Enjoying watching my young girls grow

[StinkyAcres]

They are 7 weeks old. I've been feeding them Nature's Best Organic Chick Starter Crumble. Their analysis states not less than 20% protein. They are growing quite a bit. They were 5 weeks old when they came to me and have more than doubled in size in the last couple weeks.

That sounds like a good feed. Something does seem to be bothering their skin or feathers. The bald spots around their shoulders and rear ends and missing tails are odd. Have you noticed any lice or mites?

 

[Desert chicken tender]

My little gray is doing much better after a couple days of using the diluted chlorine dioxide. I also added some DE in the coop and run. I noticed the local ant population is becoming active in our yard and I'm wondering if she might have got a few ant bites that caused the irritation. NM fire ants have a mean bite and can produce inflamed, irritated skin.
The other two aren't showing any issues, and I would expect they would if mites or lice were the problem.
I will be continuing the DE and chlorine dioxide for the coop and run as a preventive measure.

 

[Desert chicken tender]

Giving them a little treat before bedtime. A few mealworms for a snack and they are ready to coop up(sorta). The antics these three can play just over going to bed...

 

[Desert chicken tender]

The girls enjoying some cuttings from the garden.

 

[Desert chicken tender]

Fell victim to chicken math over the weekend and acquired three Rhode Island Red babies and on Copper Maran cross. I wouldn't have had the knowledge to even begin this process without all the great information on this forum.
I used a lot of things I already had on hand to carve out a corner of the run and create a safe space for the young ones. Barrier panels I had made some years back were used for the overall space. A large dog crate and reinforced box have become their mini coop. And, for warmth, I made a momma cave from a section of sheet metal and a heating pad wrapped in a towel that maintains 85-90 degrees. I had a couple rolls of thin bamboo fencing that I wired up to the outer fence of the run to provide shade and wind break for the new arrivals as well.

The littles are doing well after a couple days in their new space, they have even weathered some windy periods without any issue.

I gave them some crumbles mixed with water and they all got right in the middle of it and got nice and full. Afterward, they climbed into the homemade momma cave for a nap.
My older girls showed no interest at first, however they have now taken to camping out on their side of the barrier.

Every time I go out to the run they are on that end of the run, laying next to the barrier or up on their newly made roost, trying to get a better view. The older ones are only 8 weeks old, but I'd swear some momma instincts are coming out already. I'm cautious of giving them access because I found a dead sparrow in the coop a week ago, so I'm well aware of what they can do to "outsiders". Interesting to watch the interactions through the fencing though.

Chicken math is definitely real. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I'm having a good time. This whole thing is a work in progress and I'm sure there will be adjustments over time. I will be making a smaller panel to add into the barrier wall that will have a "chick sized" opening so the littles can get out and explore more, but have a place to get away if the bigger birds lose patience. Timing for for that is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, it's been a peaceful, successful transition thus far.

 

[Desert chicken tender]

A week further along now, and the chicks are growing and doing well. The little maran developed a case of "pasty butt" and we have been dealing with that for about four days now. I keep checking her as often as I can and seem to be staying on top of things. She is the smallest of the four "littles", but has shown some moxy. Her small stature has earned her the name "Peanut".

The three older girls have spent some time this week camped out on the outside of the barrier wall, on the opposite side from the chicks.

I actually found one of them in the enclosure with the chicks on two occasions. Both times they were sitting in there, and the chicks were unbothered, just doing their thing.

The older girls are nine weeks old at this point, and starting to look more like chickens.

Here, they are enjoying some fresh cut radish greens from the greenhouse.

After checking the fencing for any small, chick sized holes and making corrections, I added a small panel to the barrier wall with a chick sized hole so the little ones could start to explore the rest of the run. They wasted no time in figuring out the doorway and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring. The older girls pretty much ignored them and they were quite happy to check out the rest of the run. They even found their way back to the smaller "chick area" for the evening feeding, and settled in for the night in the warming cave. I'm considering that a good first day of integrating the two groups. Hopefully it continues to go well.

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

So pretty!

 

[Desert chicken tender]

The youngsters are now five weeks old and starting to look like miniature chickens. The older girls are constantly chasing them around, guess they're keeping them in line.
As a new "chicken tender", it's fun watching them all grow and develop personalities. I've almost forgotten that there was a reason for bringing them in in the first place. It's still a work in progress, making changes and adjustments as needed, but still having a good time.

The older girls, now thirteen weeks, are looking great. Based on what I've learned from this forum and lots of research, I've added a small feeder with crushed egg shell and oyster shell for their calcium intake. As the "grower" feed runs out I'll transition to "all flock" feed. They're all growing up. Gotta say it's been fun watching them grow.

 

[StinkyAcres]

They are looking great! What are you planning to do with the cockerels? I see at least 4 maybe 5 in the photos.