I got my chicks today!

[rottnwarrior]

Haha they are cute little things. Congrats. Have you noticed them falling asleep on their sides or bellies yet? They look dead, then just pop up and start playing. When mine got pasty butt I'd dip them in warm water n soak them til it was soft enough to wipe off. The ones that kept getting it got a haircut down there. It helped.

 

[fluffpuffgerbil]

Yep, I've seen them fall dead asleep in their tracks then bounce back up and go play. My RIR particularly loves to sleep in my hand though, if she's cupped nice and snuggly in it. She falls right asleep.


There she is, my RIR Pepper, sleeping in my hand. All the others were sleeping on my arm and I think Loki might have been at my shoulder at that moment. Not sure.

And that's good to know about the pasty butt. A few of mine had gotten droppings stuck around their bum area, but not clogging the vent(I checked to make sure) and there were a couple, like the BO who is super fluffy and the australorp, who I took a wet q-tip to and lightly rubbed the dried up droppings to get them off. I haven't had any real problems other than just the poo stuck to their butt feathers(not the vent).

 

[rottnwarrior]

Ha! They don't look comfy and happy at all do they?! Look at 'em all comfy and snoozing like they already know they are spoiled rotten. I would sit with mine for hours watching them race around playing and then just fall asleep and tip over then bounce up like nothing happened 10 minutes later over and over.

 

[fluffpuffgerbil]

They definitely know they are, haha xD What's real fun is watching them try to fly already. They can't be more than 5 days old and already they're stretching their wings and jumping and flapping!!

 

[rottnwarrior]

That's great! Can't wait til spring to see chicks running around again.

 

[waldeneffect]

We've been letting our new chicks out to forage during the day.

They stay close to their enclosure and run in at the first sign of danger or cold.

Each year we do this earlier and earlier. The hope is that they will be better foragers when they grow up and have less chance to pick on each other when they move as a flock on the outside.

Here's a blog post on some of the things we learned so far regarding when it's safe to let them roam.

http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/Free_range_chicks/