The first couple of
times I incubated
my own eggs, I was
worried sick when my newly hatched chicks were comatose for most of the
first day. Now, I’m used to it.
Twenty-four hours later,
they’re up and running. When you buy chicks through the mail,
you’re supposed to ensure the poor things can find their food and water
right away, but homegrown chicks can be counted on to figure it all out
for themselves. Generally, I hear the rythmic click of the nipple
on our chicken waterer by the end of the first day,
at which point the earliest hatched chicks have already found the food
dish as well.
A day or two later, my
rubbermaid brooder was suddenly far too small for fifteen little balls
of energy. Since it’s warm, I moved them right to the outdoor
brooder at three
days old.
They weren’t thrilled to
be manhandled, so our chicks huddled in the corner for a little
while. But soon they were exploring their new home.
By nightfall, the chicks
were still a bit befuddled, so I had to herd them under the Ecoglow
brooder to make sure
they stayed warm that night. I repeated the experience the next
day, but after that our chicks finally remembered where their electric
hen was located and put themselves to bed.
Now that their new
environment felt like home, I figured it was time to start the chicks
on greenery.
Sourgrass is the fall favorite for chicks, so I began my daily
foraging expedition around the yard in search of this tender weed.
Of course, vegetables
only go so far at sating the appetite of growing chicks, so the feed
trough is always well attended.
With crops full,
afternoon is nap time.
Isn’t it astonishing how
much chicks can grow in just nine days? The next week and half
will bring even more changes as I introduce them to the great
outdoors. Stay tuned!
