Tag Archives: chicks grow up

Chicks Become Pullets

Chicks become pullets to me when they start to cluck. Mine are starting to cluck. They are also outgrowing their little house.

This bunch is lucky so far. They arrived with cold weather, but only two succumbed.

The chicks survived living in the house for over a week. So did we.

arcana chicks become pullets
Easter Egger chickens are Cackle Hatchery’s arcana mix. I like them and all the different colors they come in. They are flighty. They grow up fast. They always seem to be in a hurry to get places, even when that is only a few feet away.

Outside dangers abound. My rebuilt chick house seems to be working well. No large black snakes or raccoons or possums have managed to invade at night.

Once the chicks feather out, they move into the yard during the day. Opening their door in the morning require care.

The various latches are undone. The chick and people doors are swung open taking care to not be standing in front of them. The chicks explode outward running and flying.

suspicious pullets
Pullets love to get up on anything they think they can stand on. These two found an old bit of chicken mesh originally used to block snakes and now too enmeshed with grass to remove. Buff Orpingtons are a lovely golden buff color. They grow into big, gentle chickens and can be very friendly. The Easter Egger Arcana is convinced the camera is some kind of monster. Typical.

The chick yard is small. By the time the chicks are a quarter grown, they are impatient with a yard now devoid of greenery.

Most years the chicks have lots of grass and other weeds. This year they had dock. Only the stems are left. Chickweed tossed in daily was an anticipated treat.

The next step is to put up a temporary fence. Fifty feet of two foot high one inch chicken mesh with metal electric fence poles works well. Even better is how easy it is to move the fence around.

Grass is now in the diet. Bugs are still something to observe and wonder at. The bugs don’t enjoy such immunity long.

A second roll of fencing has made for a bigger yard. This should be as much as is needed before the chicks move. I consider moving them when the chicks become pullets.

The temporary yard exposes the chicks to many hazards. One inspected a copperhead and got bitten. Chicks, even grown chickens, don’t survive such an encounter.

Crows are in the area as I hear them from time to time and see them flying by. Crows will kill half grown chicks and carry them off to feed their own young.

cochin chicks become pullets
Bantam cochins are cute. Bantams don’t fare well in my flock so I have the standard cochins and like them. They do get big. They are a gentle chicken and always look like a soft pile of feathers.

The small chick yard has a baling twine net over it. The larger yard does not.

So my chicks become pullets and should move to the hen house. Except the big black snakes live there under the barn floor.

The pullets are too big for the snakes to eat. They are not too big for the snakes to try.

I’ve been remodeling the hen house. Maybe the big snake holes are now plugged or covered. Should I take a chance?

The pullets are too big for the chick house.

In “Mistaken Promises” Hazel Whitmore raises some Buff Orpinton pullets and enters them in the county fair.