Four Weeks Old and Moving Out

About two weeks ago, we moved the six chicks out of the bath tub and into the dog crate in the garage.  They did okay in there, but it was clear they were going to need more room soon.  About a week ago, I started turning off the heat lamp during the day but still leaving it on at night.  We've been waiting for the night time temperatures to stay above 50 every night and for the babes to feather out more.  They are four weeks old now, and we moved them to the small outside coop today.  I'm a little nervous that they will be cold tonight, but they have each other, and I closed them in the house part of the coop.  The books say they'll be okay, but I'm still a nervous momma.

I think I'm starting to take this chicken thing a bit too far...

They grow SO fast!

Omelette was very interested in the new additions.

They loved the dirt box I put in the corner.
There were lots of ants in the dirt, and they went crazy for them!

It amazes me how naturally they start normal chicken activities.  Upon moving them outside, they immediately started scratching in the dirt and snapping up the ants and other bugs around.  They were playing on the ramp and going in and out of the hen house.  They are so much fun to watch!

One Week Later

The chicks have been with us for a week now, and they are growing like crazy.  This batch has been substantially less work than our first two.  I think it's because we bought a more stable waterer and they have lots more space to roam around.  We are also just using an old towel in the tub instead of pine shavings.  That way the shavings don't get kicked EVERYWHERE.  It was a constant battle last time keeping the shaving out of the waterer and the food, but not anymore.  We really only have to check them and freshen their water twice a day.  We check before we leave for work and when we get home from work.  I check them once again right before bed, but I don't have to do anything for them.  It's just a visual check.

We've stared handling them on a daily basis to get them used to human interaction.  None of them are too fond of the "giant hands from above" right now, but that will start to change when we can start giving them treats in the next couple weeks.  They will move outside in about a month into the small coop.  Then they will have ground to scratch and a roost to perch on.  They are still too young for those things now.

Here are some pictures taken today.

In the box while I cleaned their brooder and put in a fresh towel.

The blonde one.

Getting held while I cleaned the brooder.

More chicks.

Our pup Cooper is very interested in the babies.

Back in the brooder (our bathtub).

The older hens are doing great too.  We are getting at least three eggs a day, but we usually get four or five.  Maple and Omelette are still laying smallish eggs, but they are perfect in every way.  Yadi still looks scraggly, but the other two "old ladies" are still beautiful.

We're at it again...

From the beginning I have wanted Easter Eggers because of the pretty blue/green eggs they lay.  They just seem so fun.  So, since we canceled our big order, I got onto Craig's List to see if anyone had any EE chicks near by.  I found a couple in Pueblo who had ordered more than they wanted, so we decided to get three for us and three for my parents.  We will be raising all six until they are ready to move outside.  We picked them up today, and they are stinking adorable.  Here are pictures from our journey.

We decided to use our downstairs bathtub as the brooder for this go around.  We'll see how it goes.

All ready for the drive to get the new baby chicks!

Inside this box, there is cuteness.

Six Chicks!

They are all so different.

Another adorable chick.

Close up!

They don't stand still for long.

It's hard to believe they are all the same breed.

This is the only image I've taken since we got home.  They all found the food and water  right away.   Then they cuddled up under the heat lamp to warm up from their journey.

I am sure there will be many more posts to come now that we have adorable baby chicks again.  They were hatched on Monday, so that makes these babies five days old with a birthday of 5/9/11.  I'm already excited to see the rainbow of eggs we'll get from these beautiful birds.  They seem to be comfortable in their new home, but I'm going to give them some time to relax before I torture them with a photo shoot.  

Egg Machines

So all five hens have kicked it into high gear the past few weeks.  We are getting four or five eggs every single day from our ladies, so we have started giving dozens away.  There is no way we can keep up with two dozen eggs a week.  It's great, but I don't think we'll be needing any more hens. Well maybe a few Easter Eggers...

The "babies" are laying great.  Their eggs are still smaller than the older girls, but they are perfectly formed with nice solid shells.  No double yolkers even.

The Babies 

We got sick of having to add food one scoop at a time to their little feeder, so we invested in this thing.
Now it only needs to be filled once a week or so.

Our pretty eggs.  The smaller ones are from the BOs.

First Egg!

We got our very first egg from one of the "babies" yesterday evening!  It's small and pinkish, and it was laid in a nesting box.  I have no idea which of them did it because they go everywhere together.  They are about 22 weeks old now.  I can't wait to crack it open!

First egg from our buff orpingtons.

Bath time!

Our poor Yadi.  She must have been eating the grower chow and not snacking on any of the oyster shell because she laid a very flimsy egg on Friday.  It broke, and she got raw egg all over her underside.  It was too late to do anything on Friday night, but by Saturday morning the other girls were pecking her like crazy.  We had to give her a bath.  I just filled the sink in the downstairs bathroom with warm water and soaked her.  Then I drained the water and refilled the sink and soaked her again.  She was filthy!  After her bath, she went into solitary inside the house the dry out completely.  We put her back outside on Sunday morning, and there was no pecking.

Flimsy Egg

Bath Time

Solitary

Our Babes

The girls are doing great.  They are loving the warmer weather.  The older girls are laying more, and all five are getting along better.  I don't know if we'll be able to let them continue to "free-range" in our backyard this summer.  They are destroying everything in our yard!  I don't know how I'll convince Derek that chickens are better than a nice, green lawn.   He hates the dirt patches.