How I Pick Up Chicks

In a box. Duh!

Last week, my husband's work told him he was being sent on a business trip at the end of May. I did a little quick math and realized if I was going to get chickens in the freezer before we left I needed to get chicks NOW. If I do not have my chickens done by July 4th, I won't do them. They start dying of heat stroke after that, and that is not fun. We have a hatchery in the big city so I ordered 30 chicks and yesterday was my hatch day.

THESE ARE OFFICIALLY SPRING CHICKENS

All photos taken with my Samsung Galaxy Luna Pro cell phone which refuses to speak to my computer any more, so they were emailed from my phone, then down loaded, then cropped because for some reason my photos all show up upside down on steemit if I do not edit them at least a little. Technology is a mixed blessing at best...

I start new chickens out with a bit of boiled egg yolk. This will be crumbled up and after they chow it down, I will fill the feed tray with chick starter. I tried making my own chick mash a couple times, and finally decided it is too much work and a bit too risky. One of my attempts killed a couple birds, it was too moist and glued their beaks together. Some of the lessons around the farm are brutal.

I also like to put just a bit of organic apple cider vinegar in their water, for all the same reasons every naturopath in the world tells me I should drink it. I am NOT drinking that nasty stuff, but the chicks will! I also throw rocks in the waterer base to keep the chicks from falling in and drowning in it. Yes, I have had that happen too. For the record, I wash the rocks well and soak them in vinegar for a bit to make sure they are not going to react with the vinegar in their water.

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I have a thermometer that I put down in their box with them. It sends data to my alarm clock / weather station inside so I can tell how warm they are without going outside myself. OK, I admit it... when technology is helpful it is very, very helpful...

I also have a visual on them from my living room which is pretty convenient. The old RV needs a deep cleaning, so before I jump in to all that, might as well brood some chicks in there! It keeps them safe from predators, out of the wind, and I can peek in on them whenever I want!

The season shifted here right on cue it seems. My south slope is totally snow free. The creeks are running, my high desert property is a swamp for a little while. I love this time of year. My little creek has a little waterfall, so I have the "babbling brook" sound when I open a window or door. The migrating birds are rolling through and we have some outstanding bird watching around here. Today it is supposed to cloud up again, but still get up into the fifties. YAY!!!

Of course, winter is still clinging to the north faces of everything. It is a fun time of year, from pure white landscapes to checkerboards. Some of the south slopes are already green with young grass, while the backside of the same hill still has a foot of snow on it. It has been a good, gradual melt off at least, I think we are not going to have any huge floods this year. Yay again!

HAPPY SPRING and NAMASTE!!