Nine little fluff balls arrived this morning. We have them in our small cage with high sides for now, to make it easier to control the environment. We have the brooder warmer at the low height and they are all piled under there as they adapt. Since the garage is on the cool side right now, we have added a space heater to blow a little warm heat in there. Of course, we also have the cage covered with a sheet to cut down on drafts with the one foot wide opening at the far end of the cage (away from the chicks) to ensure that they are in a warm, but not too warm environment. If it is too cold, they won't leave the brooder warmer for the food and water. It can be quite the task to find just the right temps on these cooler winter days as we head into spring.
These are only the Cornish Cross - meat chicks. No layers this year. We will replenish the layers next year. So, it's the start of the new flock.
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| Cornish Cross huddled under the warmer. |
