March 29, 2011 Part II

Ok folks, I hadn't planned on this post today, but my brother and sister-in-law convinced me that I had far too many pictures on my photobucket site and the last post was way too long ago. Here is a separate post on the chicks.  So much has happened since the last post, I'm shocked.  As a result, this post may be longer than normal.  And if you're only here for the garden, scroll down, there is a post earlier today about peas and child gardens.

First off, I hadn't seen the chicks eating from their tray, not once.  Sure I wasn't with them 24/7, but you'd think I'd witness it in the hour or so a day I'm with them?  All they seemed to want to do is hunt and peck on the ground.  Silly chickens, there's no food on the paper towels, only the bedding you kicked up onto it.  Oh, and a bit of grit I sprinkled down to make sure they've got some in their gullets.

A solution to this "problem" came by chance when I was helping my brother finish up his plumbing remodel of his bathroom vanity.  He has the same block of wood for the water to sit on, but he had his block turned toward the feed tray, right up to it in fact. I saw his chicks standing on the block with their heads in the holes, pecking out the food.  BINGO! My chicks love to peck.  So when I got home I turned the block like he had it. Thankfully it fit in my smaller brooder.  Almost immediately the chicks were at the edge of the block, pecking food out of the tray!

Ever since I turned  the board, half the time I see them they've got their heads buried in the tray.  So a note to chick raisers, give them a raised platform to peck down into their food.  It'll be interesting to see how fast they grow now that they're eating more. Oh, and in case you're wondering why most of my pics are fuzzy, I take them from outside the bathroom through the frosted plastic bin to make sure they don't see me and stop doing what I want the picture of.  Sorry for that and the red tint to all the pics due to the heat lamp.

Next, if you notice in the pic above, there's a 2x2 board resting on the food tray and the water dish.  This was my first attempt at a makeshift roost for the girls.  They seemed to want to sleep right there so I gave them a trial roost to get them used to it.  Well, it was a bit wiggly so it wasn't used much. Then, after seeing my brother's scrap-wood roost tonight, I decided to throw one together.  Two four-inch 2x4s and a six inch length of 2x2 later and presto!

I'm not happy with the location directly under the heat lamp, but it's the only spot I had.  Tomorrow I'm going to try to find a better configuration for everything.  But I'm hopeful they'll like it.  Speaking of tomorrow, bright and early my brother and I are heading out to wait in line for our ever-so-popular Buff Orpingtons.  We'll be 4 strong tomorrow, and for now we'll be done!

At this point, I think I'll share some of my favorite pics from the last few days. The first is my youngest watching the chicks.  He's so cute just sitting there all GQ on the edge of the sink.

Then, to be fair, here's the best of my oldest petting the normally docile Barred Rock that my wife is holding on to for dear life.

Now for a pic of a chick that wanted so badly to be out of my wife's hands, only to perch on her pinkie and not want to get off!

Isn't our Golden Laced Wyndotte a pretty bird!?

Well, I guess that's enough for today.  If I am obsessed with my chicks, can you blame me?

Enjoy your garden!