Buff Rock in Brooder

[This series is a diary of our experience raising chickens for our home flock. To see all articles in this series, please visit Home Flock Series.]

From the Brooder into the Chicken Tractor

Today we moved the chicks from the brooder to an A-frame chicken tractor we had built several years ago. Normally, I would have waited until the chicks were 4 weeks old and  more fully feathered before moving them, so that they would continue to receive the warmth of the brooder’s heat lamp, but because our weather has been warm enough for the chicks and is growing increasingly warmer and because the chicks would have soon become too crowded in this brooder, we went ahead with the move today. My children helped with the transfer, as we moved them first into a cardboard box, then into the A-frame chicken tractor.

Transferring chicks

The chicks were timid when we first introduced them to the chicken tractor, but within minutes, they were beginning to enjoy the extra space and access to grass and bugs.

In the Chicken Tractor

The chicks have grown and developed a lot in the past week.  If you’ve been following this series, you will notice differences in the plumage of the free rare/exotic chick.

 

Rare/Exotic Chick

Photo Gallery

Below is a gallery of photos. Click on any photo to see a larger view.

Feedback and Comments

If you are raising chicks, we’d like to hear about them. What breeds are you raising? Which are your favorites? What age are they? What changes have you noticed in them over the past week?