I know I shouldn't post w/out pictures but I haven't pulled out the camera yet. I will, soon!
These are chicks ordered via Agway as part of a store 200 chick order from Ideal (I ordered 16, 12 of which were for me). We ordered back in March so it was an exercise in patience!
I met Muffi from this board there who was able to get her 4 chicks from our order after all. She had already picked out her EEs! I got 6 EEs and 6 black sex links. We also talked to a woman who sounded interested in a few chickens and suggested she come by the site!
After watching a bit at the store, I picked the ones that were stuffing their faces vs sleeping, huddled as I figured these were ones with a strong will to live
. A second criteria for the EEs was some variety in the markings, like a few ones with a dark chipmunk stripe, a few with a light stripe and so on. Keep in mind they'd only been there for maybe a bit over an hour. The store mgr said they only lost 2 of 200 chicks, which sounds like a great ship result to me. Some of the other chicks looked cold but they were still rigging up a heat lamp when I was there. I think he said there may be a few extras <hmm> but people have a day or two to pick theirs up...
They are super lively. I can't get over how much they are moving around, I figured they'd want to sleep a little more. A favorite game so far appears to be "hey everyone, I think I'm pecking at something interesting" then they all run over. Of course, there's really not much in the brooder, just food, water and a thermometer (which is one of the most entertaining options for them). And then there's spontaneous nap time (several go to the nap corner and just plop over). Last of all, it's zoom across the brooder tub - they do have a 3rd gear!
So far, no signs of being too cold or hot, and brooder temps are at around 92-94. They are in a bedroom closet that is both very large and not being used. We may move their home area later.
One of our cats is very shy and she ran away after looking at them. The other is clearly more interested but seems to understand my "No"s and is settling to watch them from afar. I won't let him be around without me tho. He's a senior cat so he's easy to dissuade, but I think he still thinks he's a sleek, strong killer (at least when he is dreaming).
I have a quail waterer base and they figured it out quickly, no beak dipping needed, but I could see when they get a little bigger they might not be able to get their beaks in there and I'll want to swap to a chicken base as a next step before the big waterer.
These chicks look like they know the ropes of chick life already, and they are going to be keeping me busy!
These are chicks ordered via Agway as part of a store 200 chick order from Ideal (I ordered 16, 12 of which were for me). We ordered back in March so it was an exercise in patience!
I met Muffi from this board there who was able to get her 4 chicks from our order after all. She had already picked out her EEs! I got 6 EEs and 6 black sex links. We also talked to a woman who sounded interested in a few chickens and suggested she come by the site!
After watching a bit at the store, I picked the ones that were stuffing their faces vs sleeping, huddled as I figured these were ones with a strong will to live
They are super lively. I can't get over how much they are moving around, I figured they'd want to sleep a little more. A favorite game so far appears to be "hey everyone, I think I'm pecking at something interesting" then they all run over. Of course, there's really not much in the brooder, just food, water and a thermometer (which is one of the most entertaining options for them). And then there's spontaneous nap time (several go to the nap corner and just plop over). Last of all, it's zoom across the brooder tub - they do have a 3rd gear!
So far, no signs of being too cold or hot, and brooder temps are at around 92-94. They are in a bedroom closet that is both very large and not being used. We may move their home area later.
One of our cats is very shy and she ran away after looking at them. The other is clearly more interested but seems to understand my "No"s and is settling to watch them from afar. I won't let him be around without me tho. He's a senior cat so he's easy to dissuade, but I think he still thinks he's a sleek, strong killer (at least when he is dreaming).
I have a quail waterer base and they figured it out quickly, no beak dipping needed, but I could see when they get a little bigger they might not be able to get their beaks in there and I'll want to swap to a chicken base as a next step before the big waterer.
These chicks look like they know the ropes of chick life already, and they are going to be keeping me busy!
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