Here is a picture of our chicks on the 7th of March, then again today the 26th of March, so nearly 4 weeks later, about 5 1/2 weeks old. (They are in the same box in both pictures - waiting for their brooder to be cleaned. The silky is a replacement.)
Heating Plates - revolution in chick brooding
Before I show you more pictures of the chicks, I want to show you this revolutionary way of keeping the chicks warm. The traditional method (well, since electricity, anyway) is to use heat lamps which can be too hot if they're positioned too close, and waste a lot of electricity.
Additionally, ducklings like to splash water everywhere... I've had to fish scraps of glass out of brooders before after the water caused the lamp to explode. After that, I preferred to use 100 watt light bulbs which withstand ducklings much better.
At a 4-H meeting in February, I was shown this heating plate and was instantly sold. I've since bought one and set it up for our chicks.
Here it is before the chicks discovered it to be a great place to roost at night:
The plate is easily raised/lowered on the yellow legs, so low when the chicks are tiny, and moving up as the chicks grow. Ours has already been moved up a couple of times.
Do buy one of these if you're going to be raising chicks. It costs about $50, so about 10 of those heat lamp bulbs (not including the electricity wastage.)
Here are more photos of the chicks. First, comparing their sizes over the 4 weeks.
The partridge cochin - the feathers on her legs are really growing well. She doesn't have as much feather development as many of the others (including the other cochin) but seems to be true to type.
The buff orpington - the best feathered thus far. She's very soft with light bone structure as is typical of this breed.
The houdan still makes us think "rooster" but I refuse to "sex" chickens before they are crowing or laying. I've seen early guesses wrong way too many times! Anyway, his crest is just awesome - and you can see his five-toed foot very easily now. Trust the French to come up with a show-stopping breed which is very practical in every way. (And I mean that as a compliment, my French friends!)
The silkie (our replacement) is very silky. This breed has downy feathers throughout life, so she'll never develop feathers more than this. She looks very cute, don't you think? I hope it's a hen so that she can brood future chicks for us.
Photos taken in March 2020 with my Nikon D7200.
(@emberskydragon)
Past issues...
Poultry
Chickens - A Little About Our Breeds
Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
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They are so cute and the heat plate is a great product. I have been thinking about raising some chickens, but since I have to get a permit, I'm not sure it's worth it fiscally.
Thanks for sharing this great innovation.😀
A permit is a pain for sure, but you have to balance out what they would be giving you in return. Most hatcheries will offer you just pullets if you want to be sure to not have any noise makers (roosters). Most of our chicks came from a layer mix.
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Lori this is the perfect featheredfriday blog, you should enter that tag by @melinda010100 and I am in love. I think my ducks are AWSOME but these babies make my hart beat faster.
And skew the fact that it wasn't Friday (for me)? (Because I reserve Fridays for my #fff entry...) Hmmm.
I love ducklings. They're my absolute favorite! But chickens are easier for children to show, so that's where we started this year - as soon as we find the house we want to buy, ducklings will be next!
Great well the ducks were difficult indeed we lost 7
Awww, I'm sorry to hear that.
Oh and it isnt featheredfriday anymore its featherdfriends so the posting day doesnt matter anymore
Sounds like it. Thanks!
Nice to see them growing so well 😊😊
It's amazing to watch them!
How exciting!!!! I can't wait to raise chooks next year but I need Jamie to build me a better chicken house first.
I saw an awesome chicken tractor online - that was designed to be easy to move for smaller women, holds around 25 birds... I think I'm going to buy the plans and built it once we get moved.
We raise about 90 chicks each year. We'd originally built our own brooder but it used 2 heat lamps on a thermostat. Fire hazard! So last year I bought 2 of these heating units, as they each will do 50 chicks. They worked beautifully. I got the dome tops for them, as the chicks make an awful mess.
Tried to upload a photo but the server won't load them.... So here's a link to the post:
https://steemit.com/homesteading/@goldenoakfarm/the-chicks-arrive-may-3-2019-goldenoakfarm
Yeah, I find the heat lamps expensive and dangerous. Back when I was a teenager, I discovered that a simple 100-watt bulb did an excellent job of brooding my ducklings. The water they splashed on the bulb didn't do any damage, just reduced the heat slightly (as appropriate for their age, I guess). When I finally turned off the bulb, it was completely caked in mud! But it was still working.
I like the covers, but I would almost feel bad taking away their warm roosting spot now!
Did you find that those large ones really do fit 50 chicks? They just seem so small for that number. (I guess it must do if you had two for 90 chicks.)
They seemed to work well for the 90 chicks, but we have an insulated room and we had to set up a heater for that, as it is in the barn. But they would take turns being under or outside the heat pads. The noise level, always a good indicator of chick happiness, was mostly always low.
The lack of chick noise is one of the things I've heard said about these plates. The people we're keeping them with right now (until we have some land), had got a few chicks a couple weeks after we did - I didn't even know she had chicks under her 50-chick plate to begin with! That's how quiet they were!
They're in a heated room this time as well, so haven't tested their full ability yet.
What a fun selection of babies! I've had silkies in the past and they are precious I'm glad @brittandjosie pointed out your post to me! Great photos of your babies. ❤️ !tip
I'm glad you got to stop by as well. Do you want featheredfriday in the tags? (Even though it was technically Thursday when I posted - for me. I save Friday for the food fling.)
Did you find the silkies a little more susceptible to getting wet? I'm a little worried about it, really. It almost seems like the insulative ability of the down reduces when there are no proper feathers on the outside. Still, if this is a hen, she will be worth her weight in gold as a brooder. I'd much rather let the chickens do that job! (As fun as chicks are.)
The tag to use is #featheredfriends. I changed it for exactly that reason, so that people would know they could post any day of the week. There is a #featheredfriends community hive-106444 if you want to join in!
I had a pair of Silkies years ago and they free ranged with the other chickens. I don't remember any issues with them. My veterinarian came to the farm to see to one of the cows and he fell in love with my Silkies and he left with them in trade for his services. I knew they went to a good home, but I always missed the sweet little things!
Ah, yes! I've joined that community, I'm pretty sure - now to condition myself to look at those communities before posting/scheduling!!!
lol re the trade.
I did something similar once... Raising quail... took my second clutch in to the feed store to sell... went home with a pair of goslings instead! (Mind you, this was when I was a teenager.)
The vet charged quite a bit for farm calls, he checked on a cow that I had assisted him do a cesarean on a few days earlier and he taught me how to castrate my piglets while he was there, so my silkies were a more than fair exchange!
Wow, that's awesome. Yeah, sounds like you got a bargain!
I miss those long ago days on the farm. Some good memories, though!
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I don't really know anything about raising chicks but, some of my relatives where putting light bulbs over the cage of tiny chicks- now I know why. Thanks for the info.
Yep. We're trying to replicate the feel of underneath a mother hen. (That's the goal of an incubator as well.) Each week, the heat can get a little lower or less direct as they gain more and more feathers. By about 8-10 weeks, they won't need it at all. Though because we're in Wyoming and can have snow in May, we'll probably keep them under heat a little longer. I don't know yet... I've never done this in Wyoming before!
Strange, i'm hungry now... 😁
Hahahaha. Just chicken nuggets still.
Oh my, they have grown a lot - they are starting to look a bit like chickens already :)
Yes, they really are! Especially the buff and the ameraucana (the bluish-gray one) who are pretty much fully feathered now.
OMG! They're so cute. I love the little black/white guy/gal (Houdan??)
I've been trying to stop my girlfriend who wants more chicken, but now I've fallen in love and I want some myself 😂
Yes, that would be the Houdan! He (presuming) is one of our favorites too - we just love his "hairdo"!
And yes, chickens are extremely addictive!
Nice cute photos. Feel good ones.
Thanks for visiting! Glad you're enjoying the pictures.
Hey @viking-ventures,
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Ah, thank you! I keep forgetting to look for the communities first! I've already subscribed to the homesteading one.