Six Little Peeps

Backyard Poultry

All Set Up

And so, the six little chicks settled into their new home. They got their roost right away, as you can see, although they've not tried it out yet. I had to improvise for a feeder, since another trough feeder would be much too large. This one was supposed to have a tube on top to feed the food down. However, the tube tends to keep the food level much too high, and causes a lot of food to overflow into the litter. So I removed the tube and just filled the feeder manually when it ran out. Of course, I had to cover the top with duct tape so the chicks wouldn't roost on it, though it doesn't look like it's helping much. The quart fountain waterer was just the right size for these little peeps, propped on a rock to keep litter out of it.

Coexistence

Backyard Poultry

Moving In

Relations between the ducklings and chicks quickly declined (as well as my sister's tolerance of the situation), and after the first night I was obliged to find something else to do with my six little birds. I revised the set up in the big chicks' box, and found a workable solution. I added a second light bulb (only a regular lamp bulb rather than the infrared brooder bulb) to create enough heat. And I used half-inch hardware cloth to separate the two ages of chicks. You see, the younger ones needed to grow a bit before facing the big chicks. Besides the heat needs issue, the older birds were apt to see the little ones as animated toys to chase and peck. Not a good situation! A few weeks should cure that problem, though.

Latecomers

Backyard Poultry

Six New Chicks

The Rhode Island Reds have arrived! Remember in my previous post (see it here) I described the chick mix-up? The original ten Rhode Island Red chicks I ordered did not hatch in time, so they sent Golden Buffs instead. I took four Golden Buffs and reordered six RI Reds. And, two weeks later, here they are. This is how they looked on arrival--obviously already a couple days old since their wing feathers are growing out like crazy. They seemed to have already been started on food and water as well.

Temporary Room Mates

I stuck them down into the older chicks' box, but soon realized it wasn't the best idea. The one brooder light was not enough to keep both sets of chicks warm. But happily enough, my sister had also just received two little ducklings in the same order as the RI Reds. They were set up in the kitchen under a warm bulb. So in went the chicks with the two yellow ducklings for their first night. They got along pretty well, except that the ducklings liked to lie around and the chicks kept stepping on them.

Little Auracanas

Backyard Poultry

Pinecone . . . or Maybe Walnut

Ready to see some more feathers? Here are the 'Easter egg' chicks, the Araucanas/Americanas (I'm not sure which), that lay blue eggs when they grow up. I had two of the dark chick above named Pinecone and Walnut. The new feathers are lined with tiny rings of black and gold, in contrast to the all-black fuzzy down. At about two weeks of age, these beautiful feathers were already covering the wings and tail and starting on the back. But their little heads were still brown! That would disappear in time as well though.

Odd One Out

This is Birchie, the third Auracana. It was definitely the odd one out, with coloring completely opposite of Pinecone and Walnut. The new feathers are an off-white with tan at the bases. This was the coloring Birchie always kept. The old down fluff looks quite drab compared to the new feathers on the shoulders, wings, and back.

First Roost

Backyard Poultry

Miniature Roost

Maybe you spotted another change in the last picture of the brooder as well: the chicks' first roost. It's amazing to see the roosting instinct come out even in these tiny birds. As soon as I put in the low bar of wood (only a couple inches off the floor). the chicks started hopping up onto it. They crowded for spots to perch, and promptly fell asleep. It was so funny to see their little heads slowly drop down to the floor as they nodded off! The little birds still seemed to prefer sleeping on the floor in a heap at this point though. Of course, many chicks do not receive a roost at such an early age, and must be content with sleeping on the floor. In fact, a number of chicks (broiler chickens) never have a roost to sleep on, even into adulthood. So, it is certain a roost is not essential for a chicken's survival; happiness is a different question.

Expanding Quarters

Backyard Poultry

Expanding the Brooder

Feathers were not the only thing growing on the new chicks. In three days they seemed to have nearly doubled their size at arrival, and doubled their needs as well. They soon graduated from little quart-size waterers to the large one-gallon water fountain. The feeder had to be refilled every other day now with chick starter crumbles, and wood shavings refreshed nearly every day. But most importantly, I was already able to expand the brooder guard (ie that piece of cardboard you see in the background) to allow the chicks more room. Not only did they need more space to run and peck in, but they were just a little less dependent on warmth from the light and thus could be allowed further away. More space also allowed the timid chicks to get even further when threatening human hands appeared overhead.

First Feathers

Backyard Poultry

Snowflake Sampling Squash

The little chicks grew faster than we could imagine and soon little feathers were beginning to show. Did you spot the black and white feathers peaking out from under the down on this Barred Rock's wings? That's where the baby feathers first come out. This chick is still only a few days old. Perhaps the growth was expedited by the chicks' rich diet, which included everything from chopped dandelion leaves to mashed squash. Yes, that's what the chick above is sampling: cooked, mashed butternut squash! I assure you, it was only from the kitchen scraps, not cooked especially for the chicks. The Barred Rock above, Snowflake, was tamer than the rest of the bunch and often proved to be the guinea pig for new experiments.

Golden Buff Growing Feathers

There were also new feathers showing on the Golden Buff chicks; white on the ends of the wings (they're hard to see) and darker brown around the shoulders and tail. I told you those cutie chipmunk stripes wouldn't last long! You can see now the mixture of two breeds in the Golden Buff now: mahogany brown of the Rhode Island Red and ivory white of the White Rock.

Happy Easter!

Do-It-Yourself Decorating 

Easter Garden

May this Easter be a blessed time for all my dear readers! This little garden is a perfect reminder of the significance of Easter. And it was easy to make at home! It started with spray painting a little clay pot gray. Then we turned it on its side in a flat plastic pan and heaped potting soil all around. The crosses were made from little sticks broken and glued together, stuck into a piece of florist's foam behind the pot. Teasing out green moss to cover the dirt was a challenge. A small piece of white fabric for the grave clothes and a round stone rolled away from the tomb finished it off. It reminds us of the wonderful proclamation that first Easter Sunday:

 

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus Who was crucified. 

He is not here;

for He is risen, as He said.

Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

Matthew 28:5-6