No new events are happening in the chicken pool. All is going as it usually does. Eating, drinking, growing, scratching, and making poo are the daily events. Some are more bold than others and will stare up at you when you approach the pen to check things out. Others will run to the far side and try to pile up and hide from you. There really is no place to hide in a round pool. Silly birdies.

Just like babies!

I guess we have just had our first mini crisis. Thanks to an article in the magazine Mother Earth News, I knew this could happen but had never experienced it in previous chicks. One of the Rhode Island Red chicks had a blocked vent. This means there was poo stuck to the feathers around the anus. Hubby had to hold the chick while I cleaned it with warm water and a paper towel. Great news!!! All the poo is gone and the little peep just pooped without a problem. If you don't correct this problem as soon as you notice it, your chick could die. Think of it as a person with a constipation problem.

Growing bigger

Well, the chicks have been here for 5 days and all is well. They have almost doubled in size and are eating and drinking well. They scratch around and chase each other around. We sometimes hear a loud peep and run to see if everything is ok. They are just playing. Whew. Our chocolate lab stays inside when it is very cold and she doesn't bother them but just in case if we hear something, we immediately go to check.

Here you can see them standing near the thermometer. The temperature must stay around 98 F. We have a 100 watt bulb and also a small heater in the pen. As they get older we will lower the temperature.

Settling in

Today all the little chicks seem to be doing quite well. They peep during the daytime, but I don't hear them too much at night. I think they are sleeping while it is dark and quiet. Zippy, our MinPin, likes to look over into the enclosure to see what they are doing. I am not sure if he is calculating how filling they would be. I am sure they are mostly just fuzz right now anyway.

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The chicks have arrived

The 12 little chicks are now happily pecking around in their pen. When they got here, I carefully took each one our of the box and dipped their beaks in the waterer. Since there is no mother hen they each have to be shown where the water and food are. After they drank, I repeated the effort with the food. Then I sat down and watched them. It is really funny to see them running around chasing after each other. There are 6 Rhode Island Reds and 6 Americaunas. I have not raised Americaunas before but was intrigued with the thought that they lay green or blue eggs. That will be in about 3 months. Until them we will watch their progress and also watch our MinPin to make sure he doesn't snack on the birds.

Arrival day

Well, the chicks have arrived and are at the feed store. My husband just went to pick them up. We have set up their pen and will put them there as soon as he gets back with them.

Preparing for the chicks to arrive

Today I have been to the feed store to purchase my chick starter feed. It is important to start them out with this type food and not just feed them regular chicken food. They will get the important nutrients for growth and health.