Chicks

The eggs that I was incubating never hatched. I'm not sure what happened to them. As I wrote last time, several of them seemed to be developing but it's hard to know what you're going to end up with.

I resorted to a much more dependable, and expensive solution. I got a box of chicks from a hatchery. These travel through the USPS and it looks like they made a stop at LAX, poor things.


They all survived the trip though. There are 20 Black Australorps and 5 Polish that I got for Alex.


As I moved each one from the box into the brooder I dipped their beaks in the water to let them know what it was. Some things you have to teach them, but they learn fast.

Once one gets the hang of it the rest copy it.


I started out with one box, but after a week they were starting to crowed it a little.

I added another box that doubled their space and gave them room to run around.


This is what they looked like a week ago.


And this is them now.

They grow so fast they'll need a bigger space soon. I'm going to move the pullets up to the coop and then the chicks can go in the tractor. I just need to move one of the heat lamps out there to keep them warm. I figure I'll give them another week inside and then they'll be a month old and will have a lot of their feathers. They will only need the heat source now and then to warm up in between running around and scratching in the dirt.

Obligatory New-Chick Video

I had two hens that had a broody relay race. One of them sat on the eggs for 2 weeks and gave up and the next hen finished it out and won the prize. The prize is 3 Mottle Java chicks and one Australorp hybrid.

I'm excited about the Javas. I drove out to Mira Loma, CA a month ago to get the eggs from a nice lady that has a giant garden interspersed with a few varieties of chickens and a fair number of cats.

Javas are credited with being the foundation of several popular American Breeds like Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks. I read some great things about them so I thought it would give them a try.

Although the chicks are mostly yellow they should be mostly black with white mottling when mature:

©2005-2010 MY PET CHICKEN

New Chicks

So I feel like I waited forever for these eggs to hatch.


Then once it started it was like an avalanche. They popped out like firecrackers.






Monstrous



and adorable


These are a cross between my Silver Penciled Rock roosters and Black Australorp hens. They look the way hens did when they were chicks, mostly black with some yellow. The SPRs were brown as chicks. Maybe these will grow up to be black like their beautiful mothers.