Tail feathers are appearing, wing feathers are almost completely in for most of the little ones, and flying is a thing now. If the weather will cooperate, they will go outside for 15 minutes or so a few times this weekend. Since my son and I put in a mobile chicken fence system, the big girls have not been hanging out around the house. Sun, rain, snow should have helped cleanse that area of most chickie pathogens. Babies will get to play where chickies or chickens have not recently hung out.
See all that beautiful Tennessee rock. Electric fence and step-in posts? Yeah, not here. Big girls and one of my roos hanging out. 3 - 2x4x8's create 2 posts. This is NOT predator-proof, and my girls' who still like to fly have their wings clipped. I already had 100 feet of this wire fencing, so I used it - it's only 4 ft tall - but if I had to buy the fencing, I probably would go higher. Even with clipped feathers on one wing, most of the girls could clear a 4 foot fence if they really wanted to. Their run has 6 foot fencing and the Brown Leghorns go over it with ease if I don't keep their wing clipped.
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Food consumption has doubled. Water needs to be changed more frequently now because they kick pine shavings in it. I hand wash the waterers every day - and once a week they get sanitized. If I need to go minimalist on a day that I have to work an extra long shift, I can get chickie care done in 20 minutes - 10 minutes in the morning, and 10 in the evening. But if I want to enjoy taking care of babies, it's more like 20 minutes in the morning, and 20 in the evening, and a few minutes to play with them every few hours.
Little chickies are growing up on Nature's Best Organic Chick Starter. I love my local Tractor Supply. Babies will have eaten nearly two 40 lb bags by the time they go to their new homes.
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