Here is another update on our “surprise” chicks that were born in July!  I can’t believe how much they have grown!  They are almost as big as the momma hen.  Pretty much all the fluff is gone, permanent feathers have taken over.  If you haven’t seen the chicks before here is the link for the first video and this link is for the second video.

When Jacob first saw the hen with the chicks, she had 7 chicks with her.  I searched the area, locating the nest, finding 5 eggs and two chicks clinging to life.  I brought the two chicks in.  Quickly we set up a brooder for them.  We weren’t expecting these chicks but luckily we had a heat lamp bulb and left over shavings from our April chicks.  Once we got those two chicks settled in, I went out to retrieve the eggs and saw a third chick had been under the eggs.  That one had already died 🙁 .  As I picked up the eggs, there was peeping coming from one of them!  There was a hole, allowing me to see a chick’s beak.

 

The chick in the egg hatched, only one of the chicks we had brought in survived.  I placed the 4 remaining eggs in one of the nesting boxes but none of the eggs made it.  Later the chick that hatched from the egg died.  She was gasping for air, bubbles coming out of her mouth.  I learned that she may have been water logged which is water will go down the wrong pipe.  During the search I found this is actually common with newborn chicks.  I had been able to get some water out by leaning her forward, upside down, patting her on the back but after several hours she passed.

 

All was fine for a few weeks until two of the chicks outside drowned in our teen duck pond that had been in the teenager chicken area.  Then just last week we had another chick disappear without a trace.  The chicks have been wandering from the mom but not going too far.  I’m not sure if the chick had wandered off and something grabbed it when the mom wasn’t around.

Right now we are approaching the end of September.  The days have been warm, the nights are cool.  We haven’t decided exactly what we are going to do with the chicks in regards to housing.  We have always gotten our chicks in March and April which have worked out great since they will be just about full grown when the cold weather arrives.  Right now we have three different areas for chickens: one coop with our rooster Henry, another coop with our rooster Speckles, and then the teenager chicken coop. The momma hen used to either stay in our apple tree or in the coop with Speckles and our pekin ducks.  Right now we plan on setting them up an area that will have a heat lamp but where we want to put that we haven’t decided.   The momma hen does not like any of the teenager chickens.  I have seen her run them off and I have seen the teenager chickens peck at the little chickens.  However, this is common in that the chickens are working out their pecking order.  The chicken that we have kept inside, Lemon Squeeze, has befriended a leg horn teenager chicken and our rooster Little Roo (whom stays on the deck at night and is brought in during bad weather).

I will keep everyone updated on what we decide to do!  Below is the video that I put together!