Chicken Catch-up

Whoa, time got away from me there!  So in the two weeks since the last chicken missive all the chickens - meat birds and layers - have moved outside to their new digs.  We put them out on a bright sunny weekend, and since then the poor biddies have lived with constant rain.  Such is the life of a Pacific NW chicken, I guess.

First day outside, about 3 1/2 weeks old

Six week old chickens

The meat birds are currently 6 weeks old and growing quickly; several have reached what I would judge as the smallish size of butchering weight (about 2 to 3 pounds dressed), and most of the rest would make for large game hens.  We're three weeks from butchering day.  Probably our biggest challenge at this point is feeding time as they don't all fit around the feeding stations at the same time so mealtimes have become a full contact sport.  We're considering adding another feeder to try to alleviate potential injuries.  Speaking of injuries, while we still have 42 birds, one of the mid-size hens seems to have sustained a leg injury and is now greatly inhibited from competing for food effectively.  We're trying to hand feed her in an effort to avoid another chicken on my counter experience, but I'm guessing her chances of surviving 3 more weeks are pretty slim unless we pull her out of the chicken tractor.  It's a tough call because caring for an injured chicken separately from the rest of flock is time and heart consuming and carries no guarantees of success.

The youngest's hens have taken to outdoor living like, well, a chicken to pasture.  They like the hen house and adore running around under the apple trees and in the berry bushes.   We're pretty pleased with how the hen house turned out, especially since we were able to use mostly reclaimed lumber and build the whole thing for around $120.  We're thinking about adding a window to the front side but that will be a project for summertime.  It took the girls a few days but they got the hang of climbing the ladder into the house and are now putting themselves to bed at night.  Which is a relief because catching chickens at twilight and then "encouraging" them to walk the plank into the house was not an easy chore!

Finished hen house

Open cleaning door

Hens enjoying the great outdoors

Mob 3 in Brief

Meal time

A brief synopsis of this week's chicken adventures:



Still 42 chickens strong and all looking healthy and hearty.  Eating like fiends and now that we've entered the adolescent stage, feeling quite full of themselves.  We're still hopeful that they'll move outside to The Fortress this weekend, but the weather is looking a little iffy.  Not sure we want their first introduction to outdoor living to be in the rain.

Since both the chicks and their food needs increased exponentially, we decided to hang the larger feeder in the nursery.  It helps decrease the mano y mano fights at meal time, and it gets them used to the new food delivery system.

Front

West side

The hen house is coming along - fully roofed and almost 2 sides done.  The west side will eventually have a hinged lower portion for (hopefully) easier cleaning. We're still debating on where to put the actual door for the chickens.

The lovely ladies

More Mob 3 - middle of week 3

Mob 3 turned 2 weeks old earlier this week and have come into their own in terms of ferocious and continual food consumption.  It really caught me off guard when this past weekend they went from being cute little chicks to all-out, not-holds-barred professional eaters.  We literally cannot keep the food  trays supplied for any extended period of time, which is good, since our ultimate goal is for nice market weight chickens.  Still, whew, it's impressive.

Feeding frenzy

2 1/2 weeks old chick

Each of our CRX flocks has possessed a certain character trait or peculiar foible.  Mob 1 was all about tipping their waterers and food trays over - it was like a big race in which they took a great deal of pleasure.  Mob 2 liked to take turns roosting on top of the waterers in a figurative king of the mountain game.  This group is all about the digging.  I'm not talking a few chicks hollowing out little holes in which to nest, I'm talking full on group excavation.  The nursery currently sports more divots and craters than a golf course after the beginner's class.

Our current goal is to move this group outside next weekend when they'll be between 3 and 4 weeks old.  This hope is, of course, weather and feather dependent.  Weather in the PNW can be pretty iffy in the spring and while we're certainly enjoying some gorgeous sunshine this week, the nighttime temps can still dip into the low 30's.  Feather-wise, they seem to be in good shape and should be on schedule to move outside.