ANNOUNCING OUR NEWEST ADDITIONS….

Picked up the baby chicks yesterday.  I had to drive about 30 minutes to the Hatchery.  Once I arrived I was asked at a small window what my name was, the lady disappeared and a few minutes later came out with this small box in her hands filled with these 10 cute little chicks!

I preordered the chicks a few months ago and I ordered all pullets (which means hens, which means females)  I do NOT want anymore roosters!

I ordered

2 Araucana’s (lay the blue eggs)

2 Barred Rock’s

2 Buff Orpington’s

2 Silver Laced Wyandotte

2 Speckled Sussex

Everyone is doing fine.  I have the heat in the brooder at a balmy 95 degrees.  I am to keep it there for the first 10 days and then back it down 5 degrees each week thereafter.  I am using a red heat lamp, because chicks like to peck and if someone gets pecked a little to hard and starts to bleed, they will turn into little cannibals.  The red light doesn’t let them see the blood, because everything is red.

I have them on medicated starter feed and plenty of fresh water.  I put in a bean bag that they seem to like to lay on, it also seems to retain heat and stay warm.

I put a little clump of grass with dirt in the brooder, which they love to peck away at, lay on, sleep on, poop on.

Watching them their first day was like watching a bunch of drunks trying to stay on their feet.  Lots of swaying, tipping, falling and sleeping!  When they sleep they completely sprawl out, they freaked me out the first time I saw them.  It looked like a battle field of little dead baby chicks, but they were quickly back on their feet and running around.

Today after I cleaned the brooder I also added a little dish with peat moss and soil mix for them to scratch and roll in, which they jumped in before my hand was out of the brooder.

SO, so far so good.

Here are a few more pics.

check out the one with a little yellow bum!  too cute!

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