The Chicks Are Here!!

It's been an exciting day at our home.  My friend Cathie and I drove the 2 hours to Meyer Hatchery to pick up our chicks.  My 20 month old ended up coming with us and he had a great time.  He chatted and sang the whole way down and fell asleep on the way back.  We're so lucky to have two boys who travel well.

We got to the hatchery and they brought out our birds.  My son was enthralled with the two tubs of baby chicks and turkeys that were on the floor.  He became very upset whenever you tried to take him away from them.  I picked up some nesting mats, chick feeder and waterer, a few organic chicken snacks for when they get older, and some chick grit.

We also found out the type of chicken that they provided for our Meyer Meal Maker - another Dominique!

Our 5 new additions on the store counter.

Getting ready to get in the car.
Black Langshan on left, then Buff & Light Brahmas.
2 Dominique's in front.

My 4 year old loved watching them start to eat and run around their new home.  

It's already clear that the Brahma's are going to run the roost.  They have been the most adventurous and are the first to eat and drink.  They've even started pushing the other three around a little to make sure that they get dibs on the food.  I started with their food in the chick feeder (above) but got concerned that they might not eat well from it their first day so I moved their food to a plastic lid (below).  The got sprouted grains, a mash with their dry mix with Greek yogurt & water, chopped hard boiled egg, and finely chopped spinach.

The hard boiled egg is definitely the favorite.  They love pecking around in the mash but I think it's a little hard for them tonight.  They are eating well on the sprouts and spinach.  Just before coming up to finish the post, one of the Dominique's grabbed a piece of spinach and started running around the nest chirping up a storm, trying to find a place to stop and eat the spinach before one of the other chicks tried to come take it from her.  It was really funny.

 Sorry the photos are red - the heat light makes getting good photos hard but the girls didn't like it when I turned it off temporarily to get some shots.

The Brahma's definitely took charge of the food early.
Buff Brahma in the food, Light Brahma to her right, one of the Dominique's coming in at the bottom left.

I was initially worried about our Black Langshan because she was laying around a lot but she soon started getting up and eating and drinking.  She still sleeps a little more than the others but is eating and drinking well and is acting just as lively as the other girls when she is up and moving.  I found I had to put their beaks in the water 3-4 times before they started drinking readily.  They spent the evening in little bursts of eating, drinking, & sleeping.

Tomorrow I will put their food back in the chick feeder so that they will stay out of it.  They're clearly not shy about eating.  I also mixed the sprouts, mash (with yogurt), eggs, and a small amount of chick grit tonight so they could meld together well before morning.  I'll still put out some spinach and hard boiled eggs separately since they're eating so much of them.

Everyone ate great on their first day!
Black Langshan upper left, Dominique right below her, Buff Brahma drinking,
another Dominique bottom right, & Light Brahma to her left.

Both boys had me lift them up about 30 times tonight so they could look at the chicks.  The brooder is put up high so the dogs can't get to them.  I can tell that we're really going to enjoy having these birds in our lives.

Down for the night.
Can't wait for tomorrow!

It's been an exciting day at our home.  My friend Cathie and I drove the 2 hours to Meyer Hatchery to pick up our chicks.  My 20 month old ended up coming with us and he had a great time.  He chatted and sang the whole way down and fell asleep on the way back.  We're so lucky to have two boys who travel well.

We got to the hatchery and they brought out our birds.  My son was enthralled with the two tubs of baby chicks and turkeys that were on the floor.  He became very upset whenever you tried to take him away from them.  I picked up some nesting mats, chick feeder and waterer, a few organic chicken snacks for when they get older, and some chick grit.

We also found out the type of chicken that they provided for our Meyer Meal Maker - another Dominique!

Our 5 new additions on the store counter.

Getting ready to get in the car.
Black Langshan on left, then Buff & Light Brahmas.
2 Dominique's in front.

My 4 year old loved watching them start to eat and run around their new home.  

It's already clear that the Brahma's are going to run the roost.  They have been the most adventurous and are the first to eat and drink.  They've even started pushing the other three around a little to make sure that they get dibs on the food.  I started with their food in the chick feeder (above) but got concerned that they might not eat well from it their first day so I moved their food to a plastic lid (below).  The got sprouted grains, a mash with their dry mix with Greek yogurt & water, chopped hard boiled egg, and finely chopped spinach.

The hard boiled egg is definitely the favorite.  They love pecking around in the mash but I think it's a little hard for them tonight.  They are eating well on the sprouts and spinach.  Just before coming up to finish the post, one of the Dominique's grabbed a piece of spinach and started running around the nest chirping up a storm, trying to find a place to stop and eat the spinach before one of the other chicks tried to come take it from her.  It was really funny.

 Sorry the photos are red - the heat light makes getting good photos hard but the girls didn't like it when I turned it off temporarily to get some shots.

The Brahma's definitely took charge of the food early.
Buff Brahma in the food, Light Brahma to her right, one of the Dominique's coming in at the bottom left.

I was initially worried about our Black Langshan because she was laying around a lot but she soon started getting up and eating and drinking.  She still sleeps a little more than the others but is eating and drinking well and is acting just as lively as the other girls when she is up and moving.  I found I had to put their beaks in the water 3-4 times before they started drinking readily.  They spent the evening in little bursts of eating, drinking, & sleeping.

Tomorrow I will put their food back in the chick feeder so that they will stay out of it.  They're clearly not shy about eating.  I also mixed the sprouts, mash (with yogurt), eggs, and a small amount of chick grit tonight so they could meld together well before morning.  I'll still put out some spinach and hard boiled eggs separately since they're eating so much of them.

Everyone ate great on their first day!
Black Langshan upper left, Dominique right below her, Buff Brahma drinking,
another Dominique bottom right, & Light Brahma to her left.

Both boys had me lift them up about 30 times tonight so they could look at the chicks.  The brooder is put up high so the dogs can't get to them.  I can tell that we're really going to enjoy having these birds in our lives.

Down for the night.
Can't wait for tomorrow!

It's been an exciting day at our home.  My friend Cathie and I drove the 2 hours to Meyer Hatchery to pick up our chicks.  My 20 month old ended up coming with us and he had a great time.  He chatted and sang the whole way down and fell asleep on the way back.  We're so lucky to have two boys who travel well.

We got to the hatchery and they brought out our birds.  My son was enthralled with the two tubs of baby chicks and turkeys that were on the floor.  He became very upset whenever you tried to take him away from them.  I picked up some nesting mats, chick feeder and waterer, a few organic chicken snacks for when they get older, and some chick grit.

We also found out the type of chicken that they provided for our Meyer Meal Maker - another Dominique!

Our 5 new additions on the store counter.

Getting ready to get in the car.
Black Langshan on left, then Buff & Light Brahmas.
2 Dominique's in front.

My 4 year old loved watching them start to eat and run around their new home.  

It's already clear that the Brahma's are going to run the roost.  They have been the most adventurous and are the first to eat and drink.  They've even started pushing the other three around a little to make sure that they get dibs on the food.  I started with their food in the chick feeder (above) but got concerned that they might not eat well from it their first day so I moved their food to a plastic lid (below).  The got sprouted grains, a mash with their dry mix with Greek yogurt & water, chopped hard boiled egg, and finely chopped spinach.

The hard boiled egg is definitely the favorite.  They love pecking around in the mash but I think it's a little hard for them tonight.  They are eating well on the sprouts and spinach.  Just before coming up to finish the post, one of the Dominique's grabbed a piece of spinach and started running around the nest chirping up a storm, trying to find a place to stop and eat the spinach before one of the other chicks tried to come take it from her.  It was really funny.

 Sorry the photos are red - the heat light makes getting good photos hard but the girls didn't like it when I turned it off temporarily to get some shots.

The Brahma's definitely took charge of the food early.
Buff Brahma in the food, Light Brahma to her right, one of the Dominique's coming in at the bottom left.

I was initially worried about our Black Langshan because she was laying around a lot but she soon started getting up and eating and drinking.  She still sleeps a little more than the others but is eating and drinking well and is acting just as lively as the other girls when she is up and moving.  I found I had to put their beaks in the water 3-4 times before they started drinking readily.  They spent the evening in little bursts of eating, drinking, & sleeping.

Tomorrow I will put their food back in the chick feeder so that they will stay out of it.  They're clearly not shy about eating.  I also mixed the sprouts, mash (with yogurt), eggs, and a small amount of chick grit tonight so they could meld together well before morning.  I'll still put out some spinach and hard boiled eggs separately since they're eating so much of them.

Everyone ate great on their first day!
Black Langshan upper left, Dominique right below her, Buff Brahma drinking,
another Dominique bottom right, & Light Brahma to her left.

Both boys had me lift them up about 30 times tonight so they could look at the chicks.  The brooder is put up high so the dogs can't get to them.  I can tell that we're really going to enjoy having these birds in our lives.

Down for the night.
Can't wait for tomorrow!