The first batch of spring chicks have reached the age when they are visibly bigger each time I come to feed them. More so than any past group of chicks that comes to memory, this group has rapidly outgrown the need for heat in the brooder room.
My earlier concern about the difficulty of distinguishing between the Big Red and True Green chicks has been resolved. In spite of having similar coloration, their body types are quite distinct. The True Green chicks, being from a laying breed, have smaller bodies and the chicks gracefully weave their feet when they walk, as runway models do. Big Red chicks, being from a meat breed, have bodies more than twice the size of the other chicks and their legs remain much more vertical when they walk, as dinosaurs did.
When collecting images of these chicks, Melissa had to use both hands to hold the Big Red chick.
We heat the brooder primarily with infrared plates that the chicks can sit under. A heat lamp is suspended at a safe height above the table to take the chill out of the air. After the first days, I noticed them avoiding the spot beneath the heat lamp. In reaction, I raised the bulb and they resumed their use of the area. This process repeated itself every few days until I shut off the heat lamp, entirely. Next, I removed one infrared plate, then the other. For more than a week, they have been comfortable in the brooder room with only the heat from their own bodies.
Repairing the pen went smoothly and we moved the hens to the outdoor pen this afternoon. We save old feed bags just for the purpose of moving chickens. It turns out that three hens will fit snugly in the bottom of a feed bag and they don’t struggle once the bag is lifted. I suspect that their weight causes the sides of the bag to press in on them with sufficient pressure to discourage movement. Once they are in the new location, we open the bags and lift the closed end. Some hens simply walk out, others need some encouragement, but all arrive in good shape.
After the hens departed, the chicks were moved to the recently vacated side of the coop so I could begin preparing the brooder for the next batch of chicks.
Even the feet of the True Green chick seem to be more delicate.
What a colorful batch of healthy-looking hens in the outdoor pen! I counted 14, but probably they weren’t all posing for the runway photos.
When will you have the second accommodation prepared for occupancy across the street?