I gave in to the dark side.. chicks

[ginormous chicken]

So, yeah... I gave in to the dark side. After the whole fiasco of getting a chick of unknown pedigree, (look under sex,gender breeds, post "I was bought as a cuckoo maran... what am I") I was at the feed store. Does it matter I am going on Vacation for 9 days starting tomorrow? And there is a housesitter here? No, No No, No... the house sitter will be watching a brooder anyways right? What is a few more???

I bought more chicks. These guys are straight runs. I figure they are going to be reptile food if they are roos (No! Don't yell at me, can't do any more roosters). So I bought 3 more. If... I keep everyone (yeah, don't think so) that will make 21!! Too many chickens!!! But I sure love them

.

White Crested Black Polish

White Silkie

D'Uccle Mille Fleur

D'Uccle black/white mottled Mille Fleur (This one did not come from the feed store, this one came from Iroquois egg, she listed it on CL and I found out.)

They are all roosters right????

 

[paddock36]

You haven't entered the dark side. You have just finally seen the light.

They are very pretty too and baby roos don't count in chicken math.

 

[Raen]

Oh, the polish baby already has a poofy head! Awesome. I really, really need one of those. I wouldn't have been able to resist, either.

 

[ginormous chicken]

Yeah, my feed store carries them s/r of course! Yeah they have poofy tops since birth/

 

[Kaneke]

I gave in to the dark side too ---

I know I *said* and I SAID that I wasn't going to get any chicks -- not now

then DH came home and said, you know I stopped at the feed store and they have a LOT of chicks and different ages

so I had to go look

they got the chicks in yesterday, so the bins were pretty well picked over; there were only a few bantams left and they looked huddled and sad

but the EEs ... in with RIRs .... were bouncing around like the chipmunks they resemble

I was going to get ... maybe three .... one and a companion and a spare in case one chick has a problem

the gal started catching them and putting them in the Purina chick-take-out box .... and pretty soon there were seven of them (all the EEs (listed as Americanas) that were left ... though maybe one or two of the yellow/buff striped ones were EEs too)

she said -- you can pick out the ones you want --- but ....
1) I wanted to watch how they acted loose in the brooder bin
and
2) they were so darned cute I couldn't put any back--- I just COULDN'T

so ...... seven little stripey babies are asleep in the upstairs bathroom

I'm trying something different as a heat source -- I have a ceramic radiant heater made to go in the kneehole of a standard office desk, to keep the office worker warmed in a drafty office ... I can put my hand against it and it's warm -- about the temperature of a cup of coffee I'd drink easily

it is sitting at one end of the cardboard brooder box-- propped up slightly on a 2X6 so it isn't sitting directly on the bedding -- the 2x6 happened to have a couple of nails already driven partway into it, so the heater rests against those, and it's clipped to the top of the brooder so it doesn't fall over (though it would hit the other side of the box, wouldn't fall all the way down into the brooder)

five little chicks are sitting/sprawling on the 2x6 and have their fluffy butts snuggled right against the heater

the other two chicks are BEHIND it --- squeezing themselves onto the inch left of that 2x6, between the heater and the side of the brooder ... silly things ! I nudged them out of there several times then decided they knew where they wanted to be

I am guessing that this ceramic heater is functioning about like an EcoGlow --- though it is much bigger -- it's roughly 3 feet by 18 inches, and I have it sitting on the narrow end so the switch and cord are on the top outside the box

it's keeping the water dish blood-warm too ... LOL ... I am making sure there is always enough water, so the warmth doesn't evaporate it all

 

[paddock36]

I have eggs in my incubator just starting to pip. I can't wait 'cause after they hatch I'm going to TSC to buy some RIR chicks too. They will be replacements for my BA hens. I haven't been too happy with the BA's

 

[Raen]

What is a BA chicken?

 

[paddock36]

Black Astralorp (

not sure if I spelled that right)