So we have built the brooder and we have built our tractor. We need some chickens. Well guess what came 3/15/17? yep 26 birds from the hatchery. 1 is a bonus heritage breed so we will have to see what we got when it gets older. You can see that one in the mass of chickens it appears as a open spot in all the chicken yellow. In reality it is just a dark colored chick.
We got them all set up and a few notes that I feel I need to share. They were super thirsty. I was suprised at all the water they were drinking they really really really seemed like they needed it. So the whole pushing the beak in the water when I unboxed them seemed to really get them in the mood to drink.
I also used some paper with some food on it as was suggested so they can find it easier. Seemed to really excite them as well. Right after the picture was taken they swarmed all over the paper after the food.
We will be removing the food every night before bed and replacing it in the morning. The insert made this suggestion for the first several weeks in the brooder as they grow so quickly that it really does cause a significant amount of stress on their bodies.
It is exciting to see these guys settleing in. They have found the warm plate (I had to push a couple under for them to figure it out for after that they took a nap and warmed up a bit. Now they come out get a drink get some food and head back under. I guess it does more closely resemble a Hen tending to the brood in that regard.
We will keep you posted as things continue to develop.
Doug
