Chicken Update

The chicks have been here for almost a week, and they are growing up fast. For the most part, they are still are cute little fuzz balls, but something tells me their awkward phase is right around the corner.

Layers News

If you look closely, you can see the wing feathers starting to come in.

The Buff Orpington chick died unexpectedly last Friday afternoon. I'm not sure what happened, as the chick appeared healthy that morning. Unfortunately, sometimes they just don't make it.

It occurred to me the other day what an unnatural process it is to raise a chick without the mother hen. They're born in an industrial setting, full of metal and concrete, packed into cardboard boxes, loaded into trucks, and shipped hours away, only to be picked up out of the box by a huge creature, and deposited in a box and expected to figure out how to eat, drink, play, and socialize.  They undergo a huge amount of stress, so I'm happy the five remaining girls are doing well.

They seem to be enjoying plastic tote brooder, which is on our spare room. Once the meat chickens outgrow their dog crate in the barn and move to the coop, I'll move the five girls into the crate. I added a stick to the brooder and the chicks have enjoyed climbing on it, although they still spend a good deal of time under their brooder lamp.

Meat Chicks News
These guys are getting big, and fast. They are much more docile that the laying birds. The girls still shriek when I take the lid off of their tote box, and retreat to the opposite end. They tend to warm up to me a bit when they realize I have food. On the other hand, the meat chicks tend to spend a lot more time resting on the ground (probably because they're growing so fast), and don't pay much attention when I refill their food and water. They don't even move when I put fresh pine shavings in their brooder, which results in many of them being temporarily buried before they shake it off.

I wasn't sure how much work having these guys would be, but I probably only spend an extra 20 minutes a day on chick-related chores. My goal is to be as efficient as possible when doing routine farm tasks. Things will speed up once everyone is together in the barn.