Growing Chicks

The museum's quilt show was a great success. Many vendors reported better sales this year than last which is a good sign I think. I was thrilled that the spinning and weaving demonstrations were so well attended as we've planned many programs for 2013 and 2014 based on hands on activities.  It was a long weekend and today, Monday, is my only day to spend any time on the farm. Its very frosty and below normal temperatures but at least we have some sun this morning.

About 12 days old

The six baby chicks have been with me a week now and have grown about 50% bigger. They have develped many more wing feathers  and the black ones are decidedly taller than the yellows.

Brooding only six chicks has certainly been a lot easier than 25! I change their papers and give them clean water and food twice a day, but its a five minute process easily managed. 

These little girls are also very quiet compared to any other chicks I've brooded, but since this is the first time I've had nothing but pullets, maybe my past noisy babies have all been roosters!


Camera shy

The cats are interested in the chicks and sometimes I catch them on top of the brooder peering down through the wire top.  The chicks don't seem to be disturbed by this activity - no bunching in a corner and shrill peeping as they do when I change their papers.

Perhaps the cats speak softly to them. None of the cats has ever shown any aggressiveness towards the grown chickens. In fact, one or more of them usually accompany me to the chicken house when I feed the chickens, staying respectfully on guard around the house while I go inside.  They seem to understand that the chickens, like the cattle, are  part of the farm.

They don't accept, however, any of the wild animals that lurk in the woods around the house.  All of the cats have been on high alert the last couple of days and I thought a stray cat might be invading their territory again.  I didn't get home until 8:30 last evening so it was dark and as I pulled into my parking spot at the side of the house three cats followed by a possum came running out of the woods toward the house.  During a warm spell a week or so ago I tossed all the cats outside for the day and put a big bowl of water and a couple of bowls of cat food on the back porch. I imagine the possum, who is ever hopeful of a cat food meal, smelled it right away and helped himself.  Now he's keeping a sharp eye on the cats to see if he can steal more food.  Fortunately for the cats, its been too cold to leave the food outside. Sorry possum.