Raising Chicks in the Winter Part 1

Most people think of spring as the ideal time to raise chicks, but chicks are available all year from Hoover’s Hatchery There are some good reasons you might want raise chicks in the winter and this post is the first in a three-part series on the topic of winter chicks

This first post will talk about pros of winter chicks, the second post will talk about some considerations (or potential cons) of raising chicks in the winter, and the third post will talk about how to keep those peeps warm in the event of power outage

Week 11 With Rudd Rangers

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

Week Two With New Chicks

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

Week 9 With Rudd Rangers

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

Egg Layers- One Month Old Update

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)

Treats Help Manage A Flock

Anyone who has tried to herd an escaped flock back into the coop quickly discovers that chickens have a mind of their own Some run this way, while others go that way Few un where their owner intends The result is exercise for both humans and chickens and little else
Fortunately, chickens are easy to trick Herding doesn’t work well but tasty lures do Chickens can’t resist a delicious snack No matter where the flock is, as soon as one bird spots treats being served, she’ll cluck and summon her fellow flockmates to the feast
Here’s

Egg Layers- 2 Weeks Old Update

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!

The Arrival of New Chicks- Week 1

Our 15 Rudd Rangers arrived safely this morning!

     The post office gave me a call first thing Thursday morning and we picked them up It’ a good idea to call your local post office as soon as you get your shipping confirmation email from Hoover’s Give them your name and number and tell them you are expecting chicks to arrive in 1-2 days Once you get to the post office, immediately peek inside your box and make sure all the chicks are alive It is rare, but it does occasionally happen that some

Week 10 With Rudd Rangers

This week, the Rudd Rangers are officially 2 months old! 

They have made it about 2/3 of the way through their time here on our farm It seems like a lifetime ago that they were fluffy chicks in a delivery box!

Big storms were due to roll in Sunday night, so we decided to move the Rangers into a more secure coop The chicken tractor is fine for rainy days, but it is very lightweight With the threat of strong winds and possible tornadoes, we decided to move all 13

Diary of a Chicken Owner- Egg Layers!

Having your own laying hens can be super rewarding, and it can be extra exciting getting eggs from your flock!
This week I received a box of happiness from Hoover’s- an assortment of egg layers!
Upon opening the box, I was struck by how beautiful they all were! It was like opening a treasure box for a crazy chicken lady! They looked like tiny gemstones; each one different from the other! As soon as I opened the box to inspect them all, I saw one of the dark grey chicks was acting very weak It had