Pre-Sold 15 Pullets for September 2022

 We have been taking advantage of the backyard chicken families that have decided now is the time to start raising their own eggs, as prices in the stores keep rising. We have these 15 cuties pre-sold to several families in the local area. During the warm summer days, they were developing much faster than the spring chicks we raise. Keeping them in the brooder was possible, but decided to put them outside a week early to give them time to acclimate to outdoor living before they go to their new homes. Last night, however, got really chilly (50F), so we decided to put a brooder warmer out there for them to huddle around.  Last night and this morning, there was grass hay for them to snuggle into to help with warmth. But, apparently they have decided they didn't like the hay on the tray, so they opted to rearrange it to a new location. Chickens are interesting in their decisions. 

Marans Dwarfism? Will she survive?

 We received 20 three-day old chicks from the hatchery, five of which were Black Copper Marans, on July 27.  One of the Marans was considerably smaller, and we just assumed she would catch up. After a week, and she still hadn't grown, we assumed she wouldn't survive.  We'd check her daily and her crop was full, and her eyes were bright, so we held out hope that she was just stunted some, and would catch up with the others soon.  

Well, they are five weeks old today and she is still less than half the size of the others.  Her size if that of a one-week old chick. But she holds her own. She pushes her way in to the feeder and waterer, she knows to hide when the big girls are practicing dive bombs from the perch, and at night she sleeps between the others on the perch. 

The big girls don't pick on her and they don't ignore her. They just don't play as rough with her as they do with the others. 

As you can see from the photos, one was taken on August 18, and the other on August 28. 10 days of growth is quite apparent with the one Marans, but Tiny has hardly grown at all. On the positive side, while she may look like a 1-week old chick, she acts more like a 4-week old chick. Her behaviors are almost age appropriate.