Our order of meat bird chicks will arrive shortly. Proper preparation is vital to the success of raising chicks so I spent some time getting the brooder table and equipment in good working order.
I washed the waterer and prepared the special welcoming beverage we give to the chicks when they arrive. It consists mostly of water, with a generous splash of cider vinegar, a significant pouring of honey, and pressings from sizable cloves of fermented garlic. The proportions in any particular batch are generally improvised based on the quantities of the ingredients we have at hand.
Why do we do this, rather than give them plain water? Is it merely some obscure form of hospitality? No. Please be assured there is good logic behind it.
We have had good luck giving the adult chickens fermented grains and we often add a splash of vinegar to their waterers to keep them from growing algae or harmful bacteria. Because the garlic cloves are fermented, their squeezings give the chicks a gentle introduction to beneficial bacteria for their digestive systems. The honey provides a little sugar for an energy boost after their travel from the hatchery to our coop.
The newly hatched chicks spend the first days of their lives huddled in a little box while being bumped along the way from Iowa to Alaska. It is not uncommon for a few to die en route. So, that is why we make a special effort for the first filling of their waterer.
Melissa and I visited our Goldstream lot to examine the meat bird pen. Being well away from any food source, there was no incentive for moose to visit the area. We saw no footprints and no damage to the pen from rubbing or trampling.
Once the snow melts, we will get the pen set up for use. We won’t move the meat birds to the pen until they are fully-feathered and able to handle the outdoor temperatures. Our current estimation is that they will stay on the brooder table for about two weeks and then live in the coop for another two weeks, or so. At the end of that time, the outdoor temperatures and their feather cover should both have improved to an appropriate degree for them to move to the pen.
On our next-door lot, were pleasantly surprised to see that the Triangle Pen survived the winter with no damage. It is not unusual for the weight of the snow or the impact of a falling branch to break a leg or a beam. The hens will move to this pen when the meat chicks are ready to move from the brooder table to the coop.
Although the hens can safely live in fairly cold temperatures, we don’t like to upset their laying cycle by moving them from a warm coop to a cold pen. We prefer to wait until the outdoor temperatures stay above 50F at night.
