Chick-A-Dee First 5 Days

I don't want to say that I under estimated the amount of work that goes into raising chicks because we have done a ton of research and talked to many people before we started this adventure, but OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!!  

So, first off... we had one that wasn't really acting right.  She hadn't been right since we got her.  She would just stand in one spot and sway back and forth.  I was feeding her mushed up grit and giving her water through an eye dropper ever 30 minutes but unfortunately, we lost her Sunday morning.  I don't think that it had anything to do with disease... just something that happened.  Maybe she got knocked around a little too much in transit?

Also, since you get birds that are 2 days old (who would normally be with their mama for about 6 weeks) you have to do all the stuff that their mama would do... I have been cleaning chicken butts as well.  GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING  They have these things called "vents" that can get clogged with poo, and a mama chicken would clean this normally, but since I am the mama, I got to do it... YAY for me!!  I put the girls in a warm little bath in a small Rubbermaid container and it kind of just falls off.  Not too nasty, but not the most attractive attribute!

Clogged Vent

Bath Time!!

All warmed up!

Also, I have two little misses that have a crusty eye... I was worried at first, but after looking at it, I see that it is because of our darling little girl, "Stripes".  She created some scabs around the other chicks eyes from trying to peck their eyeballs out!  I am happy to report that she has calmed down quite a bit, but she did some damage!  With the two little girls that have the eye situation, I just get a warm washcloth and wipe their eye until it opens.  I have been told to use some boric acid with some water on their eyes, but I havent done that yet.  I am not too worried since I can see that its a scab... no swelling or puss, so fingers crossed, we are good!

Also, the little darlings are MESSY!  They scratch in the shavings, which is totally natural, they are looking for food, but they throw the shavings everywhere!  I clean their waterers out a few times a day, but they are still always messy.  just part of the game I guess.  We are having a lot of fun with the girls, we each have our favorite, and I will start introducing them soon. We are learning a ton, and its just a really fun thing to have going right now.

Our Girls

Yes, they are still in my shower... easier for me to keep an eye on them.

Our New Baby Girls

So, we have taken the plunge, and we picked up our chicks today.  Our coop is almost ready, but they wont go out there for 6 weeks or so.  In the mean time, we started all 10 of them in a 45 gallon Rubbermaid container, which should have been fine, but we think that they were a little crammed, so.... we moved them into the shower in our bedroom... pretty sure that we are going to regret that decision, but for now, it will have to do.

We have 4 Rhode Island Reds, 4 Ameraucanas, and 2 Wynadotte little girls.  I am really excited for the Ameraucanas because they lay blue and green eggs!!  Cant wait!  Now its a waiting game.  We will take care of these 10 little ladies for about 16-24 weeks before they start laying eggs... happy chicks lay lots of eggs!!!

Now, on to our little trouble maker!  We have one little Ameraucana chick that thinks that her poo doesn't stink and she running around trying to peck everyone's eyes out.  I have done some research and she is a little confused... they can mistake eyes for food... They are all sleeping peacefully now, but if she starts something on the middle of the night, I have a jail already for her... "Stripes" which I have named her because she is going to be in jail most of her childhood, better straighten herself up, or I am going to serve her up as chicken nuggets!!  Little crap!  She has made it a little rough for the other ones.

Here are the girls before we moved them into our bathroom... they are finally quiet, so I don't want to disturb them for a picture!!!