A week in the life of a chick

The first couple of times I incubated my own eggs, I was worried sick when my newly hatched chicks were comatose for most of the first day.  Now, I'm used to it.

Twenty-four hours later, they're up and running.  When you buy chicks through the mail, you're supposed to ensure the poor things can find their food and water right away, but homegrown chicks can be counted on to figure it all out for themselves.  Generally, I hear the rythmic click of the nipple on our chicken waterer by the end of the first day, at which point the earliest hatched chicks have already found the food dish as well.

A day or two later, my rubbermaid brooder was suddenly far too small for fifteen little balls of energy.  Since it's warm, I moved them right to the outdoor brooder at three days old.

They weren't thrilled to be manhandled, so our chicks huddled in the corner for a little while.  But soon they were exploring their new home.

By nightfall, the chicks were still a bit befuddled, so I had to herd them under the Ecoglow brooder to make sure they stayed warm that night.  I repeated the experience the next day, but after that our chicks finally remembered where their electric hen was located and put themselves to bed.

Now that their new environment felt like home, I figured it was time to start the chicks on greenery.  Sourgrass is the fall favorite for chicks, so I began my daily foraging expedition around the yard in search of this tender weed.

Of course, vegetables only go so far at sating the appetite of growing chicks, so the feed trough is always well attended.

With crops full, afternoon is nap time.

Isn't it astonishing how much chicks can grow in just nine days?  The next week and half will bring even more changes as I introduce them to the great outdoors.  Stay tuned!

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