- Thread starter
- #71
Ambera
Chirping
Monday 30th October - Friday 3rd November 2023 
The chicks are approaching 7 weeks old! I'm thinking I may need to move them onto growers food soon? Shame as I just bought lots more chick crumb last week!!
Pepper is getting more and more motherly, she makes cute little cheeping noises to the chicks and finds them food all the time. I think she may actually be broody even though she doesn't lay! Brooding over these cuties
@GreenJay Pretty kitty is Hazel (yes there's a name theme here!), who's our 12 year old farm moggie
She likes to watch the chickens but is mostly innocent! (They're too big for her to take on!)
@Farmgirl283420 Marigold is so cute! How old roughly are they there? They have the same almost fluffy legs and white bib
Monday: They had a nice dustbath and sunbath on Monday, so I gave them more sand to kick about in!
Wednesday & Thursday:
We had a massive storm (Storm Ciaran) blow in on Wednesday and Thursday, so they were a little unsettled but coped just fine. I had to make sure to remove all the bits and pieces around the run so they wouldn't go flying and spook them! Luckily they have a tarpaulin roof on their run so they can stay dry as long as they don't go near the edges!
The past three nights they have started going to bed in the large hen house again. Wednesday and Thursday night they went in the nestbox with Lily.... well Nutmeg did! Both nights Popcorn and Lilac were cheeping away outside the house - they hadn't gone up the ramp again to get inside! I gave them a helping hand and then they were happily snuggled under Lily.
Friday: However, tonight Lily decided it is time to roost on her old perch again with Pepper! I bet Pepper was glad for the company as she's been roosting alone since the end of August! When I checked on them at bedtime, Pepper and Lily were perching, and Nutmeg was tucked under Lily's left wing on the perch! However, Pop and Lilac were on the floor of the hen house under the perch, cheeping away! Hey at least they got up the ramp today, progress!!
I lifted them onto the perch and Popcorn stole Lily's right wing. Dilemma. Lily only has two wings, and we have three quite large chicks now! Lilac was upset she couldn't snuggle in... she was between Pepper and Lily. I decided to see if Pepper would let her under a wing and it kinda worked! She wrapped her up and Lilac was instantly happy. When I went to check on them a couple of hours later they were all still tucked up like that!
I don't know if I need to worry about them being cold now they're fully feathered? Will they be fine in temps down to 5c (40f) at night now if they weren't tucked up under a wing?
Nugget Age: 40-44 days
Lilac & Popcorn Age: 43-47 days
The chicks are approaching 7 weeks old! I'm thinking I may need to move them onto growers food soon? Shame as I just bought lots more chick crumb last week!!
Pepper is getting more and more motherly, she makes cute little cheeping noises to the chicks and finds them food all the time. I think she may actually be broody even though she doesn't lay! Brooding over these cuties
@GreenJay Pretty kitty is Hazel (yes there's a name theme here!), who's our 12 year old farm moggie
She likes to watch the chickens but is mostly innocent! (They're too big for her to take on!)@Farmgirl283420 Marigold is so cute! How old roughly are they there? They have the same almost fluffy legs and white bib
Monday: They had a nice dustbath and sunbath on Monday, so I gave them more sand to kick about in!
Wednesday & Thursday:
We had a massive storm (Storm Ciaran) blow in on Wednesday and Thursday, so they were a little unsettled but coped just fine. I had to make sure to remove all the bits and pieces around the run so they wouldn't go flying and spook them! Luckily they have a tarpaulin roof on their run so they can stay dry as long as they don't go near the edges! The past three nights they have started going to bed in the large hen house again. Wednesday and Thursday night they went in the nestbox with Lily.... well Nutmeg did! Both nights Popcorn and Lilac were cheeping away outside the house - they hadn't gone up the ramp again to get inside! I gave them a helping hand and then they were happily snuggled under Lily.Friday: However, tonight Lily decided it is time to roost on her old perch again with Pepper! I bet Pepper was glad for the company as she's been roosting alone since the end of August! When I checked on them at bedtime, Pepper and Lily were perching, and Nutmeg was tucked under Lily's left wing on the perch! However, Pop and Lilac were on the floor of the hen house under the perch, cheeping away! Hey at least they got up the ramp today, progress!!
I lifted them onto the perch and Popcorn stole Lily's right wing. Dilemma. Lily only has two wings, and we have three quite large chicks now! Lilac was upset she couldn't snuggle in... she was between Pepper and Lily. I decided to see if Pepper would let her under a wing and it kinda worked! She wrapped her up and Lilac was instantly happy. When I went to check on them a couple of hours later they were all still tucked up like that!
I don't know if I need to worry about them being cold now they're fully feathered? Will they be fine in temps down to 5c (40f) at night now if they weren't tucked up under a wing?Nugget Age: 40-44 days
Lilac & Popcorn Age: 43-47 days
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such a pretty boy!
