Chick pics
I sure do like our little baby chicks. It’s hard not to, because they’re so damn entertaining, running this way and that, pecking at everything in hopes that it’s edible. A couple of observations, then I’ll get out of the way and leave you with some pictures.
- The Buff Orpingtons (the golden-colored ones) are easily the most laid back and willing to be held. One of them will even run over to be picked up.
- Okay, it’s probably running over to see if you have food, but still.
- Both of the black breeds are very skittish and run like hell when the HAND OF GOD descends from on high into the brooder.
- All the chicks calm down immediately when you pick them up and will stand placidly in your hand, blinking and cheeping happily.
- Yes, happily. There’s a happy cheep, a “something’s wrong” cheep, and an alarmed / scared cheep.
- Really.
- Chickens will shit at the drop of a hat. No matter where they are, no matter what they’re doing. In the food, in the water, on another chick, it doesn’t matter.
- Life for a chick(en) is: peck peck peck poop peck peck poop gulp gulp poop peck peck.
- They’re funny as hell to watch, especially when one of them gets after another or they’re trying to “fly”.
- I think one of the Ameraucanas (the multicolors) is going to be a rooster. It’s got much bolder and deeper coloring, and is considerably larger than all the other chicks.
- Robyn calls him “Fricasee”.
- Their wings are starting to feather in nicely already.
- One of the Buffs had a condition called “pasty butt”, wherein poop gets dried over their cloaca and plugs it up. It can be dangerous, and there seems to be disagreement over what causes it (dehydration, constipation, the shock of shipping). If you catch it quickly it’s not hard to deal with. A damp cloth will soften it enough to get it off them without pulling skin or down. It’s not generally a problem after the first week.
- Oh, and giving them Pedialyte and oatmeal helps with the pasty butt.
- It really is almost like having a human baby around. You spend time changing diapers (paper), wiping butts, feeding them, playing with them, and giving them things like Pedialyte and Gerber baby oatmeal.
- Late yesterday afternoon, I became concerned that there wasn’t enough room in the brooder. Between the feeder and the plate for the waterer (they slop water all over the bedding; the plate’s there to catch it), it seemed to me there was hardly any room for the babies at all. We went to a local store and bought an inflatable kiddie pool that’s about 5.5 feet in diameter. It took about fifteen minutes of alarmed cheeping to get it out of their systems, but the chicks seem to be happy in their new digs. As is par for the course with me, it didn’t occur that I should take out the camera and get some pictures.
- Speaking of pictures, have some.
No, she didn’t. I set her there after she was on my leg in the previous picture,
to see what she’d do. Mostly she walked in circles and looked over the edge.
Our little rooster-to-be (I think). I love the little downy feathers coming in
just below his eyes. He should be pretty. I hope he’s not an ass.
Now with VIDEO
They are the cutest things ever!
Your’e having such a good time in your new place. Will you be moved completely within the next week?
Also since you have video capability, why don’t you shoot a little video of you and robyn just greeting all of your readers. We all feel we know you but we want to hear your voices.
Mitch
Where do you keep them? Do they keep you up at night with all the chirping- or are you not sleeping overnight there yet? When can you determine when one is a rooster? Will having the different breeds of chickens cause problems with territory later?
Sorry so many questions- I find it facinating. I’ve always have wanted to live out in the country and have chickens. Some day…….
Glad the move seems to be coming along as planned. Those are such cute chicks!
True chicken story: Years ago, living in town, a huge white chicken wandered into my backyard. From the size of her, she obviously somehow escaped from a loaded truck going to market.
At any rate, she began staying in my wood-fenced backyard. And as with any creature, I began feeding her and observing her. She had such a personality! She’d take “dust-baths” in a section of the yard without grass. She managed to wallow out a nest-like spot underneath a canopied swingset. Soon she was following me around, especially when I brought her feed out. Sometimes at night, she’d fly up on a utility table at our back windows,and seem to almost be trying to get inside the house. This was during the summer, so it was nice weather.
One day I heard this loud squawking (more like screaming, not her usual sound) and ran to the back door to see a dog holding her in its mouth. I ran out, began hitting the dog…and it let the chicken go. She seemed fine, just very pissed off — and she ran away from the house, heading down the street. I tried to call her back, but she kept running. I even got in the car later, and tried to find her…but never could.
All this took place within a week, so I’d probably have coaxed my husband into building a coop or something for her had she stayed.
The thing is, I had never been around chickens much, and certainly not just a single one. As you are learning, they do have individual “personalities.” I’m not totally vegetarian, but do not eat red meat and only chicken occasionally. I still feel quilty eating chicken after getting to know that one! For certain though, I couldn’t eat a creature I got to know personally. I guess that’s why I wouldn’t make it on a farm - at least not if I had to kill/eat my critters! (sigh)
If you keep them in a kiddie pool, the kitties can’t observe them. I refuse to believe any cat would behave and not try and eat them. I sure loved the photos and video!
Mitch: I’m not so fond of hearing my voice on tape. Too Kermit-the-Froggy.
Kelly: They’re in the guest room, and they’re pretty quiet. Soft cheeping, unless they’re alarmed, which is generally only when I’m trying to catch them. Some rooster chicks are colored differently (I think those breeds are called ’sex links’, but don’t hold me to it). Others are identified by experts who can spot a tiny penile bump in the cloaca. Usually problems between chickens show up when you introduce new ones to the flock (think ‘pecking order’), but ones raised together mostly get along. I’ve read that the Buffs can get picked on, but haven’t witnessed it yet.
Audri: The cats can look over the top. I was just out there and got some pictures I’ll try to post next time around.
That was just too much fun, I played the video and my cat was all ‘oy, where is that chirping coming from, must eat some birds!’ Too funny!
[...] Easter, though, is something I can get behind. Does any holiday have a better aesthetic? Soft pastels, mottled surfaces, curvaceous egg shapes, and rustic wicker baskets add up to reason enough to start decorating for Easter. Don’t tell anyone, but I think I turned 60 in my sleep last night. (Considering how my friend Karri laughed when I told her I’ve been wondering if I could raise some chicks in my apartment, I may also have turned into a big weirdo. I mean, bigger weirdo.) Posted by Jackie Danicki | [...]
I know this is a dumb question but I was born and raised on the beach in California.
Do you have to heat the coop in the wintertime when they move outside? Or can they handle the cold on their own?
They’re just lovely. You can’t have a small town house without chickens. Thanks for the pictures.
David: Everything I’ve read says that once chickens are fully feathered they can take most anything mother nature can throw at them. People in colder northern climates may heat their coops, though. I can probably get by with a light bulb if I think it’s going to be too cold here, too. I want to think they’re comfortable, not just surviving.
Fred, As a long time reader, your mention of Pedialyte thrills me to no end…I work at the company that makes it and was, at one time, the marketing research manager for the brand. It’s a great product and we’re always looking for new indications for use, but plugged chick butt…that’s probably not a direction we plan to go. Glad it helped out. -Scott
Another long time reader - with some actual knowledge of chickens - I work with them and am actually in grad school with a poultry specialization. As someone who hated chickens as a kid on our farm, the irony of this career choice is not lost on me. Anyway, I might have some insight.
Regarding telling males from females - there are experts who can spot the penile bump on the males - but people who do that literally spend years learning how to do it with any accuracy. I can also tell you that it’s a pretty disgusting process and isn’t used very often outside of a research setting.
As for the sex links you mentioned - some chicken/turkey strains have a slow feathering gene that allows you to determine the sex of the bird. At hatch, you can tell males from females based on the length of their wing feathers. After a couple of days you can’t use that method anymore because the feathers grow so fast. You mostly find that gene in commercial strains of poultry.
Usually males are larger than females - but a really good way to tell is the size and colour of the comb. The shape of the legs is another way. Those methods won’t work until your chickens are several weeks old.
Chickens are pretty resilient - I know of turkeys and laying hens that have survived just fine outside all winter here in Alberta, and it gets COLD. Those birds stay outside by choice, btw, they have access to perfectly good barns/coops but choose to stay in the open air. In the south, you’d likely have more problems with heat stress during the summer.
Sorry for the massive novel of a comment. Have fun with your birdies!
My parents live on 20 acres. When I was about 13 or so, my mom bought 100 baby chicks through the mail. It was so fun! They grow up so fast though and turn ugly. They didn’t eat any of them, but something else was. Every morning there was 2-3 of them dead. We tried everything, but somehow, something kept getting to them. They gave a few away, some died from whatever reason and some got killed. We had those chickens(most of them) for a long time. Once they all died, she never did buy anymore. I guess it proved to be to much work for her. Have fun with them.
I was telling my husband about your chicks, and we had a good laugh remembering that when we moved out in the country many years ago, he decided he would raise chickens. We enjoyed the chicks but were constantly amazed how dumb grown-up chickens are. One morning after a rain, he went out to the chicken house; the leghorns were laying dead, all in a row, right underneath the eaves. Apparently, they sat out in the rain looking straight up all night instead of going in the house, and forty-some idiot chickens drowned.He moved on to Buff Orpingtons, but after he reached into a nest and found an 6 foot snake instead of an egg, that was the end of his chicken farming! Good luck with your’s!
Hi Fred! De-lurker here. *cue the canned applause*. I do believe in grade school, one of my teachers told the class that birds, any kind of birds, chickens, ducks, pigeons, sparrows, etc have no control over their bowel movements. That’s why they seem to poop anywhere and everywhere. This was when one of my classmates expressed the desire to share a bath with a pet duck.
Just an FYI. Those damn chickens are adorable.
Scott: You could market it as “safe enough for even these babies” and show a bunch of fuzzy little clean-butted yellow chicks milling about. Alternately, “Pedialyte: It’s got what chicks crave!” (a la this) :)\
Brenda: Thanks for the info. I remember reading a bunch of it in all my country living / chicken books, but it tends to get jumbled up in my head.
Ginny: I’m hoping I can build a fairly predator-proof coop. Hoping.
Kris: I’ve heard that raising chickens will truly give you an understanding of where the term “birdbrain” came from. Sounds like you already witnessed it.
Chris: Could you imagine if people were like that? It’d certainly make life more interesting.