The chicks are now 6 weeks old and moving their tractor everyday has become a part of my daily routine. It is hard to believe that not too long ago, they were little fluff balls arriving in the mail! They are still the most friendly birds we have ever had! It is the highlight of my daughter’s day to go see them. She even has a pony, but poor Sebastian cannot hold a candle to the love she has for her chickens! 

    I cannot emphasize enough how great they are at foraging! As soon as they are pulled onto fresh grass, they immediately start gobbling up all they can. They will choose fresh grass over their feed most of the time, which speaks volumes to the health of these birds. We want our chickens to have a balanced diet, and seeing them eat grass and bugs as they were intended to, makes me smile!

    They are still only eating about 3/4 a feeder of food everyday, and unlike their white Cornish competitors, will not eat until they pop. Many times in the morning, there is still a small amount of uneaten feed in the feeder. Their water intake has really shot up this week, and all 13 drink about 2 gallons of water per day. Our water hose is too far away, so to fix this, we have a “water station” near the tractor. It is simply a big, recycled plastic barrel strapped onto a pallet. (Be sure to thoroughly clean any used barrel and always make sure it did not contain hazardous materials). My husband can lift the barrel and pallet with his tractor and take it to get it refilled as needed. We haven’t had to refill it yet, and we also use this barrel to water our layer hens. This step saves us plenty of time and walking.