Have you ever stood in your yard and called your chickens? Have they ever come running like a herd of wildebeest across the plain? Have you ever possessed the sense you may be the most powerful human being on planet Earth, that this may be the peak of your life?
Well, if so, you have experienced tame chickens When someone sees my flock of almost 30 chickens flying and running behind me, they may see someone crazy, but I feel like some sort of Snow White/ Queen of the Beasts
Regardless of breed,
One of the most common questions a new chicken owner asks is, “what is the right bedding for my coop?”
Although a common question, the answer might surprise you, even if you are an experienced chicken owner
Not much scientific research has been devoted to the right bedding for backyard flock owners Most research has been poured into industrial sized chicken broiler farms At these farms, heavy bodied Cornish Cross meat chickens eat, poop, and sleep all in the same place-on the ground Since they sleep on the ground, the material they lay in is technically called bedding These chickens are
My grandfather used to swear everyone who had chickens, needed a rooster He would say things like, “a rooster keeps all the hens in line,” or “the hens need a protector” Today we know that although those statements are partially true, roosters are not a necessary part of your backyard flock
You do not need a rooster to get eggs from your hens A hen will continue to lay eggs without the presence of a rooster The eggs will be unfertilized, so you will not be able to hatch them The eggs will be “blanks”
Currently on our little homestead, we
We were VERY impressed with the overall experience with these Rudd Rangers™! I would definitely do it again!
Over 11 weeks, they consumed about 8 50lb bags of feed (plus lots of grass and bugs It is worth noting we raised them in the spring when conditions have been ideal Temps rarely getting over 75 degrees and lots of new spring foliage growth) During their entire life, they probably drank around 180 gallons of water We moved the tractor daily, and for the last 4 weeks we let them free range during the
The Rudd Rangers are growing right before my eyes! We have had them about 1 week, and they have grown from an average weight of 33 grams, all the way to 95 grams! Each day they grow more curious, more playful, and certainly hungrier Even though they are still fluff balls, I am starting to notice them getting more muscular and tall Their wing feathers are coming in, but I will not have to worry about them flying out of the brooder for a few more weeks still
They are relatively low maintenance at this age
This past week, our Rudd Rangers have been truly enjoying their new found freedom!
Every morning, I walk out to their tractor and pull it onto a fresh spot (Might I add that you will not want to keep them too close to your house as they do poop a lot!) Next, I open up the door and all the excited chickens come running out! I fill up their feeder with pellets and fill up their 3 gallon water tank, and forget them until evening comes In the past, we kept our meat
This week marked another first for the Rudd Rangers; they experienced freedom!
It was brief, it was supervised, but it was freedom! It was really hilarious to see them running and FLYING out of the tractor door! They were very excited!
However, the possibility of losing one to a predator scares me to death, so I usually end up corralling them back inside after an hour or two Since they have grown up in the chicken tractor, they do not stray to far from it When the sun is gets
My lovely assortment of chicks have officially made it to the one month mark! At about 3 weeks old, they graduated to the handy-dandy chicken tractor to receive some much needed fresh air and more space They also are now eating pellets, instead of crumble It is important to always keep youngsters away from older hens If you put them together too soon, you’ll quickly see nature’s “pecking order” in full swing It is best to keep your babies separate until they are almost equal in size to full grown hens (about 4 months of age)
The past few weeks have flown by with my colorful, rainbow batch of chicks!
They have been relatively low maintenance up until this point When you have chicks during hotter months, it is important to make sure they don’t get overheated during the daytime
Their wing and tail feathers have grown in Usually feathers on the head come in very last There have been 3 pleasant days where we have let them outside during the day We put them in our handy, now empty, chicken tractor Ideally, the tractor would have rabbit wire, but it only has chicken wire Luckily, the chicks have grown in size and cannot fit through the holes
Their first time in a bigger house was super exciting!
They ran around and flew off the grass, like little baby pigeons! Picking grass, taking a dust bath, and practicing perching Like a proud parent, I loved seeing all their firsts! My toddler loves sitting in the tractor with them and she will have them tame in no time!
Unlike the Rangers, these chicks all look very different! So, naturally, we have favorites There’s Stormy the black and white mystery girl, Lemongrab, the one we can’t decide will be white or gray, and Sunny
Sunny is very “special” Ever since taking her out of the box, I noticed something was off about this dark gray, almost blue, cutie She doesn’t have splay leg, but has trouble getting around She acts dizzy I have tried different things to help her, but nothing has changed It must be a neurological tick She is still eating, drinking, and longs to be with the others
Some of the chicks did develop mild cases of “pasty butt,” or as my toddler lovingly calls it, “tasty butt” Pasty butt happens when chicks have a little ball of poop on the outside of their little bottoms It is fairly common in chicks that have been shipped, and thankfully, easy to fix By carefully picking off the hard bits with a warm, wet paper towel, it is cured
Other than that, they are a lively, vivid little bouquet of chicks!
Our colorful mix of chicks have made it to be almost 2 months old!
They have been living in the outdoor chicken tractor permanently, with some supervised freedom They love scratching around in the tall grass and under the muscadine vines Like the Rudd Rangers, they see the tractor as their home and never stray too far from it!
Fully feathered, they are sporting their adult colors, but are only about 1/3 the size of a full grown hen
The little black chick, who had a white face, white belly, and specks on her
