We started with 13. Everyone hatched well and is growing rapidly.
Just after hatching:
In the two weeks, we've lost just one chick. He disappeared. We're keeping them close to home, so we're not sure what happened, but he likely got lost. :(
This is the Mama Barred Rock teaching the chicks what to eat. She finds something yummy and makes a very specific cluck. The chicks come running and she pecks at the food for a second before allowing the babies to munch on it. In this case it was a worm. Yummo.
These chicks apparently prefer the food that we provide.
They are all little mutts. Our rooster is a Colombian Wyandotte. The hens are Barred Rocks, Partridge Cochins and a single, awesome Black Australorp. You can see all breeds in this photo. The Rocks are the three that are black with yellow beaks and legs. They have white spots on their heads too. The gray one in front is a Cochin, and the chicks with black legs and beaks are the Australorps. Most of our hens...and therefore most of our chicks...are Barred Rocks.
I leave you with a glamor shot of our awesome Barred Rock Mama.
I've noticed that the clucking of a mama hen is really pretty similar to that of a rooster who finds a good snack.
ReplyDeleteLast summer we had some brave/far ranging babies that would run to the rooster when he made his noises - and the rooster would feed them just like the hens. It was the most adorable thing ever :-)