Raising Chickens
Each of the last two seasons, we got baby chicks at the store where they already were trained to drink water and peck the food out of the feeder. This January, the chicks arrived in a box from a Pennsylvania hatchery, so the task at hand changed. I had to teach them how to find the water container and the food.
Every day since their arrival, I’ve spent time with each of them, holding them in my hands, feeding them and talking to them so they would accept me as their handler. Over time, the chicks allowed me to get closer and closer without being scared every time I changed the water or added food.
Getting around
So much fun to hold in your hand: a one day old chick that has a fine fuzzy coat and is looking for food all the time.
On the lookout
This one is very curious. She learned how to fly up to perch at the top of the box and check out the house.
I arranged 2 large boxes with wood shavings on the bottom. As they got bigger, one box was not enough! My daughter and her boyfriend found a solution. Both had fun cutting a milk container and creating a bridge for them to move between.
4 - 5 weeks
Into the chick nursery: they grew some feathers and are happy bouncing in the boxes, still keeping me company at night by chirping their "songs." It will be another week or so before they graduate from inside the house to their new location: the garage. They’ll stay there for 4-5 weeks, before heading outside to explore the land.
5 - 6 weeks
The chicks will go outside for the first time to roam around at their leisure. I will look for eggs - blue and green colored ones. These are crowd pleasers at the farm stand.
