Casino's chicks are 4 weeks old!

[emilysteng]

Just wanted to share my girl's babies, who are already 4 weeks old. They've been roosting at night in a tree with mom for over a week already. Almost 2 weeks ago, I went up to put them in their cage for the night, but Casino had already taken them off somewhere for the night. The sun hadn't quite set yet, but I guess it was time to go to bed, and I had to leave them out for the night. They were fine. But I kept putting them in their cage - until on Saturday evening when I went to see them - Casino decided she had had enough. I couldn't catch them and then Casino told them - let's go!! So I watched as she flew up into "her" tree and they followed her up. So since then they have been free chickens.

In their tree. This is at least 15 feet up.

Beyonce - I told my friend, who named this chick - what if it turns out to be a rooster? But she still wanted Beyonce. Beyonce looks more like Casino - color wise.

Bronty - This is short for Brontosaurus. I went for the unisex name.

They are in a funny looking awkward stage. But still cute.

 

[emilysteng]

I have a question now. I ran out of chick food - will it be ok to feed them the regular crumbles for adults for a day or two till I can get to the hatchery and get more chick starter? How long do I need to feed them chick starter?

And momma has been eating chick starter for a few weeks now. That should be ok right? The people at the hatchery said it was fine - just can't eat her eggs - but she's not laying anyways.

I have been feeding them once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. The rest of the time they are off scratching in the bushes. I also give them a few treats - some cracked corn, grapes, blueberries.

thanks everyone!

 

[shaggy]

Quote:
a day or 2 should not hurt them .... the reason it is not good to keep them on adult crumbles is because of the calcium content .... calcium build up is bad for their kidneys.


you can feed them chick starter forever ... but it is recommended that they go to lay pellets or crumbles when they lay their first egg ( i switch mine to lay pellets after 8 weeks)


it is ok for momma to eat chick starter --- it has less calcium and more protein ... if she is not laying (which she shouldn't since she is raising babies) then she does not need the extra calcium



it is excellent for them to scratch in the bushes ... great healthy supplements ... since they are scratching they are picking up rocks ect ... so they can eat grass clippings and other vegetable matter ... juicy worms and grubs are also a great source of protein

 

[txcarl1258]

Just wanted to let you know that Beyonce is a girl, and Bronty is a boy. They are getting so big and she looks like a great mom . Good luck with them.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Yup.

They are cute, congrats!

 

[emilysteng]

Hi everyone,

thanks for the help. Glad to know everyone will be ok with their food. Hope to get to the hatchery tomorrow for chick starter.

Just curious how you know who's a boy and girl? What are the specific characteristics you are basing that on for Beyonce and Bronty?

I also asked before about Casino maybe going through a molt. I had sort of not noticed it for awhile but today really noticed she only has three tail feathers left. Does this look like molt to everyone? Not sure how much you can tell with these pics.

"BEFORE" PIC

If it is a molt, how long will it take for her feathers to grow back?

 

[Mahonri]

Mine have all just gone through a molt... it seems like it's taking forever for them to grow back in....I'm guessing it will take a couple of months.

Cute chickens you have there.

What kinds of predators do you have in Hawaii? I imagine you don't have coyotes!
What about raptors? Owls?

 

[emilysteng]

Finally got to the hatchery for some more food. They said I could give the chicks layer food already if I wanted. She gave me a mix of chick starter and something called start and grow?

The main predator to worry about is mongoose. There are rats, but no coyotes, raptors, hawks, owls, etc. Another danger is neighborhood dogs that run loose. But the wild chickens are quite good at flying and generally can get away from them. It's the chicks I worry about. Another danger is cars - the chickens here often live near roads and roam around. Saw a close call this morning on the way in to work - car coming the other way and momma and chicks running across the road.

Poor Casino - only two tail feathers left today. She's going to look funny when she doesn't have her big tail feathers.

Well, as long as she is healthy. Do they lose their wing feathers too? Will that affect her flying ability?