Raising Backyard Chickens: The First Week

Posted on April 24th, 2012 by Tonia 5 Comments

These are the “baby pictures” I took of our chickies on the day they arrived in the mail. They made quick work of drinking their fill of water and then hunkering down under the hot bulb as soon as I introduced them to their new home.

A week later, they’re twice as big, ten times more lively, and still just as cute. In addition to their regular chick feed, they love a treat of cooked quinoa mixed with a little bit of plain yogurt {thanks to my friend Jen for showing me this yummy and nutritious snack for my babies!}

The meat birds {the light yellow ones} are really starting to surpass the others in size. We may have to separate them soon, so they don’t keep our layers from getting enough to eat.

Mike spent the weekend building the chickens and turkeys new, bigger, fancier homes. I can’t believe how fast they outgrew their cardboard boxes! The new digs have nice chicken-wire tops that lift off so I can feed and water them easily.

The turkeys like to fly out as soon as I open it, because they get all excited when they see me. They may be teenagers now, but they still love their mama. 😉

5 Comments

  1. Rebecca says:

    Hi Tonia! Your subsistence-farming efforts are really fascinating to follow. Do you think it will be difficult to eat the animals once they are grown? I can do the veggies, but I am one of those terrible omnivores that feels awful when I realize my lunch meat had a face, and was a cute baby. (I’ve considered vegetarianism, but haven’t quite gotten there yet.) Wondering how you’re doing in that regard.

  2. Tonia says:

    Ugh. Yeah. It’s going to be hard. :\ We’ll see how it goes…..I’m not really sure how I’ll feel when the time comes. All I know right now for sure is that these animals have a GOOD LIFE. And I feel great about that.

  3. Rebecca says:

    I like that, too. I think it’s really important. Food, Inc. has changed everything about the way I feel about food.

  4. Kendra says:

    Way back when my parents raised chicks, the yellow-footed meat birds would try to eat the layers’ black feet!

  5. syd says:

    Hi Tonia!
    LOVED this post :) Can’t wait to meet those chickies in person soon!! In the meantime, I know you’ll keep them well fed and happy – I could have sworn I saw them smiling in those photos! xoxo.

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