Meet The Meaties

Meet The Meaties

All below pictures are mine.

Remember this post? Where I told you of my sudden and unexpected urge to get meat chickens? Well GUESS WHAT? I picked up 26 of them on Friday.

I had been hassling our local TSC for the past two weeks, pestering them with the arrival dates of the next batch of chicks. I'm sure they were sick and tired of me, but oh well.

They had 6 troughs (mostly) full of baby chicks and ducklings.

This one had assorted layers, they only had a couple of them left.

White Pekin ducklings, several of the employees tried to get me to buy some, but I told them I already had about sixty ducks, and even though they were really cute, I didn't need (noticed I didn't say want) any more. 

I think ducklings are the cutest baby fowl ever! I don't care what anyone says!  

The cute little Cornish X babies (meaties).

Red Sex Link chicks.

We told them we wanted all 26 of them, so they boxed them up for us, and we headed home with a box-full of peeping, fuzzy, chicks! 

Before I left to go pick them up, I got a brooder made up for them that I could put them straight into when we got home.

They were a little stressed out by their journey, but no worse for wear. A few minutes in the warm brooder soon made them start peeping contently again. 

I want to raise my Meaties as naturally as possible, so for a start I'm putting raw organic apple cider vinegar in their water. 

For the first few days I fed them dry chick starter, but now I've started fermenting their food. 

It took them a day or so to get used to it, but now they gobble it up excitedly whenever I refill their dish. 

 

 They are quite the curious little boogers, and adore me...at least my fingers and bright shining rings. *ahem*

I have four brooders in my room currently (I had to upgrade the Meaties to a bigger brooder, because they have already grown so much since the day I got them).

They spent (and still do in fact) most of their day napping under the warmth of the lamp and yes, eating. 

So far, I'm enjoying my Meaties and trying very hard not to get attached to them. They are extremely friendly and don't seem to mind me petting and loving on them. 
I plan on doing a weekly diary of their growth. So I hope you will join me on this little adventure that I'm embarking on!  

To be continued -


Blessings - 

~ Aspen