Chicken Update

Almost 2 week old chick

Ack, I thought we were supposed to be in the lazy, hazy days of summer, sliding slowly into autumn.  Not so at our house!  We're in a mad frenetic dash leading up to the start of school, and with the husband beginning a new job, it's been more like an out of control free-fall into September.  Thus the absence of blog posts and chicken updates... Really, I do have some amazing topics in the offing just waiting to be crafted into brilliant and witty discussions about the benefits of being gluten-free.  In addition, the husband and I are contemplating eating Whole30, so there's whole 'nother topic of potentially scintillating posts.  We'll see.  I have a feeling this crazy schedule we're currently on may not ease up until well after Christmas.

Anyway, back to my favorite subject, chickens.

The chickens turned two weeks old this past Tuesday and miraculously, we have not lost a single one.  NOT ONE!  43 chicks arrived and 43 chicks happily remain.  Seriously, from our previous experience with Mob 1 and from what we've read about how delicate this breed is, not losing a single chick might truly qualify as a small miracle.  Conventional knowledge among backyard chicken enthusiasts claim the average loss for Cornish Rock cross to be 15%; with Mob 1 we had 5 out of the original 38 die so 13% loss, most in the first 2 weeks.  Seriously, 0% loss is unheard of and has us scratching our heads a bit about what we are doing right.  I'm guessing it's the really healthy chick stock from Jenk's Hatchery, good feed from Patriot Farm, and plain old dumb luck.

At two weeks in, we've entered the gawky adolescent stage where the chicks go around half dressed in their adult feathers and the males bump chests and attempt to crow.  Plus they've developed the voracious eating habits of a teenager and are attempting to eat us out of house and home.  First week they consumed about 22 pounds of feed; the second week we're up to about 42 pounds with a noticeable increase in the last 2 days.  I'm occasionally letting the food trays run out so they get used to not always having food in front of their faces since once they go "out to pasture" they won't have feed available 24/7.  We're also cutting down on feed availability at night.

Feeding frenzy

On a proud mama note, I have to say this group of chicks is smart.  Seriously, we're raising chicken einsteins here.  Cornish Rock cross are famously (or maybe notoriously) known for being dumb... really, really, REALLY dumb.  Because of the intensive breeding for high feed to meat conversion, quick maturity, and larger breasts (I know, that sounds bad, doesn't it?), the breed has lost most of its smarts.  For example, Cornish Rock cross will supposedly not forage on pasture.  You hear stories of bugs that other breeds would snap up in an instant walking across the feet of the CRX, and instead of taking advantage of the mobile snack, the CRX will RUN away in fright (though in the case of a large hairy spider, who can blame them?).  Now after our experience with Mob 1 who happily ate up our lawn, I would take issue with the notion that they can't learn to graze.  In addition, we've seen this new flock enthusiastically fight over a spider that strayed into the nursery and an inchworm we threw in for kicks.  Plus they industriously scratch and dig for food that falls into the liter.  My guess is if they are given the chance to exercise their dormant yet still present natural instincts, they can and will learn to act like normal chickens instead of just mindless eating machines.

Depending on weather, overnight temperatures and feather development, we're hoping to put our little flock out of pasture around week 3.  We'll keep you updated (hopefully).

Uh-oh, we did it again!

Or subtitle, Chicken raising take 2.

43 chicks in the garage nursery

Since the first round of chickens went so well, we've decided to try it again with the goal of having a year's worth of chicken in the freezer.  I have to say, we've been most impressed with the quality and taste of the meat from our first venture.  It was a bit of a stunning realization to look down at my dinner plate earlier this week and know that every item, except a bit of cheese in my salad, was something we had grown ourselves (chicken, swiss chard and green salad).  It made us feel all self-sufficient (and a little smug).

Boxes of chicks

Are you my mother?

So our current batch of Cornish Rock cross chicks arrived on Wednesday from Jenks Hatchery in Oregon.  We ordered 40 chicks (43 were sent), and we'll be splitting the bounty, butchering and cost with some good friends of ours.  This group of chicks display a much different personality than the original mob, being more spunky and curious.  They are currently working on digging a tunnel through the deep liter in what we're guessing is an effort to get out to the world beyond.  They also think our dog is their mother.

So here we go again.  I'm not sure how much I'll blog the process this time because we're roughly doing the same thing, but who knows?  Baby chicks are pretty darn cute so they might get more then their share of air time.

Free Gluten Free emagizine subscription!

I wanted  to pass along this excellent gluten freebie!  Easy Eats e-magazine is dedicated to fresh, interesting, and affordable gluten-free eating and recipes and is currently offering three subscription levels including the free bronze level.  More information on this offer can be found on the Easy Eats blog or to sign up right now go to the Easy Eats subscription page.  This is an e-magazine so there is no hard copy sent to your home every 2 months; you can view it on your computer or tablet.  I hooked it up through the iPad Newstand app (after subscribing, search Easy Eats on the app store; you will need to sign into your account on the Easy Eats webpage first) and have to say the pictures are vibrant and the information helpful. 

If you sign up, we'd love to hear your impressions.