The large chicks are now getting huge. The oldest three are now 5 weeks old, and the other four are half a week behind. The 5 Sassos are very solid and heavy birds, perhaps understandable given their heritage and that Sassos are normally culled for the table at 8-10 weeks. The Australorp and the Welsh Black are very light but are a good size.
We've decided that we'll aim to cull the Sassos at about 14 weeks. The primary driver for this is that the birds are so heavy and chunky now, that we're concerned that they will become just too big and lumbering if we keep them much beyond that. We may need to bring it forward a bit more, if they carry on growing at this rate.
We think we have 3 boys and 2 girls, and it is likely that 1 of the 2 girls was the egg from the late Mrs Roo Too. We won't know for sure until they are a bit older.
It rained a lot yesterday and it was so heavy that, despite putting roofing plastic on the run, we felt the chicks had better go back to their brooder in the shed. They are nearly fully feathered but not quite. Their size makes it easy to forget how young they are.
This morning, they were very keen to go out. I made up a dustbath in a seed tray and put it in. They all tried to jump in together. I made up a second bath, but they seem to prefer sharing...
Heaven!
We've decided that we'll aim to cull the Sassos at about 14 weeks. The primary driver for this is that the birds are so heavy and chunky now, that we're concerned that they will become just too big and lumbering if we keep them much beyond that. We may need to bring it forward a bit more, if they carry on growing at this rate.
We think we have 3 boys and 2 girls, and it is likely that 1 of the 2 girls was the egg from the late Mrs Roo Too. We won't know for sure until they are a bit older.
It rained a lot yesterday and it was so heavy that, despite putting roofing plastic on the run, we felt the chicks had better go back to their brooder in the shed. They are nearly fully feathered but not quite. Their size makes it easy to forget how young they are.
This morning, they were very keen to go out. I made up a dustbath in a seed tray and put it in. They all tried to jump in together. I made up a second bath, but they seem to prefer sharing...
Heaven!
