Adventures in Mommy-hood: Three week chick update

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Three week chick update

Hi, friends. Our chicks keep growing; here's an update:

Hazel, Koko, Indigo

With the screen on top of the brooder, the girls haven't been attempting escape quite as often. They do still look up and plan their attempts when the screen is off, though. The chicks spend most of their time in the dust bath. We're not sure if it's because they like the dust bath, or they like the mirror that's hanging over the dust bath, or if they just like that corner.

Because I hadn't really seen any of them going under the heating pad, except at night, I turned off the heat in the brooder entirely. According to the chick experts, during their third week, chicks need brooder temps between 80 and 85°F. Ha!

Speaking of not seeing them going under the heating pad, it is such a struggle to get these babies to sleep at night. I turn off the light, and they start cheeping bloody murder. So I put them under the heating pad, to sleep, and they come right back out. Yup, it's like herding chicks (exactly like herding chicks), and I'm not too successful at it. I have to shove each of them under the heating pad 5 or more times before they finally settle down and decide to sleep. What we need is sunset. In our bathroom. I wonder if taking the heating pad out entirely would help, or if that would just freak them out more. I think as soon as I can get last year's chick roost out of the ice that it's frozen into, I will take out the heating pad and replace it with the roost. Or maybe I should give up on that one for now and make a new one. Hmm.

I introduced a nipple waterer this week. I'm pretty sure they know how it works, and that they're strong enough, but the regular waterer is still available to them, so they're not using the nipple waterer.

We had planned to take the chicks outside yesterday because it was supposed to be a sunny 50°F day. And it was sunny, and it did get up to 50°. But by the time Bubby got home from school, it was raining and the temperature had dropped, so no field trip. Unfortunately, it's not looking like it'll go above 40° in the foreseeable future, so it might be a while before these chicks get to explore outside. Maybe we'll get a day that's sunny with no wind, and I'll feel ok taking them out. We'll see. So anyway, instead of the lovely pictures of 3 week old chicks scratching in the grass, you get another indoor photo shoot. Enjoy.