Chicken Update-2 weeks old 2013

Hi all! I just thought I'd give a quick chicken update since their 2 weeks old.  My once tiny little chicks have just shot up! The meat chickens probably weigh at least a pound already! They are going through the uglies. :)

Right now the chicks are in the process of molting which means they are losing their cute fluffy baby feathers and growing beautiful adult feathers.  Now,  these states are lovely in full feathers,  but the molting stage? Not so much. They look like awkward teenagers! They are really learning to fly now too, so we'll have to cover their brooder.

Mitch spotted this little rebel roosting on the edge of the brooder! Those little Wyandottes can really fly. I just knew they would be the first to venture out! 

Just for reference, their brooder is about 2 feet tall. 

Here's another little bird roosting on the water bucket. Tsk tsk. We'll have to hang these feeders and waterer's. They are pooping in them and roosting. That's no good!

In addition to their awkward molting, they eat like little piggies! The big meat chickens often sleep on or near the feeder. It amazes me how much these guys can put away! We went through a 20 lb bag of food in a little over a week!!

Here are the 2 types of meaties we have side by side. The white one is a jumbo cornish x rock and the red one is a red ranger. 

So, here are some countdowns to more entertaining chicken updates:
* 2 weeks-the chickens will be allowed to have treats and it will be highly entertaining
* 3 weeks-we are moving the chickens to their new coop and they will get to range in the grass
* 5-6 weeks-we are processing the 4 cornish x rocks
* 10 weeks- we are processing the 8 red ranger broilers
* 18-20 weeks-we can begin to expect eggs and we will process the 7 or so free "packing peanut" male chickens we got to keep our order of chicks warm.

Yay! Come back soon to learn the gist of potting up and leggy plants!

Thanks for reading!