Find Garden Supplies Here:
Find Almost Anything Else Here:
|
 The Buckeye chicks are 21 weeks old now; and are starting to look like real chickens. We ordered 25 day-old chicks, received 30, lost two within the first three days; and the remaining 28 prospered. I wrote about how we intended to raise them when they first arrived (see Raising Day-Old Chicks); but we learned a few things along the way.
Temperature
For the first five weeks, the chicks were under a red, infrared lamp continuously to keep them warm. But, because fall temperatures swung so drastically, adjusting the lamp to keep the temperature constant was a pain. I checked the temperature [...]
Continue reading Raising Buckeye Chicks
 After successfully raising the six Red Comet chicks to laying age and twenty eight Buckeye chicks through the first twelve weeks this year, we thought it was going to be smooth sailing. But no, things never go quite as planned…..
As the Buckeye’s were moving into week 13, they abruptly started picking the feathers off of each other’s back and eating them. Within two days, some of them were beginning to show bare backs where all the feathers had been picked away. Naturally, we were anxious about this behavior (a form of cannibalism) and wanted to get it stopped ASAP.
After posting [...]
Continue reading Feather Picking Chickens
 On Thursday, we got 30 Buckeye peeps (they actually hatched last Sunday), and put them in a brooder in the barn. We’ve waited along time for these Buckeyes (see Buckeye Chickens)!
.
The brooder is actually made from a TV armoire we found sitting beside the road, waiting to be hauled off as trash (yes, we asked before we took it!). We took the shelves and drawers out, and set it with the back on the ground – just perfect for a little brooder. For the first two days, we put the chicks on paper towels so they’d learn where their food was [...]
Continue reading Baby Buckeyes Are Here!
 Thirteen Weeks Old
I picked up one of the chicks last night, and did a double take. She was a lot heavier than I expected – those sneaky little girls are growing up!
We don’t know exactly how old they are (they were a surprise with the new coop), but think about thirteen weeks. We got them at five weeks, and first kept them in an old Eglu while we painted the coop interior. At eight weeks, we slowly transitioned from the medicated starter feed they were being fed to non-medicated grower feed, and didn’t observe any problems.
At nine weeks, they moved [...]
Continue reading Growing Pullets
 The six young chickens that came with the new coop (see New Chicken Coop) were a complete surprise, so we scrambled to accommodate them. It really just came down to what is best for housing, feeding, and watering five week-old chicks so they attain their full potential as healthy, happy, productive chickens.
Seven Weeks Old
Housing
For housing, baby chickens are started in a brooder with a heat lamp until about 4-5 weeks of age, so we verified that these chicks had been moved out of the brooder, and no longer needed a heat lamp. We also took a good look at the [...]
Continue reading Young Chick Care
|
Welcome! This blog is all about backyard chickens, goats, gardens, honey bees and DIY. To visit the farm website instead, click on the logo below.
Enjoy A Free Homesteading Magazine:
|
Chicken Coop Cam
Goat Stall Cam
