The Foster Chicks

A few weeks I wrote about 5 maran chicks that were being raising by 2 Buff Orpington foster mums. Well I thought I'd post a quick update to let you know how they're doing. The chicks have been growing rapidly and so we decided to open the door of their chicken ark each day in order to let them roam free, under the watchful eyes of their foster mums of course.

The chicks have been making the most of their newfound freedom and exploring every inch of the farm. They've taken to having dust baths in the dry soil beneath the trees, climbing the log pile as if its Everest, and causing trouble by sneaking into the neighbours garden... as if they didn't have enough space already to run around in!

A couple of days ago we decided to move the chicks and their foster mums into the main chicken enclosure: a large section of land with a willow plantation at one end. Since then the chicks have been learning to integrate with the rest of the flock, and now sleep huddled up beside their mums in one of the nest boxes. But at the rate they're growing I doubt they'll be able to fit in there for much longer.