This is my baby chick update.  We got them back on March 16 and were told they were 5 days old.  So they are now nearly 3 weeks old. They are still living in our bathtub, in the bathroom off the kitchen.  I’ve taken them outside three times for a few hours on warm days to the chicken run and they all just huddle together.  I don’t think they are too adventurous yet which makes sense. If I were a fluff ball the size of an apple, don’t think I’d be gunning for some wild mayhem.  Cactus is pushing for them to be outside since the bathroom is getting quite fragrant but that just seems like we’d be asking for a tragedy. In any case, I feel like I’m learning a lot in just these first two weeks and trying to plan ahead so that we have a smooth transition outdoors.

1.  If you have chicks in a bathroom, keep the toilet lid down at all times.

Yeah, it happened.  Walked into the bathroom at 530am last Wednesday and one chick is just floating in the toilet.  THANKFULLY it’s a shallow toilet and this bathroom is super warm so hopefully it was like a warm bath.  Scooped her out, dried her off in a towel for a few minutes, and set her back in the tub. She seemed stunned but has been fine since then.  Yay! (PS – it was not I who left the lid up….)

2.  A tub really isn’t big enough for 8 chicks beyond the first two weeks.

I don’t know how many chicks most people start with as beginners.  I’d been warned to not start with too few as some won’t make it. I thought 3-5 seemed appropriate when I was calculating future egg production and how much our family consumes, but multiple people told me it wouldn’t be enough.  So now I think they are little cramped all in the tub together, along with the food and water dishes we got at Tractor Supply. Hence why one was probably trying to get some space and then landed in the toilet.

3.  Have a plan for where you are going to put the chicks as toddlers.

If weeks 1 and 2 they are like infants, then weeks 3 and 4 are the toddler years.  Regarding the tub situation, now they are stretching their wings, flapping around, scratching, pecking, and seem like they want to perch/roost on something.  I think this is how The Dunker ended up in the toilet. From what I’ve been reading, I think this is when most people move them to the basement or out in a garage – we have neither.  And it just seems like putting them out in the coop is a little premature. When I’ve let them out in the run, they don’t go in the coop. Even with the heat lamp on, they have not figured it out and the nights are still dropping down to the 30s.

4.  Be very careful each time you are changing the water, food, and bedding.

This one I’m a little embarrassed to share.  One time, when placing the drinker back in the tub, I definitely caught a chick underneath.  I didn’t think that was possible. Not trying to deflect ownership of my stupidity, but if a big red plate was coming down over my head I think I’d move.  I set the drinker down very slowly in the tub and it was only half full of water (consoling myself here friends; trying to not feel like a terrible person) and noticed right away that one chick was missing.  I looked under the tub, I looked in the toilet (hey, it’s worth a look), I checked under the little shelves in our bathroom, and couldn’t find the little chick anywhere. I’m standing there, staring at the tub in disbelief, counting and re-counting the chicks about 17 times and then I see the drinker wobble.  I lifted it up real fast and the chick runs to the opposite end of the tub. I was like “Oh man, don’t hate me. I wasn’t trying to kill you, I promise.” She just stood there, in shock, like WTF?!? But here we are, all Octochicks still tweeting away.

5.  Remember chicks are not house pets.  Be safe so that you aren’t sorry.

They are super cute and fluffy but they are not for cuddling and snuggling.  Since buying the chicks, I read this CDC info on backyard poultry and realized we were violating a number of the recommendations unknowingly and freaked out.  We have little kids – strike one. The chicks are in the house – strike two. I washed the water dispenser in the kitchen sink one time – strike three. Now I’m being extra cautious and using Clorox wipes on a daily basis but I still feel like there is more risk involved than I previously understood.  Remember, ladies and gents, not a farm girl. This was just a dream that we jumped on so there’s lots of learnin’. Ain’t no shame in the learning game. I’ll happily admit my mistakes if it means a) you get a good laugh and b) it saves you some of the trial and error.

I’m sure there will be more in this saga.  This week by week plan has been a good, simple reference for me so far so I’m passing it along.