Flock #2 Is In The House! (Sort of)

Today was the arrival of the new chicks. In case you weren't with us last year here is the skinny on what is going on. Daniel is participating in the 4H Chick Chain Project. He receives 25 Black Sex-Link chicks, all female, to raise as laying hens. In the Fall he will take the 5 best hens to the Poultry Show and allow them to be judged. After the Poultry Show he can make the decision to auction off his hens or keep them. If choosing to keep the hens the participants can now make extra money by selling the wonderful farm fresh eggs that the hens are laying every day or since these are dual purpose birds they can also be used for meat.

Last year when we started this project for the first time we had decided as a family to really support Daniel with the chicks because he is on the Autism Spectrum and we were not sure how much he could handle on his own. We definitely found some sensory issues that got in the way and in the whole of the situation he did really need our help. However in the process of raising the flock of chicks we realized that even without Autism it would have been a good decision to do this as a family. The flock became a part of our family almost from the start. We have a few hens that have names because the kids chose them for their very own, these hens have immunity for any future plans of becoming dinner. Our main girl is Zelda, she is Daniel's hen. Zelda is almost completely red where the other girls are mostly black. The exception to this is Sarah's hen Fuzzy who is also red but was kind of the runt of the group. Daniel chose Zelda from day one because he said she was different like him. She, like him, is beautiful, healthy and in control. I guess another hen I should mention is Turkey Girl, she is the tattle tail of the flock. She will throw the others under the bus in a heart beat if it is going to score her points. She complains about everything and she does not understand the word HUSH. She follows me every step I take and she makes me laugh.

Out of the 25 we started with last year, we have 18 left. One died after one day because of Pasty Butt which can be caused by the stress of the travel from the hatchery to us. We washed their bottoms religiously but unfortunately for her it just wasn't enough. Then at about 24 weeks we lost 5 birds. We were not practicing bio-security well enough and the kids allowed a friend in the coop who also had chickens. Our girls contracted Coccidiosis and it hit them hard. Recently in March we lost one hen for no apparent reason, it just happens.

So here we are starting flock number two.

We went to the Extension office this morning to pick up our babies and found flats of fuzz just peeping for all they were worth.

When we got home I realized as I was putting them into the brooder that there were only 24 girls. Those rascals, they are so hard to count when they keep trying to do Kung Fu on each other's heads.


Ms. Carol had the perfect chick pegged for Daniel. Here she is, now he has not seen her or named her yet but she is a dead ringer for Zelda, so I am seeing sequel on the horizon.

One little girl had to be seperated out. She was very weak and even when she drank it would not stay down. She never made a sound, she was trying but no sound would come out. Her breathing was very difficult, it was like her lungs were not fully formed. Bless her she only lived for a very short time after we got home but she tried.

So here are the 23 in their new digs. It took them a bit to settle in but every one seems to be drinking well, eating well and napping. Ok, napping while no one is jumping on their heads. They seem to be a feisty group and already we have some leaders emerging.

I believe at the end of the week we may be getting replacements for the two so that will bring us back to 25. Stay tuned because they grow fast and things are always changing here on Redbud.