Two Week Old Chicks: An Update
We're back at it with a weekly chicken update as we grow a Cornish Cross breed from chick to chicken dinner!
We've had our six chicks for one week. The first few nights, we had them in a small/medium sized tote outfitted with a bedding of straw, a feeder, and a water bowl. Rob mounted a heat lamp on a stand above the brooder box, which has been kept on 24-hours a day so they can maintain body heat since they don't yet have feathers. We're doing a 12/12 feeding schedule, meaning they have an unlimited supply of food 12 hours a day and then we take it away for 12 hours. We read lots of opinions regarding feeding methods for this breed and ultimately, there are some who do 12/12 like us and some who give the chicks food 24 hours a day until they're old enough to go outside in a coop. Toe-May-Toe, Toe-Mah-Toe.
Wednesday, our oldest went outside to feed and change the water and bedding for our brood, and she found a chick standing outside the brooder on the ground and another perched on the edge of the brooder, getting ready to make his/her great escape into the wild unknown world of the garage. She quickly placed both birds back into the brooder box and we decided at that point they needed more space. They are starting to get feathers on the tips of their wings and their fuzzy down is getting patchy, so feathers are starting to come in. That evening, we put them in a bigger box and that solved the problem of any more potential escapees roaming around.
The chicks are noticeably bigger in just one week and whereas they were a bright yellow when we brought them home, they're getting lighter as feathers emerge. Ultimately they'll be white when fully mature. They're eating more and becoming messier and they love nothing more than to poop in their food and water whenever given the chance.
It's impossible to tell how many roosters vs. hens we have at this point but there's one in particular who likes to charge my hand and try to peck it to death anytime I come near. Is it a rooster? A hen with a bad attitude? I'll have to get back to you on that in a couple weeks.
I talked with a friend who has raised this breed in the past and she advised that we keep them inside until at least 4 weeks of age because at this stage (without feathers and at only two weeks old) and with the cool temperatures we've been having, they'll die easily. If they get wet in the rain, they can't maintain body temperature and can die. If they get too cold, they huddle together and will smother each other to death. So, in the brooder they'll stay for at least another couple weeks.
I'm gonna interrupt this lesson on chickens to tell you a funny story about our dog. She's an Irish Setter (a breed not known for being vicious guardians of their "people") and she's 12. We affectionately call her an Irish "Sitter" because that's all she does. She doesn't really have any special talents or skills and spends most of her days literally barking up the wrong tree at squirrels who are much too fast for her to ever catch. Anyway, I opened our garage door to clean the chicks' water out and was gone for less than two minutes. When I came back, Ruby was staring into the garage, sniffing around back by a bunch of stuff piled in the corner. No matter what I did, I couldn't coerce her to come out of the garage so I could close the door and finally I had to physically pull her out of the way. Once she was outside, I closed the door and was turning around to leave when a freaking cat jumped up from behind the pile-o-things in the corner Ruby had been staring at. So, she may not have any skills or talents, but she knows bad news when she smells it and in this case, a cat left unattended with some little defenseless chicks would have been Very Bad News indeed.
I'll check back in next week with more chicken pictures and updates! You can also watch our latest chicken video here:
We've had our six chicks for one week. The first few nights, we had them in a small/medium sized tote outfitted with a bedding of straw, a feeder, and a water bowl. Rob mounted a heat lamp on a stand above the brooder box, which has been kept on 24-hours a day so they can maintain body heat since they don't yet have feathers. We're doing a 12/12 feeding schedule, meaning they have an unlimited supply of food 12 hours a day and then we take it away for 12 hours. We read lots of opinions regarding feeding methods for this breed and ultimately, there are some who do 12/12 like us and some who give the chicks food 24 hours a day until they're old enough to go outside in a coop. Toe-May-Toe, Toe-Mah-Toe.
The chicks are noticeably bigger in just one week and whereas they were a bright yellow when we brought them home, they're getting lighter as feathers emerge. Ultimately they'll be white when fully mature. They're eating more and becoming messier and they love nothing more than to poop in their food and water whenever given the chance.
It's impossible to tell how many roosters vs. hens we have at this point but there's one in particular who likes to charge my hand and try to peck it to death anytime I come near. Is it a rooster? A hen with a bad attitude? I'll have to get back to you on that in a couple weeks.
 |
| Running from my hand |
I talked with a friend who has raised this breed in the past and she advised that we keep them inside until at least 4 weeks of age because at this stage (without feathers and at only two weeks old) and with the cool temperatures we've been having, they'll die easily. If they get wet in the rain, they can't maintain body temperature and can die. If they get too cold, they huddle together and will smother each other to death. So, in the brooder they'll stay for at least another couple weeks.
 |
| Taller and acting more like chickens than last week |
I'm gonna interrupt this lesson on chickens to tell you a funny story about our dog. She's an Irish Setter (a breed not known for being vicious guardians of their "people") and she's 12. We affectionately call her an Irish "Sitter" because that's all she does. She doesn't really have any special talents or skills and spends most of her days literally barking up the wrong tree at squirrels who are much too fast for her to ever catch. Anyway, I opened our garage door to clean the chicks' water out and was gone for less than two minutes. When I came back, Ruby was staring into the garage, sniffing around back by a bunch of stuff piled in the corner. No matter what I did, I couldn't coerce her to come out of the garage so I could close the door and finally I had to physically pull her out of the way. Once she was outside, I closed the door and was turning around to leave when a freaking cat jumped up from behind the pile-o-things in the corner Ruby had been staring at. So, she may not have any skills or talents, but she knows bad news when she smells it and in this case, a cat left unattended with some little defenseless chicks would have been Very Bad News indeed.
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| Surveying her kingdom |
I'll check back in next week with more chicken pictures and updates! You can also watch our latest chicken video here:
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