very up-close.  What wonder and awe it instilled in our little family and the friends who were along for the ride, as well (namely, my weekly piano students), and perhaps most of all, what wonder and awe it instilled in me.  I truly can't wrap my mind around this process, and then to think about allllll the systems and cycles and life and rhythms God has created!?  It's just so truly amazing.  

Based on our research, and the butterfly obviously becoming more active, we did set it free after a couple days in its cozy habitat.  It was not easy for everyone, but we talked about how and why it was necessary and good.  Thankfully, the loss of the butterfly was assuaged a bit by the discovery of a baby deer in our backyard the very same day.

#deerdiaries, perhaps?  😉

We actually weren't sure it was alive upon discovery, but then the mama came back and all was well.  Phewww. 😬

I'll leave you with this cheesy, but genuine, prayer:

Thank you, Lord, for sending Jesus, so that we can emerge from our crispy chrysalises of sin and spread our beautiful wings, showing Your glory to those around us before joining You in Heaven.  (Thank you, also, that the baby deer was alive.)

Appreciatively and awe-fully,

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

just some quality time with this girl

❤️