I got 6 little roosters, which will eventually be canned chicken in a few months. They are about a month old now and have lots of feathers. I'm just hoping Spring will actually warm up enough to put them in a little "tractor" we have outside. We had built it for rabbits, but we have no luck at all raising rabbits and seem to to better with chickens. The tractor will allow us to move them around the yard where they can scratch the dirt, eat grass, bugs, and seeds, and live a chicken-y life while they're still with us. Of course, we'll supplement with chick feed as needed to help them get everything in their diet they need. It's non-medicated chick feed.
I also got 14 of what's called "straight run" chicks that are a little younger. Straight run just means a mix of male and female chicks. We won't know until later which is which. I hope to get a few hens just to add to the 9 we already have laying, and possibly one replacement rooster, if one of the roosters I have doesn't stop jumping on me with his spurs! Sadly, one of the baby chicks died. It looked like the others crushed it.
I add apple cider vinegar to their water to keep their gut in good balance. Here's pictures of the chicks!
Straight run chicks
As you can see, or maybe not, they are also mixed breed chickens. It should be interesting to see how they turn out. Most are black but a few are yellow right now.
It's been awhile since I raised baby chickens. I am hoping one of my current laying hens will go broody and raise more for us, making us more self-sufficient in that regard.
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