Chick(en)s at 8 Weeks
I was too busy to post last Monday when the chicks turned 7 weeks old…but since they aren’t really changing in appearance much anymore I don’t think it matters. Here they are at 8 weeks:
Buckeye
Americauna
Wyandotte (nom nom kale)
We are still bringing them inside to sleep at night since we haven’t entirely predator-proofed the coop. We are going to do that today…and then they will be outside full time – hooray!
They should beging laying in about 12 weeks; they still have a bit of growing to do and a few feathers to develop but really they are chickens now, not babies at all. Though they do tolerate us very well, we can pet them and pick them up without much trouble…at least, not much trouble until it is time to go in at night. They know what the box we use to carry them to the house means, and they don’t want to go inside, so chasing them around the pen to load them into the box is quite a challenge.
I’m glad you have southern chicks (Must be southern, since they like kale greens!)
Hi, I have some new chickens in week 4 of their lives. I have been watching the growth of your chickens and wonder what you are doing for a coop? I also noticed you put straw down for them… is that something you will change regularly? or will you leave that straw down to decompose? We were planning on just letting them be on the dirt.
Also, are there any vaccinations or medications that chickens should have to grow up healthy? Thanks for your blog!
Hi Heidi, we are finishing our coop hopefully tonight. Josh converted 1/3 of a 10×10 shed into a coop and we used a 10×10 dog kennel as the basis for the chicken run. I will try to post about it later this week, once it is all finished. It’s taking us longer than we expected because we are trying so hard to predator-proof it.
We put straw down to give the chickens something to scratch in. The dirt in the run is pretty damp because the roof keeps it shady and I’ve read that chickens don’t like wet feet
I’m sure we’ll clean the straw out regularly during warm months (prevent smells and flies) but pile it up during winter b/c it will be extra insulation (we’re not planning to heat the coop although we will light it with a solar-powered light).
We are NOT experts…we are learning as we go…but other than the vaccinations that almost all day-old chicks get at the hatchery we are not getting vaccinations or anything for ours. In such a small flock I don’t think it’s necessary; if they get sick we’ll notice right away and take care of it ASAP, especially if it is contagious. Large chicken farms have to be more conscientious about vaccinating etc. Medicate as needed; hopefully your chickens will never get sick so you won’t have to medicate them but if my experience with pets in general is any indication I fully expect some sort of expensive medical issue is in our chickens’ future!
Are you blogging about your chickens or do you have a website? What breeds do you have?