Monday, March 12, 2018

Chirp Chirp: Part 3

I started these chickens two weeks ago when it was 70 degrees. As I walked in from the farm to write this email, I kid you not...It was snowing. O.K., only a few flakes, but snow nonetheless. Needless to say these little guys will be staying in the brooder for a little longer, which is totally normal. The earliest we every take them from brooder to pasture is 2 1/2 weeks old, but that's only in summer with ideal conditions. 3-4 weeks in the brooder with supplemental heat is perfectly normal for this time of year. There will be another 200 chicks arriving this week. 
Our pastures are greening up quite nicely. This week we will be preparing the pasture shelters. Our pasture shelters are designed to keep the chickens safe from predators, while also allowing them the ability to display their chicken-ness (eat grass and bugs, and scratch the ground and take a dust-bath). 
Our first broilers of 2018. Enjoying the heat of
the brooder and the new water system.