How quickly they grow…

Our new chicks finally graduated from their pen in the garage yesterday. It was a perfect fall day, all warm sunshine. I set up an x-pen out in the grass under a tree so that they could have a choice of sun or shade with grass to explore. They even got a treasure hunt for scratch sprinkled in the grass, something to encourage them to start pecking around looking for things. Those are the simple pleasures of being a chick.

I left them alone and unsupervised for a bit. When I returned, they were mostly sunbathing, taking in the warmth of the day. This is what all our chicks do as they grow, no matter what they are being raised for. They had regular chicken fun, cut short only by the day and their immaturity. After a few hours, they were brought back inside so they could have another night in the brooder nursery. We do this routine for a few days to acclimate them to their move outside.

These chicks grow incredibly fast, much faster than the birds we raise as layers. Still, they are just babies and deserve the opportunity to enjoy being chickens as they grow up. We pride ourselves in the quality of life all of our animals have. By the end of the week, this group of chicks will have settled into a life of free ranging during the day, coming back to the outdoor coop at night only for safety. They are currently 4 weeks old, which seems hard to believe given their size. Can it be that they all fit in the box at the post office just a month ago?