New Chicks Welcomed at Heart Neids Farm!
Today, April 16, 2024, we welcome eight new chicks! We picked them up at Tractor Supply and made them a little home in our garage (for now). We like to keep them close in the beginning stages so we can care for and enjoy the chicks as much and as conveniently as possible. Eventually they will move out to the coop with our 3 grown hens.
We set the chicks up in a very large plastic tote lined with chicken bedding and we cover the top with chicken wire. We set a clamp lamp up with an infrared heat light bulb in it. We place a chick feeder and waterer inside the tote on top of the bedding. It is nice for the waterer to have an adjustable height because as they grow it gets harder to keep the bedding out of the water if it is on the ground. Since the feeder is not adjustable, we use a string to tie the food up just a tiny bit off the ground too, they can still stand or jump up to eat, it just keeps it a little cleaner for us.Products linked are my favorites or highly recommended for each project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. See something you like? Click it! It helps support the amazing content on this site. Xoxo B
As you can see, the chicks don't need a fancy set up, but need bedding, food, water, security and warmth.
Smokey Pearls
Two of the chicks are three weeks old already, they are Smokey Pearls. Right now they look yellow with a few black spots on them, I was worried something might be wrong, so I was happy to see the black markings on this full grown hen and found out is is called ghost barring. They are year round brown egg laying chickens that when full grown are around 4-6 pounds.
Cochins
We got two Cochin chicks that are a day or two old. While they are not the most productive egg layers, they are cold hearty and will add a little variety to our flock. At this point, I am not sure if ours are black or partridge colored. They will lay medium brown eggs and full grown will be 6-7 pounds.
Golden Comets
Four of the new chicks are Golden Comets and are also only a day or two old. These chickens are docile and a good bread for families or beginners, they will lay large brown eggs and be around 5 pounds when fully grown.
*Update 5/3/24: two of these chicks passed from natural causes a couple of days after bringing them home. We were able to bring in our receipt and get two more of the same breed but they were a new batch. We picked up the two new chicks on April 24th and they were only a couple of days old so they are about a week younger than the other two.
As the chicks grow we constantly touch, hold, talk and whistle to them so they are familiar with us when grown. We start with feeding them Purina Start and Grow Medicated chick feed crumbles Eventually we will move them to the coop and introduce them to the other hens where they will hopefully become acclimated to their new home. Depending on their breed, the conditions, how well they adapt, etc. the chicks will start laying eggs around 18-20 weeks old.
I hope you found this helpful or inspiring! If so, please let me know by leaving a comment! Remember to come back regularly to keep up with my farm, art, restoration and other miscellaneous adventures. Thank you!
Xoxo, B