New Beginnings and a Big Loss

The Araucanas came in a few days early so I got to pick up 10 new baby chicks yesterday. Absolutely adorable and I need to post a picture. Now the bad news. Got up this morning and the coop door for the 22 peeps was open and 7 dead and 13 missing and presumed dead. The only 2 left are a New Hampshire and Rhode Island Red. I am really bummed.  My guess is the coyotes are back. We saw them last year during the day and something took our Jersey Giant during the day a couple of weeks ago.

Bantams

I tried moving the bantams in with the larger chickens. Didn't work!! The bantams are too small and can easily fit through the holes in the fence. That might not have happened if the others weren't pecking the heck out of them! They are about 1/2 the size of the larger chickens even though the age difference isn't that great. These are cute little guys. Well 2 guys and 2 females. But I wouldn't buy them again. They just don't grow fast enough.

Growing large!

The little chicks are growing. The last picture compares them to a year old chicken. Everything I have read says butcher them between 16-18 weeks which would put us around Aug. 25th.  I have read that they can be done as young as 12 weeks but that would apply to the cockerels.

They Have All Moved Outside

As of 4/30 all the chickens and ducks have moved outside except for the Bantams. 

Now to try and figure out the costs of keeping chickens. So far 2 bags of food. By the time we butcher the first chickens we will have just about finished the 3 bags. 
Cost of food $43.29
Cost of chicks $76.34

Bought heat lamp $7, waterer $3 that can be used again.

Peeps are 1 month and We have Roosters

The majority of the peeps are 1 month old. They are still in their ugly phase but their feathers are almost in. The barred rocks are not very friendly. They like to peck at me and bite but the golden comets are great. The barred rocks were supposed to be all pullets but I am sure there is at least one rooster. Its comb is very pink and it has a wattle. There is also a cockerel among the reds. 

The little bantams are feathered on their wings.

The ducks are ready to be moved outside by the end of the week. 

Everyone is eating 20% starter.

Getting Feathers

The little bantams are almost a week. They have some wing feathers. They are still so small they easily fit in the palm of my hand. Even smaller than the chicken can they are eating out of. 

The other 22 birds are so much larger and have almost all their feathers. This is their very ugly stage. In about another week they will most likely be ready to go outside. 

The barred rocks seem the most timid. The golden comets the most friendly and inquisitive.

All the Little Peeps

Pictures were taken 4/6 so they peeps are a little over a week old. 3 ducks are mixed in there for the time being. This is the last year I will do ducks! At night we are keeping them in the shed with a light but a sharp learning curve one night taught me that it was not a heat light. 
The little peeps are easy keepers. Outside during the day if warm enough and back in during the evening.

Raising Chickens

This blog is mostly for my info. So I can keep track of the different varieties of chickens that we bought this spring. We would like to decide which kind we would enjoy best for next year. The year we bought 36 chickens.  Their purposes will be for both eggs and meat. They are free roaming chickens. 
We bought 3/28
7-Golden Comets pullets
6-Barred Rocks  pullets
3-Rhode Island Red pullets
6-Amberlinks st. run
6-New Hampshire st. run
Bought 4/18
4-Bantams st. run
Bought 5/21
10-Araucana pullets
The chickens in the pictures above are 2 of our current Reds.