Week 2 of Raising Our Easter Eggers

Our chicks are now 2 weeks old, and boy do they EAT! These little guys and girls are growing so fast. We have 18 total. I am keeping them in 2 brooder boxes (9 chicks in each) until they are old enough to be put outdoors. I will probably start them out in a small coop, then expand to my storage shed idea.

Because we have plenty of land, I want them to be able to roam a large area of the yard without being confined to a coop and a run. I have a nice sized storage building that I want to add shelving to and allow the chickens to use that as an over sized coop. The entire coop, plus a large amount of land around it will be fenced in of course, and I will install a cat door in the back of it so the chickens have access to come in and out as they like. It will, of course, need a bit more ventilation, and I will lay vinyl on the floor to keep it as water proofed as possible.

I had forgotten how much I missed raising chicks. They are adorable and loads of fun to watch. My little 2 year old, Gabriel, absolutely loves them. He leans over their boxes and laughs as they scratch and flap around.

 Because 2 of the chicks have discovered they have wings, I will have to make covers for the brooders today. They are going to be just simple pieces of hardware cloth laid over the top, secured with a couple of zip ties.

Time to post a few recipes for cleansers and such, but I will post an update on the chicks as soon as I get a few extra minutes.