More Chicks

I ordered more chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery and they arrived yesterday in the mail. I chose a different breed this year. I wanted a variety of colors of the eggs and chose a breed that produces blue and green eggs - often called Easter Eggs. The chicks are a cross between Ameraucana and Araucana and are variations of white to brown. Unlike the Black Australorps last year which are almost identical and hard to distinguish, these are all slightly different.

I had help this year from Groom, who made me a more substantial brooding pen out of tempered hardboard. It is a clever design that I think Bride had seen on Pinterest. Each section slots together to form as large an area as you need. He made me ten sections and I've used nine of them this time. And when I'm finished with it, I can just take it all apart for storage.

I've also been trying to hatch some of our own eggs, but I'll save that for another post.

The chicks arrive in a small cardboard box making lots of noise.

I ordered 15 again this year.

The little chicks fit into the palm of my hand.

I introduced each chick one at a time to the waterer to make sure they got a drink.

The chicks self-regulate their temperature as they move freely under the heat lamp.

It's hard to get a clear photo because the chicks are in perpetual motion.

I put newspaper over the litter for the first day so they wouldn't eat the litter.

The chicks are all trying to crowd around the feed tray.

I cleared a space in the center of the garage under the door opener to suspend the heat lamp.

Each section of the pen slots together to form a 5 foot diameter.