Three Chicks A Day

3 Chicks 1 Year!

2010-04-02T13:26:00.001-07:00

Check out the girls all grown up over at The Occasional Chicken!

The Occasional Chicken is where it's at!

2009-09-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hello--if you're new to this site please start in the archive at Day 1 to see daily photos of the first two months of my chickens' lives.

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And if you're looking for current photos and updates on the 3cAd girls, come over to the new, less frequent blog:

The Occasional Chicken

See you over there!

It's Over

2009-05-27T22:54:00.000-07:00

That's it--two months--eight full weeks of chicken development.
And I'm done.

The chicks are pullets now, and they pretty much look the same every.

But wait, this isn't an absolute final type ending. More of a long-drawn-out-you-know-you-should-get-out-but-can't type ending.
Which is why I present
The Occasional Chicken
where you can see the coop right now.
And lots of other stuff in the future . . . just not every day.

I would like to suggest you subscribe to The Occasional Chicken so you'll know when there's something new . . . because it won't be everyday.
But there will be some different stuff, out side of the white box.

I'm also going to put together a 3cAd book (self publishing style) so I'll post that up here when it's done. And maybe some t-shirts . . . if anyone cares now without a daily Pie fix.

And perhaps most importantly for those chick lovers in the Portland area, we'll be having an Open Coop in a few weeks and I'm thinking of putting an open invitation up on the new blog . . . we'll see what type of response that generates (I have no clue).

OK, see y'all at The OC . . .

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 56 -- Two Whole Months of Chicks!

2009-05-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

Today marks eight full weeks of 3cAd -- photos of Noodie, Sallie and Pie every single day, no matter what.
I'm writing this out in the backyard, watching the girls free range. Their 'turbo boost' is pretty funny--when then augment theirs legs with a little wing power to run faster.
The coop and base are 99% complete--just need a couple latches for the egg door (the hardware store was out of the ones I wanted, and while they did have the even better solid brass ones, $40 for egg door latches is a little much in this economy).
Now for the run . . .

Noodle Soup: 1 lbs. 10 oz. serving
This one doesn't even need a caption . . .

Salad Sandwich: 1 lbs. 6 oz. serving
Look at all that tender white meat up front . . .

Pot Pie: 1 lbs. 6 0z serving.
Whoa, easy does it girl.
Actually, Pie is less of a pain in the butt as of late. Sallie and Noodie are a little closer with each other, but maybe Pie's just a bit more independent. When it comes to making sure she get's hers (food) there's no room for friends . . .

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 55

2009-05-25T18:31:00.001-07:00

So it's getting kind of common to meet friends of friends, or especially co-workers of friends, who know the chicks from the blog. And everyone lo-o-o-ves Pot Pie.
I will say she's getting better. She'll run across the lawn when I come back out from inside. And she even let me hold her a big today.

Noodle Soup: Catch me!

Salad Sandwich--Seriously, that's a chicken, chickdom is over.

Pie is a big fan of Michael Phelps, this is her impression of him on the blocks. And she doesn't see what the big deal is about him relaxin' a bit at a party.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 54

2009-05-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

They kept yesterday's new paper poop free for a whole day, which is pretty amazing. Actually two days worth of photos, but tomorrow's floor might not be as uniformly white. Oh well . . .

Noodle Soup stepped in Pie's mess on the way back to the cage, then decided to fly up on top of the cage and spread it around a bit.

Salad Sandwich keeps getting poop on her feathers. They probably all do, but you really see it on her. Makes her cuddliness a little bitter sweet.

Pot Pie, the source of Sallie's most recent discolorment. And the bane of my white-white studio.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 53

2009-05-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

If you're thinking about getting chickens and building your own coop, I'd like to ask you to really think about it. Not the chicken part, the building your coop part. If you're into wood working and have all the tools, or you're retired or are really underemployed but still aren't broke, then go for it.
Coops aren't cheap--I didn't even pay for any of the wood for mine and it's still ending up above our first how-much-should-we-spend-on-the-coop guesstimation.
So just realize you're gonna spend money. And use a plan. I drew up a sketch of what I wanted and have spent a lot of time midst constructing figuring out what I was doing.
And most importantly I have someone who knew how to build stuff help me. And by "help me" I helped him build me a coop. And it's still been a ton of work.

Of course my coop is totally rad (The neighbors are mighty impressed-- "are those mitered joints? . . . very nice"), though not totally finished.
"How long could it take to stain a little coop?" --Everything is taking longer than expected.
But after Memorial Day we'll just have the last 2/3's of the run to complete.

Noodle Soup, who put her bosom down in some nasty poop in the back yard. I grabbed a wet paper towel and cleaned her off . . .

. . . and while I was kneeling down, holding Noodie to get the poo off, Salad Sandwich jumped up on my leg. She does not like to be left out of the chicken holding. She later jumped up onto my leg when I was squatting down to stain the bottom of the coop.

Pot Pie, who ate a little bit of wood glue I was applying, because she does not want to miss out on any food. I may have gotten some glue on her wing trying to push her way from the glue eating.
(that's not glue on her beak, just normal chick feed)

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 52

2009-05-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

Look at them all together, so big. Though this time having them pose together did not keep them in the studio--I had to retrieve all of them a couple times.

L-R: Pot Pie, Salad Sandwich, Noodle Soup

It almost look like they're giving Pie some cover to poop. Except they have no shyness about plopin' one down.

Just stay there together for another minute . . . tomorrow we'll go play outside, I promise.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 51

2009-05-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

So the girls seem to be well into their teenage phase--they're at least eating like teenage boys. And when you're trying to change out their food, it's pretty much like Hitchcock's The Birds . . . well, not the pecking I guess, but certainly the swarming.
Today I took the feeder over to the other side of the basement to get away from them, and Noodie flew 10+ feet and landed on my arm, to get to the food. Sallie immediately attempted the same, but came up a few feet short. Pie just stayed on home bench . . . she knows her flight limitations.

Noodle Soup, teetering.

Salad Sandwich, about done with this session.

Pot Pie, settling in, after being returned from her first attempt at fleeing.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 50

2009-05-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

OK, it's has seriously been fifty days of me doing these photos every single day--this is totally nuts right?! Whoa!! Crazy!!!
Um, this was a late shoot for the girls do to a long day for myself--which involved bringing the coop (95% complete) and coop base (85% complete) home tonight. Of course the run (well, the base is actually 1/3 of the run, but . . .) is 0% complete.
So the problem with shooting late with the girls now is that they don't have their night light (heat lamp) any more, so when it gets dark, they march up to their perch and hunker down. I left a light on for them, to keep them awake, but I'm going to try not to do shoots after dusk any more . . . which is probably doable, as I only see another week of commitment to this project in it's current form.

Noodle Soup: 1 lbs. 5 oz. serving

Salad Sandwich: 1 lbs. 2 oz. serving

Pot Pie: 1 lbs. 3 oz. serving

Pie certainly does not look larger than Sallie, but I guess she's pretty solid. She certainly never passes up a chance to eat . . .

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 49

2009-05-19T21:22:00.001-07:00

Chickens can be gross and annoying. That's how my morning started. I figured I'd do chick chores after I ran out for a bit, but they were making a big fuss, so I peeked in . . . have you ever used the bus station restroom in a third world country? Don't expect a toilet . . . I'm not going to get into details but no one was eating or drinking anything--which of course is how they like to spend most of their time.
Yuck.
They just can't connect actions with consequences . . . c'est la vie.

Noodle Soup

Salad Sandwich

Pot Pie

There has been a noticeable growth spurt over the weekend--they are a lot bigger. I'll have to pull out the scale and the mug for the next few days . . . wait, where is that mug? We didn't put that back in the kitchen, did we?

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 48

2009-05-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

Apparently another big day outside for the ladies--of course I missed it because I was inside working on their coop. I mean I did other stuff, too, but . . .
Windows are done (97%), sliding chicken-ramp door is done (90%), nest box is attached to the main door/wall . . . some real progress, though I'm ready for it to be all done.

Anyway, I guess the girls ate a lot of worms. I believe it because their poop is weird--but not smell weird, so I'm not complaining.

Noodle Soup, still looking pretty fat. Too bad we're not raising them for the table . . .

Salad Sandwich--how many shots do I have of her on one leg? I don't think I have any of the other girls doing this . . .

Pot Pie "No poop here, nothing to see, move along folks . . . "
(there is, in fact, poop behind that wing)

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 47

2009-05-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

OMG, look how fat these chicks are!
They've spent like eight hours outside today eating everthing in sight, with little apparent concern for nutritional value. Then they came in and started gobbling up their chick feed--in fact you can see it on a couple of their beaks.
Sallie got a big slug and managed to keep it for herself--kinda surprising how fast it went down the hatch once she stopped trying to get away from the other two. She's no the fastest runner--more of a trotter--but she's persistent.

Noodle Soup, full of grass.
Kinda looks like a russian nesting doll.

Salad Sandwich--so heavy she can't get off the ground.
Actually she made a nice high arc out of the studio, but the other two--calling it a feather assisted hop would be generous today.

This is what a fat chick looks like when she poops.
(beak covered in food)

But seriously, y'all can see what I'm talking about--they're stuffed, right?

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 46

2009-05-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

Another big day outside for the ladies. They were out in the backyard all day with the (really old) cat, who just seems to be ignoring them. At her age they're way to fast and big to be considered prey.
Chrissy didn't notice someone pooped on her shirt while she was sunbathing and put it back on--that was my greeting when I biked home from yoga this morning (that's how we role in Portland) "Yuck, gross chickens!" Pretty funny, wish I'd had seen it.

Noodle Soup

Salad Sandwich

Pot Pie

That's it, gotta run to a dinner party.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 45

2009-05-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

I was about to run out to the hardware store to get some coop stuff, but there wasn't really time before my lunch engagement, so I guess it's 3cAd time . . .

Noodle Soup

Her new thing is to jump up onto my back while I'm taking pictures of Sallie, as at some point I usually bend over/lean in. Then she hangs out on my shoulder while I go through Sallie and Pottie's sessions.

Salad Sandwich

She makes me feel a little guilty about holding the other girls--she seems a little bothered by sharing the hand time.

Pot Pie

She only minds sharing food . . .

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 44

2009-05-14T22:13:00.001-07:00

So y'all know this isn't going to last forever, right? The girls are almost grown . . . well, at least fully feathered. If only Pot Pie would hurry up.
I'm just preparing you for the day there's no new picture on here. It's probably going to coincide with the coop getting finished.
Which I made some progress on for the first time in a week or so--got the ramp done and screened in the windows . . . now to run the power . . .

Noodle Soup.
The first session with the girls today had some digital technical problems, so I had to reshoot them--they really loved going back in the studio.

Salad Sandwich -- The Karate Kid IV.

Pot Pie.
The bribery method of endearment seems to be working a bit--let her eat out of my hand, then she was happy to settle down and sit in it for awhile. They all are still small enough to fit in one hand.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 43

2009-05-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

So it's the other type of scale day, today, for a bit of perspective. back out with the mug from day 32.

Noodle Soup showing it all off and dunking a little wing tip.

Salad Sandwich hiking up her bloomers before taking a poo.

Pot Pie keeping it together. She was not nearly as freaky-outy with Chrissy handling her today--she even managed to wash her foot in the sink (poop, of course). I can't imagine getting that chicken over to the bathroom while staying clear of her foot--good job!

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 42

2009-05-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

Another close call . . . but soon these girls will no longer be chicks and I won't have to do this blog every single day.
I jush got back from a new hotel's artist reception (the decore is very local artisty) with an open bar and lots of unhealthy hor d'oeuvres, like mini scotch (quail) eggs. Lot's of coolie Portlanders, but for our national audience I'll just mention G. Van Sant was in attendance.
And now for the chicks . . .

Noodle Soup about to fly, but with her pretty face still in focus . . . poop stain under her foot . . .

Salad Sandwich . . . yes, I think that's poop on her foot . . . it's cool, I washed my hands before I typed this . . .

Pot Pie--I've got a new plan for her. She's very stomach oriented, so I'm gonna start buying her cooperation with food--we'll see how that works out.

My friend Sandra, an artist for whom the rececption was held, stopped in to see the girls in person (she of course is an avid blog follower and supporter). She was pretty impressed with the rapport I have with most of the chickens (you know who I'm excluding from that statement).
Chrissy, my other chicken oriented roommate was just out of town for four or five days, and when I came home I asked her how the girls were doing--she replied "they're huge!"
Yeah . . . hopefully by this weekend I'll have 'em out in the coop . . .

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 41

2009-05-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

Chicken weigh-in!
It's been another week +/- since the last weigh in, so let's see what they're up to . . .

Noodle Soup -- 1 lbs. serving
A nice weight gain, but her advantage is slipping . . . it might not be that long before the other two pass her by--I don't think she's gonna like that.

Salad Sandwich -- 14 oz. serving
She still feels light for her size, but she is a more well insulated breed.
I have always shot the girls in the order I put them up here on 3cAd, but Sallie was not having any part of someone else getting handled first today . . . so she was actually the first in the studio.

Pot Pie -- 14 oz. serving
Oh, Pie--can chickens be mentally ill? You can't even keep your balance on the scale--are your nerves that shot from being picked up (i.e., dragged out of the cage)?
You're actually getting worse about being handled . . . you can just make a bunch of eggs and I'll hangout with the other two, that's fine, be that way . . .

What's been going on . . . ? The girls went outside again yesterday, not sunny like the day before, but they enjoyed themselves. Then they came inside and ate, pooped and slept . . . that's about it.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 40

2009-05-10T11:34:00.001-07:00

I think it's happened, Noodle Soup and Salad Sandwich aren't really chicks anymore--they're pullets. They've still got the tiniest bits of down sticking off their necks, but they are little chickens. Pot Pie's probably got another couple weeks to go . . .

Noodle Soup -- what a lovely little chicken.

Salad Sandwich -- daddy's little girl all ready for her first dance.

Well, maybe not . . . looking rather Seussian here . . .

Pot Pie -- not quite a pullet, but consistently good flight form. Or maybe she's just the slowest flyer and it's easier for me to shoot her.
I know a lot of folks out there like her for her underdog'edness, but that does not make her a joy to live with.

By breed Noodie should be the smallest adult hen, but she is by the far the largest since day 1 --she's at least 1/4 larger than Sallie, who should be the largest. Time will tell . . . but Pie better catch up. They're all dual purpose birds, after all . . .

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 39

2009-05-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

A big day for the girls today! Besides getting their cage cleaned (your turn next weekend, Chrissy) the chicks had their first trip outside. They spent an hour or two 'free ranging' the backyard in the sun. They seemed to like it and ate lots of little stuff--whether it was food or not, I don't know, but . . . They stuck together and only hung out in one part of the yard, but I think we'll go outside again tomorrow. I may break from the white box tradition of this blog and take some outdoor photos . . . we'll see how much work that turns out to be.

They also got their own FaceBook Fan Page, which you should join, if you're on the FB.

Noodle Soup--WTF?

Salad Sandwhich--the usual.

Pot Pie--still oh so awkward.

Have I ever shown you where the girls live?
Home Bench, with Sallie letting Noodie know that it's in fact a doorway and not just a perch.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 38

2009-05-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

Holy crap, look at Noodle's cheek tufts! She's barely a chick any more--more of a lovely young hen.

Salad always seems mean in these photos, but she is quite sweet--she really likes to be held. Actually maybe they all look mean . . . beaks can't really smile, huh . . .

Oh Pie, why are you so runty? You're not just a member of the hair club for chickens, you're the . . .

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 37

2009-05-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

So today I only took three pictures of the girls, and these are them . . .

This is what it looks like when Noodle Soup flies over your head . . . not that you're standing up straight or she started on the ground.

This is Salad Sandwich looking at you disappointedly, like for some reason instead of holding her you'd want to put her on bizarro white bench.

I don't even know what Pot Pie is about--I think her chi is outta wack.

I fit in a little time to work on the coop today. Unfortunately it was rebuilding the base, so it didn't really feel like progress. Our original tolerances were too tight for the siding, so we had to pull it in an inch . . . rather glad there were not witnesses to today's display of craftsmanship.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 36

2009-05-06T19:19:00.001-07:00

Whoa, big chickens. They're starting to max out the height of their three level chick townhouse, and it's at least another week before the coop is going to be ready. Not that the weather had been ideal for the move this week, but this weekend is looking pretty nice . . . maybe we'll just spend some time in the backyard.

Noodie, being aloof.

Sallie looking very mature in all her feathers.

Pottie still looking a bit awkward, with her Alien Nation head coloring.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 35

2009-05-05T22:29:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling good about today's pictures--these seem more true to the essence of the project--less flight-gimmicky.

We had a visitor to the studio today-- Benjamin Brayfield is in town from LA and doing a little photo project on urban chickening here in Portland. I'm looking forward to seeing the completed piece (and if you're in town and have chickens, he's looking for more subjects, so contact him through his site).

Noodle Soup strutting briefly before flying home.

Salad Sandwich circling the field for take off.

Pot Pie demonstrating her new hairdo from hotchickswithdouchebags.com.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 34

2009-05-04T16:09:00.000-07:00

[First off, if you're on Pandora, you can view this blog with it's intended soundtrack--my QuickMix.]

So I was not going to do flight shots today, but if you shoot little chickens in the middle of the afternoon, it's kinda hard to keep them in the studio.
Especially if your favorite one steps in a really nasty, nasty poop . . . and then after you wash off it's little foot in the sink, it gets back in the cage, after flying out of the studio, and then gets the same nasty, gooey, stinky poop all over itself. In that case some chickens only get two shots for the day, and flight it is . . .

This composited sequence of Noodle Soup kinda makes up for the extra blurry shots of the other girls . . .

. . . Salad Sandwich on her way out . . .

. . . and Pot Pie who spent the most time posing before realizing she could get the eff outta there.

A couple folks have requested 8x10's of the girls . . . but what age? fuzzy baby, awkward tween . . . ? I've actually been meaning to make some t-shirts/mouse pads/stickers--general online merchandise. But besides doing this every day, I'm still one guy making rent and already behind on a couple of there photo projects . . . so I'll just say 'soon' to prints of the girls.

Coop pictures? I have been taking progress photos of the build with my phone, but only uploaded to FaceBook for now. I'm planning a big move-in special edition 3cAd, so for now, no sneak preview.
We'll have to see whether that marks the end of this project--a coop d'état, if you will.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 33

2009-05-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

I see y'all coming and checking out the chicks, but you never leave comments--WTF?!
But seriously, the girls would love to hear from you.

The photographer side of me thinks I should get serious about these flight shots, so they're not all blurry 'n stuff . . . the guy-who-has-to-do-this-every-day side of me thinks "good enough". We'll see . . .

Noodle Soup

Salad Sandwich

Pot Pie

And for an even more extreme flightless bird version of 3cAd use this link.
Thanks Bill.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 32

2009-05-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

So I've realized this whole chickens-on-white thing doesn't really give any reference to scale, so here are the girls with a standard size coffee mug (from my bike messenger days).
My friend and clothing designer Emily Katz made some paper hats for the girls this morning--in honor of the Kentucky Derby--but they weren't having anything to do with it.
A little disappointing, since I really want to put one of those falcon hoods on Noodie and take my picture with her all Royal Tenenbaums style . . . we'll see about that.

A cup of Noodle Soup.

Salad Sandwich.

Pot Pie.

Noodle and Salad are a good 90% feathered at this point, with Pie being more like 65%ish.
Salad and Pie stepped out on to my arm today together--I don't think Pie would have done it without Salad, but it was progress nonetheless.

Here's a question for any experienced chicken folks out there--is Noodle Soup going to keep that coloring into adulthood, or is that just some young chicken patterning?

I almost forgot, I took the Advanced Chicken Keeping class last night at the Urban Farm Store (I wish there was an intermediate class) and learned why it's so hard to tell whether your chicken is actually a rooster--male chickens don't have, um, wieners. It's all vent to vent action to make the babies! Bizarre.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 31

2009-05-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

Who's nasty?
Chickens are nasty. But we'll keep the poop talk to a minimum.
Today is weigh-in day. Our last weigh-in was on Day 23, with weights of 8 oz., 6 0z., and 4 oz., respectively. They're all definitely growing.

Here we Have Noodle Soup as a 12 oz. serving.

Salad Sandwich as a 9 0z. serving.
And what a dainty little poop . . . if the other 95% of it wasn't on the back of the scale.

Pot Pie as an 8.5 oz. serving.
This was the big surprise. Sallie is almost equal in height to Noodle soup but not nearly as "husky", so that wasn't surprising, but Pie being pretty much the same weight as Sallie!?!
Salad Sandwich is a Buff Orpington--a more 'insulated' breed--so I guess she's a lot more feather than non-feather stuff. As long as the eggs are good . . .

PS--if you checked yesterday's blog earlier in the day, I add a couple more pictures, so you may want to scroll down.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 30

2009-04-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

Thirty whole days . . .

. . . it's hard to imagine these girls as those girls . . .

They're like the anime verision of chicks--ridiculously cute, but not even like a chicken.

Now they're their own selves.

Hello ladies!

Nothing to see here.

They don't mind the studio at all when they're together . . .

. . . in fact here's the first flight ever INTO the studio. And, yes, that's Pot Pie.

Death from Above!!!

bye!

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 29

2009-04-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

So we've begun our fifth week . . . and it's about twenty minutes to midnight, so I'll just hurry this up.

Noodle Soup looking very feathery, reminding me that the coop needs to get finished.

Salad Sandwich did a good job of staying still today. I had to rouse the girls tonight for their photo sessions, as I was out all day. I felt a little bad about it, so I kept it brief.
After the shoot I had some quality time with them--Noodle and Salad will just sit on my hand forever. I even had Salad sitting in my lap. I held Noodle Soup first and I really think Salad Sandwich was a bit jealous. "Handling the chickens" started out as a means of ensuring they'd be docile when we needed to grab them for any reason later on, but they're starting to become more like pets as they grow into chickenhood.

Then there's one who's not so docile . . .

Look at those crazy feathers starting to come out of Pot Pie's head. She's the only one who's still downy up there, but when her feathers come in, they come in thick. She has a bit of a feathery happy trail coming in as well . . .
To be fair, once she freaks and squaks for bit, she tolerates being held and will kinda nod off--so far that's about as friendly as she gets.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 28

2009-04-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

Just got back from surfing, but I've gotta get these pics done before the girls' bedtime . . . not that they sleep much any more.

Noodle is flying for height, not just distance these days. She'll make a nice, high arc on the way to home bench from studio bench.

Salad took about one second to fly out of the studio, but on the second try she stayed around a bit . . . and even left a present.

She is moving into first place for sweetest chicken. Sometimes they look a bit mean in the shots, but they're birds--not a whole lot of facial range.

Pie . . . still not settling into being held. And a short, straight flyer. She better make a lot of eggs . . . though she does strike a good pose here.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 27

2009-04-27T14:05:00.001-07:00

So I'm gonna stick with the portraits for a bit--blurry chickens flying out of frame was getting old.

Noodie

Sallie

Pottie

Noodle Soup and Salad Sandwich are still out performing Pot Pie in the calmly-being-handled department. I was holding Salad and Noodle flew out of the cage, tried to land on my head, found her footing on my shoulder and hungout. Then pooped in my hood--but a very friendly effort.
One of the girls has been having yucky poops, which can be a serious condition for young chickens so they're all on milk (instead of water) for a few days. Apparently chickens are lactose intolerant and it cleans 'em out. They seem fine, so I think they can handle it for a couple more days.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 26

2009-04-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

[Guest chick commentator/farmer Chrissy Morgan is taking over captioning today . . . photos still by Josh.]

The Girls' little chicken bodies are changing so rapidly that we've decided to post portraits; notice how many feathers they're getting!

Noodle Soup is still the prettiest of all chickens ever born, ever. She's our Cleopatra...with bed head.

Salad Sandwich is so awkward that looking at her can be a bit uncomfortable. We'll call this a minor bout of indigestion (please please please don't say "cokadoodledoo").

Pot Pie is dainty and the best groomed. She is our Audrey Hepburn. Shortly after this photo was taken she lied down on her side and took a cat nap in the studio.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 25

2009-04-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

Guess what?

Chicken Butt.

Noodle Soup falling off the studio.

No, really.

Salad Sandwich--look at the feathers starting to come out of her head, they look like hair plugs.
She has always been the most featherly advanced.

Pot Pie: outta here!

Quick shout out to 3cAd's newest fan, Natasha Leggero--I expect some good comments from you.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 24

2009-04-24T10:41:00.001-07:00

So today everyone only gets one shot--I got things to do . . . like working on the coop.

Here's Noodle Soup about to fly over my head--you can see she's only got two claws on the ground here.

Salad Sandwich, pre-flight considerations.

Pot Pie--look at all those feathers!

At this point I just open the cage, they all get out (there may be some food training causing this), and when it looks like I'm going to grab them again they all hope back in the cage--then I just latch the door--easiest session yet.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 23

2009-04-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

So prior to twenty three days ago I spent most of my time behind the camera shooting the other kind of chicks. Which is the inspiration for today's weigh in--

Noodle Soup: 8 oz. serving

Salad Sandwich: 6 oz. serving

Pot Pie: 4 oz. serving

I realize you can't tell the size differences very well on white, and Sallie looks almost as big as Noodie, but Noodle is much more solid under those feathers.
Of course Pie is the littlest. And the most freaky-outy.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 22

2009-04-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

I spent a good bit of my day working on the coop (which is going to be rad), and I came home to a bunch of crazy chicks. This better not be the beginning of the "teenage phase" I've heard about.

Noodle Soup showin' it off.

Death from above!

Salad Sandwich's quick exit.

Well look who's flying now . . . Pot Pie taking the most direct, short flight possible--but she made the gap.

And then the first out of the group session.

Followed by Noodie.

Where's Sallie's departure picture from the group session? She just fell onto the floor, so there isn't one, but . . .

I did manage to get a shot of her on the third floor of the 3cAd condo with perhaps their first fan.
Their window looks out onto the driveway--ground level--so the neighbor cat likes to come over and watch.
When the girls move outside Three Chicks A Day might get replaced by a blog call One BB Gun And A Bunch Of Cats . . .

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 21

2009-04-21T23:25:00.000-07:00

This is a close one, according to the offical 3cAd clock . . . But good!
I think this is the first time I haven't seen the chicks in more than twelve hours at a time . . . which is kind of sad. I really need to meet some of the other kind of chicks.
Wait, does that time reference make sense? I'm a little tired.

So I don't know what the girls have been up to, but they're all perching on the roost and Sallie and Noodie are the cool girls and Pottie's the odd chook out.
Their poop is starting to smell bad, and it looks like someone drank the water while they were in Cancun. Yuck. No pasted vents--which is about all I know to look for . . .
Noodle Soup.
less action shots today--I just want everyone to get a good look at the current state of these fowls. Look at that tail!

Salad Sandwich.
Pretty scruffy, but catching up in size to Noodie.

OK, sort of actionish for Pott Pie, as we usually see her not flying.
Here's she's just trying to keep from falling off the front of the studio . . . close enough.

And a shout out from viewer Becky T:

I got nothin' remarkable to say . . .

. . . Except that watching the goings ons of Noodle, Sallie and Pottie is my favorite single thing to do on the entire Web. 
I just thought you should know that. 
(and that includes porn!) 

That is quite the compliment in my book, thanks.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 20

2009-04-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

We've been shooting these three chicks for twenty days now . . .

Noodle Soup, totally out of focus, but looking rad in a new lighting scheme!

Salad Sandwich in full flight.

Pot Pie still won't fly for the camera, but here's some wingage. (and poopage.)

And here's a photo of viewer Rob K.'s three chicks, which happen to be the same breeds as my girls.
They've come a long way in twenty days!

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 19

2009-04-19T13:27:00.000-07:00

Lazy Sunday . . . unless you're a three week old chick. The first day we got 'em they couldn't stay awake for me than 20 minutes at a time--I came home last night around 2am and they were all awake, runnin' around doing their normal business. I did catch them taking a little nap in the sun this morning.

Noodle Soup is our most graceful flyer.

Salad Sandwich going into warrior one.

Oh Pot Pie, why won't you fly for the camera . . . actually, have I seen you fly . . . I think so . . .
wait, what are you doing? I'd been thinking it was just a little chick indigestion from scarfing down all that food, but that looks a little cock-a-doodle-doo-ish. You'd better not be a rooster.

Narcoleptic, perhaps.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 18

2009-04-18T16:38:00.001-07:00

Our first batch of eggs!
No, not really. Our neighbors across the street brought over an egg from each of their four chickens. They have two Rhode Island Reds and two Leghorns. I had thought Leghorns were unfriendly factory chickens, but apparently that's not the case--theirs are friendlier than their RIRs. What productive little layers . . . man, Pot Pie better step up . . .

Noodie

Sallie

Pottie

Today was habitat cleaning day, so now the girls are back in a clean enclosure . . . except they've probably pooped it up by now.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 17

2009-04-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

Noodle Soup can now take off from the middle of the studio (not the edge), make it over to the habitat bench, walk over and get back in the door of the enclosure. At this point it's kinda hard not to take a picture of here fleeing the studio.

Salad Sandwich has similiar flight/jump skills--here you can see her taking off from some solid white center-studio floor, none of that edge stuff.

"oh, Pot Pie, I'm a little concerned about your joie de vivre"
I missed capturing her one jump out of the studio, then she pooped three times, and settled in for studio confinement.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 16

2009-04-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

Whoo! Busy day, here's the pictures . . .

Noodle Soup

Salad Sandwich

Pot Pie

They're becoming real birds . . .

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 15

2009-04-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the third week with the chicks.
So yeah they're starting to fly.
I'm changing the lighting setup a bit, due to non chick factors, so things look a little different.

Noodle Soup

Salad Sandwich

Sallie in flight, out of the studio.

Pot Pie

This is as close to flight shot of her as I got.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 14

2009-04-14T17:24:00.000-07:00

Well they may be losing their 'cute' but they're making up for it with the interestingness of (attempted) flight.

Here we have Noodle Soup getting ready to take off a couple times, but getting shut down by my awesome defense!

These two shots are in direct sequence--poop, walk away, take off!
Salad Sandwich almost made it across the two foot gap between the 'studio' bench and 'habitat' bench. I managed to get my hand under her feet, so she took one step from my hand to the bench. She's definitely getting her wings clipped when they move outdoors.

Pot Pie just managed to poop twice during her shoot, no wingage. My roommate suggested we fulfill her named destiny and get a new chick--one that's as nice as Sallie and Noodie.
She'd better make a lot of tasty eggs . . .

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 13

2009-04-13T10:33:00.001-07:00

OK, back to our normal broadcasting--Easter's over and the girls are going through a lot of changes. They're quickly and surely leaving their fluffy days, but we respect their bodies and their selves.

Noodle Soup is the largest and most mature of the group; she's coming into her feathers nicely.

Salad Sandwich is honestly starting to look a little rough. This photo is kinder than an up close inspection of her, but she's still a good girl. She and Noodie both take hand holding with poise and dignity. And I mean being held in a person hand, not a person grabbing their foot.

Then there's Pot Pie. The runt of the litter, she's got some nice feathers and still a lot of fluff--keeping the cute intact.
But a little pain in the vent* when it comes to holding her. As my roommate says, "Stop your freaky-outy!"
I expected more from a Rhode Island Red, I honestly did.
The other chickens like her, so she can't be that bad.

[*The outside opening of the cloaca, through which a chicken emits eggs and droppings from separate channels.]

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 12

2009-04-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

Though here at our house these photos are the extent of holiday observance.
The girls are over two weeks old now, and I'm just gonna warn you that they're quickly moving from cute to awkward (before becoming beautiful).
So we've had to up the ante in our cute efforts.

I'm not even going to tell you what we're making.

Noodie

Sallie

Pottie

Settle down girls, I'm going to tell you the story of a wet poodle and the boy who loved her . . .

Now before anyone gets their feathers all ruffled, the chicks actually had a good time in the kitchen. Pot Pie nodded off in the mixing bowl and the frying pan, so it couldn't have been that rough on 'em.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 11

2009-04-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

Everybody poop now . . . !
If the idea of where this is headed bothers you, this might not be the post for you.

Noodle Soup: oh, there's the poop I made in your nice white studio

Yeah Poop!

Salad Sandwich: excuse me a moment . . .

. . . now what were we doing in this lovely, clean place?

Pot Pie:

[so rude, she doesn't even say anything about it . . . small poop is still poop]

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 10

2009-04-10T11:33:00.001-07:00

Today's lesson is that chickens are birds . . . wait for it . . .

You've got to admit that Noodle Soup is a good looking bird. And big--I'm expecting some sizable blue/green eggs from her.

Salad Sandwich doing her normal thing . . .

. . . followed by her reminding me that chickens are in fact birds and those wings aren't just for show. About a half second later she's three feet lower, down on the ground below the 'studio'.

Pot Pie being little and cute--I was really thinking she'd be the big one--still plenty of time to grow.

They moved into a new chicken habitat yesterday, which they seem to be enjoying, and which is more flight proof--just in time.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 9

2009-04-09T13:40:00.001-07:00

Oh, they grow up so fast, it seems like only last week they were all fluff and no feathers. Cause it was last week.
Holy crap, these girls are getting so big. Well, some of them--Noodle soup is about twice as big as Pot Pie, which is surprising from a breed stand point. But what do I know, I've had chickens for a little over a week now.

Noodle Soup: I love it when you can see a chick's tail feathers from the front.

Salad Sandwich: look, a tail feather! No, really, it's there.

Pot Pie: if you're thinking about getting chickens, get used to this signal . . . maybe more of an action than a signal--it happens pretty fast.

Yep, poop happens. Usually happens on a larger scale--she's just a little shy in the studio.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 8

2009-04-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

Today's session is about movement.
Check out the feathers coming out of Noodie's shoulder blades (or the chicken equivalent of shouldler blades . . . wing blades?). I really think she's got to be a day older than the other chicks--she's probably 50% bigger than Pot Pie.

Sally giving a little strut. Not necessarily a happy strut. She's got the littlest tail feather coming in, but not much to show yet. Her wings are pretty full, though.

And our little Pottie, doing a duck impression.

Plenty of butt feathers on this one, eh?

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 7

2009-04-07T13:47:00.001-07:00

A whole week of chicks . . . I'd really better get that coop going, huh?

Noodle Soup is rather fearless regarding the front edge of the 'studio', which is a 3 foot drop off. Back up, girl!

Salad Sandwich does the most running when it come time to get picked up (we're gonna have to have a little talk with one of our roommates about that, actually . . .), but she dislikes the 'studio' even more--I couldn't get her off my hand for the first half of our shoot today.

OK, none of 'em like modeling much, but Pot Pie still gives it a good effort. That's all I ask for . . .

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 6

2009-04-06T10:22:00.001-07:00

Just another sunny day in the chick habitat.
Noodie, curious as ever.

Sally, a little high strung (typical).

Pottie, not napping (unusual).

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 5

2009-04-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

Shake a tail feather! And by that I mean we've got some tail feather today.

Look at Noodle Soup's butt--it's a feather.

Salad Sandwich has no tail feather but her wings are coming in nicely.

Look at that, a little butt feather for Pot Pie.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 4

2009-04-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

Noodle Soup looking pretty as always

Salad Sandwich havin' a look around

Pot Pie making a break for it

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 3

2009-04-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a group shot of the girls.
They are still not enjoying their time in the studio--maybe I need a special 'studio treat' for them.

Here's Noodie doing a little strut.

Sally made a present to the studio today, again.

Potty's wing feather's have really started to come in, dang.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 2

2009-04-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

Please allow myself to introduce . . . myself. Um, I mean my chicks.
Here we have Noodle Soup.

This is Salad Sandwich.

And finally, Pot Pie.

They get all smooshy and small when I bring them into 'the studio' but they walk around taller in their box. (Sally's keepin' it real here).
Man, they poop a lot.

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com

Day 1 -- Just Arrived!

2009-04-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

Here's our little Ladies. Names have yet to be affixed, but by breed, from left to right, we have an Ameraucana (blue/green eggs), a Buff Orpington (good winter layer) and a Rhode Island Red (a true RIR).

www.JoshuaJayElliott.com