I wasn’t quite sure how it would be to raise baby
chicks inside the house this time of year but so far it is working out
fantastically. It is too chilly to have
them in our garage like I did last time.
I can't believe it has been a month already and our girls are doing
really well. They are growing up and are
healthy and happy in their dog crate turned chick brooder.
Surprisingly the layer of pine bedding has been
tremendous in providing the girls a comfortable floor in the brooder and
absorbing odors. We keep it fairly tidy
throughout the week and I do a complete clean out once a week. The used bedding goes into our compost bin.
During the daytime I keep the light on so they have
faux daylight and then when the sun starts to go down I turn the light off and
let them settle down and prepare for sleep.
I have an old throw that I cover the brooder with to make it dark inside
and they are off to dreamland.
Matilda helping me shop for chicken feeders |
We wash their feeders often as they tend to mess
them up on a regular basis and as they grow they are eating and drinking more
too. I the past two weeks, as the
weather has permitted, we take them outside onto the lawn to play around and
stretch their legs. They have a
ball. After about an hour they are all
tuckered out and let us know they are ready to head back in by jumping into our
laps and hunkering down.
Edith and Penelope |
I love how they get so excited to see me when I come
home from work every night. They rush to
the door of their brooder and hop up and down until I come and say hello. Most people don't really think of chickens as
affectionate creatures but I beg to differ.
Our girls love to be held and cuddled.
Nothing quite like being mauled by a bunch of sweet little chickies. A little bit crazy aren't I? |
This week I gave them some of my homemade bread and
they absolutely loved it. I've given
them lettuce leaves and they aren't as excited about those yet but when I gave
them a slice of tomato they went nuts.
One grabbed it and the chase was on.
I ended up getting them another one so they would settle down and share.
Rosemary and her sisters. Pretty happy group of girls. |
Now that they are getting bigger and doing so well I
am far less nervous about them getting ill and passing away. With the rough start we had in the beginning I'm
afraid I was a bit of an anxious chicken mommy there for awhile.
They are so sweet and I just love them to
pieces. And spoiled. Oh my gosh.
Just a little bit. J
Oh my- they are so cute! They got so big in one month's time! My kiddos would love them to death. We are talking about getting some chicks this spring from the local farmers market- we had them years ago, before we had the kids, and we would love to have them again. By the way, I love the names you gave them! :)
ReplyDeleteI always give my pets old fashioned people names. Its my thing. LOL.
DeleteThey do grow fast don't they? I was in the feed store last night and they had new peeps. So tiny and cute. I'm crazy about chickens and raising them for eggs. I hope you get some too. They are too dang much fun. :)