The Chicks are Here!

Barred Rock chick

The Post Office called at 7AM and we went down, collected my husband’s mom, and swung into the Post Office. I rang the bell at the back door and I could hear the peeping long before that heavy door opened.

Back in the car, the peeping intensified. Thank goodness it’s just 2 miles to home! Once we got up to the barn and the car stopped, the noise reduced. I stayed in the warm car while my husband did a couple last minute set-ups. They had taped the box shut, something we’ve not had to deal with before. So I un-taped it while I waited.

Buckeye chick

Then I handed my mother-in-law a chick to pat, a Buckeye. She loved the chipmunk stripes down its back. Then I gave her a Barred Rock chick. It had yellow on its head. Then it was time to bring them into the cold room. We’d had the brooder going since yesterday, so it was really warm in there. Under the brooder it was holding around 95F, just what they need for the 1st 5 days.

Dipping beaks

We set the box on a barrel and my husband hands them to me and I dip each beak until they swallow. The water has electrolytes in it to help them deal with the stress of shipping. (Ignore the spill we tried so hard not to do.)

The bell waterer has to sit on the floor for the first few days until they are big enough to reach it when it hangs. We refill the trough multiple times a day until then.

Water in the feeder/waterer, trying to drink upside down

Once they’ve swallowed, I set them in the feed that has been spread on the plain newsprint floor. This year the flock has been the fastest to learn to find the feed on the floor, to find the feed in the feed trays (just ½ hour!), and to find the waterers.

The thing this year was to try to eat out of the feeder or drink out of the waterer upside down like a nuthatch. The feeders and waterers also make excellent mountains to be Queen of. (These are all female, we hope….)

Learning about feed on the floor

Finding the feeder food

The box had a crushed corner and we did have one casualty, a Buckeye, in the box. But all the rest seem fine and they were still doing well by evening, a good sign.

The next hurdle they must survive is the putting down of bedding over the paper. Sometimes we lose 1 or 2 due to the stress of a monster spreading weird stuff on the floor. Once past that, it should be clear sailing, if the temperatures stay where they should be.

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