The hay is cut. We have four days ahead of us with sun, and not too humid. I have even taken a picture of the weather forecast for you so you can see that I am not imagining it. We have had so much rain lately that seeing sunny days ahead of us is a treat.
In the bad storm the other night, when tornadoes were seen and even touched down not far from here (we were very lucky we only got the wind and two inches of rain), a friend of mine lost all her field chickens. The ark they were in was picked up by the dreadful wind and dragged right across the field killing all her broiler chickens. The rain hit like waves crashing up against a bank, trees came down, power went out, and all her chickens died. And she is only about 8 miles from here.
So there is an equation here. Pasture raised is better for you, higher in Omega 3, leaner and healthier, free of the bacterias collected in a shed, all those good things. We all want to see it on our restaurant menu. But they are also vulnerable – exposed. The natural way is not always the safest.
We can lock them up inside where no predator can get them and they cannot be battered by the weather, but then they get sick and what kind of life is that. Even a short life should be good. But there is always a pay off. I am just grateful the bad wind did not reach across to here and that the mink has not discovered my field chickens.
You will remember that the second batch of chickens are white ones. I am not happy with them. They are sluggish and grubby. I am never seen such filthy chickens, I cannot work it out. They are only a week old, I have decided that they do not have enough oil in their feathers. They poop as much as they eat and their quarters need constant cleaning. I think it is the feed though it is good medication free expensive feed. But they should not be making this much of a mess. 
Triple T helped me move them off the verandah into the stock trailer so they could have a little more room and more air. The verandah gets so hot. But still they just lay about. So I got some left over rice, a slice of salmon and a banana and sprinkled it through their feed. It was like a bomb went off, they leapt up and grabbed bits of fish and rushed to and fro in high excitement. Fish is good for poultry. I am going to start them on the whey and boiled eggs like the bigger birds. 
Then I am going to go to my feed mill tomorrow and see if we can come up with a batch of chicken feed that has a higher protein. But mixed for me so I know what is in it. I need kelp and so forth but that is hard to find around here. They loved their salmon!
After all this rain the mud where the cows stand is just awful. I frequently get my boots stuck in it, and rock about like a sailor trying to extricate myself while the dogs and Daisy watch. 
The cows are filthy too, they have an entire field but they choose to stand in the muck where their heels are cooled.
The Tall Teenager helped me raise Tima’s house up a level. Her house is an old stock water tank, that developed a leak. I turned it upseide down and cut a door in it. It sits, on a pallet now, under the apple tree and is full of straw. 
She sleeps in there every night very close to my bedroom window.
I hope you all have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farmy
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
43 responses to “Chicks and Chicks”
We raised our white meat birds on non medicated 22% starter. They were bred to grow so very fast and we took their food away at night, too. Could not stand to see young chickens with leg and heart problems….cruel. Ours didh’t move around much, either. They seemed artificial to me and even though they were ready to eat in about 6 weeks, next time we will get Rangers or something like that. Tima knows she is the apple of your eye…..well, the apple of the fellowships collective eye, I think.
Life on the farm is a real see saw. Am I being selfish in rejoicing that your chicken ark stayed safely on the ground? I hope you get the feed balance sorted real soon.
I’m sorry for your friend’s chickens but pleased all is well at the Farm. We used to throw our meat and seafood scraps to the neighbours chooks when we were chook-sitting during the festive season – best tasting chicken eggs I ever ate (the best ever eggs I ever ate were from the roaming neighbourhood ducks).
Daisy looks like she is wearing boots!
Those grubby broiler chicks do look a little…grubby. I agree that upping the protein a bit might help, but you don’t necessarily want to go too high, either. The 22% might be enough. I think Joel Salatin at Polyface uses chopped boiled egg as a supplement for broiler chicks, and at least once he used liver (but I don’t know how old the chicks were for that one). I was wondering about the bedding, perhaps it is not absorbent enough for their very moist excretions?
Tima is so beguiling! As for kelp in the chicken feed, well we have plenty here on the west coast beaches. Maybe you’ll need to take a few bag fuels back with you (imagine the smell! – but then again, if it was sun-dried it wouldn’t smell and wouldn’t weigh much at all. ) Congratulations on getting the hay in – what a relief that must be. And so good that the tornado passed you by.
Tima looks so adorable peeking out of her new apartment. A high-rise, at that! Hope the little chicks improve.