Greyscale Acres -- Chapter 1

[3KillerBs]

As I posted in a separate thread, New Bedding is Terrifying.

But after half an hour they are exploring with increasing confidence.

I would have used more pine shavings, but I had the fork in my hand because I was mulching plants with pine straw and I was right there by the coop. So, 2 forks' worth of pine straw.

I've never had a brooder before, but with my in-town chickens I found that a mix of pine shavings and pine straw was almost entirely proof against packing and matting until well-composted (which won't happen in a nice, dry brooder).

Several of the chicks have been seen perching on that training perch for short periods. Not just the Brahmas, who are older, but the little Australorps too.

The California White and the Wyandotte systers are the boldest about exploring but the larger Brahmas navigated the fluffy pine straw more deftly. I'll be watching some Chick TV and holding a photo session later and if I think that they are having trouble walking I'll mix it up more with the shavings.

 

[3KillerBs]

Picture time!

Chipotle, the remaining California White, possessor of two real tail feathers.

Cordon, the lighter Blue Australorp.

Teriyaki, the darker Blue Australorp, who looks lighter in the bright sunlight. She's really quite charcoal.

Dumpling, the smaller Light Brahma with the lighter wings.

Omelet, the larger Light Brahma. She didn't want to hold still and be photographed.

Picatta, the Wyandotte with the dark stripe in the middle of her back.

Popcorn, the Wyandotte with the silver stripe in the middle of her back, showing off her barely visible tailfeathers.

 

[3KillerBs]

In conjunction with the photo session I took the time to look over each chick and, especially, to check backsides for possible pasty butt since I know that heat is a risk and it's been hot these afternoons. Since I wanted to be sure of not missing a chick, I enlisted DS#3, who is tall enough to reach the back corner of the coop, and we then set them down inside the little escape obstacle fence I'd put around the access door area.

They spend about 15 minutes getting acquainted with grass.

The Wyandotte sisters are surely going to be trouble -- these little darlings tried to wiggle under the hardware cloth, which is only temporarily in place and not truly secure.

I figure that if the littles arrived at the farm store on Friday they must have hatched Wednesday and are now a week old (the Brahmas would be three weeks).

All told, they had half an hour of catching, handling, photographing, and exploring grass when I put them back into the brooder/coop. Adventures for babies should be kept short.

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

Soon Chipotle will no longer be the only one with tailfeathers. I spotted tiny proto-feathers on the rear ends of Popcorn, one of the Wyandottes, and Teriyaki, one of the blue Australorps.

Naturally, the big Brahma girls have no sign of tail feathers despite being two weeks older.

I uprooted a little plaintain weed and put it into their bedding. They've been quite curious, but are now back at the feeder.

Tomorrow I have to figure out how to raise that feeder the right amount because they are spilling impressive quantities.

I usually put a small scrap of 2x4 underneath the feeder, it raises it up enough so they don't dump it everywhere.

 

[3KillerBs]

I usually put a small scrap of 2x4 underneath the feeder, it raises it up enough so they don't dump it everywhere.

I'm planning on doing that as soon as I'm sure all the chicks can reach it. Chipotle is rather small.

 

[Stipenvlerk]

They are lovely

 

[3KillerBs]

I've been working extra shifts this week because of people's vacations and family crises so I haven't updated the story. The 7 remaining chicks are happy, active, and absolutely terrified of me.

I've been taking a bit of time most evenings to sit there with the access door open reading on my Kindle just trying to get them used to my presence.

Since my next full day off, Tuesday, has rain in the forecast I'll have to do chick work this afternoon in the less than optimal heat and humidity conditions (this morning I'm serving at church). They need to have the bedding topped off again and masses of spilled feed cleaned up.

I got the feeder up on a brick and the waterer up on a chunk of 2x4, which has reduced feed spillage a bit but no made much difference in their ability to kick shavings into the waterer.

The other night they took it into their feathery, little heads to start digging in one corner. Within minutes they'd excavated a hole big enough for all of them to sit in all the way down to the wood floor.

Omelet, the largest Light Brahma, can kick shavings a good foot from her dig site so no wonder there's so much in the waterer.

I hope to introduce mealworms after another week or so in hope of luring them to my hands.

 

[3KillerBs]

So, I was sitting there tonight while they dug through the new layer of pine shavings and somebody took it into her feathery, little head to fly up onto the board that I've got across the access door to slow down escapes.

It was a white one but I'm pretty sure it wasn't Omelet because I'd caught and petted her and she was annoyed with me just then. I'd had my head down over a book and so jumped when a white thing appeared in my face, startling all the chicks. Thus I don't know if it was Dumpling or Chipotle, both of whom have nice wing feathers.

It was an impressive chick flight of at least 18 inches horizontally and 8 inches vertically.

(No photos for a bit until I get an overload of photos off my phone onto a computer).

 

[3KillerBs]

I managed to get a sufficient amount of new shavings added before the downpour began. I had their lamp unplugged, but the rain is cool enough that I had to put it back on because the temps were down around 80 and they were clinging together.

I had hoped to make a no-waste feeder today but it turned out that DH's impressive collection of PVC pipe fittings includes only too-small and too large so that project will have to wait until I can get to a building supply store.

Likewise, I was going to build them a little wooden box/platform with a mini training ramp out of some scrap. But the storms that had a 50% chance of starting after Noon arrived before 11. I'm off again on Friday so maybe then.

Unfortunately, the chicks are still quite terrified of me and the 4-foot-square coop/brooder is just too deep for me to be able to reach the back corners so I can't catch them readily. My assistant, DS#3, did catch Omelet for me so I got a few photos.

Hiding in the corner just out of reach:

Omelet:

 

[3KillerBs]

Made the extra drive to the good feed store near our former house. Told the cashier they needed to open a branch up here because we are NOT impressed with either the Southern States or the Tractor Supply.

They don't carry chicken nipples so I guess I'll have to get them online. But I did get 50# of locally-made chick feed at almost the same protein percentage for only twice the cost of the 10# bag of Flock Party from TSC.

Funny thing -- we got to our truck as the guy was loading our feed and found 4 bags of horse feed already in the bed. We'd specified "the red Tundra out front." Either the horse feed buyer didn't say anything but "red pickup" or the guy doing the loading didn't pay attention to the difference between a red Tundra out front and a red Ford at the loading dock.

Doublechecked the tag to make sure it was the chick crumble after that.

I also bought dried mealworms to start training them. I've had them for 2 weeks today!

I'm going to have to swap out bulbs again, going down to 40 watts. Unfortunately the 40 watt is white light but it can't be helped. The pet store doesn't carry reptile night bulbs in less than 60 watt. I can't raise the heat lamp any higher.