WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2024
We ordered and paid for eight, freshly hatched baby bantam hens from Cackle Hatchery in Lebanon Missouri. They were shipped on Monday by USPS and arrived in here in Melbourne around 9:30am today (Wednesday). Mary followed their journey using USPS tracking and when we saw they were at our post office I called and confirmed their arrival. 10 minutes later we were picking them up and to our surprise we received 10 little ladies which brings our total current chicken population up to 81 (we have lost our minds).
All of the baby chicks look very alive and vibrant. A couple of the black ones have some sort of wound on their head, almost like others were pecking them but once we got them all into the brooder with food and water they went nuts eating and drinking and seemed to just focus on that. They were definitely hungry and thirsty.
We received six bantam Rhode Island Reds (aka Minkies) and four little black chicks. They are all SOOOO tiny, fragile and precious. There is nothing cuter or softer than a newborn baby chick. I love picking them up out of their shipping container and feeling their softness.
Their first poo's are green, ewww. I don't remember previous babies having green poo but maybe they did and it just got lost in the wood chips.
For this batch we have modified our brooder technology. Instead of a cardboard box we're using a large, clear-sided plastic box and lid. We have a Mama-hen heater in the box so the chicks can relax in 100-degree F warmth. We're also using some small glass dishes for water, the baby chicks seem to like standing in it. For now we just poured some baby chick food on the floor of the brooder and they are all eating voraciously.
This was our first order of baby chicks from Cackle Hatchery, they could become our new favorite supplier since they delivered all chicks alive and healthy. We'll see how this goes. These chicks are supposedly sexed so we received hens. There is still a 10% chance there could be a rooster in the bunch. Like I said, we'll see.....and hear how it comes out.
HERE IS THE BREAKDOWN OF NEW ARRIVALS - All Bantam Size Hens
Six Rhode Island Red - Minkies (Temperament: Docile)
BLACK BABY CHICKS
Barred Rock (Temperament: Active)
Dominique (Temperament: Docile)
Barred Old English Game (Temperament: Active
One bonus black bird, not sure what she is lol, just another black bird at this point
The "bantam" size chickens are 50-75% the size of "standard" size chickens. The second time we went to Tractor Supply and bought chickens (over three years ago) we got three bantam chicks that all turned out to be hens. They were straight run (no choice of what you get). We received three little chicks that all turned out to be hens and they are some of the sweetest little yardbirds on the planet. They fly up and land on your arm or shoulder... looking for treats. They were so soft and brown when they were babies, I called all three of them Minkie in honor of a weird piece of faux fur from Joanns in El Segundo.
FREE GIFT(S) FROM CACKLE HATCHERY
Maybe they included two extra birds in our order, just in case one red and one black did not make it through the journey. Fortunately they all made it alive and lively so for us it's like getting two free birds as a thank you. We'll give them a great home.
BANTAM SIZE vs STANDARD
- 6.5 lbs - Standard Size Minkie (aka Rhode Island Red)
- 30 oz - Minkies (2 lb 8 oz)
- 22 oz - Barred Old Eng Bantam (Dutchess too) (1 lb 6 oz)
