If ever y’all are tempted by an advertisement from a hatchery to order a hundred baby chicks & ducklings for some unbelievably great price…this entry is right up your alley. Elizabeth and I responded favorably to such an ad from the Ideal Hatchery just south of us here in Texas. We got a hundred assorted baby chicks and twenty assorted ducklings. Awaiting the arrival of our newest members of our flock, we visited the local feed & supply store to ensure we had adequate starter feed, waterers and brooding lamps to handle the influx of fowl. We set up 5 new brooders and waited with great anticipation for the “stork” to deliver our precious little bundles.
The sound of 120 screeching chicks and ducklings ringing through a 900 square foot cottage in the middle of the night is not the equivalent of Braham’s Lullaby by any stretch. Not to mention the constant filling and refilling of water dispensers and chick feeders at all hours of the day and night. Keeping tabs on George, the attack cat that rooms with us was a daunting task as well. George is fond of chicken, and while he has yet to devour one of our chicks, he DID manage to get a hold of one poor soul and bat him around the kitchen floor for a moment before I rescued the petrified little guy. He is chirping to this very day….
Not all of our chicks were so lucky. It seems as though we got a batch of chick feeder that was lacking in critical vitamins necessary for the chicks to develop strong, healthy legs and feet. We lost nearly 2 dozen of our babies to splayed leg disease and curled feet. Elizabeth did a yeoman’s job of playing nurse to about 30 more of them, and was able to keep them alive and healed, by splinting their little legs and even doing some little “chick aerobics” of sorts. After replacing the chick starter with a high vitamin, (more costly) feed, further illnesses were prevented. But we sure learned a huge lesson in the care & feeding of baby chicks.
After a few weeks, we have turned the 77 remaining chicks, and 14 surviving ducks outside. The ducks are roaming the yard and the chicks are in a chicken coop out back. We have just now begun to let them free range during the day time. We now have about 115 chickens and roosters , 21 ducks and 6 geese running around in our yard. An additional 20 chicks are in an outside cage, in between the brooder and the coop. They’ll be ready for the coop in another week or so. Just about the time that we have another 25 eggs due to hatch from our incubator.
All in all, the past couple of weeks have been quite hectic for yours truly. I felt like a one legged old man in a butt kicking contest, I was so busy. And that’s my excuse for not having written in this blog for so long. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
I am still having a ball with all of this critter care, folks. Thank the Good Lord that I no longer have a real job to go to…I don’t think I could handle such a thing…….. Until next time, y’all take good care of yourselves…..
The Caddo Farmer…..
Caddo Critter Farmer 