Mob 3 Miscellany, Beginning of Week 2

CRX 1 week old, under the brooder

Mob 3 turned 1 week old yesterday, and as of this writing, are still 42 birds strong.  Even our dizzy chick seems to have assimilated and is doing well.  As you can see from the pictures they're growing quickly and putting on feathers.

Notice the beginnings of white feathers on the wing

I wanted to note a few things we do with our chicks that seem to help in terms of lower mortality rates and overall health.  Some of this stuff we picked up from other backyard chicken aficionados or from research or by pure dumb luck.  And while this has worked for us thus far, we certainly can't guarantee we've discovered the magic bullet for successfully raising Cornish Rock Cross.  Honestly I think we've just been incredibly lucky but maybe a few of these tips will be helpful to someone else.

1. Buy your chicks from a reputable hatchery near where you live.  As we've said before, we love Jenks Hatchery in Tangent, Oregon because in our experience, their CRX stock is outstanding - healthy, good feed conversion, smarter than the average CRX - and because they're geographically close.  As we've seen with both Mobs 2 & 3, even one day less transit time makes a huge difference in early mortality rates.  (Mob 1 which had 2 days transit to us had 2 out of 35 chicks die in the first 2 weeks, Mobs 2 & 3 each had 0 out of 42).
2. We use the deep litter method for our nursery. 
3. While in the nursery, we offer water mixed with poultry electrolyte.  This was recommended to use by a chicken farmer as helpful for hydration and for keeping the chicks "regular." 
4. Speaking of regular, we watch for vents getting plugged and clean as needed.  Yep, nothing like wiping a chick's little hind end.
5. As I mentioned in the last post, we don't offer food immediately upon arrival.  We encourage the chicks to hydrate first after their journey to us.
6. We feed them good food.  Spoiled babies.

Patriot Farm Feed

Speaking of good food, here's a picture of the feed we get from Patriot Farm and Bison (left) compared to the bagged crumbles usually found in most feed stores (right).  You can see the actual grains in the Patriot feed versus the dry, hard pressed pellets of the other stuff... in fact, once the chicks get the good stuff, they turn their little beaks up at the other and will let it sit in the trays.  I have a feeling it's a little like eating a gourmet meal compared to cold fast food.

The ladies, taking a rest

Just a quick update on the youngest's hens.  They're growing quickly, feathering out and are in general getting along famously.  The husband, after losing time the previous weekend, is maniacally building the hen house in hopes of reclaiming his garage.  He's using a lot of reclaimed materials including an old pallet for the base and leftover flooring from a bathroom remodel, though he did buy a a sheet of plywood for the roof and floor plus some siding for the walls.  We're hoping to get the whole thing built for about $100.  Once finished the six ladies will have 16 square feet of floor space plus nesting box and perch, maybe a loft area if it seems warranted. Pretty plush digs for our little feathered friends.  

Beginning of hen house