July already?

I am so not ready for it to be July. Summer is going by too quickly!

The meat chickens now completely dwarf the laying hens. The Rhode Island Reds are getting feathers on their breasts, which makes them look like they are wearing little dark vests.

Meat chicken with two Rhode Island Reds with their dark vests of feathers now replacing their down

Antonia and Chloe are fond of perching on top of the feeder and the waterer. We have put a cover over the feeder so poop doesn’t get down into the middle where the food is stored. There is nothing we can do about poop in the trough of either the food or water. The chicks don’t seem to mind.

Antonia on her favorite perch

In another week, the chicks should have most of their feathers. We will move them outside to Coop 2 and start taking the food away at night. As I have mentioned before, if given access to food 24/7, the meat chickens will eat so much that their legs will break under the weight of their bodies. We don’t want that. They are truly the couch potatoes of the chicken world.

Gathered 'round the trough