New Chicks

Every year or so we get new chicks. They are sooooo cute!

They look like fluffy furballs for the first few days. They don't really have fur. They have tiny feathers called 'down' that keep them warm while they grow their real feathers.

Do you want to learn more about feathers? Click on this link and you can learn all the parts of a feather and why some chicken have fluffy feathers and some have regular feathers.

We all love the new chicks!

Even Scout loves to keep his eye on them to make sure they are safe.

The chicks are about 1 week old

I clean out their box every day and put clean newspaper down. They make a mess!

The yellow chicks are Light Brahmas. When they grow up they will look like the black and white chickens.

We have some 2 week old chicks, too! We can't put new chicks and 2 week old chicks together. The older chicks aren't nice to the younger chicks. Children and people can learn to be patient and kind with people younger than them, but chicks can't.

These chicks are Red Stars, Black Stars, and Turkens.

They look funny when they have some feathers and some down. The red chicks are Red Stars and will grow up to look like the red chicken in the photo with the Brahmas. The black chicks are Black Stars and they will be black with some red when they grow up.

Can you see the funny chicken that has no feathers on her neck? She is a Turken. She will never grow feathers on her neck.

We have a lot of chickens, but they aren't all for us. We'll keep 10 chickens and the neighbor will keep the other 17.

How many chicks am I raising?

These chicks aren't growing up with a mama hen so they need someplace to stay warm. Do you see the light in the photo? That's a heat lamp. Chicks snuggle under the heat lamp to stay warm. They also have lots of space to wander around so they don't get too hot under the lamp.

I also put a wooden board over the top so they stay warm at night.
The board also keeps them from jumping out of the tub.

The indoor chicks have a heater, too.
It's the yellow box in the middle.
It doesn't have a light, it's called a radiant heater.

I like the Brinsea heater better than the light. I think it does a better job keeping the chicks warm, and it seems safer than using a heat lamp. It also uses much less electricity than the lamp uses.

Did you know that chicks need vitamins, too?

We add this to their water for about 2 weeks.
It helps them stay healthy and grow properly.

Do you have questions about the chicks? I would love to answer them for you!

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Last week Xander and I planted some seeds. I was so surprised to see them sprout fast! It usually takes about 7-10 days for seeds to sprout into seedlings. Ours grew much faster!

Last week I told you I was going to put the trays under some lights. Light helps seeds sprout.

Seeds need something to grow in (we usually use soil), water, and light.

The big plants on the left side of the tray are all pumpkins and squash.
The smaller plants on the right side of the tray are flowers.

Row 1 & 2 Ornamental Gourd Mix
Row 3 Big Max Pumpkins
Row 4 & 5 Jack O' Lantern Pumpkins
Row 6 Mini Pumpkins
Row 7 Zucchini Squash
Row 8 Yellow Squash 

Row 13 & 14 Zinnia
Row 15 & 16 Broccoli
Row 17 Kale

Don't be like little chicks... choose to do something nice for someone younger than you!