Here you go...pictures everyone has been waiting for...our chicks! We got 21 (the hatchery gave us an extra) 3-day-old chicks on July 12th and kept them in 2 brooders in our garage for 3 weeks. During that time we had to keep them at certain temperatures (hot!) and refill their water/food a zillion times a day. Jonathan worked on the stable, converting 2 of the stalls into chicken areas. He built new doors and swinging windows on the whole stable, as well as a huge roost/laying component. He also installed an automatic watering system as well as a huge feeder which can feed 30 chickens for over 3 days without being refilled. 2 weeks ago we moved our babies out of the garage and into the coop. Our friends had 5 chicks and after one died, they asked us to 'take over' their remaining 4. We also acquired 5 pullets (juvenile hens) so that our egg production can begin sooner than December (when the chicks will start laying). Yes, this means that we have 30 chickens! The pullets are living in the 'roost' side of the stable and we'll move the chicks over in another 2 months. We look forward to fresh eggs starting in the first week of September!
The day we got them -
The 2 brooders with heat lamps on...the plywood kept the cat from getting in
The feeder and waterer
So cute! Playtime on the grass
The camera intrigued them
Kisses
The roost! Jonathan built it! What a guy! (we have hay all over and in the roosts now)
See that nice door? Jonathan built it :) It's covered with 2 layers of chicken wire - we can't have racoons reaching through to grab the chicks' heads!
Working on the other door with Jimmy, a guy who's been helping us
Right when we put the chicks in their coop! The small red thing is the waterer; the big one is the feeder - it hands from the ceiling
Some of the pullets - they are very sweet. We cut their flight feathers the other day...but they can still get up pretty high!
The 2 brooders with heat lamps on...the plywood kept the cat from getting in
The feeder and waterer
So cute! Playtime on the grass
The camera intrigued them
Kisses
The roost! Jonathan built it! What a guy! (we have hay all over and in the roosts now)
See that nice door? Jonathan built it :) It's covered with 2 layers of chicken wire - we can't have racoons reaching through to grab the chicks' heads!
Working on the other door with Jimmy, a guy who's been helping us
Right when we put the chicks in their coop! The small red thing is the waterer; the big one is the feeder - it hands from the ceiling
Some of the pullets - they are very sweet. We cut their flight feathers the other day...but they can still get up pretty high!
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