Chickens - At 1 Month Old

In a recent post I mentioned that a buddy of mine and I were raising chickens from hatchlings. We had gotten these at a day old in early to mid July. They're now approximately a month old and have joined the adult hens in the coop. You can see them in the photo above. I apologize for the slightly blurry image - they were in constant motion and the light wasn't good for photography inside the coop. In the foreground there is a banded rock on the left, a blue cochin rooster to the right of that, and 2 partridge cochins behind them (to the right in the photo). I don't remember and can't see well enough in the picture to be sure of the ones behind the patridge cochins.

All of them are still a bit shy around the adults, and will back away from the feeder and water when an adult approaches. There is definitely a "pecking order"; the adults get first dibbs on the food and water - when they're done the younger hatchlings can take what they want.

The next photo shows me holding the blue cochin rooster - the detail is better because he wasn't running around :) For chickens that have been handle gently and petted a couple times a day every day since they were hatched, they STILL can be quite difficult to corner and catch. He put up a brief struggle when I caught him.

Raising Chickens

A buddy of mine has raised chickens for a decade or more. Recently, he acquired 7 newly hatched chicks - including a blue cochin rooster, two partridge cochins, two black astrolorps, and two banded rocks - most of which can be seen in the photo. This was taken when they were approximately 4 days old.

In another couple or three weeks they will be big enough to go back with the adult hens. Meanwhile they are being kept under an infrared lamp for incubation, as they are unable to maintain their own body temperature. During the day the adult chickens free-range on a several acre farm, enjoying life and foraging on all sorts of natural things as God intended. This definitely makes for a superior quality egg - the factory-raised stuff in the grocery store is tasteless and "sick" by comparison to the product my friend's chickens produce. The shells on these home-raised eggs is thicker than the store-bought ones, and the yolks tend to be a dark orange to even a red color in some cases. This is due to the minerals and nutrients they get through natural forage as opposed to the artificial corn feed most factory raised chickens get. The taste and texture of these eggs is like nothing else I have ever eaten prior to moving into an area that permits people to raise chickens at home.

You can view some short video footage of the chicks I uploaded to my YouTube site - KarlsLabReport.

I plan to upload more pictures and video as these birds grow and develop. Please stay tuned!!

Meanwhile - below is a photo of an adult partridge cochin hen. My apologies for the somewhat blurry image - she would not stay still long enough to pose for a decent picture. Note her beautiful coloration and the dark 'highlighting' around the edges of the individual feathers. Also note the feathers on her feet - cochins are interesting in that unlike other breeds, they have feathers covering their feet. The blue cochin rooster in the picture above is just starting to show the beginnings of feathered feet, too. Clicking on any image on this page will enlarge it for closer inspection.