Week 3 with New Chicks

This week marks the Rudd chicks’ 2nd week birthday They are averaging 180 grams now and truly growing each day!

The 13 chicks are thriving and starting to grow in some juvenile feathers They still have lots of fluff, and still need access to the heat lamp at all times Weather is Alabama has been warm one day, and freezing the next, so it is important to keep an eye on their temperature in the brooding box The heat lamp is always on, but adjustments are needed to other surroundings For example, during

Preparing for Chicks to Arrive

The most important part of raising your own meat birds is preparation We begin preparing well in advance, so when the baby chicks arrive, all that is left to do is put them happily in the brooder

My husband is the mastermind of our setup and has built everything by hand There may be considerable cost up front, but many things are a one time build and can be used again and again

Before the chicks arrive, I already have the brooder ready We use an old square shipping container with

Week 5 With Chicks

This week the chicks have officially moved outside!

All 13 are now living in the chicken tractor with lots of extra space to run, play, and just be chickens As they grew in size, they also grew in stink Of course, this wasn’t their fault, but the smell was starting to be enough to knock you over in the morning upon first entering the garden shed I knew it was time, when one morning I walked in and one of the chicks was loose in the shed! It had flown over the top of

Week 6 With Rudd Rangers

A whole week in the great outdoors, and our Rudd Rangers are loving the extra space! Each weighs about a pound now All together they eat 3/4 a feeder full of food per day! All this eating makes for quite a lot of pooping, so I move their tractor twice a day As soon as the tractor moves onto fresh grass, they hit it hard and start gobbling up all the fresh grass and clover They truly are great foragers!