Now that our animals have adjusted
to their new surroundings… 
…we are ready for more to raise. 
The plan was to get chicks in the early
spring so we could have egg layers in the late summer, but Saturday was Chick
Days at a local hardware and farm store so we decided to bump up our plans a
little. We bought 200 chicks along with
ten guineas and five ducks just for fun.
There was a water trough available to use on the property for a brooder,
so we put 100 pullets (females) in it along with wood shavings for
bedding. We had to buy another trough
for the second 100 that are “straight run” (a mix of male and female). All the roosters will be heading to the stew
pot when they are old enough.
The red light is what makes this set up a brooder. It keeps the chicks at a nice warm
temperature, imitating the warmth of mama hen.
Really, any strong incandescent bulb will do (as long as those
environmentalists don’t outlaw them all).
The red light will allow them to get the sleep they need at night so
they don’t think it is daylight all the time.
We just need to keep them fed, watered and dry. The ducks are a bit of a challenge, they
drink three times the water and like to get it all over them and their
bedding. Aren’t they cute?
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