by Texas Homesteader
*this post contains affiliate links
As we continue on this new journey of raising chicks for the very first time, I thought it would be fun to show you how they’re doing these days.
We’ve moved their small temporary coop outside but still close to the house so we can keep an eye on them.
(for those of you asking which coop we decided on, it’s this * portable coop
)
Although we felt we needed to fortify the coop to make it sturdier, by doing so we were able to use it as a chicken tractor & move it each day to fresh grass.
We also enjoy allowing the chickens in the garden area. To keep them confined we borrowed a small temporary dog kennel and placed them inside with a section of fencing over the top.
They love being in the garden to be able to stretch their wings a bit. And they’re able to catch some bugs and eat the squash bugs I throw to them. win/win!
The Hybrid Ideal 236 chicks are growing well, turning from their first fuzzy yellow to bright white feathers. They’re not near as large as the Minorcas but the Ideals are supposed to lay larger eggs. So we purchased three of the chicks back in April.
We also purchased three Black Minorcas at the same time. Now that they are 7 weeks old we know the smaller of the two Minorcas pictured below is a rooster.
It’s funny hearing him attempt to crow in the mornings. He sounds like a 14-year-old choir boy going through a voice change! LOL
But he’s beautiful and as long as he doesn’t get overly aggressive we’ll get along just fine. We think the larger Black Minorca is a female, and I think she is just striking! I’ve not heard any of the others crow so fingers crossed we only have one rooster.
But we realize that to keep them as healthy as they can possibly be we need to allow them free-range on grass and bugs. So today we took a big step – we opened the coop door and allowed them to run free.
And run they did, they almost didn’t know what to do with themselves! I was reminded of a 3 year old in a candy store, not knowing which jar of candy to grab first. It was quite amusing to watch
We’re pleased that they seem to want to stay close to the coop but we’re keeping a close eye on them for a few days just to make sure. We’ll lock them securely inside the coop each night and allow them out to roam during the day.
The next step is to fortify the floor of our 1880 barn’s coop and they will call that home when they’re just a little older.
So far it’s been a blast raising these little guys. Of course I worry about predator danger but so far we’ve been able to keep them safe and healthy. I can’t wait to see what the next month holds!
~TxH~
Chicken-Care Posts
- How To Teach Free-Range Chickens To Come HOME
- Breaking The Broody Hen
- What Color Eggs Will My Chickens Lay?
- MYO Low-Waste Chicken Feeder
- Keeping Wild Birds Away From Your Chicken Feeder
- Nutritional Difference Of Free-Range Eggs
- How To Protect Seedlings From Free-Range Hens
- Keeping Our Chickens Mite Free
- How To Get Free Chicken Food
All Posts About Chickens
C’mon by & sit a spell! Come hang out at our Facebook Page. It’s like sitting in a front porch rocker with a glass of cold iced tea – lots of good folks sharing! You can also follow along on Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram.
If you’d like to receive an email each time a new blog post goes live it’s EASY to
Subscribe to our blog!
* Affiliate Links – We are currently enrolled as an Amazon Affiliate (others could be added in the future) Occasionally I will insert an affiliate link into one of my posts if I think it may be of interest to you. If you click on one of those links and buy something (almost anything, not just what was linked) I get a small referral percentage from them – the price you pay for those items is UNCHANGED.
When you buy something through the affiliate link it’s a great way to support this blog without anything coming out of your pocket so click often!
I just spent the last week with my family in California. My sister has chickens and the kids LOVE them. The eggs are a nice bonus!
So cute – our chicks are the same age so it’s fun to see them growing up.
Thanks LisaLynn – the chicks were like sugar-crazed toddlers – too funny. ~TxH~
Visiting from the Monday Menagerie! You seem to do great with your chickens! I recommend feeding them a handful of scratch every time you get them back in from free ranging. That way, they’ll come running when they see you and will learn to go back inside quickly, which is a good safety drill. We’ve had dogs or koyotes show up suddenly and it’s very helpful then to have well-trained chickens that are quick to get into their pen!
Excellent advice Katharina – we were wondering about how to gather them quickly should the need arise. Thank you so much for your input! ~TxH~
I’m in love with your barn’s coop! Thanks for sharing with the Clever Chicks. Looking forward to seeing more of your chickens and coop!
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
Raising chickens seem to e the new thing out there. We have really been enjoying the fresh eggs from all our friends and family that have started raising them!! Thanks for sharen with us at One Sharendipity Pl. this weekend!
sue @the2women.com
How scary it would be to let my little ones out to free range! That is why I made their run so large (20″x16″) and I try to provide them everything they need inside…greenery, bugs, etc. Your flock is quite beautiful!
It was certainly a big step for us to allow them to roam – LOL. It helps that there are only six of the little guys. Thanks for your compliment! ~TxH~
Love how you add the photos to help tell the story. Nice shots Tammy.
Love that picture of them running across the grass! 🙂
LOL Candy – they really didn’t know which way to go they were so excited! ~TxH~
Oh yes there is a noticeable difference between those two black chickens already. And I do love that photo of them all running.
I would think the rooster would grow bigger Fiona, but I guess you can’t use size as a gender determination. Leaning so much about chicks this year! ~TxH~