The Hogan Homestead is officially a “farm”… well, sorta. Today, Jen and I drove up to Mt Healthy Hatcheries to pick up our order of chicks! We ordered 12 one-day-old pullets (female chickens- aka, future laying hens).
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They are so adorable! We ordered 3 speckled sussex hens (and they gave us an extra one, too!), 3 buff orphingtons, 3 americaunas, and 3 black austrolorphs. We also have 3 Brahmas coming next week (one of my friends bought 6 but she only wants 3 because she lives in the burbs, and 6 is the minimum order).
We have started them on this chick starter feed. I chose a medicated starter feed because these chicks are vaccinated for Marek’s disease, but not coccidiosis, and this feed will help protect them against a deadly GI parasite. We’ve ordered some chick grit off of amazon that will be here in a day or two to help their digestive system- chickens need grit in their diet to act as their “teeth” and help them digest food. They’re on pine bedding, which is better for their feet and legs than other types of bedding, is soft, and doesn’t upset the respiratory system as much. I also have them under a heat lamp in my homemade brooder, so that they can stay a toasty 95*F for the next 10 days.
We have a lot of work to do to get the chicken coop ready for the hens when they are old enough (which should take about 5 weeks), but in the meantime we are having a lot of fun with keeping them in the basement. Here are some more pictures and videos of our cute little baby chicks!
The Hogan Homestead 