The chicks which hatched from eggs in my incubator 10 days ago are quiet, happy little things. Their peeps are soft, merely conversational musings as they go about doing chick things in the brooder.
My favorite feed store has chicks for sale all the way up to the second week of October. I bought my very first chicks from there, on Oct 1, 2009. This Sunday, it was time to buy more feed, for the main flock and for the 5 little olive egger chicks in the brooder. I have been able to resist buying more chicks when I pick up feed for the past several weeks. Coupla months, even, possibly a tad bit over two months.
But this time there were some Light Brahma and some Black Jersey Giant pullets available! They've always been sold out every other time I've been there.... I can only make it on weekends, and chicks are delivered there on Thursdays.
Well...... the 8 week old chick I thought was a "bantam" BJG isn't one; there is no such version of Jersey Giant. It's most likely a black Orpington. Dang, I so wanted a BJG, even if it was a bantam. Which, of course, it wasn't.
So, here is a bin full of 10 or so BJG pullet chicks. I picked one up, looked at the bottom of its feet, yup, yellow, chances are high this IS a BJG. Must have it. Wait, cannot buy just ONE chick. Oh look, Light Brahmas, too! Also usually sold out by Saturday, and there are a few in that bin with some RIR pullets. (Easy to tell 'em apart.) Got one of those.
Added the little peepers to the brooder at home, with the five 8 day old olive egger chicks.
Those two chicks are MUCH noisier than the olive eggers! It's not the temp, it's not the nipple waterer, it's not the feed, or the bedding. They're happy, they sleep, they run and jump with the others, but they PEEP much more loudly. Just like I remembered from all the other feed store chicks I've brooded.
So, why are chicks I hatched at home so much less noisy? I think it has to do with significantly less stress in their little lives. They went straight to warmed brooder from the incubator; there was no being shoved into shipping crates, no bouncing travel in those crates, no unpacking and dumping into metal horse trough bins of other chicks, no handling by just anybody who comes by, and no travel yet again in a paper bag to their new home. The feed store chicks all suffered those indignities. That's got to be why they're so much noisier little things.
Anybody else with other ideas?
My favorite feed store has chicks for sale all the way up to the second week of October. I bought my very first chicks from there, on Oct 1, 2009. This Sunday, it was time to buy more feed, for the main flock and for the 5 little olive egger chicks in the brooder. I have been able to resist buying more chicks when I pick up feed for the past several weeks. Coupla months, even, possibly a tad bit over two months.
But this time there were some Light Brahma and some Black Jersey Giant pullets available! They've always been sold out every other time I've been there.... I can only make it on weekends, and chicks are delivered there on Thursdays.
Well...... the 8 week old chick I thought was a "bantam" BJG isn't one; there is no such version of Jersey Giant. It's most likely a black Orpington. Dang, I so wanted a BJG, even if it was a bantam. Which, of course, it wasn't.
So, here is a bin full of 10 or so BJG pullet chicks. I picked one up, looked at the bottom of its feet, yup, yellow, chances are high this IS a BJG. Must have it. Wait, cannot buy just ONE chick. Oh look, Light Brahmas, too! Also usually sold out by Saturday, and there are a few in that bin with some RIR pullets. (Easy to tell 'em apart.) Got one of those.
Added the little peepers to the brooder at home, with the five 8 day old olive egger chicks.
Those two chicks are MUCH noisier than the olive eggers! It's not the temp, it's not the nipple waterer, it's not the feed, or the bedding. They're happy, they sleep, they run and jump with the others, but they PEEP much more loudly. Just like I remembered from all the other feed store chicks I've brooded.
So, why are chicks I hatched at home so much less noisy? I think it has to do with significantly less stress in their little lives. They went straight to warmed brooder from the incubator; there was no being shoved into shipping crates, no bouncing travel in those crates, no unpacking and dumping into metal horse trough bins of other chicks, no handling by just anybody who comes by, and no travel yet again in a paper bag to their new home. The feed store chicks all suffered those indignities. That's got to be why they're so much noisier little things.
Anybody else with other ideas?
