Raising Baby Chick-Along

[CapricornFarm]

Another steamy day! One chick had poopy butt so i cut back the wattage on the bulb in the brooder. Maybe i will take off the board in front to allow some more air in. The chickens are still picking on the guineas, i will be so happy when i get this coop finished so i can get working on the run.

 

[rjohns39]

My new house is almost there... It's no where as pretty as Cap's, but it's mobile.

 

[WVduckchick]

My new house is almost there... It's no where as pretty as Cap's, but it's mobile.
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I really need to make one of those too. Looks great.

 

[AUChickenGal]

I've been traveling a lot lately and preparing for the start of the new semester (tomorrow - ugh!). My babies aren't really babies anymore, at 10 and almost 6 weeks. Everyone is roosting with the flock now, although there is still quite a bit of fussing and chasing off and on to remind the littles where they rank in the pecking order. The June chicks are ALMOST big enough to stop slipping through the poultry netting, so their free range existence will end shortly.

Of the three chicks hatched by my broody EE, it looks like the barred one is the only cockerel. He already pecks at me from the roost and beats up on the older chicks; he definitely has to leave soon. It looks like he will be a BIG boy, with either a pea or rose comb. I think I'm going to offer him in a trio with the OE and RIR pullets. That will get me down to 8 birds for the fall/winter. The Neiderheiner pullet is becoming very beautiful and is by far the sweetest of the younger babies, so she gets the "keeper" award from that group. It was hard to decide which of the June chicks should leave, but the RIR is the flightiest of them.

Hopefully I can get some pictures this afternoon. It's hard to believe how fast they grow up!

 

[orrpeople]

My new house is almost there... It's no where as pretty as Cap's, but it's mobile.
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I love my portable coops - they have come in handy so many times! I'm debating whether to hatch a batch of sex link Marans/BR crosses for meat this winter (and sell off the pullets...if I get any!) We really liked the ones we did this last spring. Hopefully it will cool down enough to put the tractors out in the orchard for this...

 

[rjohns39]

Question for all... My new shelter has 8 roosts a couple of tree branches and the rest bamboo. Should I leave the leaves and limbs on the bamboo or take them off? It looks a bit like a jungle in there right now..

AU I just caught two of my IL pullets sneaking through the electric fence, unlike my adult birds who don't like the shock, she seems to shrug it off. ARG

Orr I really need to put out 150 or so CXs for winter meat. I waited until October last year and swear I'll not process in 30 degree weather again.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

I'd rather process birds, or anything, in the cold! Hot fire with scalding water, hard sweaty smelly work, and the need to cool the meat just seem easier to me in the cold. But, to each their own.

 

[rjohns39]

I'd rather process birds, or anything, in the cold! Hot fire with scalding water, hard sweaty smelly work, and the need to cool the meat just seem easier to me in the cold. But, to each their own.

That was my reasoning--but didn't count on frozen fingers. Also took longer to scald and pluck. And other challenges I won't go into here.

 

[AUChickenGal]

I managed to get a few photos this afternoon. These little guys are very quick now!

 

[Jessimom]

How can she possibly see?

The babies are getting big! I moved them out of the garage a few weeks later than I wanted to, but the younger birds didn't have all their feathers.