Raising Baby Chick-Along

[calichicken]

I picked up 4 Aussie chicks yesterday, 1 and 3 weeks old. Temporary coop is no problem, still had all the stuff from the first chicks earlier this year. I love the sound of those tiny little peeps in the morning!

So true!!! Congrats and enjoy those cheeping babies!!!! They grow up so fast!

Welp, on Wednesday Im expecting 12 little cheepers to come into the world, and I'm probably going to modify their brooder coop so I can add a little doorway in the main door so the chicks can come in and out as pleased on their first day of life. I'm also trying the heating pad method since I had TWO heat lamps explode in a row on 5 week old chicks that were already introduced to the outside.

Yay!!! More babies let me know how the heating pad works for you! I have read up on it but never tried it yet. Exploding heat lamps are scary! Fortunately I have not experienced this yet

 

[calichicken]

Strange but true: I had to tell HE that we should NOT order more chicks right now!

I know. Can't believe (A) that I'm saying no to more of any animal and (B) that it's HE that wants more chicks. I did check around for a giant alien pod. Nope. Must still be him. Still, it's very weird.

ARE YOU FEELING OK???? I would have had babies picked up and at home by the end of the day...lol

 

[AUChickenGal]

I decided I needed to get my flock down to 8 before colder weather sets it, and the little cockerel had a better chance of being sold if I offered him in a package deal. So I decided to sell him, the EE who raised the July babies, and my February BO pullet. They got picked up today, and already my little flock is more peaceful, as the EE and BO were by far the most aggressive of my birds.

That leaves me with...

Ethel, my odd looking EE who lays sky blue eggs and grumbles at me any time I clean the coop or collect eggs:

Minnie, my gorgeous SS pullet, who lays pink eggs and likes to be picked up and cuddled every night before bed:

The June chicks, now almost 3 months old, Xena (Australorp), Sophie (Delaware), Reba (RIR), and Puff (Salmon Faverolles):

And the two July pullets, at almost two months old, Bella (Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner - so sweet!) and she who has yet to be named (very tiny and VERY flighty OE):

 

[rjohns39]

The babies grow up so fast I need to build a new shelter for the RIWs and still have del crosses and hollands on pasture, and ducks in the brooder. Gotta get to work ARG

 

[AUChickenGal]

An interesting observation on flock dynamics:

The four "teenagers" basically exist as their own subflock. The only time they interact with the adults is at night while roosting. The two adults I have retained are not at all aggressive towards the youngsters (except for typical pecking at roost time), but the July pullets still avoid them most of the time. These pullets were raised in the house for three weeks and then in a "panic room" type arrangement in the main flock's run for another month or so before being fully integrated into the flock.

Meanwhile, the two July pullets, who were hatched by one of my older pullets and have spent their entire lives in the flock, spend most of their time near the adults. Even now that their foster mom has been sold, they still prefer the company of the adults and avoid the teenage pullets as much as possible.

 

[rjohns39]

I'm still trying to figure out how it happened, but I got a RIW in with my last batch of babies to the pasture. She will not interact with the dels and generally hangs out with one particular turkey and an IL leghorn. She won't go into her shelter at night and I find her free ranging in the lower pasture every morning. btw, she belongs in the upper pasture.

 

[calichicken]

@AUChickenGal good looking group! And yes.. sometimes scaling down does make for a calmer...more relaxed flock...and chicken keeper...lol!

 

[calichicken]

An interesting observation on flock dynamics:

The four "teenagers" basically exist as their own subflock. The only time they interact with the adults is at night while roosting. The two adults I have retained are not at all aggressive towards the youngsters (except for typical pecking at roost time), but the July pullets still avoid them most of the time. These pullets were raised in the house for three weeks and then in a "panic room" type arrangement in the main flock's run for another month or so before being fully integrated into the flock.

Meanwhile, the two July pullets, who were hatched by one of my older pullets and have spent their entire lives in the flock, spend most of their time near the adults. Even now that their foster mom has been sold, they still prefer the company of the adults and avoid the teenage pullets as much as possible.

I'm still trying to figure out how it happened, but I got a RIW in with my last batch of babies to the pasture. She will not interact with the dels and generally hangs out with one particular turkey and an IL leghorn. She won't go into her shelter at night and I find her free ranging in the lower pasture every morning. btw, she belongs in the upper pasture.

DARN those babies for having a mind of their own.. LOL! So interesting to see how they interact with eachother! I have found my chicks that are raised in the same brooder together tend to stick with their brooder mate groups. My last hatch I had babies in 3 brooders...and except for the adventurous chick that tried to hop in a different brooder now and then...they hung out in their groups when I let them roam around.

 

[WVduckchick]

I have a group of "yard birds" some of them hatched together. I later added a bantam cochin cockerel and they accepted him. I have a pair of younger lav orps that i have been letting out daily and the yard birds are mean to them! I also tried adding another bantam cochin cockerel and i thought they were gonna kill him. I'm about to "process" the meanies (only mean to certain birds)

I have way too many boys I need rid of before winter.

 

[CapricornFarm]

My guinea keets, at 7.5 weeks old, are now in the run of the new coop. None of them, even the chickens, have figured out how to get in the pop door!