About this same time every year, I really want to add animals to the farm. Recently I thought I would acquire some guinea fowl from a guy who was leaving, but that fell through, so I decided to get some chicks.
Whenever I get the day old chicks, they are so fragile that they end up dying. I guess it gets too cold here at night for them to be out, even in a covered dog crate.
I have figured out that what I call "teenage" birds are a little better for us. The other day I went to get some chicken feed and the local store had day old chicks for $1.50 for layers. I decided against getting them and decided to keep looking for some teenagers.
I drove by another store while shopping the other day and noticed they had larger chicks, so I stopped in to ask their price. The guy told me $2.10 each if I only bought females, and I figured that was a great deal! I asked him to pick out 8 for me.
After leaving and driving around a bit, I started thinking about getting more, so I stopped at a few other stores where I saw them, but they were all smaller, so I went back to the first store and bought 7 more. Now I have 15 to replace my current flock of 10 hens. That is, if they all live.
They seemed to like the ride home - all relaxing and closing their eyes as we went back up the mountain. I thought they were cute and the guy who picked them out for me said they were so pretty. The brown ones look like they have on Egyptian make up!
Upon getting home, some of the kids chose their favorites out of the bunch and played with them for a little while. They are pretty calm for spending their first weeks of life in a cage.
They will be sleeping in a large dog crate for a few weeks at night. I'm really glad that they are big enough and already have feathers, so they aren't super fragile. I think they're pretty cute too!
The last few nights and days with them have gone great. They're roaming around with the other chickens in the coop during the day and putting themselves in the dog crate at night. I cover it with a blanket to keep the cold air out. I am hopeful they will continue to grow and be a good addition to our little mini farm.
