November 2016 Hatch-a-long!!

[OneMountainAcres]

Your DD sounds a lot like mine. (but she plays clarinet instead of flute) She does dance (tap, ballet, & lyrical) & 4H. Daily house chores include caring for our 2 dogs and feeding the chickens. During the school year, I must do the cleaning of the coop, because she leaves for band at 6:45am.

Our daughters do sound a lot alike My daughter does tap and ballet. This is her first year of pointe.She used to do acro too but since pointe was starting this year, ballet and tap were split in to two classes and we can only manage two for now so she chose to continue with tap. My son plays clarinet. They alternate weekly with the daily chores. One week, one does dishes while the other runs the vacuum. I take care of the dogs but DD has her own bunny that she cares for. Over the summer, she's always out there helping me with the coop chores. They're lucky enough to have band class in school so they don't need to be there early or late but they still need to be on the bus at 7:10am and don't get home till 3:30. With dance 45 minutes away, those nights are really nuts lol.

 

[NysiaAnera]

You can train chicks.  They're naturally curious, so getting them to peck at something is very easy.  (They have shorter attention spans, though.)  Best thing to do is build a good relationship.  Hold them for a bit to get used to handling. (I'm sure you're already doing this.) After some snuggles, say their name + give treat.  That way when you call an individual hen, shey'll come.  (Specific Name = treat!)

 You can also train them to go into their cage / coop in the same way.  Say "go coop" & start throwing mealworms down inside the coop.  All chickens learn to follow the treats & that's an easy way to coop them up when needed during the day.  Even if you never plan to officially train them, being able to easily get chickens back inside the coop is a good idea. When I go outside & have kitchen scraps, I call, "Ch-ch-chickens" and they all come running straight to me.  Some may also follow me around without food, but when I make that call, ALL come running at their top chicken speed.  So much fun to watch.

When I step outside, all my chickens come running, every time! Lol I have many videos and pictures because I think it is so funny. They don't pay much attention to time, though. I only give them treats an hour before sunset, but I am always out there earlier than that. I also love that the chicks learn this because their mothers teach them that I am the food provider. They free range our property, and have feed available24/7, but they LOVE the scratch mix I throw out every evening.

 

[dcba flock]

2 of the 4 that have hatched 2 more still in and another died over night 3 DIS this hatch idk why they looked positioned properly at least 2 so weird first time that has happened to me...

 

[Jessimom]

2 of the 4 that have hatched 2 more still in and another died over night 3 DIS this hatch idk why they looked positioned properly at least 2 so weird first time that has happened to me...

Adorable chicks!!! I'm sorry about the overnight loss and the 3 dis. Congrats on the 4 survivors!

 

[Faraday40]

Our baby quail got a new cage yesterday. Much easier to clean!
DD still likes to spoiled them by adding "mushy food" as a treat. (Just feed soaked in water) They all come running up whenever a hand enters their cage.

So far, only one confirmed male. The little runt is still doing well. Only have 2 complains so far:
1. Quail eat & poop more than chickens
2. When they 1st go back into cage, they "cry" to come back out. We must leave the room for a while to get them to stop.

 

[FridayYet]

Oh that's so cute having them in a birdcage like that!

 

[Faraday40]

The quail turned 3 wks old yesterday.

Here's DD's fav. A definite male & everyone's fav. He'll jump right up into anyone's hand & wait there for some loving.


We have 2 females that look like this. They're also very friendly.


And we have 3 white quail - gender unknown. They are tame but slightly jumpy.
You can see how the "failure to thrive" chick seems to be catching up. He/she's smaller, but looks more like a runt than a goner. Because it was simply small & not weak/lethargic, I think it will make it to adulthood.





Funny story of the day: DS decided that cleaning the quail cage looked like FUN, so he cleaned it all by himself after school. When DD got home, she was very upset- because the quail are HERS. I laughed to myself & promised her that there's enough quail poop to share. Oh how I wish this enthusiasm for chores would last!

 

[FridayYet]

LOL, They can come over and clean my brooder any time! 

ETA: here are the ones I have left, as of last Saturday

 

[Faraday40]

LOL, They can come over and clean my brooder any time!

ETA: here are the ones I have left, as of last Saturday

They're looking very good. What are those inky black chicks again. They look very pretty.

 

[FridayYet]

They're looking very good. What are those inky black chicks again. They look very pretty.

They are Ayam Cemani. Kind of crazy little things. My Orloffaucana looks like a giant next to them.