I’ve been hoping all season to get some new Rhode Island Red pullets, but the chicks at the local feed store are strictly first-come-first-served and I always missed out. Finally this past Sunday I talked with Landlady about having her score me some next spring, since it’s getting rather late now.
Then the very next day, the feed store had a crapton of sexed RIR pullets. So I bought five at $3 apiece.
Since I simply don’t have the electricity to keep them warm, I set them up a brooder in Landlady’s barn. This isn’t ideal since I can only check on them a couple times a day but at least it’s secure from likely predators. Gets down into the high seventies at night, which isn’t good, but a large CFL does provide some heat. And it’s toasty in there during the day. They’ll be fine there for their first week or two until they feather out.
I’ve been raising chickens for a few years now, and so far it has proven quite a bit easier than I feared. Never raised them from chicks, though, and I worry about my (as usual) rather improvised infrastructure. But they got through their first night quite well.
