New Batch of Chicks!

A new batch of chicks arrived today from McMurray Hatchery.  We ordered 40, but our box included 43 healthy one day old chicks.  The box of chicks was held at the Hartford Post Office, and I recieved a call at about 9:00 a.m. that they were ready to be picked up.

With a van full of spectators we arrived at the Post Office.  Liss and I examined the chicks before we shared them with our children.  If there were any fatalities, we would have had to fill out a certificate at the Post Office and report the deaths to the hatchery.  Luckily, all the chicks were bouncing around and healthy. 

Introducing the new chicks

The kids were very excited to see the chicks and we were all amazed to see how tiny they were, especially the bantams.  You would think we've never seen baby chicks before, but our first batch are 12 weeks now and do not resemble those fluffy little chicks anymore.

Farm kids meeting the new chicks

The chicks brooding area in the dome had not been finished yet so we set up a cardboard pen outside with 1/2 sun and 1/2 shade.  The cardboard walls were 18" high, and there was probably 8 square feet of space for them to run around in.

Before placing the chicks in the brooder we had to inventory them and make sure each one is able to drink and eat.  The hatchery places a list of all the included chicks with the box so we simply went down the list to add each chick to the brooder.  After identifying each chick, we picked them up and placed their beaks into their water dish to allow them a drink, then we dipped their beaks into the feed to get them started on eating.  They were then placed in the brooder. 

Dipping the chick beak into the water

Dipping the chick beak into the feed

The Dome is almost complete, but until it is secure all the chicks will stay in a brooder cage to keep them safe.

Have you ever seen a Bantam chick? 
The chick on the right is a Buff Orpington,
the chick on the left is one of the Japanese Bantams.

Here is a list of the chicks that we recieved in our order and their intended purposes:

5 Female Buff Orpingtons - For egg production, breeding (still need a male) and meat
5 Female Rhode Island Reds - For egg production, breeding (still need a male) and meat
9 Female Araucanas - For egg production and breeding (still need a male)
2 Female Delwares - For egg production and pet
4 Female Blue Andalusions - For breeding and show
3 Male Blue Andalusions - For breeding and show
3 Straight Run Black Tailed Buff Japanese Bantam - For breeding and show
11 Cornish Roasters - For meat
1 Free Rare Exotic Chick

My white (possibly) Araucana

As you can see we have a wide variety of chicks and projects planned for them.  Follow us for weekly updates on this new batch of chicks!

The next post will have information on how we transformed an abandoned concrete observatory (the Dome) into a holding pen for chickens, ducks and a dove using mostly pallets and chicken wire.

~Alexis