Chicks By Mail!! This is the first time we have gotten chicks by mail and did not know quite what to expect. So here is how it went. This morning I got a phone call from the post office about 7:50 am when they told me that my chicks had arrived and I needed to come and pick them up. I told them I should be able to make it in the next 30 minutes. I was surprised when I got to the post office and the postal worker brought me a small box of about 12 x 20. I had ordered 50 Freedom Ranger chicks. When I brought them home, I went and got their temporary housing ready. We are hoping their chicken tractor is only a day or so away from being finished. I had hauled in an old horse trough whose bottom had rusted out a long time ago before it was given to us, and sat it on a piece of cardboard opened up from a large box. I turned the horse trough upside down so there would only be smooth edges towards the chicks. I then added hay, set up the heat lamp and food and water dishes that my husband had helped me round up earlier, and was ready to add the chicks.
I opened the box top to see if they were all healthy, and they were all living, so I picked them up one at a time, dipped their beak in the water, and counted them as I went along. There are 51 chicks. They seem to be happy in their new home. I then invited in our two border collies to introduce them to their new charges. They were very interested in them. Phoenix was shaking. I am trying to train them that chickens are for taking care of, not for eating. We try to keep our chickens separate from our dogs, but occasionally a chicken will fly over the fence into dog territory, then the dogs think they are something that can be chased and defeathered, which reminds me of a song from a video that our children watched over and over,
Friends for Dinner.
The new chicken tractor is almost ready. Soon I will post a new tab with directions for making it. This is to keep our chickens safe at night in the pasture. As soon as they are old enough, we will open the door to let them free range in the pasture, and send them back to their chicken tractor at night. Here are some progress photos.
I opened the box top to see if they were all healthy, and they were all living, so I picked them up one at a time, dipped their beak in the water, and counted them as I went along. There are 51 chicks. They seem to be happy in their new home. I then invited in our two border collies to introduce them to their new charges. They were very interested in them. Phoenix was shaking. I am trying to train them that chickens are for taking care of, not for eating. We try to keep our chickens separate from our dogs, but occasionally a chicken will fly over the fence into dog territory, then the dogs think they are something that can be chased and defeathered, which reminds me of a song from a video that our children watched over and over, Friends for Dinner.
The new chicken tractor is almost ready. Soon I will post a new tab with directions for making it. This is to keep our chickens safe at night in the pasture. As soon as they are old enough, we will open the door to let them free range in the pasture, and send them back to their chicken tractor at night. Here are some progress photos.
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