Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Baby Chicks, Round II

Another one for a hot day. Our second batch of baby chicks are here, and loving the heat. As you may know, chicks get shipped through the good old USPS as soon as they are hatched-- and arrive 24-48 hours later at your doorstep.

Our chicks are a hybid cross of Cornish and Rock varieities, and are basically the industry standard for meat bird production, regardless of the scale of the operation. What differs dramatically is the treatment of the birds once they arrive on site-- our birds are brooded for as short a time inside, which is entirely weather dependent-- as you can see in the photos, our day-old chicks are outside already! For the first week of brooding, or baby-chick-raising, chicks need an average temperature of 95 degrees F. This is most often achieved (not during heat waves) by using heat lamps to help warm them up.

Once the birds start to develop feathers in addition to their chicky down, they're ready to move outside and stay out through the day- and nighttime. Once outside, they're placed in a 6x8' pen that is moved every 24 hours, so that the birds get the opportunity to forage a bit on fresh grass, as well as evenly distribute their natural fertilizer. How's that for farm euphemism?

It's incredible what a few weeks' difference can make. Here are some photos-- here's a chick at one day old:
And here's a side-by-side of the day-old chick and its three-week old counterpart. Same hatchery, same breed, feed, and process...


In another three to four weeks' time, the birds will be dressing out between 5.5-6.5 pounds each. Our first chicken harvest will be August 5, and members, friends, and anyone who's interested and willing to be trained is welcome to help process our birds, just let me know. CSA members will be able to pick up their birds fresh that afternoon. The next harvest will be roughly three weeks later; I'll keep you posted as soon as I set a date.

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