First hatch with 15 Mixed Chicks

[DavidReaves]

Friday night and Saturday night the chicks required some help getting back into the coop. Saturday night it may have been my fault. All the chicks but two were in the coop, so I went down to see what was going on and EVERYONE came back out.

I left, and apparently everyone decided to stay outside. It got dark, the auto door closed, and when I went back out after full dark, all the chicks were peeping forlornly on the coop's ramp. I reopened the door, encouraged as many as possible inside, then caught the last two and hand deposited them inside.

For Sunday night, I took the top part of a solar path light and put it on top of the coop roof, which is translucent. That gave the inside of the coop just enough light for the chicks to see how to get inside. I changed the solar sensor on the door to wait a little longer before closing as well. The two bits together seem to have done the job. All but one of the chicks was in by bright twilight. The last chick ran around chirping in a little distress for a while, then just before full dark she went into the coop as well.

I'm claiming success in coop training them in only 3 days! There may still be issues, but I have hope since it didn't take too long for an initial success.

 

[DavidReaves]

Friday night and Saturday night the chicks required some help getting back into the coop. Saturday night it may have been my fault. All the chicks but two were in the coop, so I went down to see what was going on and EVERYONE came back out.

I left, and apparently everyone decided to stay outside. It got dark, the auto door closed, and when I went back out after full dark, all the chicks were peeping forlornly on the coop's ramp. I reopened the door, encouraged as many as possible inside, then caught the last two and hand deposited them inside.

For Sunday night, I took the top part of a solar path light and put it on top of the coop roof, which is translucent. That gave the inside of the coop just enough light for the chicks to see how to get inside. I changed the solar sensor on the door to wait a little longer before closing as well. The two bits together seem to have done the job. All but one of the chicks was in by bright twilight. The last chick ran around chirping in a little distress for a while, then just before full dark she went into the coop as well.

I'm claiming success in coop training them in only 3 days! There may still be issues, but I have hope since it didn't take too long for an initial success.

Day 4 and they all went in, including the cockerel, "Big Red", that I decided to keep. I moved him down to the chicken tractor first thing this morning. He wisely followed the pullets into the coop tonight when it was getting dark. They are not very early to bed, though. It was close to full dark before they all went into the coop.

This is him on last Friday, at seven weeks. He's starting to make attempts at crowing already. I'm probably going to cull the other cockerels, since there's remarkably little interest in excess roosters here-- except for someone who says he'll take all roosters for his friend to sell. He hasn't said what the friend does with them, even when I said freezer camp was okay. I suspect the "friend" sells to people who use the birds for fodder for training fighting cocks. I'd rather kill them myself than have them used for fighting purposes.

Maybe I'll hatch some chicks from him and the Cream Legbar and the green egger Legbar-cross pullets next year.

 

[Iluveggers]

Hi @DavidReaves ! Thanks for the update! Would love to see pics of the rest of the chicks! The RIR is so pretty & the little person in your pic is a cutie!

 

[DavidReaves]

Lovely looking group! Big Red looks quite regal! I love the floppy combs! Are they friendly birds?

They aren't "run-from-me" shy, but only a couple of them allow gentle handling. None of them are sit-in-my-lap friendly, but that's okay. All except Big Red will eat from my hand. He's a little nervous about being "that" close, though he will eat from a dish at my feet.

 

[Iluveggers]

 

[Iluveggers]

No time for small group or individual photos today. I did get a group shot while I cleaned the brooder. My wife, who hasn't seen them for a couple of days, is surprised by the growth rate. I didn't think they'd grown that much since Saturday, though feathers continue to develop.

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There’s quite a variety of color and pattern with just the two breeds! Can you tell them all apart?

 

[Iluveggers]

I can tell selected ones but don't have ID on all 15... I'm a bad farmer. I don't want to get too attached to all of them, since I'm only keeping (at most) five. I think the one that I've already ID'd as a cockerel may go back to the farm where I got them. They said their RIR rooster is getting old. I do have a name for him-- for now, he's Big Red.

Not a bad farmer! We could tell all our chicks apart but when they got bigger they lost the distinctive beak markings…so now our two Australorp and two of our 3 barred rock are indistinguishable. The third barred rock has smaller waddles and is the friendliest so at least I know my favorite. Lol

 

[DavidReaves]

Photos today as I was cleaning the brooder. Individual shots of everyone at day 25 after hatching. There are a few that are obviously cockerels, since their comb is already developing. There are some others that seem to be less obvious, but it is early.

[when loading the pictures, it looks like I missed one... probably one of the ones I suspect of being pure Rhode Island Red.]

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[DavidReaves]

Today was the first day some of my chicks got to see the outside world. Seven of the pullet chicks were in the mobile coop and run. I put them in the coop portion a couple of weeks ago and opened the outside door for the first time today. I'll give a couple of the pullets away as they age-- assuming everyone survives to laying age.

They were a little uncertain... it took ten or 15 minutes before they would leave the ramp and walk on that weird grass stuff! Here is a short video. Feel free to mute the sound.

 

[Iluveggers]

Lovely looking group! Big Red looks quite regal! I love the floppy combs! Are they friendly birds?