Monday, April 6, 2015

Chick Days

It's that time of year again - chick days!! We had a predator catastrophe this past fall and lost all of our birds except for one mille fleur bantam and three guineas which meant that we had to do a major restocking. I ordered Rhode Island Red hens and a standard heavy assortment from McMurray Hatchery plus we picked up 5 bantam chicks from Orschelns. The RIR hens are 3 weeks old now, the bantams are about a week old and we just received the assortment chicks today. 

For the first couple days, the chicks are inside the house. It's easier for us to keep the temperature regulated and I'm quicker to catch any problems when I can easily see them several times a day. 


Our assortment also included four Turkens! These are chickens with bare necks and they are supposed to be excellent layers and meat birds. That's why I love assortments, we usually get birds that I otherwise wouldn't have purchased. It'll be fun watching these guys grow up. 






When I was raising our little turkey poult last year, I found that he really liked laying under a feather duster so I have one hanging up for our little chicks. They spend a lot of time hiding under the feathers. 



A few of our week old bantams hanging by the feather duster.


Our Rhode Island Reds have graduated on to our floor pen. Within the next couple weeks, they'll be able to start exploring outside. 


Our lone chicken right now. This gal is a fighter!  I assumed we lost her too because she was gone for over a week. Then, I came home from work one day and she was just hanging out in the driveway. She lost a few feathers and a claw fighting with whatever got a hold of her, but she made it back. 


If all goes as planned, we'll be back in the egg business by the end of summer!

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