Chicks, the First Week

Rhode Island Red chick at one week old.  A miniature comb and wattle are growing on its forehead.

Wing and tail feathers.

The chicks are a week old now and are growing fast.  They have doubled in size since we brought them home, and they are showing loads of personality.  We have our eager ones, reluctant ones, curious ones, and shy ones.  Some are assertive, first to do everything; and others prefer to follow.  Feathers are starting to grow out from the shoulder, wings, and tail.  Thanks to those wing feathers, they are getting rather adept at cruising around in their 8 ft. x 4 ft. brooder pen.  It looks like a couple of the chicks are playing at pecking order, and not necessarily the largest ones either.  Maintenance is very low - we refill the feed tray every other day, and we haven't yet had to refill the gallon waterer.

3rd-year semi-dwarf nectarine tree.

We have an excellent stand of spinach this spring; lettuce, carrots, and onions are just sprouting.  Peas just went in the ground over the weekend after being pre-sprouted in wet paper towels.  Indoors our peppers, dill, and bedding flowers are growing under lights, and we will add to them tomato and other warm-weather crops this week.  We're still enjoying peach and cherry blossoms.  Happy first day of Spring!

Bush cherries in bloom.

Baby chicks are here!

A golden comet chick explores its new home.

Outside, the air is warm, hyacinths, cherry trees, and peach trees are in bloom, and cool weather crops are sprouting out of bare ground.  These events lead to one undeniable conclusion:  Spring has arrived!  After months of waiting, we are the proud parents of a dozen healthy chicks.  Rhode Island Red and Golden Comet chicks are happily peeping in our brooder; they have taken their first drinks and meal well.  I'll spare you all the details and get on with the show.

Baby chicks in their box.

Rhode Island Red chick.

Getting their first meal.

Taking their first drink (electrolytes have been added to
the water).

Happy in their new brooder.

Ready for Peeps!

Movable chicken coop with run is ready for our Spring flock.  Baby chicks arrive March 12!

Our kids are in love with the fluffy marshmallow treats that hatch on seasonal shelves in Spring, but this year they get to experience baby chicks for real, a whole dozen of the chaotic, peeping, melt-your-heart balls of fluff with two eyes and two legs.  They are being shipped on March 10 and will arrive to us two days old on March 12.

Chick feed, electrolytes, and other essential chick supplies.

Since January, when the chicken coop was finished, we have added an enclosed run on wheels and a brooder (a brooder is a safe place to raise baby chicks where they can be kept warm until they adjust to normal outdoor temperatures).  Our brooder is a stall, appropriately housed in the barn, with plenty of space for our growing flock.

Homemade, 1-gallon chicken waterer
with chicken nipple.

Clean water is vital to success, and we decided to use chicken nipple dispensers rather than the traditional inverted poultry waterer.  Baby chicks love to scratch up bedding into and even poop in traditional poultry waterers, which need to be cleaned frequently and can tip over.  Chicken nipples keep the water supply clean and bedding dry, saving us a lot of work.

Can't quite say all that's left for us is to harvest organic free-range eggs in six months, but we've done nearly everything possible to make for a successful and enjoyable first season with our backyard flock!

The brooder is set up in our barn, with heat lamp.

Chicken Coop Is Finished

This movable chicken coop is designed for 4-6 laying hens, functional  in a small footprint.

Raising your own backyard chickens for fresh eggs is one of the hottest trends around.  Bryan worked an hour or two at a time through the winter building this chicken coop to house 4-6 laying hens.  Shed lot prices for a coop like this start at $1,000; we saved $800 building it ourselves and used recycled materials where possible.  

It's portable using 9-inch lawnmower wheels and can be wheeled around the yard almost as easily as pushing a wheel barrow; we will move the "chicken tractor" every couple of days to protect the lawn.  It's compact, but not too confining, as the bottomless downstairs allows chickens to scratch the ground and forage for food.  It's a snap to maintain with access panels on three sides for gathering eggs and cleaning, and the multilevel design allows for flow-through ventilation keeping chickens healthy.  

When planned well, chickens can fertilize the vegetable garden, providing nutrients and organic matter that are used up by the cultivation process.  As we have time, future blog posts this year will feature the raising of our first flock of Rhode Island Reds; day-old chicks are expected in March!

The frame takes shape inside the barn.

Side walls with access panels and a clestory window.

Ramp on floor to the left, roost (in back), and nesting boxes are installed.

Main coop is nearly finished with a metal roof
to keep chickens snug and dry.

The coop will sit on this "tractor" with wheels. 

Finally finished and waiting for our chickens.