38 Chicks Arrive from Iowa

SUSAN: As mentioned previously, Nigel and I were bummed by the loss of chicks hatched on the farm; but, Nigel was obviously more bummed than me! He ordered 37 chicks from Murray McMurray - Bard Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, and Rhode Island Reds. Apparently these breeds all make really good moms and will hatch their chicks properly. They arrived on Thursday, July 26 as day old chicks and just like last time we were given "one free" - perhaps we'll call her/him #38!

Just like two years ago it is so much fun to watch them sleep on top of one another, fall asleep wherever they are standing (including in the food bowl), and run around chasing whomever has the feather/pine chip/etc. Solo was not too sure about the new 38 chicks when Nigel introduced them on Thursday. Sunshine, though, since she's a bit younger ... seems to really like sleeping near them.

Two unusual things with the new chicks. On Saturday afternoon, I found one dead in a bit of a sleeping position. We think that maybe she was asleep and Solo stepped on her accidentally. Last time we had 100% survival of our Murray McMurray chicks.  And, another of the chicks has something (maybe her internal organs) sticking out of her vent. We're watching her carefully and hoping that she returns to normal soon.

It's hard to get great photos in the coop, but you can see that we're raising them in the middle section of the coop - they are no longer in a brooder. It's a great location for them, and very easy to access for water, feeding, and catching one to see if she is okay.

What's super fun is just trying to remember how to raise the chicks. We've had to pull out the Chicken Bible again to remember what we're supposed to do. For example, are we supposed to clean the poopy from their vents? How often should we change their bedding? How much sugar should we put int he water?