Yesterdays Mom Bun

Introducing them to the established flock.

When I think of working with the chicks and chickens I think of what would a mother hen do? She would naturally bring them out for an outing, bits at a time. Getting closer and closer to the flock, the older ladies will just get used to their presence.

I start out by leaving the older ladies in the run area. I read their body language….. are they pacing, are they bocking excitedly? If the answer is yes, you’ll need to do this until the older ladies are comfortable and their body language calms down.

If the answer is no, them you can let them out…. 🙂 Have the chicks in the yard and not right up to the run door. Closely monitor the situation and do it for as long as the babies are able too. I would say about 30 min or the amount of time you have. You need to think about both the chicks and older ladies. Click the link below to see how this first time went for us. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwr8_UNHs7A/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

They will eventually scratch around each other and preen themselves together, you know they are comfortable around each other at that point.

Pretty soon it’ll be so normal to be around each other and the integration will be easy. Keep the babies living separate from the older ladies until about 1.5 to 2 months. From the time the babies are old enough to be able to go in the run and coop….. slowly start to feed them treats in the same area.

When the chicks have their big girl feathers, they are start to sleep in the coop. Such a big step. That will be the next post….. stay tuned.

Love, Nicolette

You brought home some babies!! It’s a very exciting time and also a time of what did we just do!!? Chickens?

Guess what? Its an amazing experience to be loved by chickens, to feel independent and being able to see the beautiful cycle of chickenhood.

Let’s get to the basics when it comes to the first, lets say 3 weeks.

The housing can be a plethora of structures, some people use small kiddie pools, boxes and etc.

Our first batch, in 2015 lived in a big fish tank and it was the perfect thing for baby chicks. No drafts and tall enough. Chicks can jump.

The chicks in their cool fish tank. The breeds we got in the 1st batch were 2 Buff Cochins, 2 Australorps, 2 Americana’s and 2 Rhode Island Reds. I will talk about the different breeds in a later post.

Our 2nd batch of babies, 2019. Lived in a big dog kennel, I wrapped a big blanket around it for no drafts.

Babies in their dog kennel. The 2nd batch breeds were 1 Americana, 1 Silver Spangled Hamburg, 1 Black Laced Wyandotte, 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte, 1 Barred Cochin, 1 Andalusian, 1 Light Brahma, 1 Blue Copper Maran (STOLEN), 1 Sebright (ended up being a rooster) and a Mottled Java (ended up being a rooster) I will talk about the breeds in a later post.

Heat Lamps:

Start the temp at 95ºF for day old chicks and decrease by 5 degrees each week until you reach 70ºF. This info might need to be altered if you live in a warmer climate. The biggest thing to remember is, make sure they have space away from the heat. They will be able to choose what temp is best for them. Put food and water away from the heat lamp. If the chicks are huddled, lower the heat lamp down a little. If they are spread out while sleeping, its to hot. All in all you are the one there to monitor. The best type of heat lamp is a 250 watt infrared bulb suspended above the brooder is the recommended amount. A red bulb is the most efficient as it doesn’t stop the chicks from sleeping, as white light does, and can help prevent pecking.

When to introduce perches:

I legit hot glued twigs together. I put them in there around 1 month, its so fun to see them start to perch. They just know what to do. Important to remember. When you are putting in perches in the coop for full grown hens, the perch needs to be flat and not rounded. The chickens sleep flat footed.

Food and water:

Chicks from 0 to 8 weeks old need starter food, crumbles. Fresh water. Scrambled eggs: provides the perfect amount of protein. Something so important for growing chicks. Grit: chickens at any age need grit. The grit breaks down the food in the gizzard. Fruits and veggies finely chopped: our babies loved Watermelon.

Play momma: My favorite part!

This is just something I’ve done to build that special bond with my ladies.

I love to just sit and watch the babies run around and explore in their little home. I start to let them out of the kennel right away but not outside yet. I’ll start to gather them up, like momma and make them take a nap together in my lap. Seriously so relaxing! I usually do this after my own babies are in bed and or I sneak away during the day for a little break. They’ll try to get away at first but they catch on really quick. You only need to do this for 10 min or longer if you need a longer break from life. 🙂 I’ll open up my embrace and let them leave naturally when I’m done.

Cleaning their pasty bums:

This is something momma hen would take care of. Chicks poop sometimes will harden and stick to their back side. This can be very dangerous. Their poop will start to back up inside and kill them. To fix this you will need to either get a warm wet cloth or clean it off with warm running tap water. I prefer to clean them under warm running water, its quicker and you won’t need to pull on their baby feathers. One thing to be very aware of, if you pull to hard. You can pull out their intestines….. a very bad situation to be in.