Blog » May 2010

The chicks are slowly getting weened.  Mom is going off with the other chickens, ducks, and goose at the pond during the day, leaving the chicks at home to fend for themselves.  When everyone is together again in the late afternoon/early evening, she still watches out for them by nipping the bigger birds that get too close, but she's no longer saving food or actively hovering over them.

Indeed, on Tuesday she became testy and nipped many of the chicks who tried to snuggle up to her at night.  Currently, she only allows 4 or 5 lucky chicks snuggle time throughout the night (remember less than 5 weeks ago, when 20-30 chicks fit?), and certainly her patience for being stepped upon is approaching zero.

The ducks are now comfortable with the chicks, which is easy to see because they no longer stare wildly at the wee birds, nor do they run away when a chick approaches.  Another clue is the newly laid duck and chicken eggs sitting in the chick space.

Becoming a little older, larger, and getting more freedom, that's what weeks 3 and 4 were about.

The older chicks continued to snuggle with Mom as much as possible, though they also became more curious about the outside world.  During week 4, we opened up the chick fencing so that they could roam wherever and whenever they felt the need, but we kept the opening small enough that only they could fit back through for non-adult R&R.  Much running ensued.

The youngest chicks in the holding cell become bigger, more active, and very into sunshine.  The injured chick recovered nicely, and after we returned her to General Population, we turned her box into a space to sleep in and jump upon.

Notice that the same box from last week looks substantially smaller next to the growing chicks!
The chick on top of the box stood in the sun for a quite a while.

During week 4, we moved the youngest chicks outside, in their own fenced space to prevent Mom from pecking at them.  Since they didn't get Mom warmth, we gave them a warming light.  They did quite well in their own outside space, getting big and developed enough to begin blending in with the older chicks.  In week 5, we let all the chicks mix!

Week 2 of Chicks 2010 was filled with drama, rejection, and healing.  

Day 3, the day after my last post, Broody rejected some of the wee chicks, and they died in the cold night.  This was a bit shocking for us, as last year's adoption of chicks (and 3 turkeys) worked quite well.

Regrouping, we purchased more chicks on Friday, introducing them to Broody very carefully that evening.  While she initially nipped the small chicks that were peeping (since the week-old chicks had stopped such infantile behavior after day 3), it was dark, so she calmed quickly.  The next morning, however, we sufficiently disturbed Broody mom (while checking on the smallest additions) that she began noticing and again nipping the day-old chicks.

We made an emergency evac. of all day-old chicks, placing them in a warm alternate location (aka, the holding cell).  One of the chicks couldn't use her foot after getting pecked by Broody, so we gave her a smaller recovery space (and a playmate) right next to the rest of the chicks -- we're happy to report that she's almost healed.  Everyone has been warm and growing nicely, so we'll attempt to reintroduce them to Broody mom at the end of the week.