Comparing Chicks After One Week.

Joey purchased the chicks at one week old. Photos were taken the first day he had the chicks. Photos were taken again after having the chicks for one week they are now two weeks old. They are getting there feathers in now. You can really notice it on their wings at this age.

 

                               Eleanor after one week.

                                                

                      Eleanor after two weeks.
 

                                JoJo after one week.
                                                         

                                JoJo after two weeks.

                     Zoey after one week.
              

                                Zoey after two weeks.

                     Beaker after one week.
                                                                              

                                Beaker after two weeks.

                     Sassy after one week.

                                 Sassy after two weeks. She struggles to thrive.

                     Hark after one week.
        

                                Hark after two weeks.

                     Merida after one week.
 

                                Merida after two weeks.

                                Penny after one week.                                                            

                                Penny after two weeks

                               Belle after one week.
                                                                                                               

                                Belle after two weeks.                              

Joey Teaching Chicks To Be Friendly

Every morning before school Joey plays with the chickens. They are getting more and more friendly.

 Every afternoon he continues to teach them to trust him.
  

Every evening before he goes to bed he holds each chick, pets them and works on getting them to bond with him.

Last evening I think he accomplished that. JoJo trusts Joey so much that she tells him all of her secrets.

Now that JoJo trusts Joey, all the other chicks are following her lead. Joey can even play cards with Grammy and they still feel safe being with him.

Hen House And Coop Supplies

Joey and his grandpa just got back from the lumber store. Grandpa and Joey are off to a great start on building Joey's hen house and chicken coop. 
 

 Joey helped with all the long 2x4's but this piece is way too big.

As much as Joey tries, it just won't budge. Joey thinks he should go get grammy so she can help them.

Sick Baby Chick

Sassy is feeling under the weather. We will be calling the veterinarian today to see what we can do to help her.

Chicken Coop/Hen House Plans

Pretty soon the baby chicks will be too big for their galvanized steel tub. As the weather gets warmer and the new feathers replace the downy, Joey will be helping his grandpa build a new home for them. Since the chicks are pullets they will not only need a coop, but they will also need a hen house. 

A coop is a safe place for the chicks to roam from dusk till dawn when they want to walk around and eat and drink. Chicks usually sleep all night though. Chicks can free-range all day because they never stray too far from their hen house. But, even when they are free ranging they are still at risk that a fox or some other animal could get them, even in broad daylight.

This is what Joey has chosen for the hen house and coop. Joey's grandpa built a coop a few years ago and he now knows what changes need to be made to make it a better and safer place for the chickens to live. 

This is the coop/hen house that his grandpa built a few years ago. This hen house doesn't have good ventilation with just one small window in the back. And he learned that a good foundation is very important even for a chicken coop/hen house. This coop allows a fox or other burrowing animals to dig a tunnel and slide into the coop.

 Grammy showed this one to Joey's Grandpa. Grandpa said, "Whoa, I don't thinks so. That's way too much work."

Joey thought "The Hobbit" style hen house would be perfect. But, grandpa thought it would be too difficult to keep the inside clean.

 And so, this is the winner. It's well ventilated, easy to clean, adults can stand up in the coop and it has an easy to access egg box. Perfect! This hen house/coop can be viewed on Pinterest with building instructions.

Cleaning and Caring For The Chickens

 

Every day Joey cleans the tub.It's a messy job but somebody has to do it.

Tearing up the newspaper is the most fun part when cleaning up after the chicks. 

 The chicks get fresh water each day...

 and fresh food.

All the chicks go back in the tub once it's clean and the bedding is down.

 Joey carefully places each chick back in the tub and turns on the heat lamp to keep them warm so they can grow.

They Each Have A Name

                                         Eleanor

                                          JoJo

                                           Zoey

                                          Beaker

                                          Sassy

                                          Hark

                                          Merida

                                     

                                           Penny

                                          Belle