Out of the Brooder And To the Pasture

We received our shipment of 24 Barred Rock pullets on November 5th.  They've been doing great in our little homemade brooder in the garage.  They've grown and have put on feathers.  Their little heads are almost touching the top of the chicken wire.  It's time to move them out to pasture in the 'day care' chicken tractor.  A couple days ago we just moved all the chickens that we hatched out from our incubator from the day care tractor to another chicken tractor.  Now we'll move these pullets into the one that was freed up.

Cramped Quarters

One of the things I've said repeatedly over the years is how much these little birds stink up the garage and how we can't wait to move them out.  This year they haven't stunk as with prior batches.  Why?  I don't know for sure, but I think it is the feed we're giving them.  Our local feed store has started carrying a new type of chicken feed called, "Texas Natural Feeds" Chick Starter.  It is 20% protein and non-soy, non-GMO, non-medicated and the protein source is peanut meal as opposed to soy. I think this feed has made a difference in keeping the foul smell down.

It is still time to move the chicks out.  I don't like leaving the heat lamp on in the garage as it is a fire hazard.  So, I loaded the brooder onto the little utility wagon and pulled it out to the pasture.  This created all sorts of excitement.  Daisy and Rosie came running and were very curious as to the contents of the brooder.  Or maybe they were just nosy and smelled the feed in the brooder.

Nosy Daisy and Nosy Rosie

I pulled the wagon alongside the day care brooder and began to pick the chicks out one by one and place them in the tractor, directly on the grass.  I pull this little girl on the roof to give you an idea of her size.  I'll move the heat lamp out into the tractor, but as you can see, they've grown feathers, so they should be able to withstand the cold.

A pullet checking out her own home.

I lifted the roof and dropped the birds down one by one.  They scurried around, checking out their new living arrangements and pecked at the grass.  After roughly a month of life, they had never seen grass before.  They didn't need any long introduction.  Some chicks were pecking at it immediately.

On grass

They found the watering station that hangs from the roof and one of the birds escaped from the hole just to the right of the wheel below.  I caught her, put her back in with all her sisters, and used a piece from a 2x4 to block the hole.  

Finding water and seeking freedom

I turned the brooder over in the stall and all the contents fell out and onto the ground.  There was a lot of feed that the pullets had wasted by scratching it out of the little feed trough.  Our big hens and roosters don't let anything go to waste!  The young birds will eventually learn a lesson about waste.  

These birds should begin laying eggs at about 20 - 24 weeks of age and to help rebuild our chicken inventory after Big Boy's "inventory clearance" last week.