Fresh Chicks Mid-February 2023

We are starting chicks earlier this year. We received 51 chicks this morning that traveled about 2400 miles shipped on Wednesday from the hatchery.  Excellent crating and shipping services. USPS tracking never was updated until after we received them. But they arrived in great shape and on-time. The clerk at the PO said a batch of chicks that arrived at their station yesterday from a different hatchery was not in such good shape and many of their chicks had died en route. That's just sad :( 

Almost 3 week old Chicks - August 2020

We have had the chicks two weeks now, although they will be three weeks on Sunday, August 16 and Monday, August 17.  The Cornish Cross are almost ready to go outside, but we are going to have a heat wave this weekend and into next week, so we have to wait until that passes before they go outside.  They have no true way to regulate their body temps and they are prone to heat stroke on those hot days. By next Friday, they will be outside until they are old enough to process. 

The other chicks look so tiny in comparison. But they are only a day or two younger. We lost one of the Blue Plymouth.  She didn't eat or drink very well.  It happens. We have had more problems with that this year I think due to the overload on the hatcheries trying to ensure that they are getting enough chicks out.  It is not uncommon for them to sell those chicks that are not as healthy as they could/should be. Unfortunately, that's what happens when people start panic purchasing livestock. The remaining 14 seem to be doing okay.  

We did do a bit of nursing on one of the Blue Plymouth yesterday after it got tangled in one of the threads on the flooring.  We attempt to keep a close watch on them, but things happen from time to time. Thankfully, we seem to have caught it soon enough and after some extra attention, it perked back up and appears to be eating and doing fine now. I put an ankle bracelet on it so that I can keep an extra eye on how it is doing. I'll cut off the band in a day or two to let it blend back into the group.  She is the gray chick in the first column, third down and bottom, of photos below 

Two weeks in, and today was transition into shavings day. New process is always a big transition for little chicks, but they have all settled into the new environment after a few moments of distress, back to EPS (eating, pooping and sleeping). 

August Peeps 2020

We have changed to flock over into the large cage now. The box worked well for a few days to get them acclimated to the warmer, food, and water, but now they need the space. See the wing feathers forming, meaning that they are going to want to move and fly. A box just doesn't cut it. 

Piks included of the posterboard experiment.  I chose yellow for "bright-ness" We will see if this works, or if they just shred it.  I do have what I used last time, just in case. But for now, I think this will help to keep them inside the cage better until they are too big to squeeze through. 

August 2020 - Garden and Chick Updates

July weather definitely helped with our garden, although the last week of July was sweltering. I had to start protecting the tomatoes to keep them from getting sun scald. Aside from that, the tomato wind guard area seems to be working out fine.  While I had originally planned on setting the bell pepper plants in that area, it's just not wide enough.  I will need to rethink it if I do this next year. 

The cucumbers are FINALLY doing their thing.  The first planting didn't survive.  The 2nd planting barely survived, but I didn't think they would, so I did a third planting... they also survived, but we will see it it was too late to get any cucumbers from them. At least we are getting some cucumbers at this point. 

Acorn squash. First try. Finally starting to get female buds.  For about three weeks, there were only male.  I just read that as soon as the male flowers start showing up, to put a dose of fertilizer on the plant to encourage the females to form. Then watch closely, the color of the leaves.  Keep them from turning yellow by regularly feeding the plants. We will see how this turns out. 

Corn survived!  The last time we had a summer like we had in June, my corn did not survive the month.  This year, instead of trying to start them outside, I kept them in the greenhouse under a light and that seemed to do the trick. I pulled all the tillers off this year and this past week, have added a dose of bone meal to help with corn development.  We should have some corn in another couple of weeks!

 

All onion are pulled and most have been cut up and dried. Pulled enough bush string beans to freeze for three meals. Plan to do that with the corn this year, too.  

Have pulled most of the broccoli florets off to keep them from bolting. Cauliflower heads are finally starting to form.  I have not grown cauliflower since the 1980s. I can't remember how long it takes.  This has been a very LONG time, it seems. 

Bell peppers have been attacked by bugs this year.  They are doing better, but not as well as I would like.  I think it is also a weather situation. This photo is a Sandpiper pepper.  Curious to see what it tastes like. 

Basil replant took hold.  I normally can't get basil to come up in July because it is usually too hot by that time. But the June weather really took a toll on a lot of my starts. It will probably be a late August before I can start harvesting dill and basil.  I'll take what I can get. 

The Cornish Cross Chicks came in on Wednesday this past week (July 29).  The last batch of Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rock and the Blue Plymouth showed up on Friday (July 31).  Lots of new chicks and their cute little peeps are in the garage. 

Red Clovers and Pullets Update July 2020

Gardening is finally full on. Took some time and persistance with the crazed weather and temps. But corn is three feet tall now, just starting tassels and I have put the last dose of manure on them before I switch over to the bone meal and potassium. I pulled about 30 apples, either sick looking, had worms or there were simply too many in a bunch.  I think there will be about 70 left to harvest later. I threw those apples into the compost pile. Sun has been too hot for the tomatoes so I now have a shade cloth for mid to late afternoon, then I take it off after 5 as the peak heat has hit and the sun is headed west. The clover that we planted in the first batch is nice and lush. I'm happy with it. 

Red Clover, Red Clover, Send.... 

Pullets, are just about ready to start laying.  These ladies are super friendly. Love their treats. I need to concoct some type of nesting boxes for them.  I'm hoping that the square buckets that I ordered will be large enough.  

I'm speculating that the Rhodes will being the first or second week of August, while the Barred may not start laying until the end of August or even the first of September.  We reallyl don't know their hatching dates, so that will make it a bit harder to determine their ages when they start. 

We moved them onto fresh grass last night, and they seem quite happy with the fresh cool blades of grass under their feet.  The Barred are super smart and curious. They are a fun breed to have. Collectively, they are a bonded flock now, but there is still a special connection between the two Barred Rock within the flock. 

Barred Boot Inspection	Rhode Boot Inspection
My Good Buddy Barr	I Want Pets too
Rhodie Buddies	Curled Neck Feathers
Barred Buddies	A check in
A different check in	All check in

They Caught Up! Barred with the Rhodes.

Remember when I thought the Barred Rock pullets might be bantams?  Well, they are not. I truly think that their health (or lack of) was contributing to their stunted size relative to the Rhode Island Reds.  They are all very curious and inquisitive pullets at the moment. The new feathers are shining and they appear to all be very healthy now. What a difference a little nurturing does.

Rhode Island Red 15 wks	Barred Plymouth Rock 13 wks
The Shiny Rhodies	What is that thing you brought?
The Curious Barred	What's Over There?
Side by Side for Size!