Got my Peeps Today!

[BantyRooster]

It's good to hear that things are going well. Post some pics when you get a chance.

 

[Winsor Woods]

Ok,

At long last...Here's more pics

Here's a GLW that I think is a rooster because of the comb coming in (He's got beautiful blue eyes, huh?):

A closeup of said comb:

The SLW's mixed in with the GLW's:

There is a decent size difference but they seem alright for now. Some of the GLW's will pester the SLW's from time to time, but it's very short lived and seems more like pecking order type stuff rather than persistent bullying.

I bought some removable leg bands and put them on the GLW's I tried to put them on the SLW's but they are falling off still so I'll have to wait a week or so. I can tell the SLW's apart so it's no biggie right now.

Dan

 

[write2caroline]

I have 3 week old GLW and mine are looking like yours - I don't think yours are much younger - my three week olds have similar feathering. I hope your girls are okay.
Here is a picture of mine at 3 weeks for your comparison. This one has hearts on her feathers.

Caroline

 

[write2caroline]

My brooder is a big deep plastic bin from Walmart. It is about 18 inches wide but 48 inches long. I only have 2 chicks. I am using crushed walnut shell litter - about 1 inch deep. It scoops like cat litter. It is what I started with - at the time I could not find non cedar shavings so it is what I use for my parakeets. and I change it out every three days or so. I have the brooder on my son's bathroom counter and the heatlamp is on a 2x2 post which is securly taped to the mirror. - originally I had a smaller brooder and I secured the post to the box itself but I needed to raise it higher. Now the girls are three weeks old so I keep the heat at 85 degrees - actually most the time they are away from the heat except at night they go under it - one likes it more than the other. I have a little roost in the box made from scraps from their coop - they seem to like it. It is a 2x2 piece of wood with scraps of 1x3 for the ends. On nice days I put them in the coop run for a while - Its been about 90 degrees outside - they have shade in the run. They are very happy to be outside. We have had a lot of sporatic heavy rain showers so I have not let them out.

My girls have no evidence of combs yet.

We chat endlessly about their pretty feathers - they seem to love being admired. One seems much bigger than the other. I will post more pics. I have to upload them first.

Caroline

 

[Winsor Woods]

Hey Caroline, thanks for the reference picture. That's nice to see pictures of Golds where you know exactly what age they are. Sounds like you got things under control with your brooder situation. We get our starter mix from the same ranch store that sold us the peeps and they had the wood pellet bedding material. I'm not sure if it is any different from the stove pellets but it looks just like them. They stay nice and hard until they get wet or pooped on and then they expand to double or triple their size. It's been pretty easy to spot the soiled ones and I just pick those out and as the bedding gets thin, I pour some more in there. So far I haven't noticed any overpowering smells coming from the brooder. (Knock on wood)

The Silvers are still hanging in there. The smallest one, aptly named "Runt", must be the feistiest little peep I've ever seen. Not that I've seen a whole lot, mind you. Normally the SLW's seem to self segregate from the GLW's but if she gets cold, she just walks right into the middle of the sleeping golds, and pushes her way right in, making no bones about waking them up, then she plops right down and basks in the body heat. Sometimes she gets sent away, but within 30 seconds, she back in the mix like it never happened. It's the same way with the feeder and waterer too. It's a real kick to see the smallest peep of the bunch walking around like she owns the place. LOL!

Dan

 

[mjdtexan]

Those are very nice looking chicks. Congradulations.

 

[Winsor Woods]

Well I think my chicks are trying to tell me something. I went downstairs today and 5 of the 9 were sitting on the top of the brooder walls. Just hunkered down, roosting. I also noticed some chicken footprints in the dust on the high crossbar that the heat lamp hangs from. I also saw some fecal evidence on the floor immediately next to the brooder box. It appears that last night they all decided they would roost on the sides of the box and poop outside the box. LOL

I think they're telling me that it's time to move them outside to the coop. They're big girls (and roos) now. I weighed them today and the largest (rooster) was 500 grams. It's amazing how much they grew in such a short period of time. Most of the others are above 454grams or 1 pound.

Dan

 

[cmom]

I agree with the other posts. I put my chicks and brooders in their coops. I also put up heat lamps in the beginning until they are feathered out.

 

[BantyRooster]

Glad to hear the birds are doing well. Here's a couple pics of my various brooders.

 

[Winsor Woods]

those are some awesome setups! Perhaps I'll have my act together a bit more next year with something like those. Thanks for the pics.

Dan